It's a Wonderful Cover Life
A/N 2013: Happy belated birthday, iAmBixie! Hope you had a good one. The second shout out goes to AdmiralK for proof reading this chapter on such short notice. You're aces, dude.
Due to missing a reread night last week there will be a double feature this week, unfortunately not tonight though, but Friday. I have to stay up really late to do this, not that I mind because it's really fun, but I do hate myself in the mornings. And my boss is not crazy about me taking naps on my keyboard *wink*.
That's enough from me, let's get to today's chapter. Enjoy.
A/N: Tada! Welcome to this installment of the Frea vs. Kate Leap Day Challenge. For those of you going 'huh?', here's what happened – my boss went on an island holiday so you're getting back-to-back updates of What Fates Impose from Frea and this today and A Common Spy Problem tomorrow. Now you're probably wondering what my boss has to do with fanfiction. Valid question. As it turns out, when the cat's away, the mice have wine with lunch. On second thought, I bet Frea will explain it better, so check out Fates. Also, Frea is only updating one story, which could be a bit of a disadvantage, so if you're gonna read both chapters in one go, please don't skimp on the reviews.
Speaking of reviews, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to send me a note, whether it be here, in a PM or on Twitter, it's awesome to get your feedback. Also thank you to Nervert and quistie64 for their input in this chapter.
I don't own Chuck.
31. A Plan Comes Together
Chuck watched in dismay as his soldier lay bleeding for the fifth time in an hour. No matter how hard he'd tried to concentrate, his head was not in the game. He'd thought having a little down time and catching up on Call of Duty, on an eighty inch monitor no less, would be heaven, but his mind kept wandering. He punched the power switch on the Xbox to shut it off. Then he grabbed the TV remote and did the same, causing the screen to go black. He might as well quit while he was dead, he thought.
Sinking deeper into the oversized sofa, he plucked the check from his pocket, unfolded it and stared at the zeros. He'd never earned so much money in such a short time before and it hadn't quite sunk in that he'd be making four times that in a mere ten days or so. Added to his own savings, he was home free. More than. A big smile spread across his face, stopped halfway and faltered.
It was finally real.
His heart started beating faster and his throat threatened to close up. It was real. He was going to start his own company and move into his own place. No more Buy More and no more having Ellie around all the time. He was going to start living his life without safety nets.
It was a terrifying thought.
His life hadn't quite turn out like he'd planned. He always imagined getting his degree and finding a job in software development or something similar. He and Jill would get married, buy a house, maybe adopt a dog, and once the time was right, start a family. That dream went up in smoke when Bryce got him kicked out of Stanford and Jill unceremoniously dumped him after his expulsion. And then, just when Ellie had convinced him that he didn't need his diploma to start his own company, or Jill to fulfill his other goals in life, his ex-girlfriend had dropped another bomb.
Chuck looked at the check one more time before slipping it back into his pocket. Back then he couldn't risk everything he had, not when he had a baby to take care of. Raising kids turned out to be expensive and he was forced to pick up as many shifts at the Buy More as he could. He knew it was a temporary solution. He wanted Maggie to have a normal childhood. She deserved better than to grow up with an absent father like he and Ellie had. He had no illusions about being his own boss, that was going to be long hours too, but at least he'd get to work around Maggie's schedule.
He let out a breath. If the last four years had taught him anything, it was that he could do anything he put his mind to. Sure, it was scary, but they were going to be okay. With a smile, Chuck mentally ticked off two things on his five year plan. He had an amazing kid and his career had never looked more promising. And if he could make that work, getting the house and the dog would be a piece of cake.
Four out of five wasn't half bad.
But five out of five is better.
That's what Ellie would say. She'd cut him some slack in the dating department, but he knew she would be disappointed if he ended up a perpetual bachelor. Truthfully, so would he.
His phone beeped, pulling him from his reverie. He grabbed it from where it lay next to him on the couch and dismissed the alert.
"Well I guess the future will have to wait," he said to himself as he stood up. Ballet rehearsals took priority after all.
