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

Kate's mom told her that she would just know. But a lot of things that your parents tell you don't make sense – until they do.

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 Wingman

x-x-x-x-x

Kate had to admit. This was the best pizza that she had ever eaten. It was even better than last night. It was even better when you were sober. There was another thing that she had to admit. Alex was much sweeter when she was sober. She was having such a great time. Alex was keeping her laughing all night. Her biggest challenge was to keep from looking like a giggling schoolgirl to him. No matter what they talked about, they just clicked.

Politics? Alex was a freaking genius. Kate prided herself on being up to speed on everything. After all, she was the town's newest prodigy. But Alex knew every single issue inside and out. And not only did he almost always agree with her - he always knew the details of their opponent's positions, why they had them, and, most importantly, how to attack them. Kate realized right away that they needed to include Alex in their strategy sessions. She trusted him. And he simply knew details about things that neither she nor Janice did. She made a mental note to talk to Aunt Janice about it tomorrow.

Music? Finally she had found someone who shared her tastes. Paul and her brothers had always made fun of Kate's preferences in music – which leaned heavily Country. But Kate stumbled across Alex's I-pod. And every one of her favorites was on it. As a matter of fact, she had it playing in the background while they talked. He was so adorable when he sang along. Kate had always been self conscious about singing in front of people. So why was she now confidently belting out lyrics with him? It was a blast.

Sports? Both were huge baseball fans. Or course baseball season wouldn't begin for several months – but they already had a date to go to Sunday's Redskin's game.

"Okay," Kate asked with a grin. "How did you get Redskin's tickets? They are impossible to get."

Alex just smiled. "Senator Casey gave them to me," he said. "A lobbyist gave her two tickets. Apparently Colonel Casey is not that big of a fan. So she told me to ask you. The seats are in their luxury box – so we should have a good time."

Kate's brow furrowed. There were some things about that story that didn't add up. For one thing, Uncle Casey loved football. All he talked about was going to a Redskin's game. And they were playing his favorite team, Dallas on Sunday. Aunt Janice was surely going to catch hell. She was obviously trying to fix them up. Aunt Janice would never tell Kate who to date. It was an area where she kept her hands strictly off. She always told Kate that was her decision to make. That's why she never said anything bad about Paul. But she plainly didn't care for him. This was Janice's clear signal to her, without saying it, that Alex had her seal of approval. But what did she say to Alex… "When did you talk to Senator Casey?" she asked.

"I talked to her this afternoon," Alex said. "I wanted to make sure that she knew that I don't have a crush on her."

Kate looked at Alex. The red that was traveling up his neck in record speed told her that there was more to this story. "And?" she asked expectantly.

"She told me that she already knew," Alex said. "She offered me a permanent position. Then she gave me the tickets. She is really nice. I was kind of afraid of her."

Kate decided to let him off the hook. After all, who knew what Aunt Janice could get him to talk about? Whatever it was, he clearly was embarrassed about it. "She is very nice," Kate said. "As long as she likes you. If she doesn't…"

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck sat in the club and watched Sarah dance. She was truly in her element on the dance floor. She looked as if she was the only person in the world.

Chuck could only sigh. This was typical Shaw. Send you to one of the most famous beach resorts in the world – in the winter. In the off season, the French Rivera turned into one huge drunken semi-orgy for the rich and privileged jet setters. And his wife still had it. Whatever it was – she most definitely had it. When Sarah turned on that molten sex goddess look, she naturally attracted a lot of attention – along with many invitations to dance. Chuck had long ago gotten over being jealous of Sarah on a mission. Of course, every eye in the place was on her.

But Chuck soon realized that he had his own problems. And when he turned, he saw her – just sitting down next to him. She looked to be about Kate's age. She was clearly one of the many gold diggers that frequented the club – looking to snag a rich dude. And he knew right away - he had to get rid of her – quickly. Sarah hadn't quite gotten over being jealous of Chuck on a mission. Okay, so it didn't seem fair. But then again, there were lot's of things in life that weren't fair.

