A Common Spy Problem

A/N: The Wallabies are going to win the Rugby World Cup. Okay, probably not, but…hang on, wrong forum. So I hope some of you remember this – I haven't done a 'Previously on A Common Spy Problem', but basically, Chuck & Sarah were allowed to have a low-key relationship, they've been putting bunnies to shame, and now they have to find their 'coupley' feet. This chapter is a little shorter than what I normally post, but don't worry, the next one is almost done. It's more AU than this one, and a little less angsty than cannon.

To my immense frustration, my service provider no longer sees the need for providing a reliable service (as my Twitter followers are well aware, given my occasional rants), so if you don't get a reply for the reviews on this chapter, I'll give you their call center number and you can give them an earful. Your reviews have been awesome, though, so thanks for making my day. Activity on the site seems to be a bit down, but for those of you still around, I hope you've checked out Quistie64's Chuck vs. The Sound of Music. It's guaranteed to be one of your favorite things. Yes, that's a terrible pun, but since when have puns been anything but terrible?

Thanks to Nervert for the beta. He had some pretty great suggestions which I have ignored, you're getting a bit ahead here, buddy ;).

I don't own Chuck, but one month from today, I will be tuning in for the season premiere.

Lastly: Dear Wallabies, just give it your best.

Chapter 15

Sarah was lightly jostled from her sleep. Inhaling deeply, she opened one eye and snuck a peek at the digits on the alarm clock before tilting her head. When she met Chuck's gaze, she pouted. "No."

He gave her a lopsided smile. "I'm sorry."

"You don't sound sorry," she mumbled and snuggled back into his chest. "What's our rule?"

Chuck faked a sigh. "No waking my girlfriend before eight. Unfortunately, I need my handler this morning."

"I'll handle you all you want," she murmured and closed her eyes, "just let me sleep a few more minutes." Her intention was thwarted when Chuck shook under her cheek with silent laughter. She opened her eye again, raising her eyebrow high.

"If you think that was funny, I must be losing my touch."

"Never." He shook his head to emphasize the point. "But you are adorable when you're sleepy."

"I'm immune to flattery," Sarah deadpanned, trying her best to hide the fact that she was actually reveling in the compliment.

"That's a shame. I was about to tell you how beautiful you look first thing in the morning." To that she responded with a disbelieving snort and burrowed further into his side. Chuck didn't leave her in peace though. "Baby, I need to clock in in forty minutes."

"Fine," Sarah sighed and rolled onto her back. She hugged the covers tightly in an attempt to replace his body heat, but they were a poor substitute. "Emmett has completely lost his mind. What are you even going to be doing at the store for two hours before it opens?"

"It's the day before Christmas, sweetie. We have to get ready for the people who put off shopping until the last minute. All the merchandise needs to be re-priced and the staff has to be briefed on the no-eggnog-no-mistletoe rules…again." Chuck threw the covers off and straightened. "And I promised Ellie I'll let her and Devon in before the crowds descend." He stretched his arms over his head and yawned. Sarah had yet to move.

"Uh, Sarah, you need to get up too. Casey had to go get more gift wrapping supplies and he asked if you can cover for him this morning. Which is actually a good thing, because with all those band aids he's sporting, I doubt he can even hold a gun."

"Don't let him hear you say that. He'll shoot you just to prove you wrong."

He chuckled nervously. "My lips are sealed."

Sarah watched as Chuck rummaged through his drawers for clean boxers. He tucked a pair under his arm before opening a second drawer. "White, blue or black?" he asked without turning and she was momentarily stunned. Chuck was her shy nerd, and despite his confidence in the bedroom, which still surprised her every time, she didn't think some things would ever change, like him being comfortable going through her underwear.

"It's commando Wednesday," she responded with a mischievous grin.

Chuck spun around, his face flushed and Sarah suppressed a snort. He was still her Chuck, all right. Realizing that he'd been played, he crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side, giving her a stern look, but she was not about to concede that easily. She propped herself up on her arms and shrugged, making sure to jut out her chest in the process. His eyes dropped involuntarily for a few beats and then his resolve wavered.

