I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway.

The bad guys plan starts to bear some fruit – or does it?

The scariest thing that you will ever do is tell someone that you love them – and mean it.

I'll be sure to post warnings on chapters that have violent or sexual situations. I'm going to keep this T – but I might dance on the edge for a bit.

If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review.

The Mission

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck and Sarah were sitting in Director Shaw's office. Chuck was seriously having a hard time. Seeing the man in person across the table brought back a lot of emotion. He had almost forgotten how much he hated this guy. Sarah was holding his hand out of sight underneath the conference table. He felt her give him a quick squeeze for reassurance.

"Chuck, Sarah," Shaw began. "We have an important opportunity that we can't let pass. It seems that some remnants of The Ring have resurfaced." Shaw put a picture on the screen. "This man is Yuri Asimov. He was one of the targets of our mission ten years ago. I'm sure that you remember him, Sarah."

"I do," Sarah replied curtly. "He was somewhat less than charming. It took me a month to scrub his fingerprints off the various parts of my body."

"Indeed," Shaw replied. "He is the only one of the targets who escaped our trap. Now he has resurfaced. He has clearly resumed his black market arms trading."

"Okay," Chuck said. "Why don't we just grab him?"

"That won't work," Shaw said. "We're not after Asimov. He is a minor player. That's why we let him go ten years ago. We're really after his boss, Serge DeVan. A major black market arms player and senior Ring operative. We believe that he leads the Ring operations in France. We believe that the Ring is attempting to purchase a nuclear weapon. Once they have one, it would be a major blackmail opportunity."

"Don't tell me," Sarah said sarcastically. "You want me to go undercover and get close to Asimov."

"Exactly," Shaw said. "In our previous mission, he believed that you and I were a married team of American arms dealers on our honeymoon. He showed an extreme interest in you. We would like you to exploit that interest to get him to lead you to DeVan."

"Undercover as your wife?" Sarah asked. "Director Shaw, I believe that I've made abundantly clear what our rules of engagement are for going on any missions. This clearly does not fall under those rules." Sarah stood up to leave. "I believe that we're done here," she said.

"I'm not really finished," Shaw said sharply. "If you would allow me to continue…"

Sarah stared at Shaw intently for a long moment. Then she finally sat back down.

"Thank you," Shaw said sarcastically. "There are many problems with you and me going undercover together. For one, I'm the sitting director of the CIA. I would be easily recognized. Besides the fact that you clearly are uncomfortable. I understand, Sarah. It's hard to appear to be that intimate for so long without real feelings surfacing."

Chuck could see Sarah's jaw tighten. But she didn't respond to Shaw's obvious attempt to bait her.

"Besides," Shaw said. "We need Chuck. We don't know what DeVan looks like. We need the intersect."

"How will that work?" Chuck asked.

"We have established a cover," Shaw said. "Sarah divorced her husband some four years ago. Charles Carmichael here is her new husband."

"So," Chuck said. "Sarah plays footsie with Asimov and we keep our eye out for DeVan. What happens when we ID him?"

"Your mission is over," Shaw said. "You contact us and we pick him up. They are working out of a luxury hotel on the French Riviera. We have a suite reserved for you. You'll need to be on the plane tonight."

"How long do you think we'll be gone?" Sarah asked. "We have kids at home."

"They are hardly kids," Shaw said. "The youngest is sixteen. Certainly, they can be on their own for a while. As far as how long – Sarah, that's mostly up to you. How aggressively are you willing to play footsie? If you're willing to include a thigh or maybe even a breast, this could be over in a couple of weeks. You know how eager Asimov was to get friendly with you. And, if I may say so, you're more stunning now than you were then."

Sarah was confused. Whatever Shaw was up too, she surely wasn't expecting to fly to France – and leave Shaw here. But it didn't sound half bad. They really had no choice but to let it play out. "Fine," she said.

"There is one other thing," Shaw said. "Chuck will need an update to be able to flash on DeVan. We have one loaded on your secure laptop in your mission packet. You can upload it when you get to your hotel."

x-x-x-x-x

Kate stumbled into the office. Thank God that she didn't have any appointments this morning. If that was what drinking felt like – forget it. Her head was pounding. She didn't have any aspirin in her apartment. And she didn't want to go next door and ask Uncle Casey for any. That would just lead to another lecture. Fortunately, she knew who would have some.