He had just barely shooed her away when he spotted Asimov. He wasn't hard to pick out. The guy had to weigh close to three hundred. Chuck spoke into his wrist. "There he is," he said. "Southeast corner of the room. Black jacket."

"I see him," Sarah's voice quickly came over his earpiece. "I'm on my way."

Chuck could see her making her way over to that side of the room.

"By the way," Sarah's voice said into his earpiece. "Who's the child? We will be discussing this later. At least you now have some information to trade."

x-x-x-x-x

Kate was beginning to watch the clock – with dread. This night had been entirely too perfect. And soon, they would have to leave – for the club – and Kate's lessons on how to pick up chicks.

Maybe Elise was right. Maybe she should just tell him. After all, there was really no longer any doubt in her mind. Alex was simply the perfect guy for her. What was the problem anyway? Kate surely couldn't claim to be shy. She had been on television a dozen times already this week. Why was this so hard? Did she really fear rejection that badly? Maybe she should ease into this. So she turned up the volume on the I-pod. "Come on," she said as she grabbed Alex's hand. "We have to practice."

Alex couldn't keep the horror from his face. He remembered last night's practice. He knew that he would never survive another kiss like that. Maybe Senator Casey was right. After all, being this close to her like this was torture. It was all he could do to not kiss her as it was. Maybe he should just tell her. Maybe it would even be easier once he knew that she didn't feel the same way. What was the worst that could happen? Then he answered his own question. I could lose her as a friend. He couldn't risk that. He was having the time of his life. He couldn't lose this. "Practice?" he groaned. "What do we have to practice tonight?"

"Dancing," Kate said with a grin. "We have to work on your dancing."

Alex knew his play list. There were only slow songs coming for the next few minutes. "Shouldn't we find another song?" he asked.

"No," Kate said. "Girls like to dance fast for fun. But if you want to close the deal, you have to romance them." She stepped up to him and put her head on his chest. She then wrapped her arms around his waist. He smelled so good that she almost forgot where she was. "Come on, Alex," she said softly. "Hold me."

Alex knew that he was in serious trouble. She felt so damn good. So he put his arms around her as lightly as he possibly could. Even so, he could feel her chest rubbing against his. Then he did it. He flinched – a little - but that was all it took.

"Alex," Kate asked with a grin. "Are you ticklish?"

Well, telling Kate Bartowski that you were ticklish was like throwing blood into shark infested waters – except worse. Sometimes sharks weren't hungry. Soon they were rolling on the floor.

It was hard to wrestle and keep someone from tickling you – and still respect their girl parts. Actually, that wasn't true. It wasn't hard. It was impossible. Kate was quick and nimble. And her hands were everywhere. Finally Alex was able overcome his laughing and use his size advantage – and the fact that Kate was paralyzed from laughing so hard herself - to pin her arms to her side. They soon found themselves lying on the floor panting for breath face to face. Every square inch of their bodies was touching in some way.

It was suddenly the most intimate situation that either had ever been in. They both immediately stopped laughing. Alex could see into her eyes. It might be cliché to say that he could see his unborn children there. Maybe that was a bit much. But he couldn't imagine anything more beautiful in the whole world than her blue eyes. There was zero question. She was the one. He could feel her breath as she trembled in his arms. This was it.

Neither one really made a move to kiss. Their lips simply moved together of their own accord. Just as they touched, Kate's cell phone rang. It startled them both so badly that they jumped back guiltily. Alex didn't know what to do – so he let go of her hands so she could answer the phone.

"It was Julie," Kate said with a sad smile as soon as she ended the call. The spell was effectively broken. They were both clearly embarrassed. "She wants to know where we're at."

x-x-x-x-x

Kate sat in the club fuming. Well, fuming and drinking. She was as pissed as she had ever been in her whole life. How could this night have gone from the very best night of her life – to this – inside of two hours? She wasn't really mad at anyone – except herself – oh, and the world. Especially Julie wasn't her favorite person at the moment. But she knew. She couldn't blame Julie – not really. This was completely her fault. She was a total chicken-shit. She should have told him. Damn it, she shouldn't have had to tell him. He should have known. Okay, so Elise said that she couldn't expect him to pick up on her signals – but how more plain could she be? Did he want blazing letters in the sky? Is that what he expected? Blazing letters spelling out "I love you, Alex?"

