Title: Chuck vs. Life
Author: marybr
Characters: mainly Chuck/Sarah (but the regulars are there – Casey, Ellie, Morgan, Awesome, etc.)
Chapters: 15/?
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 to those who still bother to drop a review, and to those who don't review but are still interested in the story. I hope you enjoy the next chapter, it's by far my favorite one so far.
Chapter XV
"I now pronounce you: husband…" the priest serenely said.
Chuck took the opportunity to gaze into Sarah's eyes.
"…and wife," he continued.
Sarah gazed straight back, offering him a small and rather shy smile, to which he responded with a wider one.
"You may kiss the bride," the priest concluded, closing the Bible he had in hand.
Both Chuck and Sarah broke off the little moment they were silently sharing to look ahead at Melissa and Graham sharing their first kiss as an official married couple.
The ceremony took place at the back of the B&B, on this beautiful, wide lawn. They positioned the chairs to face this elaborated white tent where the couple exchanged their vows in front of the priest, their family and friends. The bride's side and the groom's were divided by this pristine white rug that formed the aisle, and all the way down it there were elegant arrangements of white roses mixed with light pink ones.
Even 'though it was night, the place was very well illuminated, not only by bright lights, but also candle lights, that seemed to be everywhere inside of these modern glass globes. They definitely were setting a much cozier, intimate ambiance to the ceremony. This without mentioning the beautiful, small lake that graced the B&B's back, which clearly inspired the
place's name. The guests could easily see it from their seats, the water was so clear that you could actually see the exotic, colorful fishes swimming around.
Sarah was sitting next to Chuck, who was sitting next to Ellie, who sat beside Awesome. They were all looking very sharp: Chuck wore a dark gray suit – after much nagging on Ellie's side, he finally sprung for a new one, after wearing his old man's for as long as he could remember – with a white dress shirt, and a beautiful diagonal striped tie in bordeaux, sober fuchsia, silver, and dark brown. Sarah wore a long sultry chocolate silk georgette tiered gown, with an amazing off the shoulder neckline, paired with fabulous high heeled golden sandals. Awesome was wearing a timeless, well tailored black suit, with a black pinstripe dress shirt, and a solid red tie. His fiancé wore a long sexy well-fitted red strapless garnet gown, with an elegant pleated bodice, matched with a pair of gorgeous high heeled strappy silver sandals.
As soon as the ceremony ended, the guests – who weren't lots, but weren't few either -- were directed inside to this spacious event room. There, everything was ready for the wedding reception to start: the tables were neatly set, the waiters were promptly standing-by, the band was getting momentum… So, everybody just started to look for their seats and party.
"Now, if only we can find our seats it will be super," Chuck said, holding Sarah's hand, while leaning in to read the name on a card placed in front of a plate on top of a random table.
Ellie and Awesome were doing the same on the other side of the room. When they first entered they decided it would be best to divide and conquer. And apparently it worked, 'cause quickly Ellie motioned the couple to come over. The fiancés had found their table.
"Great. My feet are starting to complain," Sarah said, following Chuck's lead.
"Are those things really as bad as you all claim them to be?" he joked midst a smile, while looking back down to her feet, without stopping the walk to their table.
"You have no idea. I guess it takes walking on them to truly know," the blonde replied with a shade of sarcasm.
"Well, I guess I'll never know then," Chuck continued to amuse her, letting out a small chuckle.
"Never say never," Sarah played along, smiling herself.
"Either way this kind of pain is too much for you to handle," she concluded the teasing, giving his hand a gentle squeeze, to which he turned his head around to flash her a most obliged wide smile.
The couple reached their table, Awesome and Ellie were already sitting down.
"Nice of you to join us," Awesome ironically greeted them in playfulness.
Chuck and Sarah merely smiled at him. Chuck read the place card in front of the plate, and it read "Charles Bartowski", but when he and Sarah went to read the one next to his, it said "Julia Campbell". He quickly grabbed it, folded, and put it in his suit's jacket inside pocket. Then he shot an apologetic look at Sarah, who felt a bit awkward but understood, while pushing the chair for her to sit on.
The foursome was joined by a friendly older couple, and so their table became completed. After they introduced themselves to whom they learned to be Brian and Rose – related to the bride from her mother's side – the waiters began to serve some drinks and appetizers that preceded the entries.