Of course, Julie had aspirin. After all, hangovers were an occupational hazard in politics. "What happened?" she asked expectantly. "I thought that you were taking Alex out last night? I didn't see you at the club. Did you go somewhere else?"

Kate really didn't want to share any details of her night with Alex. Julie would just take it the wrong way and go off half cocked. "No," she said. "We didn't go out. My boyfriend and I broke up last night. I stayed in and drowned my sorrows in champagne." After all, that was all the truth – just not all the truth.

Julie took the news as expected. "You broke up?" she said as she lowered her voice to a whisper. "You poor thing. I need to fix you up. Let's go out tonight. You know what they say? When a horse bucks you off…"

Kate was pretty sure that she didn't want to think about a horse bucking Julie off. Somehow, she had a hard time thinking that she meant that literally. One thing that she knew for sure… She didn't want Julie fixing her up. Fighting off some 'stud' with six arms was all that she needed. "I think that I'm going out with Alex," she said. "I blew him off last night. I owe him. Maybe some other time." Yeah, like in fifty years.

There was one thing about Julie. She clearly didn't discourage easily. "Maybe I'll see you guys tonight," she said.

Kate was noncommittal. "Maybe," she said. "Thanks for the aspirin."

x-x-x-x-x

It really wasn't technically a meeting. The Ring didn't have meetings. But they were all there - listening to his report.

"Yes sir," he said. "Our plan is on schedule. Our agent was able to successfully seduce the boyfriend. It was actually quite easy. Once she had him in bed, she was able to insist that he end his relationship with the target. That happened last night. Our agent will stay engaged with him for a couple of weeks to make sure there is no reconciliation."

"Excellent," someone said. "What about the parents?"

"They are on their way to France," he said with a grin. "They are not going to be having a good next couple of weeks. Mr. Bartowski now thinks that he caught his wife having a long term affair with Director Shaw. Now only that, their mark knows that they're coming. He has been instructed to be very… demanding in what he is going to get from Mrs. Bartowski in exchange for any tidbits of information. If I know the Bartowskis, he'll be listening to every groan his wife is forced to make."

"How long will they be there?" someone asked.

"That's up to us, sir," he said. "The man they are tasked with finding doesn't really exist. So our Mr. Asimov will be able to lead her around any way he chooses. Seeing her husband deteriorate like that will more than likely cause her to get desperate to end the mission. Who knows what he'll be able to get her to do. After we're done and they're broken, Director Shaw wants a shot at her – both figuratively and literally. Neither of them will be coming home."

"What about the girl?" the original man asked. "After all, she is the prime target."

"Yes, sir," he said. "She is now isolated and lonely. Our agent is beginning to work on her tonight. It should only take a few days – a week tops before we'll have a tape to show to Senator Casey. Just to be safe, we are monitoring several cell phones. All of the family, and the old members of the team."

"Excellent," the leader said. "Keep us informed of your progress. You're dismissed."

x-x-x-x-x

Kate went to the water cooler to get a glass of water to wash down the pills. Then she retreated to her office. She was so confused.

There were some things that were fuzzy about last night – like how she ended up in bed. But there were also some things that were burned forever into her brain.

First, there was Alex. How could he be so nice – and sweet – and funny - and sexy – and so damned perfect - and - clearly not interested? After all, she had absolutely thrown herself at him last night. She had stripped for him, for goodness sake. That took a lot for her to do. Okay, so it took some drinks for her to work up the nerve. But it was so out of character for her. It was downright slutty. It was far more than she had ever done before, even with Paul. And how did it work out? She ended up in bed - alone.

That's where Kate was confused. Isn't that what men wanted? With Paul, all she would have had to do was suggest that she might be willing. He would turn off the lights and have her naked before the room got dark. Then he would spend the rest of the night figuring out creative ways for her to please him. Wasn't Paul smart enough to figure out why she was always so hesitant to get physical with him? She wasn't frigid or a prude like he constantly kidded her. She was just tired of being the toy.