Then she quickly felt guilty. This wasn't really Alex's fault. After all, he had been simply perfect all night. His only crime had been to make her fall in love with him. This was her fault. She is the one who suggested coming to the damn club. She was the one who bragged about how good of a wingman she could be. She could be home cuddling with him right now – if she wasn't such a damn chicken-shit.

And of course, it turned out that Alex didn't even need a wingman. He was doing fine all on his own. There were times when Kate hated being right. And this was clearly one of them. But it was plain that now the women were pursuing Alex. Why should that be any surprise? After all, what woman wouldn't want a cute, sexy, sensitive, funny, did I mention sexy, guy? But there he was – out there on the dance floor with that slut Amy. Okay, maybe that was a little unfair. She seemed nice enough – for someone who was clearly on the prowl. What was up with that neckline? Okay, so Amy has boobs. Did that mean that we had to see them? Right now – to Kate – Amy was Satan, Lucifer, Mephistopheles, the devil – all rolled into one slutty package. Okay, so Alex looked uncomfortable. That was the only remotely good thing about the current situation. She saw the glances that he kept sneaking at her. Was he actually worried about her? That's all she needed - for him to rub it in some more by being even more sweet.

And to top off the evening, the uncoronated queen of one night stands, Julie had to try and fix her up. That's all she needed. Now here was God's personal gift to women everywhere, Hunter – permanently attached to her hip – like a fucking cold sore. Of course his name had to be Hunter. That was just perfect. After all, he was the hunter. And she was the prey.

"Chicken-shit," she mumbled to herself.

"Excuse me?" Hunter asked. "Did you say something?"

"Not really," Kate said.

"Would you like another drink?" Hunter asked.

"Why not?" Kate said. That was the one good thing about Hunter. He kept the drinks coming. Those Slow Beach Screw things were starting to go down easy. Oh, she knew what his plan was. She was on to him, all right. Aunt Elise – no wait – just plain Elise had warned her about guys like Hunter. But she wasn't going to let him get her drunk. Not tonight. Although she was starting to feel a little numb. It felt good.

Finally, Alex was back at the table, cute as ever. Now, there could be no mistaking the concern on his face. "Come on, Kate," he said. "I think that it's time that we got you home."

Kate sighed. Thank God. This was finally over. She was going to take him home – and tell him. If he left her apartment tonight, it was going to be over her dead body.

"Relax," Hunter said. "We just ordered another drink."

"Yeah," Alex said. "I think she's had enough tonight. Come on Kate. Can you walk?"

x-x-x-x-x

Kate pounded on the door. It was quite a while before he answered. "Katie," he said as soon as he opened the door. "What's wrong?"

"Uncle Casey," Kate said. "I'm so sorry to bother you. But can you come over and look at Alex? I think maybe I should take him to the Emergency Room."

"What happened?" Casey asked in concern.

"He got into a fight," Kate said.

When Casey walked into Kate's apartment, he saw Alex sitting on the sofa holding a bag of ice on his eye. "Hey, son," he said. "What happened to your eye? Kate said that you got into a fight."

"I used my eye to keep a fist from going through my head," Alex said as he took off the ice. "I'm so sorry to bother you. I told Kate that I'm fine. It wasn't much of a fight. More like a beating. I do think that I was able to bruise his knuckles with my eye. That'll teach him a lesson."

Casey laughed. If he was able to make a joke, he couldn't be hurt too badly. But the eye looked a mess. It was nearly swollen shut.

"There were three of them." Kate said. "He was trying to protect me." She didn't know why she said that. But Alex was being modest. She wanted her Uncle Casey to know how courageous Alex had been tonight. She knew how much that would mean to him. "Do you think I should take him in?"