They were all small talking, eating, and having a good time. Brian and Rose started talking amongst themselves for a while, Awesome was distracted grabbing a drink from a waiter's tray, and Sarah was about to eat a random appetizer.
"Oh, I wouldn't eat that one, Sarah," Ellie leaned forward a bit, and warned her in a low tone.
"Really? Why, is it bad?" Sarah asked in the same tone while putting the thing down, and unaware that she had leaned forward as well.
"No, it's just very oily, and with your spastic colon and all, I felt I should say something," the brunette genuinely stated.
Chuck, who had been watching their whole interaction, became petrified. Sarah looked puzzled.
"Yeah, honey. I told Ellie about that day when you had that bad episode a few months ago. Remember?" he asked, shooting her a pointed look.
Sarah shot him a twice as pointed – and frankly, dirty -- look before answering.
"Oh, yeah," the blonde meekly answered mortified.
"No need to be embarrassed. Ellie's a doctor. Right, Ellie?" Chuck tried to appease the matter.
"Definitely," the lady doctor answered, midst an honest and reassuring smile.
Sarah awkwardly smiled back at her, and Ellie turned around to talk to Awesome.
"You told your sister I had spastic colon?!" Sarah asked him in a hush and a bit pissed with disbelief.
"I needed an excuse to bail on her because of one of our missions," he whispered back, looking around to make sure nobody was listening.
"And you couldn't think of a less embarrassing disease?" she asked in the same tone.
"I was cornered, and under pressure. It was the first thing that crossed my mind," Chuck honestly answered.
Sarah shook her head.
"You're weird. You know that?" she asked in a lighter tone.
"Yeah, yeah… I'm very aware of that," Chuck stated midst a goofy smile.
Sarah smiled back, and Chuck stealthily mouthed "I'm sorry" to her right after the other couples were turning their attention back to them. He guessed there was no need to mention that he also told about her "disease" to Casey, Graham and the General. Something about scratching, a short stick, and a tiger; you do the math.
The entries have come and gone, and the evening couldn't be going more pleasant so.
"I have to use the ladies room," Sarah said, more to Chuck than anybody else.
"Ok," he replied serenely, while watching her stand up.
"I'll go with you," Ellie divulged, standing up as well.
Sarah smiled at her, and the brunette matched it.
"What's with women and bathrooms, huh? Why do you always have to go together?" Awesome asked, looking from Chuck for support, to the ladies for an answer.
Chuck shrugged and offered the girls and Awesome a rather curious smile.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Ellie sassily responded with a cheeky smile on her face, the same as Sarah's, as both turned their backs on the guys and left to the ladies room.
The boys remained behind watching them cruise the room, and wearing enchanted smiles on their faces, plainly bewitched by those mystical, intriguing, and beautiful creatures.
"I'll go fetch some wine for me and Sarah at the bar. Do you want something?" Chuck asked Awesome after a couple of minutes that the girls had left.
Brian and Rose had taken off moments earlier to "mingle a little", their words.
Chuck could have waited for a waiter to swing by for him to get the drinks, but he was in need of a good leg-stretching.
"No, I'm fine. Thanks, Chuckles," the Captain answered in his full Captain tone of voice.
Chuck got up, and headed for the bar, making sure to greet some familiar faces from afar. The last thing he needed, or wanted for that matter, was to make small talk with distant, dull relatives. Shortly after he reached his final destination.
"Two red wines, please," Chuck said to the woman behind the bar, with a small, polite smile in his face.
"Coming right up, Sir," she replied matching his smile, and turning around to fetch his order.
At that same moment Sarah and Ellie were leaving the bathroom.
"Yes, he said it exactly like that," the brunette told the blonde, midst an out loud laugh.
"I don't believe it," Sarah replied flabbergasted, laughing out loud as well, while taking a step sideways for another woman to enter the ladies room.
They were heading for their table and chatting when Sarah spotted Chuck on the bar.
"Oh, Chuck is over there. I'll just go see what he's up to," Sarah said to Ellie.
"Alright, see you both soon," Ellie replied before heading on a different direction from Sarah.
Chuck was just leaving the bar with their drinks when he encountered Sarah.
