Title: Chuck vs. Life

Author: marybr

Characters: mainly Chuck/Sarah (but the regulars are there – Casey, Ellie, Morgan, Awesome, etc.)

Chapters: 4/?

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters portrayed in this fic. I'm gaining nothing with this, except the sheer joy of being Chuck/Sarah's puppet master.

Summary: First of all I suck at summaries, so regard this fact as you read this. The fic fits right after the last episode aired (1x11), and it basically picks up after those events. It's nothing more than Chuck and co. moving on with their lives, and especially centering on how Chuck and Sarah will deal with their mutual feelings. I know, this summary blows… Just read the first chapter, and you'll get a sense of what is actually about.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! It's really great, and productive, to get feedback. It's so interesting to get other people's perspective on what comes out of your head. It's rather surreal.

Kayla, thank you so much for the kind words. You pretty much summed up everything I consider important in a fic: well-written, so it gets you involved on the story; plenty of details, so you can sorta visualize what has been written; in-character, so it seems less like a fic and more like the real thing (just like you pointed out, nattylovesjordy). That's basically what I look in a fic when I decide if I should read it or not; and that's what I try to achieve when writing one. So, the fact that you got that feeling from my fic is beyond amazing. Thanks, again, for the review:)

I should stop here. I have this tendency of being prolix beyond my means :D

Chapter IV

13 minutes. Apparently when a woman, who is also a CIA spy, says she'll be taking 10 minutes – 15 tops – to get ready; she really means it. Well, that was something Chuck would definitely file under the category "real things I know about Sarah". It wasn't a long list, he admits it, but he secretly enjoyed adding more things to it.

Chuck was sprawled on her couch when she got out of the bathroom. The first thing he did was seat up straight… very quickly. The second was trying to hide, not successfully, the gob smacked look on his face. The guy literally gulped. She came out wearing this beautiful, dark blue, knee-length, satin dress, which tied delicately around her neck. Accompanied by this amazingly classy, black stiletto sandals.

"I'm ready to go," she said, placing a lip-gloss on the vanity.

He managed to stand up while still recovering from the previous drooling moment.

"You… That's really… You look, uh, nice," he succeeded on getting out.

She turned around to look at him for the first time since she entered the room. And she finally got that she had made, uh, an impression. She couldn't help but smile, a shy smile, but a smile nonetheless.

There was an awkward moment. But it didn't last long, he broke it.

"We should, uh, we should go, then," he said.

She got her keys, trench coat, and they left the room. As they were walking side by side down the lobby, she noticed that they matched. Their outfits matched. Freudian mind slip, perhaps? She thought. But her brain shut that thought down. No, just a slip! It corrected itself. Anyhow, there they were: blue and blue. Maybe she unconsciously did that, picked something to match with him. Well, she wouldn't delve on that.

"You can come with me. I'm with the nerdmobile," he said as he held the door for her, and they walked out of the hotel.

She grinned at his gentleman gesture when he wasn't looking, and said,

"I think it's best if I take my car, you know, I'll have to come back home later," she said.

"I can bring you back here after the party," he replied politely.

"No, I don't want to be any trouble. It's fine this way, really," she said gently.

He conceded under protest. Each went in their own car. They arrived home together 10 minutes later, and everyone was mingling. Well, maybe not everyone. Casey wasn't one to mingle. Chuck entered, followed closely by a mink Sarah. He took her coat and hung it.

"We're here! Where's the bird?" he exclaimed.

Ellie and Awesome came to greet them.

"Sarah, I'm so glad you decided to join us," she said to the blonde, while giving her a welcome-hug.

The Captain was right behind Ellie, giving Sarah a nod to confirm his girlfriend's statement.

Chuck directed a look towards Sarah. A look that silently said "see, I told you she didn't hate you". Sarah got the look and smiled briefly at him.

"Thank you for having me," Sarah replied, smiling brightly.

"Oh, Chuck! I want you to meet someone," she said while motioning to someone to come over.

"And thank you very much for leaving me here for 40 minutes to deal with your friend's girlfriend, Anna, who has no interest in disguising her hatred towards me; and Morgan himself, who I don't even have to say anything… You own me big. Big!" she whispered, through a fake smile, for Chuck's ears only.

He gave her a sympathetic smile, and mouthed "sorry".

