A/N: Welcome to Ch 4, I Believe I Can Fly

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, I'm not a drama instructor, and some of this is based off of a true event…

"You were right," he heard her say softly.

"Actually, you were," he replied. She looked over at Chuck. "We did what we were supposed to, it was the stage hands, they didn't push down and out like the L, they went in a straight line to the door."

"He's right," Bryce said. Cole, Casey, and Morgan all nodded in agreement.

"I mean it was ugly, but the air dance's timing was right," Morgan said.

"Bartowski's kid was low," Casey said with a smirk. Chuck shot him a look.

"He is manning the line with the heaviest kid, maybe I should take that line," Cole said, grinning at Sarah. Sarah shot Cole a flat look.

"Chuck is running the fliers, you three take orders from him and go on his counts," Sarah said. "I'll take care of the stage workers." The men nodded and started to walk off. Chuck didn't move. "You okay?" He shrugged with obvious concern on his face, saw Olivia, the older girl who had crashed into the set, and walked over to her.

"Olivia, are you okay?" Chuck asked. She smiled, and gave him a hug.

"Of course, Mr. Bartowski, you stopped it in plenty of time, I barely hit the prop," she said. Chuck nodded, relieved. The air dance was supposed to be used to get the audience's eyes off of the stage. As the four characters were lifted into the air, Wendy and her brothers moved back and forth in a swaying motion. There was only one way to get that swaying motion…let the tension out of the rope, and then pull it back again. With Olivia weighing over 100 pounds, it was a little rough on Chuck, and even as low as she was, what happened hadn't been their fault. The set, was on wheels, and was supposed to be pushed back, past the four flying, and then across the stage, either right or left. The removal taking the pattern of a L, or a backwards L. One part went back behind Chuck and the others, while the rest went to the far side of the stage and out the door, while the other props were placed after the curtain closed. It was the first practice and the stagehands didn't have the timing down and knew they were running out of time. They decided to take a straight line for the door, putting them directly in the path of the air dance. Wendy did scrape off one piece of setting, but Chuck had done his best to stop her momentum before she was hurt. He then quickly, but cautiously, lowered her to the ground to make sure she was safe.

"Really, Mr. Bartowski, I'm okay thanks to you," she gushed, and headed toward the back. He turned to see Sarah's smile. A hand tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around to see Abby who was playing Peter Pan.

"Check my straps, Mr. Bartowski?" she asked. After every flight, Chuck always checked Peter's straps. The harness became a little loose as it was used, and Chuck wanted to make sure there were no issues. He didn't care how many forms were signed, if one of these kids got hurt…he couldn't bring himself to think about that. He turned and noticed Sarah giving him a look he had never seen before. She made the ok sign and looked as if she questioning things. Chuck realized she wanted to know if they were ready to go and he gave her a thumbs up. The fliers went and got the cables, hid them in the spots on the set, and reset themselves. The children were offstage for just a minute before they had to get all three children clipped to prepare them to fly. They started from the beginning, and Chuck took a deep breath as he felt his back and shoulders hurt already.

}o{

"Is it broken?" one of the kids asked.

"Nah, it just hurts, a lot," Chuck said. They had been rolling one part of the pirate ship on stage when Chuck felt a wheel and the weight of the ship roll over his foot. It was heavy, and the pain was intense. Casey was helping him move it about.

"I think he's okay, but it wouldn't hurt to get some ice on it tonight," Casey said to Sarah. Sarah ran her hand through her hair.

"Okay, guys," she said. "Let's call it for today. Great job everyone!" The kids began to file out, as Bryce was one of the first ones to leave.

"It would be nice if he did something," Casey grunted.

"It's not his fault," Chuck said.

"Yeah, because you're running around doing everything backstage," Casey said. Sarah looked at him.

"What if you tell what to do more than just going and doing it?" she asked.

"They aren't listening to him, because they know if they don't do things right, Chuck will just fix it himself, and Bryce has no shame," Casey explained. Chuck had to admit he was right.

"Maybe you should put Casey in charge," Chuck said. Casey shook his head.

"I don't have a clue what I'm doing except flying that kid," Casey said. "Frankly I don't really have time with all I have to do with flying."