32. Say Uncle
Sarah closed the browser and tilted her head back, rubbing her eyes. Research on the culture and tourist attractions of the major European cities just didn't seem to have its usual appeal for some reason, not that she wasn't looking forward to the trip. She had been abroad before, but as a young child she'd spent most of her time in a hotel room with the au pair of the month and during one of their college holidays, she and Carina had done a tour of the world's most famous nightclubs. Though she had the stamps in her passport, but she'd never really seen any of the places she'd been to.
She rolled her shoulders to loosen her tense muscles before pushing her chair away from the desk with a sigh – a lot still needed to happen before she could even contemplate getting on a plane.
Making her way down the hall towards the kitchen, Sarah noticed that the house was quiet. Carina apparently felt some guilt over the repercussions of her "PR exercise" and had taken Beckman shopping as the latter hadn't packed for a prolonged stay. She, Chuck and Maggie had had a rather awkward lunch, after which Chuck had put Maggie down for a nap. Sarah had offered him her father's den to do whatever it is he did in his spare time. She had a feeling that between being a single parent and his job at the Buy More, he didn't get much free time so she didn't push for them to come up with a proper background story to pull of the next ten days. She figured they'd be able to make it through another dinner safely.
Stopping short in front of the fridge, Sarah's hand froze midair. There was a note stuck to the door, written in an unfamiliar scrawl.
Took M to ballet. Back at six.
Sarah smiled. It was probably habit, one she imagined his sister had drilled into him since they shared living quarters. It must be nice having someone who cared about your whereabouts, she mused as she opened the door and reached for a bottled water. She also couldn't deny that she was secretly thrilled that Chuck had thought about her when he wrote it.
"Pass me the olives while you're in there, and a bottle of decent gin."
Sarah shut the refrigerator door and spun around in the direction of the voice, her eyes wide in surprise. "Uncle Roan! What are you doing here?"
He looked just as she remembered him. Tall, handsome and dressed to the nines.
"Two years and that's the best you can come up with?" he asked and crossed the room, wrapping Sarah up in a tight hug. "Hi, kiddo," he said as he put her back down.
Sarah laughed and shook her head. "I haven't been a kid for quite some time now," she replied before taking a swig of water.
"You'll always be that little girl with the pigtails and missing front teeth to me, even when you're old and married and – " He trailed off, his eyes fixed on her hand. "And you are married."
"What?" Sarah asked and only then did she remember about the rings. She lowered the bottle, ignoring the water that had splashed out when she quickly ducked it her back.
"Cart and horses, my dear."
Sarah blushed, much to Roan's amusement.
"So where is this lucky fellow?" he asked when she didn't say anything. "I would love to interro…meet him."
"I…uh…" Sarah's mind started working a mile a minute. She really didn't want to drag another person into this charade, but there was no way to explain her current situation without telling the truth. At least, she thought, it was uncle Roan and he was always up for an adventure. Not to mention the fact that he had a way with women, which sparked an idea in the back of her mind. This could actually be a blessing in disguise, she decided. "Chuck stepped out," she finally replied.
"Chuck? I hate him already."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "It's short for Charles," she told him, knowing his adversity to call people by their nicknames, aside from her apparently.
"And Charles it shall be," Roan said. "Honestly, why people bother…"
"How about that martini?" Sarah asked before Roan could go on a tangent.
Roan's expression changed from feigned disgust to one of glee as he rubbed his hands together. "Now you're talking."
33. On a Wing and a Prayer
"Do we really get to stay?" Maggie asked, straining against the safety straps of her car seat. Chuck had a feeling that, had she not been restrained, there would definitely be bouncing, and the interior of his Matrix was way too small for that.
"Yeah, but just until Christmas, and then we have to go back home," he said for the umpteenth time. Maggie needed to understand that it was just a temporary situation.
"Christmas is still very, very, very far away," she replied.
Chuck groaned. The next ten days were probably going to feel like that. His gaze darted to the rearview mirror, catching sight of his daughter. While waiting for her to finish ballet class, he'd come to a decision, and though he still had his doubts, he had to believe what Ellie had told him a few nights ago.