A beautiful, blue-eyed brunette showed up smiling brightly next to Ellie and Awesome. Chuck, and Sarah, gave the woman a once over. She was definitely a looker, more on the petit side, but definitely a looker.

"Here she is!" Ellie exclaimed.

"Chuck, I'd like you to meet Julia Campbell. She is the newest doctor at the hospital, she just moved in from New York. So, yesterday we were working at the same shift, and she mentioned this. I asked if she was going home for the holidays, and she told she was going to spend it here by herself. I couldn't let that happen, so I invited her to join us," Ellie explained.

"Julia, this is my brother Chuck. Now, go ahead and talk amongst yourselves. I need to bring the food to the table, so we can finally eat. Devon, care to help me?" she asked.

"Sure, honey. Excuse us," he said, and both went to the kitchen.

"So, this is the famous Chuck. I've only met Ellie recently, but she talks a lot about you; I feel like I already know you," Julia said.

"Oh, don't believe anything she said. I'm sure at least half of what she said are lies; I plead not guilty on all charges," he joked grinning.

She laughed, but Sarah was clearly not that amused.

"Nice to meet you, by the way," he added.

He noticed Sarah by his side. She had this strange expression on her face; he couldn't quite peg what it meant 'though.

"You too," Julia replied charmingly.

"Oh, and this is Sarah. Sarah Walker," he said.

"Hi! Glad to meet you, Sarah," the brunette smilingly stated.

"Same here," the blonde replied with a plastered smile.

"You two make such a beautiful couple," she honestly said.

"Oh, no! We're not a couple. Sarah is my friend," Chuck firmly put it.

Chuck had said this phrase so many times that it was getting easier to deliver it. He didn't stumble on the words anymore, maybe this was a sign that things would get easier, he thought to himself. Sarah, on the other hand, felt the sting of his words… again. She wasn't supposed to, she knew that, but she did feel it. Perhaps, deep down, she knew that this friends status was there because of her. And because of her only. Because she couldn't reveal her true feelings.

Sarah gave him a brief, somewhat hurt look. Again, he didn't get it.

"I'm sorry. I just assumed, I guess. You two coming in together…" she tried.

"He just picked me up. It was just a ride," Sarah said, after recovering quickly from the blow.

This time it was Chuck who felt the sting. Apparently, when the words came from her mouth, his newfound immunity wasn't as effective. He was as vulnerable as ever.

Now Chuck was the one giving Sarah a brief, somewhat hurt look. But unlike him, she got it. She was trained to read people, as much as she didn't care for this ability at certain times. Like right now.

"Ok, my bad. For those keeping track, this should be my first foot-in-the-mouth scene. Stay tuned for next episode's scenes," she joked, oblivious to the un-couple's looks exchange.

Chuck laughed whole-heartily. She's pretty funny, he thought. Sarah laughed, as well. Not so genuinely 'though. She's funny, she thought. She didn't know why, but at that moment she felt a bit quizzy.

"People, dinner's on the table," Ellie shouted.

Everyone went to the table. Everything was beautiful; the food smelled good and looked good. Plus, the room was filled with that Xmas vibe, that warmth that was so much more accentuated at holidays. They all sat down, and started to talk and eat their meal. It was Xmas.

TBC

A/N: Well, there it goes another chapter. So, Julia, huh? Hope you guys give the girl a fighting chance before shredding her to pieces lol Like I said before, I don't intend to make things easy. But what I like to say now is that I envisioned Zooey Deschanel playing Julia. I find it easier for the readers to cast someone, rather than let it all for your imagination. I like Zooey's acting style: unpretentious, natural, and refreshing. Plus, she does tv. It'd unreasonable of me to imagine, I don't know, Scarlett Johansson. Even 'though I love her work, it's unlikely – not to say impossible – she'd do tv work. But be free to imagine anyone else if you prefer. I know, I'm too anal for my own good :D

Anyhow, the Xmas storyline is getting more prolonged than I originally thought; but I keep getting these ideas. I intend to wrap this up asap. This is more like a transitional chapter, that's why is kinda shorter. However, I'm almost finishing the next chapter, and I can safely say that it'll be longer. I don't know if I'll be able to post it today – with New Year's Eve, and all (Happy New Year, btw!) – so, I won't make any promises about it. But, luckily, I'll have it up and running by tomorrow.

I've babbled enough… Hope you enjoyed, let me know what you think. Talk to you soon :)