"Hey! Here, for you," he said, handing her a glass of wine.
"Thank you," she replied, touched once again by his thoughtfulness, and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek.
They started walking back to their table when suddenly a woman stopped in front of them.
"Aunt Carolyn. Hi!" Chuck greeted her with a pleasant smile.
"Hello, Charles! I mean, Chuck. I beg you a pardon, I didn't mean to sound like your mom. Liz was the one who refused to call you Chuck, or your dad Jim. It was always Charles and James
with her. She didn't have a problem with Ellie 'though, go figure. Oh, but I didn't mean to bring up the issue of your mom either. I apologize," the red headed woman in her early 50's babbled a mile a minute.
Aunt Carolyn, Uncle Tom's wife, was the type of woman who you could say was not the most pleasant woman on the face of the Earth. Carolyn is the type who thinks very highly of herself, the type who when starts talking doesn't seem to be able to stop. The classical case of verborrhea. She doesn't filter anything, everything she thinks, she says. Even 'though she comes up as a stuck-up – which she actually really is – Carolyn is a person who would die for her family. She loves her husband to death, and she idolizes her only daughter.
"It's ok, I gue…" Chuck tried to say, feeling very uncomfortable at the moment, but was cut by Aunt Carolyn.
"I mean, we all tried to warn Jim that Lizzie was a free spirit, that she would never get over the feeling of being tied down by marriage, but he wouldn't listen," the woman kept going, she seemed unstoppable.
Chuck got more uncomfortable by the second, shifting his weight from one leg to the other, back and forth. And Sarah just stood there watching, shocked by this woman's behavior.
"But that's water under the bridge. How are you doing, dear? And what are you doing?" she concluded her monologue with a plastered smile on her face.
Chuck took a big sip of his wine.
"Uh, I'm fine, actually. You know, still working at the Buy More," he replied awkwardly, mustering a weak smile.
"Oh, still?" she rhetorically asked in a condescending tone, to which he simply nodded while tugging at his tie's knot.
Aunt Carolyn looked to his side at Sarah for the first time.
"Well, at least you managed to snag a great looking doctor to yourself, huh? Tom mentioned her to me a while back. Julia, right?" Carolyn asked, midst a wide and hopeful smile.
Chuck had been so nervous and tense talking to Aunt Carolyn that introducing Sarah even slipped his mind.
"Actually, this isn't Julia. This is my girlfriend, Sarah Walker," he proudly introduced her, feeling a high self-esteem for the first time while talking to his aunt.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Nice to meet you, Sarah. Tom always keeps me out of the loop," the red headed stated to the young couple, while kissing both of Sarah's cheeks.
"Nice to meet you, too," the blonde replied, offering her boyfriend's aunt a smile.
"And what do you do, Sarah?" the woman asked barely skipping a beat.
This seemed to be Carolyn's favorite topic, her own little way to separate the chaff from the wheat.
This time around Sarah was the one to take a big sip of her wine.
"Well, I, uh, I work at a fast food restaurant," the blonde meekly said in between long stares at her own feet.
"Oh," the older woman matched her previous reaction.
"That seems… nice," she managed to finish, after regaining her composure.
Chuck gave a gentle, empathetic squeeze on Sarah's hand, which he had been holding all along.
"Where's Uncle Tom, by the way?" Chuck asked in an attempt to change the subject.
"The photographer is taking some pictures of him with Mel. I'm sure he'll look for you later," Aunt Carolyn informed him.
"Anyway, it was great seeing you again, Chuck. And meeting you, Sarah. Give my best to Ellie, if I fail to see her later, ok?" she added, looking from Chuck to Sarah, and kissing him on both cheeks as well.
"Will do," Chuck replied smiling politely at her.
And off Aunt Carolyn went.
"Wow!" Chuck let out, turning around to look Sarah in the eyes.
"She's sort of… unpleasant," she had trouble finding a way to characterize his aunt.
"That's one way to describe her," the nerd replied with a nod, offering her a wide, ironic smile.
"And she seems to have a way to make you feel…" Sarah began to say.
"Like you're a tiny little ant in a world of Godzillas?" Chuck finished her sentence, maintaining his smile on.
"That's one way to describe it, yes," the blonde mimicked his earlier statement, matching his wide smile.
