A/N: It's been a while since this story has found its way into my head, and I'm sorry about that. What better time to update it again than Christmas? Thanks to SLWF for the beta, and I suggest you read the fic she wrote for mxpw for the Holiday Fic Exchange.

Merry Christmas, Fröhliche Weihnachten y Feliz Navidad

"I don't know how you did it, but congratulations, Agent Pugh. I'll never get used to calling you that, by the way, Bartowski. Congratulations to you too, Lloyd. I want an invite to the wedding," finished Casey, surprisingly friendly considering his normal gruff disposition.

The three were standing on the runway of Nottingham East Midlands airport, next to the plane that would take Casey to Heathrow. Casey had had enough of the British rail system for a lifetime after a trip to Edinburgh to visit one of his former comrades-in-arms had taken over twelve hours due to various delays. Casey had fulfilled his duty in somehow dragging Chuck's spy skills enough for him to pass the various tests that had to be completed in order to qualify as a field officer of the Security Service.

Sarah, on the other hand, despite passing every test with flying colours, was reduced to a "field support role". The pencil pushers back at Thames House had decided that her pregnancy resulted in too high a risk level for her to be out in the field. Of course, that didn't mean she wouldn't be able to participate in field operations in special circumstances, but more often than not she would be forced to watch from the sidelines as Chuck did the agent work. It was a role reversal Sarah wasn't too happy about, but on reflection it was probably a good thing. She would never forgive herself if she took an unlucky punch to the stomach and it hurt her baby.

"Aww, Casey. I didn't know you cared," said Chuck, never one to miss an opportunity to annoy his one-time handler.

"I don't, but someone has to keep you two out of trouble, might as well be me," said Casey defensively, but neither Chuck nor Sarah were buying that rebuttal for a second.

"Yeah, nice try, Casey. We'll see who gets choked up when we say our vows," said Sarah. She had really gotten into baiting Casey over the time they had spent together during the training, something she put down to Chuck's influence.

"Nice one, honey," said Chuck, choosing to poke the already pissed-off bear once more.

"Don't start doing that creepy couple thing again. It makes me nervous, and my trigger finger gets twitchy when I get nervous."

"Casey, you threaten me so often it's lost all meaning. Haven't you ever thought of branching out?" said Chuck, safe in the knowledge that a threat from Casey was much like two friends engaging in some light-hearted abuse with each other; they didn't mean anything by it, it was just a way to show affection. Not that Casey ever showed affection to anyone or anything other than his various armaments.

"Have fun you two," said Casey, finally giving up. "Pugh, don't get shot. Lloyd, don't shoot Pugh."

That was the last piece of sage advice Casey was willing to give before he hauled his bag onto his shoulder and made his way up the staircase onto the small plane. Chuck and Sarah watched their former partner go, before turning away and heading back to the terminal as the roar of a Ryanair flight, probably heading for somewhere "just outside" Madrid or somewhere similar, filled the air around them.

"You know, for all of the bickering, I'm really going to miss our Sugar Bear," said Chuck sadly.

"Good thing you didn't say that while he was still around to hear it. Not even I would be able to protect you from that," chuckled Sarah.

"Not even you?" began Chuck playfully. "Rather high opinion you have of yourself there, Miss Lloyd."

"Ah shush, you know what I meant," said Sarah, smiling. "Now get yourself over to the check-in desk, we have a flight to catch."

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Chuck was being sent to JARIC, the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre , historically known as MI4. JARIC, part of the Intelligence Collection Group, was based at RAF Brampton in Cambridgeshire.

Due to the nature of the agency's work, it was deemed as the best location for the British attempt at an Intersect upload centre. The intelligence sharing that went on between both American and British agencies also extended to technology, and therefore the USA had recommended to the British agencies that they not build a computer Intersect, due to the difficulty and expense involved in creating a new cipher without the expertise of Orion.

This had reduced the complexity of the computer needed immensely, as they only needed one with enough processing power to show the images fast enough for an efficient upload into an agent. Both the Security Service and SIS had then begun a method of recruitment similar to the one found in America, in an effort to find someone capable of absorbing, retaining and handling the Intersect images.

Chuck, now he had finished his training, was to be flown by private airline to Cambridge Airport, where he would be transported by RAF chopper to RAF Brampton, just outside Huntingdon. Sarah would be coming along essentially for moral support, although as the team was to meet up for the first time once the upload was complete, she would have needed to come along anyway. Chuck had never flown by helicopter before, and it wasn't something he was particularly looking forward to. Flight never seemed entirely natural to Chuck, considering he was too heavy to fly, was in a metal contraption that should be too heavy to fly, and was with other people that were too heavy to fly. It shouldn't work, yet apparently it did. It was a wonder Chuck hadn't become an aeronautical engineer rather than an electrical engineer.

Once Chuck was at JARIC headquarters he would be uploaded with the combined intelligence of the Security Service, SIS, JARIC and GCHQ. These four agencies composed the majority of the British intelligence system, and would provide a large amount of data for the British Intersect team to work with. The new Intersect team would be comprised similarly to the American team: two field agents with an analyst for technical support and visual aid.