"Okay, I'm not comfortable with the way Bryce is handling things," Chuck said. "Is there someone else we can keep back there, just in case?"

"Afraid you might drop someone, Bartowski," Casey asked. Chuck turned to say something back, but saw Casey wasn't taking a shot, but genuinely asking. Chuck nodded.

"It's a lot," Chuck admitted.

"I'm not worried about you, but Larkin, he's gonna screw up, I can feel it," Casey said. "What's Shaw doing during that scene?"

"Nothing that I know of," Sarah replied. "Why don't we keep him back there as a just in case?" Casey nodded to that.

"That works, keep him away from me and Morgan, because all another person can do is screw things up," Casey explained.

"Am I too close to you two?" Chuck asked. Casey shook his head.

"No, and if we needed someone you're the only one I trust, but your hands are full," he said. He headed for the door. "Good night you two." Sarah gave Chuck a look.

"Sarah," he began.

"Come on, Chuck," she said, cutting him off, and sighing. "Let's get you home so I can take care of you."

"Don't know what I'd do without you, Mate," Chuck said.

"You wouldn't be in this predicament," she muttered. Chuck stopped hobbling. She turned to see what was wrong with him.

"Hey," he said, looking her in the eye. "I thought to get through this we had to do it together?" Sarah just stared at him and then looked away. "Sarah," he said, his voice soft. "I need you to do this, and it was my choice."

"And you're taking a physical beating," she said. Chuck shrugged.

"It's to toughen me up," he said.

"I don't like it," she said softly. And amused smile grew on his face until his nose crinkled. "What?" Chuck just shook his head.

"Ever thought I might overact about how I feel just to receive some TLC?" Chuck asked. Sarah closed the space between them.

"Ever think to just ask for the TLC and stop getting hurt?" she asked, a coy grin on her face.

"No," Chuck admitted, his nose still crinkled, making Sarah laugh out loud.

"Come on," she said, huffing, but smiling. She put an arm around him to support him.

"You know I can walk without you having to do this, right?" he asked, still amused. She grinned at him, and her eyes were twinkling.

"I'm aware," she said, and they headed home.

}o{

"Oh, boy," Chuck said, seeing her face as he entered the choir room. He had noticed Sarah and Emmett having words in the hall during second period. It didn't seem bad, but there was something about the tone that told him he should probably stay out of it, and now he was thinking that was a mistake.

"Don't freak out," she began.

"You do know, that's exactly what I'm going to do now?" he asked. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Emmett," she began, but then looked away. "He may have goaded me a bit," she said sheepishly.

"Okaayy," Chuck said, waiting for the rest. Sarah squeezed her lips together, like she didn't want to say the next words.

"He said we would be lucky to make any money off of the play," she began.

"He's a jerk, don't listen to him," Chuck replied. The look on her face said there was more, so much more.

"I told him the play was already going spectacularly even if we weren't at tech week yet," she said.

"Sarah, we haven't even made it through one complete run through yet," Chuck said, his eyes getting wide, and fear gripping his heart. The look on her face did nothing to alleviate what he was feeling. She bit her bottom lip.

"He said he should come see it then," she said. "I told him he was welcome to when it opened. He said he should get a sneak preview, so I said anytime he wanted. He told me that was fine, he'd be there Thursday and if it wasn't up to par, he would just cancel a few performances so he could rent out the theater." Chuck closed his eyes, and put his hand to his forehead, massaging it with is forefinger and thumb.

"I guess we'll just have to be ready won't we," he said, dropping his hand and looking her in the eyes. Sarah just stared at him. Chuck shrugged. "We're a team, Mate." She gave him an appreciative smile, and stepped up very close.

"If we weren't at school, I might kiss you," she said.

"I wouldn't object," he replied. "I'd hate to see what you might do if we pull this off."

"Oh, I bet you wouldn't hate it," she said, winked, and walked up to the front of the room to start class. Chuck's brain had to reboot.

}o{

"Damn it," Chuck swore softly. Casey was there with him, and shook his head.

"We knew it could happen," Casey said.

"How long?" Chuck asked. Casey shrugged.