"Well, don't take it personally. Passive-aggressiveness is her trade mark; she's done it for years, and with everyone," he said in a more serious tone.
"I don't. She doesn't know me," Sarah firmly said.
"And she clearly doesn't know you," she added, glancing straight into his eyes.
Chuck felt all his breath being taken away from him. The look in her eyes alone at that moment made him weak on the knees, and accompanied by those words made it even more lethal. The moment was so intense that both felt like the only two people in that big room.
"You know, I'm certain this look will be the end of me one of these days," Chuck softly said on her ear, before flashing her his best geeky, boyish, charming smile.
Sarah offered him a shy smile. One that was becoming very frequent these last couple of days. In that same instant the band started playing "As Time Goes By".
"You must remember this,
A kiss is still a kiss,
A sigh is still a sigh."
"Here's looking at you, kid," Chuck said to Sarah, holding his glass of wine up for her to cheer with.
She seemed to get the reference, and held her glass up as well. Their glasses met making a clicking sound, and both took a quick sip, all without losing the intense eye contact.
"The fundamental things apply,
As time goes by."
Chuck gently took the glass off of her hand, and placed his and hers on the tray of a waiter that was just passing by. Then he stretched his arm, and offered her his hand.
"May I have this dance?" Chuck, as seductively as Chuck could get, asked Sarah.
Sarah was taken aback in the best way possible.
"First the PDA, and now the dancing. I though you didn't dance," she teased him, containing a massive smile as best as she could.
"Well, I believe I told you this before, but you really do bring out the worst in me," he teased back, keeping his arm stretched out to her, and the charming smile on his face.
She finally gently placed her hand on top of his, and they started walking towards the dance floor, where they joined other couples who danced to the gorgeous tune. They began swaying
slowly and rather juvenile-like with her hands on top of each of his shoulders, and his grabbing a hold of her waist. Their faces were mere inches apart, and their eye contact said more than a thousand words could ever express.
As the music unfolded they began to catch rhythm. Sarah's hands found their ideal place wrapped around his neck, while his gradually pulled her closer, tying her body in some sort of tender embrace.
Ellie saw her brother and girlfriend from the table, and convinced Awesome to take her for a spin as well. This whole wedding experience was being great to her, she got lots of ideas, and at the same time, the thought of having to plan a massive event like this soon began to feel somewhat frighten. But she didn't have to worry about that now, Ellie was never one to suffer in anticipation.
Chuck saw his sister dancing with her fiancé next to him, and smiled brightly at her. Brighter than she'd ever seen before. Ellie couldn't be happier to see her little brother this happy, more than anyone she felt he deserved this.
And so, they all danced.
"It's still the same old story,
A fight for love and glory,
A case of do or die,
The world will always welcome lovers,
As time goes by."
The band finished the song and the people on the dance floor clapped, not Chuck and Sarah 'though. They were way too wrapped up in the moment.
"Thanks," Chuck, who still had his cheek glued to Sarah's, whispered softly in her ear.
"For what?" the blonde asked, moving her face back so she could look him in the eyes.
"For allowing us to have this," he genuinely said, holding both of her hands.
Then he opened up a smile, and she coyly smiled back.
The four of them went back to their table, and Brian and Rose commended them on their beautiful dance. They said it was refreshing to see kids who still appreciated great music instead of the random noise they call "music" nowadays.
The rest of the reception went on fast, as it seems to happen in all events you're actually having fun. The main course was served, no-consequence talk was shared, dessert was enjoyed by all, jokes were told, speeches were given, the newlyweds came by to thank them for their presence, the bouquet was tossed by the bride – even 'though neither Sarah or Ellie were willing to sell their dignity to go try to grab it -- cake and champagne got around for all… Oh, wedding bliss!
Both couples went back to their respective room feeling quite spent, and early tomorrow they all had a flight to catch back home. Back to their reality… even 'though the newest couple wanted nothing more than avoid theirs, and stay like this forever.
Chuck got into a pair of black sweats and his brown t-shirt with a picture of a diskette labeled "My Entire Life", while Sarah put on comfy striped pjs, since the night was a bit chillier. They fell in bed exhausted, and she quickly found the nook between his neck and shoulder to rest her head on. She had only discovered the nook one night ago, but she already felt like she couldn't sleep without it. He kissed the top of her head, and breathed in the scent of her hair. It smelled amazing. Then she looked up and he kissed her lips.