Without a word, he placed his boxers on the desk and stalked over to her side of the bed. Sarah resisted the urge to shift, curios to see his next move. When his knees hit the mattress, he leaned forward and planted his hands on either side of her elbows. He swung a leg over hers, hovering above her. She stared up at him wide-eyed. His head lowered slowly and Sarah's mouth went dry when his breath ghosted over her lips. Her eyes drifted close, but the kiss never came.

"Last one in the shower buys lunch."

Sarah's eyes snapped open just in time to see Chuck hop off the other side of the bed.

"You're gonna pay for that, Chuck Bartowski!" she called after him when he disappeared down the hall, his laughter drifting back to the bedroom. With a groan, she fell back onto the pillow, a hand on her forehead as she tried to regulate her breathing.

The Buy More Plaza was deserted, save for two identical silver Toyota's parked in front of the electronics store.

"Are you still pouting?" Chuck asked warily after the Porsche came to a stop. His question pulled Sarah from her thoughts.

"What? Oh, no, I wasn't, it's just…" She risked a glance in his direction. As she expected, he was turned in his seat, giving her his full attention. Sarah bit her bottom lip, not sure how to start. She had no problem letting him in on her secrets, she'd been slowly opening up for weeks, but for some reason the conversation they'd once had outside the fountain, about Chuck wanting someone normal, was nagging in the back of her mind. If she told him this, he'd probably think that she was weird. But if she didn't, if she just went along and pretended that everything was okay, that would be lying, and she wasn't really comfortable adding to that side of the equation.

Releasing a deep breath, Sarah chastised herself for putting this off till the last minute. "Chuck, about tomorrow, I'm afraid I can't make it."

"You're going to miss Christmas at the Bartowski's? Why? Is your dad back in town? Or are you visiting some other relatives?" He fired the questions in quick succession.

Sarah cringed inwardly. "No," she answered slowly, her thumb nail tracing a groove on the steering wheel. Then she suddenly looked up at him. "Chuck, I don't do Christmas."

Chuck blinked, clearly taken aback. "I'm sorry, I think you just said you don't do Christmas."

She shrugged noncommittally and gave him a small smile, hoping to reassure him that it was not a big deal. He didn't fall for it.

"But it's Christmas. I'm not buying the whole Scrooge act, okay." He started gesturing wildly, despite the small space. "Underneath that spy cover is a regular person just like the rest of us. I mean, honestly, how weird could Christmas have been for you?"

In an effort to stall, Sarah wordlessly pulled the key from the ignition and got out of the car. Chuck followed suit, staying on his side of the Porsche with his arms resting across the top. He pinned her with a questioning look.

"Christmas at the Burton household meant the annual Salvation Army con job." Sarah didn't elaborate.

"Okay." Chuck backed away from the car and rounded the hood. "So, okay, you're a little different than the rest of us." He stopped in front of her, so close that she had to tilt her head back to look at him. Then he reached for her hands, swaying their arms playfully before continuing. "But Christmas at the Bartowski's means eggnog, pj's, a fake gas fireplace and that's right, Twilight Zone marathons." His brilliant smile elicited one in response. "I'm not taking no for an answer, sweetheart, so prepare to be heart warmed."

"You sound very sure of yourself." His offer was tempting, but given her history, she didn't want to spoil the day for them. Chuck's enthusiasm got to her though, and she decided that she could probably give it a shot, even if it was only to please him.

"I am," he confirmed. "You see, this is all part of my five year plan. Now that I finally have one, I'm determined to see it through."

Sarah raised a surprised eyebrow. "And what exactly does you five year plan entail?"

"Well," he drawled, and she felt his hands get a little clammy, "It's, uhm, it's complicated."

"Oh, really?" she asked skeptically.

Chuck wavered under her gaze, stopping mid-nod. "No, not really," he admitted. "If you must know, I guess I can let you in on the highlights at least, but nothing is cast in stone, I just thought it would be good to start somewhere and…"

"Chuck," she cut him off, "stop stalling."

"Okay." He sighed in resignation. "Now that we're together, it mainly centers around keeping you and making you happy." A faint blush crept up his neck.

It took Sarah a moment to respond. She was not expecting that. "What about the things you want for yourself?" she eventually asked.

"It's on there too," he shrugged.