"Mags," he said and waited until she'd settled down enough to give him her attention. "How would you like to play a game?"
"What kind of game?"
"Well – " Chuck hesitated, but only for a second. "It's a game of pretend."
Maggie tilted her head. "Can I be a pony?" she asked.
"It's not that kind of pretend, Boo," he replied patiently. "It's more like…keeping a secret."
Maggie seemed confused. "Are we keeping a secret or are we playing pretend?"
Chuck resisted the urge to slam his head down on the steering wheel. How he was supposed to explain this situation to a four-year-old was beyond him, but nonetheless, he tried again.
"Actually, it's Kitty's game." At the mention of her name, Maggie's eyes lit up.
"Kitty is playing too? Is she gonna pretend?"
Thanking his lucky stars that Maggie was finally catching on, Chuck nodded. "Yes. Kitty is going to pretend and you can't tell anyone that she's pretending."
"Okay," Maggie replied. "What is Kitty going to be?"
Chuck brought the car to a halt, grateful to hit a red light. He looked at Maggie in the mirror again. "She's going to pretend to be your mom." He carefully gauged his daughter's reaction. She thought it over for a moment, the tip of her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth like she had a habit of doing, and then she smiled.
"I know that game," she announced, her excitement barely contained.
Chuck whipped around in his seat. "What?"
"Uncle Morgan and I play it all the time," Maggie informed him matter-of-factly.
Chuck couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"What?" he asked again. The light had changed however, and insistent honking prompted him to focus his attention back on the road. He pulled away and switched to a slower lane.
"Uncle Morgan pretends he's my daddy when we go to the park and you're not looking. He says I'm his wing." Maggie sounded very proud of that fact.
"I'm gonna kill Morgan," Chuck mumbled under his breath. His daughter was not a prop to pick up girls.
"Does Kitty need a wing?" Maggie asked, oblivious to her father's murderous thoughts.
"Uh…sure," Chuck replied, though for the life of him he couldn't imagine Sarah needing any help in that department. Truth be told, he was rather baffled by the fact that she didn't have a boyfriend. Deception aside, she truly was the perfect woman. Maybe she wasn't the type to commit, he thought, and added that to the list of reasons why he shouldn't fall for her.
"Mags," he said, "you do know that Kitty is not really your mom?" He felt that he had to drive the point home.
"I know. It's okay, I don't want a real mom anyway."
Again Chuck was caught off guard. "Why not?"
"Timmy's mom took him away and now he doesn't have friends or a puppy."
Chuck was surprised that Maggie was able to make that connection. He remembered Ellie telling him a few months ago about a kid in daycare whose mother was awarded custody after essentially abandoning her son for almost three years. Ellie was afraid that the same could happen to them, but there wasn't much Chuck could do to prevent it. Jill had pulled the clichéd leave-the-baby-on-the-doorstep move when Maggie was barely two weeks old. Though she'd left the birth certificate, it listed the father as 'unknown', and all he had was the post-it note attached to it stating 'she's yours, good luck'. It was insufficient proof to seek sole custody. Ellie suggested a paternity test, something he probably should've considered when they'd first found Maggie, but Chuck balked and finally admitted the truth – there was a chance that Jill had been mistaken. He couldn't risk a possible unfavorable outcome, especially not when it would be on record.
"No one's gonna take you away from me, Boo," Chuck assured her. He wished he could be certain that it wasn't an empty promise. He would fight for her with everything he had, but the best he had to hope for, was that Jill would never come back.
34. How to Not Seduce a Grandmother in Less Than Ten Days
"So, this Diane, are we talking mid-twenties? Thirty?" Roan asked once Sarah had filled him in on the basics regarding her current situation and the idea she'd had.
Sarah bit the inside of her cheek to prevent from grinning. "Mid-fifties to sixty, I think."
Roan choked on a mouthful of gin. "Excuse me?" he asked after he got his coughing under control. "You want me to seduce a grandmother?"