"Good night, Sarah," Chuck said, while holding her in his arms.
"Good night, Chuck," she replied, midst a pleased little smile.
He held the hand she placed on top of his stomach, and minutes later they were off.
In the next morning they woke up to find themselves in the exact same position. They were so comfortable that they had barely moved. Unfortunately, it was Monday, and all four of them had to be in LA by 8 to work; so, by 6 they were already up, packed, and ready to head to the airport. Coffee, unfortunately also, would have to be quickly had there.
An hour and so after their plane took off, they touched LA's ground. After a bittersweet farewell in front of the LAX, Chuck and Sarah headed home in different directions. With the consolation that they would soon see each other since they conveniently worked right across from one another.
The minute Chuck passed through the Buy More's front door -- fully dressed in his herder gear -- Morgan rushed excitedly to welcome him back, dismissing Jeff and Lester's company.
"Chuck!" the bearded man called from afar with a smile on his face, while heading towards Chuck.
"My man is back," he added, while patting Chuck's arm.
"My man is back!" Morgan repeated louder to no one in particular, while looking around to fruitless find the person to whom this line was intended to.
"Hey, buddy! Glad to see you, too," Chuck replied midst a big, honest smile.
"I'm so happy you're back, dude! This town isn't the same without you, I was bored out of my skull!" Morgan complained to his friend.
"Yeah, I gathered this much after I saw the eight missed calls, and four text messages from you on my cell yesterday evening," Chuck teased him, with a mockery smile on his face.
"Yeah, well, you weren't picking up. I was worried," Morgan tried cheaply.
"In my defense I was out with Sarah, and only saw your calls when I got back to the B&B. Where I called you back right away, remember?" Chuck light-hearted defended himself.
"No problemo, dude," the shorter man genuinely replied.
"Speaking of which, how were things with your lady friend, huh?" he added, transforming his smiley face into a naughty smiley face.
"You know I'm not one to kiss and tell," Chuck answered, trying his best to keep a grin out of his features, but failing miserably. After all, he was on cloud nine. Actually, he was beyond cloud number nine, if that was possible.
"Come on! You gotta give me at least a little something," Morgan started to plead.
At that moment they saw Sarah getting out of her car, in her uniform, and heading towards the Weinerlicious. Chuck's eyes sparkled.
"Speaking of the devil…" the bearded man added.
Chuck shot him a pointed look.
"Bad phrasing, I guess," he tried to amend, with a weak smile on his face.
"I've been wanting to talk to her. Maybe I should call her cell right now," Chuck said, clearly unable to hide his enthusiasm.
"Yeah, yeah, go ahead. It'll be interesting to watch," Morgan encouraged his friend.
Chuck took his iPhone out of his pocket and made the call, while he and Morgan eagerly watched like two kids staring at candy in a candy store. Sarah, who was almost reaching the Weinerlicious's front door, stopped on her tracks, opened her bag, and went through it trying to find the device. The guys were highly amused by this scene, and just kept smiling. But then, Sarah, with her iPhone in hand, saw who was calling and, after a few seconds, simply touched the button on the screen ignoring the call, and entering the restaurant.
Awkward. That's how Chuck and Morgan felt… more Chuck than Morgan 'though, obviously. They couldn't quite understand exactly what had just happened.
"That was, uh, a bit weird," Chuck managed to say after a few seconds of silence, while putting his cell back into his pocket.
"Yeah, I guess… Well, maybe she was late, you know, for work and all," Morgan tried to come up with plausible scenarios to appease his friend.
"Yeah, right… I'm sure there's a perfectly understandable explanation for this," Chuck replied honestly, trying to convince not only Morgan but himself of this.
"You two are about to start working soon, or what?" Big Mike asked loudly from near his office.
Morgan moved on fast, and so did Chuck as he tried not to make much of this, after all he was in an excellent mood. The last thing he wanted was to start cooking paranoid thoughts that would only serve to take a tumble on him all the way down from cloud number nine. And a fall like that would be more painful than anything he could ever imagine. He looked around and saw Casey with a customer, Lester working on a palm top, Anna on the phone with some customer in some kind of electronic crisis… So, he went ahead to face another regular day of work.