With a slight shake of her head, Sarah stood on her toes, her face inches from his. "Good," she whispered and extracted her hand from his to curl her fingers around the base of his neck. "And for the record, as far as the two points you've mentioned, I'd say: check and check."

They were lost in their own world until a loud "Ahem" caused them to jump apart.

"Bartowski!" Big Mike boomed, "You're late!"

Sarah went downstairs to Castle first to turn on the monitors. She watched the feed for a few minutes, but got bored with staring at the Buy More crew nailed down in front of the wall of televisions. The store was still locked down, so she decided that Chuck would be safe. As safe as anyone could be around Jeff and Lester anyway. She activated the perimeter alarms as a precaution and went back up to the store. The yogurt machine started to quietly hum when she flipped the switch. She grabbed the topping cups from the storage cupboard and placed them in their usual spots on the display counter. Next she reached for her apron and tied it around her waist. It wasn't really functional in terms of food service, but it did come in handy to hide extra throwing knives. She was finishing with the knot when her eyes caught the promotional poster against the far wall. It depicted a family, a dad, mom and two kids on Christmas morning. Sarah's hands froze.

She'd never had that, at least, not as far as she could remember. Her dad was always off somewhere during the holidays, even before the divorce. The year she spent with her Gran, they celebrated, but it was just the two of them. The meal was not traditional, not like the ones she'd seen on TV, but her grandmother bought her a stuffed horse. And her dad made her leave it behind when he showed up in the middle of the night to take her with him. Sarah closed her eyes to banish the memories back to the corner of her mind where she'd locked them away a long time ago. It had been relatively easy to forget since she had joined the CIA. One day was very much like the next.

That was all about to change. She was hesitant to spend the day with Chuck and his family, scared she'd say or do something to put a damper on the occasion, but after his little speech earlier, she found it hard to say no. Besides, he knew the situation now and he would find a way to make it easier for her. That's what Chuck did, he helped.

Then it occurred to her that she hadn't given him a definite answer.

She glanced across the lot and noticed that the Buy More was yet to open for business. After they're little display from this morning, it was doubtful that Big Mike would be keen to let her in to distract one of his star employees. Of course she could sneak in through the secret entrance from Castle, but if someone saw her, her presence would be impossible to explain, and given that the store was expected to be extremely busy, she would probably not be able to catch Chuck alone before closing time.

She was about to call him when she heard sirens blare outside.

Her eyes snapped up as an early model VW sped past parked cars, followed by five patrol vehicles. Her breath caught as she watched it crash through the Buy More doors. Seconds later she was in front of a monitor in Castle, just in time to see the driver exit and start waving a gun around. She zoomed in on the weapon and breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed he had the safety on. This guy was obviously an amateur.

"I can't believe you talked Beckman into this," Casey grunted as they made their way to the Buy More through the break room entrance. He was clearly irked that he didn't get to play with the Christmas gift he bought himself. Sarah ignored him, as she had done the previous three times. She was more concerned with the major flaw in her plan. Chuck would never allow himself to be extracted while he thought Ellie and his friends were still in danger. It was still better than going in guns blazing as per Casey's earlier suggestion. This way they could be close to Chuck to protect him, while not blowing his cover.

What was not part of Sarah's plan was Casey losing a toe. She hoped General Beckman would have more sympathy with that than she had with his paper cuts.

The atmosphere in the store was tense immediately after the gun shot, but after Ellie and Devon bandaged Casey's foot the excitement seemed to die down. People were standing around awkwardly, not really knowing what to do next. Ellie had taken a seat on an oversized gift wrapped box and Sarah on a smaller one nearby. She couldn't hover over Chuck without arousing suspicion and she figured from her current position she could keep an eye on him without being too far away, and she could protect Ellie too if need be. Her attention shifted briefly to the front doors, wondering what was taking the SWAT team so long.

"Are you okay?"

Ellie's question snapped Sarah's focus back to her immediate surroundings, and her cover. "I'm just scared. I've never been this close to a gun before."

"Yeah, me neither," Ellie responded, and Sarah felt guilty for her lie. She'd forgotten what it was like, being truly afraid of things like weapons and hostage takers and the like. "You know what," Ellie continued, "We'll be okay. We just have to stick together."