Sarah, naturally, wasn't too happy about being the analyst part of the team, but it was the best way. As the only agencies that employed field agents, the team would be comprised of agents from the Security Service, namely Chuck, with Sarah for field support, and the SIS, who were sending their agent to meet up with Chuck and Sarah at Brampton.

The check-in was simple enough, especially for Sarah, who was somewhat used to how airports worked. There wasn't ever much variation on the theme when it came to the metal boxes that served as a transport hub for most of the world. The two newly appointed agents made their way across the runway once more, this time towards their plane, as the watery May sun made its way through the perennial cloud cover that signified they were still in the UK and this hadn't been a strange dream.

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They were welcomed on board the small private plane that would whisk them down to Cambridgeshire by one of the flight attendants, and they settled in for the short flight. Sarah's head was settled on Chuck's shoulder, as she usually did while they travelled. She ran her hand instinctively across her slight 3-month pregnancy bump. She had had the shock of her life when she first felt the small rise in her belly, considering all of her efforts to stay in shape, but when she realised what that bump signified, she actually cried a little. That hadn't happened for a while over something happy.

The plane began to roll towards its take-off position, and Sarah settled herself even more comfortably next to Chuck. He pressed a soft kiss to her head and took her left hand in his right, lightly running his fingers over the diamond that represented everything that mattered in both of their lives. He then intertwined his fingers with hers, although Sarah was all-to-aware that romance wasn't his immediate intention with that move. She knew Chuck was terrified of take-offs and landings, so she braced herself for the inevitable death grip that came with the sudden burst of acceleration from the plane. She grimaced slightly but managed to bear it, thinking over and over about the sweet revenge she would have on Chuck's hands in roughly six months' time.

After the take-off, Chuck relaxed somewhat. He still didn't look entirely comfortable, but his grip on Sarah's hand was now comforting rather than painful. The flight wasn't even an hour long, so Sarah wasn't even going to attempt to get some sleep. The fields of Herefordshire were left behind as they flew over the picturesque city of Worcester, the River Severn cutting a path through the middle of it, and due to some heavy rainfall, had ended up flooding the cricket ground, again.

They passed over Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare, in the blink of an eye, and Sarah made a mental note to return there at some point. She had loved Shakespeare since her high school Honours English class, her only refuge from the "highest" rung of the school's social ladder, namely Dick Duffy and Heather Chandler. She had found refuge from her troubled home life in the flowing script of Shakespeare's works, and she had always wanted to make the pilgrimage to the Tudor house in which the playwright was born.

Northampton was next on this flying tour across England, and the city again passed them by quickly and unspectacularly, as they headed into Cambridgeshire, and towards Cambridge airport, their next stop on the way to essentially reforming "Team Intersect". A quick turnaround at Cambridge airport and they were standing by an RAF Merlin helicopter, refuelled and ready to return to Brampton. The rotors began their lazy revolution as Chuck and Sarah approached and were helped into the aircraft by a Junior Technician. The pilot, Flight Sergeant Bramwell, completed the pre-flight checks and the rotors began spinning again in earnest.

Sarah once again braced herself for the bone-crushing grip on her hand, but Chuck seemed rather calm when there wasn't the type of acceleration seen in an aeroplane take-off. He didn't look too at ease with the way the helicopter suddenly banked to the north-west, but all it took was a soothing stroke of the back of his hand from Sarah and he visibly relaxed once more. He tilted her chin up from its position, nestled on his shoulder, to deliver a soft kiss to her lips. An embarrassed cough from in front of them made them break apart, and they saw a very uncomfortable looking Junior Technician desperately trying to look anywhere but directly in front of him. Sarah took pity on him and contented herself with playing with her fiancé's hand as it rested underneath hers for the rest of the trip.

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The Intersect facility at JARIC was similar in design to the one housed at Ft. Meade until that fateful day when Bryce Larkin stole the data and sent it to an unsuspecting retail worker. It was a large white room, featureless save for the computer terminal placed in the centre.

The main difference was that this computer wasn't a supercomputer capable of processing millions of images in seconds, it was a standard computer that you could buy in most retail outlets, used only to trigger the flood of images that would result in an agent with Intersect knowledge. Attempts had been made to insert skills into the data, but as far as all of the scientists involved were concerned, it should be impossible to create, let alone implement reliably.

There was also a viewing section on one of the walls, fitted with a type of glass that blocked the human mind's ability to recognise the subliminal images encoded within the mundane images that made up the visual output of the Intersect. In theory, at least, this should keep any observers safe without the need for sunglasses.

Sarah had reluctantly been dragged away from her soon-to-be husband and left in the observation room while technicians bustled around the plan white room, preparing for what was essentially the culmination of their career's work: a human download of the Intersect. Chuck stood in the corner, calmly waiting. He was fairly sure this should go without a hitch; after all, he had survived two different uploads and an update of the first upload. This shouldn't be too difficult.