Clearly, Alex wasn't Paul. She had only known him for a little over two weeks. But she had to admit - Alex had already come through for her more than Paul did in five years. Not even close.

And, yes, she had cried last night at the shock of Paul dumping her. But the truth was she was relieved. It would have taken a lot for her to break up with Paul. After all, loyalty was a main thing to her. But the honest truth was she already knew in her heart that Paul was not the one. It took him dumping her to get her to admit the truth.

It was ironic. Alex had low self esteem. Paul was brash and confident. Yet Alex had it all over Paul – in every way one could imagine. And if she was brutally honest, she would admit that it felt nice to snuggle with him last night. More than nice – it felt – right. That was something that she never did with Paul. But it was definitely something that she could easily get used to. As much as it embarrassed her to admit it, she may have even milked the crying for a little longer just to have the excuse to snuggle with him. And that kiss. Oh my God, that kiss. Okay, so she had to manipulate him into it. But it was plainly head and shoulders the most electric moment of her life. Sure, she had been drinking. But nothing could change what she felt. And he kissed back, damn it. Nobody could fake that chemistry. He was obviously into it. But then – nothing.

She would have to face the cold hard facts. There was the very real possibility that Alex simply wasn't interested in being anything more than friends. Could she get him to fall in love with her? If so, she didn't know how. Or was she really going there? Was she really going to be that girl - the girl who was hopelessly, helplessly in love with someone that she couldn't be with? That was pretty pathetic. But, she had to admit – she was well on the way.

Kate needed to talk to someone. But who? She obviously couldn't talk to Alex – not about this. Mom was gone on her mission. Aunt Janice was out. She wouldn't get the problem. Chuck Junior? Please. She'd rather talk to Uncle Casey.

That just left… Yeah, that might work. Maybe Elise could help.

x-x-x-x-x

The first thing that Sarah did was check the room for bugs. It was force of habit more than anything. Naturally, Chuck knew better than to speak until she had pronounced the room clean.

"We're good," Sarah finally said. "How should we proceed? Asimov will be in the bar in a few hours. Should I try and make contact?"

"Not tonight," Chuck said. "We're tired. I don't think that he'll expect us tonight."

"So," Sarah called from the bathroom. "You think that he knows we're coming?"

"Sure," Chuck said. "I don't think anything about this mission is legitimate. I think it is all bullshit to get me to take the update and make me crazy jealous. We'll know for sure by the way he treats you. If I'm right, he is going to be all over you. He will start trying to trade information for sex right away."

When Sarah came out of the bathroom, she was wearing an amazing dress. Even pushing fifty with three kids, Sarah still looked amazing. "Well," she said with a laugh. "He's going to be disappointed with the sex. Get dressed. I didn't come all the way to France to sit in a hotel room. You're taking your best girl to dinner and then dancing."

Chuck moaned. "Whatever happened to we're too tired?"

"Come on, Agent Bartowski," Sarah said. "We're on a mission. It's time to suck it up. We need to check out the layout of the hotel."

"Wow," Chuck said. "Sarah, you look incredible. I suddenly think that I have some information that I'd like to trade for sex."

Sarah just laughed. He could always make her laugh. It was just one of the things that she loved about him – but it was huge. "Thanks," she said with a grin as she gave him a quick peck. "Why do you think I do all those sit ups? Once we get back – I might be able to accommodate you."

x-x-x-x-x

Kate was just finishing up checking her daily mountain of emails when Alex poked his head through the open door. Fortunately, the aspirin was starting to kick in.

"Hey," Alex said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm never drinking champagne again," Kate said with a sigh. "Never. How about you?"

Alex looked at Kate in awe. Even when she was clearly not feeling well, she was absolutely stunning. He knew that he had to keep the conversation light. The last thing that he wanted was for her to be embarrassed about last night. "Well," he said. "Everyone needs to let go every once in a while. At least you had a good reason. Are you feeling better?"

Okay. There it was. Why did he have to be so sweet? He was always worried about her. She wanted so badly to hug him. "I'm fine," she said. "You really helped last night. That was the best pizza I've ever had. Thank you – for everything."