"She's not a grandmother." Sarah refrained from pointing out that Beckman was actually a few years younger than him. "And I haven't asked you to seduce her," she said instead. "Just…provide a distraction."
"So she wouldn't look too closely and discover the truth," Roan concluded as he handed his almost empty glass to Casey in exchange for a fresh drink. He nodded his thanks to which the butler replied with a grunt.
"Exactly." Sarah stole a glance at her watch. "But please, uncle Roan, whatever you do, don't break her heart."
"I can't help it if…fine," he said when Sarah gave him a pointed look. "You drive a hard bargain. I'll try not to be too charming." He took a sip from his martini, contemplating the situation. "I must admit though, you have a strange way of doing business."
"How do you know what they teach at Harvard these days?"
Roan gave her a mock scowl. "I'm wise in the ways of the world, Sarah. Don't ever forget that."
She laughed and tilted her glass towards him. "Touché. So what is happening in the world these days?"
"Don't you read newspapers anymore?" He sidestepped the question like she knew he would. Sarah had her suspicions about what her uncle really did for a living, but she'd never voiced it. If she was right, he'd just deny it anyway.
"They still print those?" she quipped instead, only to receive a sour look from her uncle. He was as up to date with technology as her generation, probably due to his unconfirmed profession, but he didn't appreciate jibes about his age.
"Don't get too big for your britches, missy. You'll set a bad example for the little one." Roan's expression turned thoughtful as he twirled his toothpick between his thumb and forefinger. "So tell me more about Charles," he said. "Are the two of you involved or is it strictly business?"
"Business," Sarah answered a little too quickly, causing her uncle to raise a disbelieving eyebrow. "It really is," she assured him. "I only met Chuck a few days ago."
Roan still didn't seem convinced. "I'm going to assume that he's not married," he stated flatly. "Divorced? Widowed?"
Sarah shook her head. "Neither."
"So he knocked up his…girlfriend? A call girl?"
"It's not like that," Sarah said in Chuck's defense, realizing for the first time that she actually had no idea what the circumstances were when it came to Maggie's lack of a mother. "Chuck is a really great dad," she deflected. "He's sweet and caring – "
She was cut short when Roan snorted.
"Why are you assuming the worst?" she asked, trying really hard to hide her annoyance. Chuck deserved a fair chance.
"Because you are a beautiful young woman with a healthy bank account."
Sarah wanted to refute him, but Roan stopped her with a raised palm. "You have a lot more to offer, I know. I'm just saying that you should be careful who you trust."
"I am," she replied, wisely leaving out the part about learning that lesson the hard way.
"Good." Roan finished his drink with a long swallow and put the glass down on the armrest. "I better get going," he said and rose to his feet. "I'll drop by tomorrow night at dinner time."
"Perfect," Sarah said as she walked him to the door. "See you at seven."
"Seven? The sun's barely down."
"Good parents feed their kids before bedtime," she pointed out.
"Little people," Roan scoffed, "they completely run and ruin your life." He pointed a finger at Sarah. "Remember that."
35. The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship
Chuck stopped short of the study and wiped his palms on his pants legs. He hadn't really seen much of Sarah since they'd shared a quiet lunch and he was suddenly nervous to face her. He puffed out a breath and took the last step before leaning with his hip against the door frame, hoping that he came off as casual. Sarah was engrossed in whatever was on her laptop screen and didn't notice him, giving Chuck the opportunity to study her.
God, he thought, she even made glasses look sexy. Her hair fell loose around her shoulders in soft curls and his eyes followed her hand as she tucked a strand behind her ear.
"It's not polite to spy, you know," she said quietly and looked up, snapping Chuck back to the present.
"I wasn't…uhm…I didn't want to interrupt," he replied as he felt heat rising from his neck.
Sarah slipped the glasses off and cocked her head to the side. "You're not." When Chuck stayed rooted to the spot, she raised one shoulder. "Are you coming in?"
"Yeah, of course." He silently cursed himself for sounding squeaky. If Sarah had noticed, and he was fairly certain she did, she politely ignored it.