The morning went by pretty fast. For a Monday the store was unusually packed with customers. In the blink of an eye it was time for lunch break, and Chuck noticed when Casey made a head gesture for him to join him back in the cage. Without further ado he made his way there. He had decided moments ago that he wouldn't let that little incident with Sarah be the rain in his parade. Morgan was probably right, she must have been late for work. Denial can be the sweetest remedy in times of need, and because of it Chuck was able to maintain that certain smile that would very often creep into his face due to the events of the weekend.
"Casey," Chuck greeted the NSA agent, while entering the cage to meet him.
"How have you been?" he added with a smile on his face.
"What's with the smile, Bartowski? Too happy for catching the bouquet?" Casey sarcastically asked, while opening up a laptop that sat on the table.
"Always a pleasure talking to you, Casey," Chuck shot back, stopping beside the table.
What Chuck was unaware of, was the fact that this past weekend, Casey -- besides having some time for a mission with lots of gun play, like he bragged about – was also present at the test of the finished version of the new Intersect, conducted by the highest ranks of the United States Department of Defense. Bottom line is: it failed. They were unable to hypothetically transfer the data from the source to the machine. Both machine and source wound up, well… fried. And the government was beginning to get very frightened by the fact that they would most likely be stuck with Chuck Bartowski for the duration.
"The General wants to brief us," Casey said, while punching some stuff on the laptop's keyboard to patch her through.
In a short while they got the feed showing the General, and a man in his late 40's, early 50's sitting beside her. Chuck and Casey positioned themselves in front of the screen.
"Major, Mr. Bartowski," the General dryly acknowledged both men.
"Where's Agent Walker?" she added in the same tone.
"She's…" Casey promptly began to say.
"Here, General," Sarah completed, stepping into the cage.
Chuck gave her a lingering look, but she barely looked at him. And the fact didn't go unnoticed to Chuck. She then took a place next to him, standing in front of the screen.
"Good. I have here with me Douglas Wentworth, he's a Captain in the U.S. Navy," the General started to say.
"Wait a minute… Captain Douglas Wentworth? Captain Wentworth?!" Chuck pointed out with a wide grin on his face.
"This is too cool… Where's Anne Elliot? You must get this all the time, huh?" he added midst some chuckles.
He looked at the faces on the screen, and at the faces around him for some reaction to this coincidence, but all of them were blank.
"Yes, from teenage girls," the Captain sternly and dryly replied.
That was enough to make Chuck's grin fade away.
"As I was saying, we heard from our sources that Fulcrum agents were using the seas as their main way to transport. We tipped our friends at the Navy, and yesterday Captain Wentworth succeeded in apprehending one of their ships," the General began to inform the three of them.
Chuck took the opportunity to steal a quick glance at Sarah to attempt to read her. Casey saw that. Sarah quickly glanced back at Chuck, too. Casey saw that as well. And Sarah saw that
Casey saw her. Casey's glance stayed a bit too long on Sarah, which made her feel suspicious of something. But in no time the attention of these three were back at the laptop's screen. Their little glances-exchange happened so fast that both the General and the Captain were oblivious to it.
"There was only one agent aboard and, unfortunately, before she could give us anything solid, she managed to take her own life with a cyanide pill that was hidden in her mouth," the Captain added, pulling his chair closer to the table he and the General were sitting.
"The thing we have to do now is find their other sea routes. That's where you come in Bartowski. I sent Major Casey some satellite images, look them up and see if you get anything. In the meantime you all keep your eyes sharp. I'm waiting to hear from you soon," the General finished before terminating the transmission.
Casey closed down the laptop.
"Get rid of any trace of this feed on the HD," the NSA agent told Chuck, while leaving the cage and heading back to the Buy More's main area.
"Will do, and you're welcome," Chuck replied in mockery, but Casey was already long gone.
Sarah turned around, and was ready to quickly ditch the place as well.
"Hey, wait a minute," Chuck called out to her, while following her quick steps towards the back entrance.
Sarah hesitated, but turned around and looked him in the eye. The instant she did so she knew she was in trouble. Something about his look always had a strange effect on her. A disarming effect that seemed useless and unproductive to fight against it.