"Don't thank me," Alex said. "I had a great time." If she wasn't going to bring it up, he sure as hell wasn't going to either. Maybe they could just pretend that it never happened. "Are we still going out tonight? It's okay if you're not feeling up to it." Hopefully, she would cancel. The last thing that he wanted was to have to be charming to another woman – in front of her.

Kate had to fight to keep the smile on her face. Crap. He wants me to be his wingman. The very, very last thing that Kate wanted to do was to help Alex pick up some other girl in a bar. But what could she do? It was her damn idea in the first place? "Of course," she said as cheerfully as she could manage. "I'm telling you – I'm a great wingman. You'll see."

Alex took a big breath and forced the grin. "Great," he said. "I'll tell you what. I'll pick up a pizza and bring it to your place around seven. We can go from there. Would that be okay?" It sounded like a real date.

Kate grinned. He was so sweet. It sounded like her perfect fantasy date. Except in her fantasy they wouldn't be going to a club… or be dressed for very long. "That would be great," she said. "I'll see you then."

x-x-x-x-x

Kate waited until lunch to call Elise. After all, it was only nine there. At least the kids would be in school. Even then, she felt badly for bothering her.

Elise was pretty insistent. "Sweetie," she said with a tad of an edge. "I'm starting to get a little frustrated. What do I have to do to get you to believe that you aren't bothering me? Listen to me. I love it when you call me. I love you. I miss you. You are to call me any time of the day or night – no matter how silly you think it is. Please, don't ever make me say it again."

When Elise told Kate the story of what happened with Paul yesterday, Kate started to cry. "I'm so sorry," she said.

Elise just laughed. "Why are you sorry sweetie?" she said soothingly. "You didn't do anything wrong. Paul is the one who messed up. Trust me. He paid a price. I bet he never does it again. Now, what is bothering you?"

Kate told her the story of her meeting Alex and what happened last night.

Elise was hesitant. "Sweetie," she said. "Are you sure that this isn't a rebound thing? I mean, come on. You think that you're in love with someone the very day that Paul breaks up with you?"

"I understand how you would think that," Kate said. "I do. But the truth is, I was thinking about Alex before yesterday. I just couldn't bring myself to break up with Paul. He was just too easy. And I'm not saying that I'm in love with Alex… yet. How do you get someone to fall in love with you, Elise? How did you get Uncle Joe to fall for you?"

"Honestly," Elise said with a giggle. "I slept with him – a lot. It was amazing."

"I tried that," Kate said with a sigh. "He wouldn't sleep with me."

"Wow," Elise said. "That's incredible. You said that he was really into the kisses. Then you took off your clothes in front of him and he didn't want to go to bed with you? What did he say?"

Kate hesitated for a moment. "I'm not sure," she said sadly. "I was drinking. I sort of passed out. When I woke up, I was in bed alone. He left."

Elise laughed. As a matter of fact, she couldn't stop laughing… for a while. "I'm sorry, Katie," she finally was able to get out. "I'm not laughing at you. Okay, maybe I am a little. I'm sorry. But this guy sounds very sweet to me. He didn't want to take advantage of you."

Kate paused – for a long moment. "Do you think so?" she finally asked.

"Yes, Katie," Elise said. "I absolutely do. He saw his friend drunk and hurting. Her boyfriend of five years had just broken up with her. So he did the right thing. He helped her into bed and left her to sleep it off. It was probably the hardest thing that he has ever done in his life. I like him already. Most men would have… well, done something else."

Kate still wasn't convinced. "Okay," she said. "But why would he want me to help him pick up other women?"

"Wasn't that your idea?" Elise asked. "Katie, you said this guy isn't confident. Go look in the mirror. Trust me - you are very intimidating to a man, even a confident man. You're asking too much for him to pick up on your signals. If you want him to know how you feel about him, you'll have to tell him."

x-x-x-x-x

Janice was sitting at her desk, reviewing the latest speech that Kate had written for her when she heard a knock on the open door.

"Excuse me, Senator Casey. Do you have a second?"

"Sure."

"This isn't important. If you're busy, I can come back."

"Don't be silly," Janice said. "Come in, Alex. Close the door."