He busied himself, studying the room. It was one he hadn't seen yet. Wall to wall bookcases framed the large window behind Sarah. The blinds were drawn, probably to prevent glare on her computer screen, he mused. Two pristine leather chairs were lined up on the opposite side of the desk. They didn't look very comfortable, so he opted for the sofa against the back wall. Sarah rose and joined him, sitting on the armrest furthest away.
"What's up?" she asked.
"I just wanted to let you know that you don't need to worry about Maggie."
Sarah frowned. "Did something happen? Is she alright?"
"She's fine. Why would you…ballet class is perfectly safe, I promise." Chuck gave her a lopsided smile, touched over her concern, even if there was no need for it. "Actually," he said, "it turns out my daughter is well versed in the art of lying."
"What do you mean?"
"Long story," Chuck replied. "Lucky for us though, she understands what it entails to pretend to be the child of someone she's not remotely related to."
"So I guess one of your friends has been using her as a wingman?"
Chuck blinked. "How did you know?"
"Someone was bound to see her potential." The minute the words were out, Sarah looked like she wanted to take them back. Chuck couldn't help but wonder what she'd meant, but like she did earlier, he decided to let the awkward moment pass. "I hope you're going to have a stern word with your friend," she said.
"I think I'll let Ellie take care of that. Morgan had had a crush on her since the sixth grade and made no secret of it, so she loves threatening him in retaliation for all the embarrassment he'd caused her."
"Your sister sounds like a formidable woman."
Chuck laughed. "That she is, but I wouldn't change her for the world. Which reminds me," he said as he straightened, "I better go call her and inform her of the…uh…development in our situation."
Sarah stood up too. "So we're all set then?"
"Well – " Chuck trailed off, scratching the back of his neck. His darted away from hers and then back. "About us – "
"What about us?" Sarah asked cautiously.
"I was thinking – " He paused again and cleared his throat. He had no idea why this was so hard. "I was thinking that perhaps we'd be…more convincing if we…if there was something real about our relationship." He didn't miss the slight panic that crossed Sarah's face. "I didn't mean it like that," he quickly interjected. "I just thought that if we were friends, we might be more comfortable around each other, especially when Beckman is around. I mean it's like when you visit a married couple, they act more like friends than lovers, because that would be embarrassing and inappropriate, and I really should stop talking now." He pursed his lips to do just that.
"You're asking if we could be friends?"
Chuck nodded. He watched her as she contemplated his offer, chewing thoughtfully on her bottom lip. When the silence stretched too long, he felt obliged to say something.
"I know you don't start a friendship by asking so much as finding common ground and building something from there, but we are a bit pressed for time and I just figured we are in this together so if either of us ever feel the need to talk then – "
"Chuck," she cut off his babbling. "Okay."
He felt his jaw starting to drop and consciously clenched to teeth. He was sort of expecting her to dismiss him out of hand. Sarah raised a questioning eyebrow when he didn't say anything and Chuck shook himself out of his stupor.
"So friends?" he asked and quickly wiped his hand before sticking it out to shake on it.
"Friends," Sarah replied. She accepted the gesture, looking down at their joined hands. Then she met Chuck's gaze and, rising on her toes, she pressed her lips against his. Chuck was spellbound by the unexpected touch, but before he could even think to respond, she stepped back.
"What was that for?" he asked, sounding dazed.
"I don't know what kind of marriages your friends have, but there are some other things we should probably get used to as well."
Again Chuck just nodded. He wasn't really comfortable with PDA, but couldn't find the words to tell her. Instead he swallowed audibly. "I should go – " He gestured towards the door. "Go call Ellie."
Without waiting for a response, he fled with long strides, not slowing down until he rounded a corner. Only then did he stop, slumped against the wall and banged the back of his head against it with an "Idiot, idiot, idiot". He was barely aware of Casey walking towards him. The bigger man stopped and fixed Chuck with an odd look before letting out an I-don't-wanna-know grunt and continuing on his way.
A/N: See you soon-ish!