Sarah didn't say anything, but instead gave Ellie an encouraging smile. She was touched that Ellie had extended her role as older sister to include her. Just then the store's phone rang and gunman Ned ordered Chuck to answer it. Sarah couldn't help but be proud of the way Chuck had stepped up and taken control of the situation. A part of her was terrified that he could get hurt, but so far, he'd been great. He had managed to keep Ned calm and the other hostages followed his lead. There was a brief standoff with Devon, but after a stern warning, backed up by Ellie, Captain Awesome had no choice but to keep back, at least for the time being.

Chuck convinced Ned to let everyone make a call to their families. People scattered out around the shop floor, trying to find a bit of privacy. Sarah wandered aimlessly among them, acutely aware that, aside from Morgan and Anna who seemed to be fighting with each other, she was the only one not on the phone with someone. She even spotted Casey, hidden behind a Christmas tree, talking on his mobile. She tried to convince herself that it didn't matter that she had no one to call, her dad was off who knows where, and she hadn't spoken to her mother in years, but she couldn't help the twinge of loneliness that settled in her gut.

As if on cue, her phone rang. Sarah fished it out of her pocket and smiled down at the screen. She might not be close to her family, but she had Chuck, and by extension his, and that was more than enough.

"Hi, Chuck." She immediately scanned the store for him. "Where are you?"

"DVDs. I'm in the romantic comedy section, although, for irony's sake, I suppose I should probably be in hostage thrillers."

She kept her phone pressed to her ear until she rounded the isle where he was crouched down out of sight. They shared a smile and hung up simultaneously. She knelt down in front of him, folding her hands in her lap.

"So, Ned let everyone call their loved ones. Thanks for calling me."

"Well, you are my girlfriend." He covered her hands with his and gave them a squeeze.

"So does that mean your offer still stands for Christmas?"

His smile widened. "See, I knew you could be heart warmed." His other hand reached for his pocket. "I actually, uhm, I have something for you." He withdrew a small black pouch. "I was going to give it to you tomorrow, but considering the circumstances, I kinda wanna give it to you today."

"Chuck, we're gonna get out of here. We'll be fine, I promise." Her last word was barely audible when her eyes fell on the silver charm bracelet dangling from his fingers. "Wow, that's beautiful."

"It's good luck," he explained as he undid the clasp. Sarah held out her arm and he fastened it around her wrist before his fingers trailed down her palm to capture her hand. "It was my mom's charm bracelet. My dad gave it to her when Ellie was born."

Sarah stared at it for a second, taking in the significance of the gift. He had given her a family heirloom. Her heart skipped a beat when she met his gaze. She didn't know what to say, so instead she pushed up on her knees and framed his face. Chuck met her halfway and she poured everything she didn't know how to say into her kiss. He reciprocated in kind, accepting her gratitude as his lips moved slowly over hers.

The phone rang again and they pulled apart reluctantly. Chuck gave her a wistful smile. "Duty calls."

Things were finally coming to a head when Ned allowed the hostage negotiator to enter the store just as the CIA backup team, disguised as SWAT, arrived. Lieutenant Mauser convinced Ned to let a couple of hostages free, and to Casey and Sarah's dismay, they were the chosen ones, given Casey's injury and Ned returning Chuck's kindness by letting his girlfriend go. They could not refuse without blowing their covers.

On the way out, Sarah paused and wrapped her arms around Chuck's neck, pulling him flush against her. Rationally she knew it would all be over soon, but she made the promise anyway. "Chuck, it's okay," she whispered into his ear, "Trust me, I will never let anyone hurt you."

Next time on A Common Spy Problem:

Sarah wanted to protest, tell him she could take care of it, but something in his body language told her he needed to do this, so she let him.

"This is going to sting," he warned before lightly dabbing the cream on the cut on her lower lip. Sarah kept still, despite the slight burn. Her eyes were focused on his face, so when his hand came to rest on her side, it took her by surprise and she winced. Chuck's hand shot of her body and he took a step back.

"Lift up your shirt," he ordered quietly, but Sarah remained motionless.

"Chuck, it's okay. It's just a bruise."