On the other hand, Sarah was starting to freak out. She hadn't ever seen a "live" Intersect upload or update except for the Fulcrum one, and she was sure her heart had stopped for a short time while Chuck was unconscious after that upload. She wondered if it hurt him at all, or if he just made his "flash face" for a few minutes. There were so many uncertainties in her mind about what was about to happen that she failed to notice the entry of another person into the room.

"Ah, Agent Walker. I wasn't expecting to see you again," said Agent Cole Barker, SIS. At the sound of his voice, Sarah whipped around so fast she almost created a cyclone.

"Of all the agents in that entire agency..." she muttered under her breath, before forcing a smile and greeting her visitor. "Agent Barker."

"Please, it's Cole," said the British agent charmingly. "May I ask why you're here? I was told that I was to meet with my new te...ohhh," he trailed off as he put the pieces together.

He rallied magnificently nevertheless, and he pressed on, "So, what brings you to this dear old island, Agent Walker?"

"It's Agent Lloyd now, and I think you might be able to guess why I'm here."

"No, I'm still not sure. Perhaps you could explain it to me...over dinner?"

"Nice try, but things have changed since we last met," said Sarah, holding up her left hand and letting the sparkle from her fourth finger do the talking.

"I suppose I wasn't wrong when I said I'd lost the girl to Chuck Bartowski then. Unless some other lucky bastard's managed to get there before me."

"Don't flatter yourself, you never had 'the girl'. Chuck's the one in there now getting the upload," she continued, face full of worry as she indicated to the white room behind her.

"Hey, Walk...Lloyd, why are you so worried? It's nothing he hasn't dealt with before."

"I know, it's just...everything seems to affect me more these days when it comes to emotions, more specifically, when it comes to Chuck. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him; I gave up everything for him."

"Wait," said Cole, the jigsaw in his mind falling into place, "this little trip across the Atlantic isn't exactly US-approved, is it?"

"Well, not entirely," answered Sarah.

"What did Chuck do?" asked Cole.

"Why do you assume it was Chuck?" responded Sarah aggressively , her protective side coming out.

"Whoa, Lloyd. Is there any need for that type of attitude?" said Cole, before moving to sit at the table provided in the observation room, muttering the age-old adage of "Women, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em."

Sarah was preparing another verbal assault on Cole, when she saw Chuck begin to walk towards the command terminal. Her heart leapt into her mouth, and she couldn't draw her eyes away from him. Her hands drifted protectively and instinctively to where the little being inside her was growing, something Cole noticed with great intrigue. Sarah was terrified of what might happen, yet a part of her was curious to see exactly what happened when Chuck was absorbing the Intersect. Chuck was now taking some last minute instructions from the head technician, before every man in a white coat scurried from the room, leaving Chuck alone.

"Alright, here we go, please don't hurt too much," Chuck muttered to no one in particular, before he placed his palm on the pad to activate the Intersect. Images began rapidly flashing all around him, and his pupils seemed to move by some higher control as they took in every image and noted the secrets held within them. Chuck felt the familiar tingling at the base of his skull as information flooded in, and he also once again felt the pressure against the inside of his head as blood surged to his brain in order to supply his synapses with enough Acetylcholine to transmit the information from the visual cortex to the "memory bank" of his brain fast enough to avoid shut down.

Sarah saw and felt none of this, of course. All she saw were Chuck's eyelids fluttering rapidly as he took in all of the information. Cole also watched with interest as Chuck absorbed the vast majority of his homeland's secrets. Suddenly the rapid torrent of images ceased, and Chuck collapsed forwards onto the terminal. Sarah immediately felt a jolt of terror as she watched the man she loved struggle to get back to his feet. He managed to get upright, but only for a second as he fell again to his knees.

"I'm going in there," Sarah said forcefully, turning to leave but only finding the exit blocked by two nameless SIS agents.

"I need to get in there!" she shouted. When the guards remained as stoic as ever, she continued to rage. "Chuck's in pain in there, and all you can do is stand there and do nothing! Let me go to Chuck before I kill both of you!"

Cole stepped between the two suddenly nervous guards and a raging Sarah, which was usually not a wise policy, but he pressed on, gently holding both of her arms and attempting to reason with her.

"Sarah, please, think of your child. All of this is not going to be helping it."

At the mention of her baby's safety Sarah calmed almost immediately, and she turned to watch Chuck attempt to struggle again to his feet. He had never had to fight this hard to overcome the effects of an Intersect download before, and he never made it past all-fours before he again collapsed to the ground. This time however, he made no attempt to get up and was still. Sarah's world stopped spinning at the same moment Chuck stopped moving, and she barely made it to the table before she collapsed in shock into a chair. Cole whirled into action as soon as he had seen Chuck's final attempt to stand and Sarah's subsequent reaction. He may have failed in his ultimate goal to get into her pants, but he still viewed her as at the very least a comrade-in-arms, and he wouldn't fail her, or the other member of his new team. He grabbed the radio from the stunned agent guarding the door and barked into it.

"Somebody get a paramedic in there, now! Agent Pugh is down! I repeat, Agent Pugh is down!"

A/N: Hopefully, for your sakes, I can get the next chapter done quicker; bit of a mean ending otherwise lol.