"Half an hour," he said. Chuck nodded.

"Get to it, I'll check the others, and we'll let Sarah know, I hope she doesn't freak out," Chuck said, already moving to the next line.

"Bartowski," Casey said, grinning. "We both know she will, but think how happy she'll be when she finds out you checked these and saved us a possible accident."

"What does Sarah's happiness have to do with anything?" Chuck asked. Casey let out an amused grunt, and looked at Chuck.

"You really gonna play at this?" Casey asked, grinning like Chuck had never seen Casey grin before. "Are you really going to tell me you two aren't mixing your chocolate and peanut butter?" Chuck's eyes narrowed trying to figure out what Casey was talking about. They became quite wide as he figured it out.

"NO!" Chuck yelled. "Mrs. Walker and I have had the utmost professional relationship!" Casey gave him a look.

"Bull," he said. "You two go to your respective homes each night, right beside each other I might add, and don't see each other?"

"We're friends, mates, kinda exclusive in that regard but you and I can do things too if you'd like," Chuck offered. Casey looked sick.

"Ugh," he replied.

"Casey, I just meant we could watch a movie, or grab a bite to eat," Chuck explained. Casey studied him and shook his head.

"Damn, Bartowski, you are dumber about this than I thought," Casey said. "That girl is crazy about you, and we all know you're crazy about her." Chuck didn't say anything. He went back to checking the wires that made the kids fly. Casey's line had started to become frayed from use, which made sense because it was the one that was used the most. Chuck was certain his would be frayed because of the weight on it versus the others, but it wasn't and neither were the other two.

"The rest are good," Chuck said. Casey grunted, not looking up from working on the line. "Casey, I mean if we did do something and it went wrong while we're coteaching and doing all of this." Casey never looked up.

"Life's a risk, Kid," he said. "But let me ask you this, if you do nothing and in the meantime Cole swoops down and does his thing, how mad are you gonna be?

"She doesn't like Cole," Chuck replied. Casey grunted.

"Yeah but if you keep leaving her frustrated, and he cashes in," Casey said.

"Stop, woah, enough, I get the picture," Chuck said. "I have to go talk to her."

"Not now, Numbnuts," Casey said.

"I wasn't going to now, I need to tell her about the line," Chuck said.

"Oh," Casey replied, grinning. "You are so screwed."

"We'll figure something out about stalling Emmett," he said. Casey chuckled. "Oh, you meant the other thing. So if I'm so screwed, why bring this up?" Casey chuckled again and shook his head. Chuck thought for a minute. "Wait, you mean…ugh," Chuck walked away with his head hurting.

Chuck found Sarah and explained what was going on, she nodded, but fear was on her face. He looked around, decided her being calm was more important than anything, and took her hand. Her head whipped up at him.

"Hey, you got this," Chuck said calmly. "You are Sarah 'Freakin' Walker." She gave him a small smile. "Sarah, you need to get control of yourself, you got this."

"Chuck, if he-" she began.

"Okay, stop right there," Chuck said. "You are amazing, you are the best at this, we got you, I'm going to make sure nothing goes wrong back there, you have this." She started to speak. "I'm not above kissing you right here, to get you embarrassed and mad at me to get your mind off of this." She stared at him, swallowed, and put a hand on his chest.

"One, I would never be embarrassed or mad if you kissed me," she began. Chuck swallowed. "Two, did you ever think that maybe that would do the exact opposite of what you were trying to accomplish?" Chuck shook his head no. "Three, maybe that should be my reward for staying calm."

"Is that what you want as your reward?" Chuck heard himself ask. He didn't know who currently looked more shocked with the question, him or Sarah.

"Breaking up a lover's moment?" Emmett asked.

"If it is, that would be none of your business, now would it Emmett?" Sarah asked. "Today, we are going to show you the entire prep for the play, so it is your lucky day." Emmett nodded, and headed toward his seat. Sarah turned to Chuck, winked, and headed toward her spot. "We'll talk later, I have a reward to earn," she said softly as she walked by. Chuck's jaw nearly bounced off the floor.

}o{

When Chuck had walked on stage earlier she had given him a questioning look and the OK sign.