Suddenly Chuck didn't know exactly how to do this, how to approach the subject.
"How, uh, have you been?" he asked with a faux smile, mentally kicking himself for sounding this lame.
"Since this morning? Fine," Sarah answered cool as a cucumber, midst a half, polite smile.
Chuck felt bothered by her apparent coolness.
"Good, good… Been busy? You know, frying many…" Chuck continued, but was unable to carry on with this charade.
"Ok, I can't! I just have to say it. You've been avoiding me," he cut to the point, dropping the smile altogether.
"No, I haven't," Sarah denied, not as convincing as she'd have liked to.
"Yes, you have. Just admit it, and do us both a favor. I left you two messages this morning, and until now no reply," Chuck went on, fueled by indignation.
"Well, I'm sorry, but when I got home from the airport I had to write and send my report to the CIA. I was busy," the blonde explained, getting a bit worked up.
And she was telling the truth. She really had to type a report. Now, could she have stopped a little bit to answer the phone? Yes.
"Did you tell Casey about us? He was looking at me in a strange way," it was Sarah's turn to grill him.
"That's just Casey being Casey. No, I haven't said anything to him. I thought you knew me better than that," Chuck answered a bit offended by her absurd accusation.
She regretted asking that. His little dig at her had an impact, she felt hurt. That's why she hated personal confrontation. The lines get to blurry, the boundaries so unclear, and when you realize you've already hurt or you've been hurt. But now she had allowed someone to get too close, too close to actually have this sort of impact on her. It was too late to pull back. She wondered where she got herself into.
"And what if I did? Is this supposed to be a secret?" he added, throwing back at her. His breathing was heavier at this point.
"It's complicated," Sarah replied, even 'though she herself wasn't quite sure of the answer to his question.
"This is not even the point here. The point is I saw you, ok? I watched you as you point-blankly ignored my last call right in front of the Weinerlicious. Just admit it," Chuck said in a drained tone of voice.
Chuck just wanted her to express what she was doing, because the minute she did that, the minute she shed light on the problem, they would be able to fix it. Sarah, on the other hand, didn't expect that one. Both just stood there, one in front of the other, just locked into a staring contest. Seconds passed by, but it felt like hours to them. Finally, Sarah gave in.
"Ok, fine. I admit it, I've been avoiding you," she said very non-convincingly, like she was only doing so to please and appease him.
"If you're going to say it like that," Chuck replied without energy, before turning around and leaving her there alone.
"Ch…" Sarah began and stopped, but she didn't even utter it out loud, it wound up stuck in her throat.
Sarah looked down for a while, frustrated with the situation, with Chuck, but mostly with herself. Shortly after she got out by the back entrance, and got back to work.
Chuck did the same, he got back to work. He knew this woman better by now. He knew she would come around when she was ready. In her own time. Did this knowledge make the situation less frustrating? No. Did it not make him somewhat mad? No. Was Sarah worthy of the whole trouble? Definitely yes.
It was 1:22 AM, and Sarah laid under covers ready to just fall asleep. She felt exhausted, but couldn't sleep. Perhaps for having worked all day on her feet frying wieners, and now the poor things were rightfully complaining; perhaps from having had this big fight with Chuck. Probably the first one, she thought. Realistically speaking, definitely the latter.
She tossed, and turned in bed. She changed positions a hundred times. She stacked two pillows, she removed one, she stacked two again, she removed all of them… and nothing. She just couldn't get comfortable no matter what. She turned on her back to power on the tv, and got a glimpse of Miss Piggy sitting on top of her drawer. She wound up feeling a lot worse. So, she
lifted the covers up with excessive force due to frustration, and decided to just get up already. Maybe a change of clothing would help. This was the last desperate thing she would try.
On another part of town Chuck laid wide awake under his comforter. After he went through the same mundane routine as ever post getting home from work, he properly unpacked his bags – which he had lazily postponed that morning – worked on his almost finished computer program, and finally hit the sack. If only he had the same control over his mind as he did over his daily routine he would be long asleep by now. Instead Chuck found himself staring at the ceiling thinking about Sarah, and why his love life had to be so damn complicated.