Janice came out from behind her desk to meet him. "Have a seat," she said. "What's on your mind?"

"Umm," Alex started awkwardly. "Kate has made me aware of a situation that I need to correct. She tells me that there is the perception that I have a romantic interest in you. Trust me, I admire you very much. You are sort of my hero. But please believe me – I have nothing inappropriate in mind. I'm very sorry if anything I've done has caused anybody any grief."

Janice just smiled. "Relax, Alex," she said. "I've always known that you didn't have a crush on me. That's what Kate thinks. But she's wrong."

Alex breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he said as he got up to leave.

Janice just grabbed his hand. "Sit back down for a second," she said. "Kate tells me that you would like to join the permanent staff. Tell me why. It really wouldn't be a good career move. You're already working for the party. Senators sometimes lose reelection."

"I understand that," Alex said. "But Senator, I got into politics because I wanted to make a difference. I see that same thing in you and Kate. I can't tell you how much I admire the campaign that you just executed. It's probably the worst kept secret in the city that you might be considering running for President. I'd love to be part of your team. I hope that this doesn't sound arrogant or critical – but I think I can bring something. I have some inside the beltway experience."

Janice just smiled. "It doesn't sound arrogant at all," she said. "You're right. We need you. Okay, Alex. Consider yourself the first member of my staff."

Alex beamed. "Thank you," he said. "I really appreciate the opportunity."

"You're welcome," Janice said. "Now all you have to do is end your relationship with Kate."

The smile quickly faded from Alex's face. "Excuse me," he said.

The smile never left Janice's face. "Kate is my Chief of Staff," she said. "You would be reporting directly to her. Certainly you couldn't possibly have a relationship with her outside of the office. You'll have to end it."

Alex just slumped into his chair. "I'm sorry, Senator Casey," he said sadly. "I would love to work with you – but I'm afraid that I can't do that."

Janice's smile turned into more of a grin. She reached over and grabbed Alex's hand. "I didn't think so," she said. "I'm sorry that I just manipulated you into admitting that. I have my own reasons. I wanted to be sure. Does she know how you feel about her?"

Alex shook his head sadly. "No," he said. "I could never tell her. She wants to be friends. She would never want to be more with me. I'm not in her league."

Janice just narrowed her eyes a bit. "Don't you think that should be Kate's decision?"

"I don't know how to go about it," Alex sighed. "I'm crazy about her. I could never imagine someone so perfect. But I don't want to ruin what I do have. She's too important to me to drive her away."

"Wow, Alex," Janice said. "It sounds like you could use a plan."

"I could," Alex sighed. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Well," Janice said thoughtfully. "Maybe. I really don't want to get in the middle of you and Kate. Whatever you kids decide should be totally your decision. But listen to this. It might be a little out there but if you listen to the whole thing, I think you might agree. It just might actually be crazy enough to work."

Alex leaned forward in anticipation.

"Okay," Janice said. "Stay with me here. Phase one. You go to Kate. You tell her that you're head over heels in love with her. You ask her how she feels…"

Alex nodded.

"Well, I guess there is no other phase," Janice said with a soft smile. "That's the whole plan."

Alex's face fell. "You're making fun of me," he said sadly.

Janice put her hand on the back of Alex's neck. "Son, I'm not making fun of you," she said softly. "Well, maybe a little. But I'm also rooting for you. I think that you're aware that I think of Kate as my own daughter. I'm incredibly protective of her. I honestly think that you would be good for her. She needs you."

"Could you talk to her for me?" Alex asked hopefully. "Kate worships you."

"I'm sorry, Alex," Janice said. "I can't do that. You wouldn't want me too. That's why Kate was with Paul for five years. Because she thought that's what her family wanted. If she is going to ever have something real, it has to be because she decides it. And that's why you have to tell her. Trust me, I know Katie. You might just be surprised at what she says. Who knows? Maybe she feels the same way."

"But what if she doesn't?" Alex sighed.

"But what if she does?" Janice replied. "Alex, trust me, I understand what you're feeling. I've been there. Telling someone that you love them for the first time - and meaning it - is the scariest thing that you'll ever do. But do you really want to live the rest of your life not knowing?"

x-x-x-x-x