"Director, the safety check has been completed, and we are ready to begin when you are," Chuck said. The smile Sarah sent him made him feel warm all over. They really needed to talk. Chuck took his position, and noticed Bryce was really not paying attention. "Hey, Bryce, is the mat set?"

"I don't like the way it feels under me," Bryce replied.

"Larkin, you're playing with fire," Casey said. "If you slip, you could get a kid killed."

"I'm not gonna slip, Casey," Bryce replied. Chuck shook his head, but he really wasn't sure what he could do, not with Emmett out in the audience.

"Bryce, use the mat," Chuck said. Bryce rolled his eyes, and put the mat under his line. Everything was going well, until it was time for the air dance. Bryce kicked the mat away, and Chuck gave him a look. Bryce returned his own smug look and Chuck shook his head as he got his kid in the air. Bryce jerked and it happened, he slipped and hit the ground. Bryce was holding onto the line from the ground, but Chuck had shot his left hand out to grab Bryce's rope. The children were in the air, and it took everything in Chuck's power to keep both kids up in the air. He looked up and noticed that the two he had were lower than the other child by nearly a foot. Chuck felt someone grab the line beside him, and Shaw was there. The two shared a look, nodded, and pulled until they got their two kids lined up with Cole's. The scene change went perfectly.

When the curtains closed Shaw drug Bryce up to his feet, and went out to help to unbuckle the children and attach the line ends to the lines. Chuck sprinted across the stage to his spot while the others stayed where they were. Chuck was busy putting up the props to the new scene but he could see across the stage the men that had stayed behind had circled Bryce and were talking to him….well, chewing his butt seemed to be a better description. The adrenaline from what had happened wore off, and Chuck realized how bad his shoulders hurt. He wasn't about to let the kids know what had happened. They didn't need to know how bad it could have been. A few hours later, Chuck was hooking up Peter for the last time that day. He whispered she was good to go, and she gave him her usual hug for luck. Casey climbed the ladder, jumped off, pulling the line, and she flew through the open doors. Chuck ran over and helped him to his feet like he had to each time he jumped off the ladder. They made it to the ending without any more hiccups, and Chuck walked away to begin the reset of the stage before Bryce could say anything to him. He worked with the stage crew for about fifteen minutes moving things when Morgan approached.

"Dude, Emmett was impressed," Morgan said, happily.

"That's good," Chuck said. "He doesn't know about…"

"Nope, he's gone, none the wiser, and Casey, Shaw, and Bryce are down there talking about it now. He could have gotten that kid killed," Morgan said softly. Chuck nodded.

"And Sarah never would have forgiven herself," Chuck added. "I mean I never want to see anyone hurt, but…you know what, it's over, and I have a feeling we'll never have to talk about that mat again." Morgan nodded.

"Mr. Bartowski," he heard Sarah's voice say behind him. He turned around, and there was something in her eyes that he had never seen before. "I would like a minute to discuss that run through while it is still fresh on your mind."

"Sure, Mrs. Walker," Chuck said. The look in her eyes… "I need to finish help resetting this thought."

"I'll take care of it all, Sarah," Morgan said, grinning. "You two have many important things to discuss.

"Thank you, Morgan," Sarah said. Sarah turned and walked away with Chuck following her. They walked to the office in the theater. She opened the door and walked in, turning on the light. Chuck walked in, heard the door slam shut, and found himself pressed against the door, being kissed like his life depended on it by Sarah.

"Sarah," he mumbled.

"You owe me my prize, Chuck," she said. "Now, shut up and kiss me."

"You're the director," he said grinning.

"Chuck," she said softly.

"Yeah?" he said.

"I think we're going to have to reevaluate our friendship," Sarah said. "I think we might have no choice but to upgrade it."

"Sooo, everything like it was, just more benefits, Mate?" he said grinning. Sarah grabbed his shirt.

"Talk less, kiss more," she said. And he did.

A/N: For the record everything that happened to Chuck, stopping kid from crashing into the set, set running over my foot, and flying two kids at once…happened to me…My backstage help was great, I didn't have any problems, except lack of volunteers and no one could have predicted how many we would need…til next time…hope you enjoyed it!