He looked at his alarm-clock for the umpteenth time that night, and it read 2:03 AM. Chuck knew that a while later, when he had to wake up early for work, this little insomnia trick his mind was pulling on him would be and feel like hell. Suddenly, he heard a noise coming from his bedroom door, but before he could feel scared for his life he saw none other than Sarah coming in.
Sarah – who was wearing a black trench coat -- stealthily got in, and carefully closed the door behind her. When she turned around her first reaction was surprise, to see that Chuck was awake; and the second was a touched feeling, to see that Chuck was awake. She didn't count on this. She didn't have a plan. She thought she would figure out once she got there, or at least have some time to do so. She was wrong.
So, she just stood there near his bed. Chuck looked at her, she looked at him… Sometimes that's just what it takes for two people to communicate, and that time was definitely one of those times. She looked somewhat broken, vulnerable, and her eyes displayed a shade of blue that Chuck hadn't seen before. Although, at the same time, he sensed some sereneness as well… it was hard to describe, but it felt like he truly saw her. He wasn't ready to delve, but his mind briefly wondered if this weird sensation, this acute awareness, this inexorable force, could actually, and in fact, be… love.
Without moving in bed, Chuck grabbed the opposite end of the comforter, and pulled it down as an invite. Sarah, who had been watching him with the upmost attention, was relieved to see him offer an olive branch. She slipped out of her shoes, and undid her trench coat, letting it fall to the ground. When she did so it revealed what she was wearing: black fitted sweat pants, and his white "Working Class Hero" t-shirt. She snagged the item when they were packing to get back home from the wedding. Earlier she had used it as a last resort to see if she could fall asleep. It didn't work either. Chuck was surprised, he didn't notice the missing item while unpacking; and amused, not that he was ready to offer her the satisfaction of a smile from him at that point. She would have to work a little harder after what she pulled on him yesterday. A few more minutes would do the trick.
Sarah got in bed with Chuck. She moved slowly, and with caution, but in mere moments she had found it: the nook. Her nook.
A few minutes of complete silence passed as both let what was going on sink in.
"You've ruined it for me, you know?" Sarah softly said, resting her head comfortably on the nook.
"Being alone," she added, looking up at him.
Chuck looked down at her, and held it like that for a few seconds. Then, he leaned down and kissed her gently and yet intensely.
She wanted to start this whole monologue about how sorry she was that she let the doubts took over her. That she allowed their insertion back into reality scare her, and so on. But she had a feeling Chuck knew all that more than well. So, she resulted to:
"I'm sorry," she stated sincerely.
"I know," he replied just as sincerely.
Her feeling was more than right.
"What will we do?" Sarah asked clearly conflicted with uncertainty of things to come.
"We'll deal with it in the morning," Chuck answered resolutely.
In a matter of minutes, miraculously, they were both asleep.
Chuck woke up, and before opening his eyes he felt Sarah. Her warmth, her scent, were all over. He felt like smiling. He opened his eyes, and there she was, with her arm wrapped around him. Whatever it was that he was feeling at that moment, he was sure that he wanted to feel for the rest of his life. And that awareness struck a chord in him. He had to do something about this.
Chuck looked at the clock and it was 5:58 AM. Then, he carefully moved Sarah's hand, so he could get up. After he succeeded, he put his slippers on, grabbed the satellite images Casey had handed him yesterday, and silently went out through his bedroom's window in his sweats and t-shirt.
A few steps later he reached his destination: Casey's door. Chuck knocked loudly and incessantly until the NSA agent flung the door open. His face was sour, and his eyes were half closed, as he stood there in his robe. Both men with apparent bed hair.
"Do you know what time is it?" Casey asked in fury.
"Last time I checked it was 5:58; so, it must be around 6:00 now," Chuck smart mouthed.
Casey was in no mood for cute. Even less than usual.
"I've got a gun, and I'm dying to use it," the agent murmured through gritted teeth.
Then he opened his robe to show a gun half stuffed in his boxer shorts.
"That would be sexy, if it weren't disturbingly gross," Chuck stated, deviating his eyes.
The truth was he had no time to waste. So, he boldly pushed pass Casey, and entered his apartment.
"We have to talk," Chuck firmly said, while entering.
"This better be important, Bartowski. Or…" Casey said touching his weapon, and shutting the door closed.
TBC.