"I've seen worse," Casey said with a grin. "I have some pills for him to take for the pain. They'll knock him out for six hours. So where ever he is when he takes them is where he is for the night."

"Thank you, sir," Alex said. "I'm so sorry to have bothered you."

Uncle Casey was clearly impressed. "Son," he said with a sad smile. "If you took on three guys to protect my Katie, it's me that should be thanking you. Keep some ice on that eye."

x-x-x-x-x

"Come on, Kate," Alex said. "I'm okay. Really. I can go home."

"No way," Kate snapped. "You heard him. You took the pills. You are going to be out for six hours. Come on. Let's get you into bed."

"Katie," Alex said softly. "Are you mad at me? I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do."

"I'm mad," Kate said. "Of course I'm mad. But not at you. Come on, Alex – how can you think that? What did you do? Just be a hero and get your ass kicked by three guys trying to protect me? All because I'm a… Look, this is my fault - all my fault. I'm so sorry."

"Please don't say you're sorry," Alex said. "Please. I'm not sorry at all. This was probably the best night of my life. I had a great time. I was with you. If I could do it all over again tomorrow – if I could come over and have pizza with you and laugh and talk – and the only price I had to pay was to fight three guys – that would be a great deal."

Kate felt the tears quickly filling her eyes. She was having a tough time keeping her lip from quivering. What was she waiting for? How could he possibly be so perfect?

"But can we not go to that club anymore?" Alex asked softly. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to find a different way to make a fool of myself."

Kate was forced to laugh through the tears that were filling her eyes. Even in this awful situation – he could still make her laugh. He was still thinking about her. "Let's get you ready for bed," she said.

"I am ready," Alex said. "Throw me a pillow. I'll sleep here on the sofa."

"No way," Kate said as she pulled him to his feet and into the bedroom. She started to unbutton his shirt.

Alex could feel the drug starting to make him woozy. "I can undress myself," he said with a smile. "I learned when I was three."

But Kate just kept working. Finally she had him down to his boxers. She helped him get under the covers. She then put her head on the pillow and stayed on top on the covers next to him. She looked at him silently for a moment… and then she leaned over and kissed him. The kiss lasted for a long moment. It wasn't the electric sexual kisses of yesterday – at all. This was much more soft and affectionate – intimate - loving.

Alex just smiled. "What was that for?" he asked groggily. "Not that I'm complaining."

Kate tried to smile – she just couldn't quite pull it off. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I got jealous and drunk and got your ass kicked by three guys because you were trying to protect me. That's the biggest thing that anyone has ever done for me in my whole life. Thank you. I promise. I'll find a way to make this up to you."

Alex could feel the cloud of darkness starting to overcome him. "Katie," he said haltingly. "Don't feel bad. This is not your fault. It's mine. Senator Casey was right. I should have told you. You deserve to know."

Kate knew that if she looked at him, she would break down. Her eyes were threatening to overflow as it was. There was no way that Alex was taking any blame – for anything. So she rolled over on her back and stared at the ceiling. "Alex," she said softly. "I have to tell you something."

Kate took Alex's silence to mean that she should continue.

"Tonight was torture for me," Kate said. Her voice was now almost reduced to a whisper. "I just can't watch you with other women any more. We had such a good time tonight. It was the very best night of my life. I should have told you then. But then we went to that stupid club – and it was horrible. So I was thinking, why can't we do this every night?"

Alex still didn't respond.

"Here's the thing," Kate said. "Alex, I'm in love with you. I've never felt this way before." She finally rolled over to face him. "How do you feel?"

Alex's only response was a snore. He was fast asleep.

Kate finally found her smile – through her tears. After all, she had a pretty good idea what Aunt Janice had wanted him to tell her. She could forgive him for having a hard time saying it. It was the exact same thing that she had been struggling to tell him. Besides, his soft snoring was so unbelievably adorable. His poor eye. Why would he take such a beating for her? But then she grinned as she answered her own question. And, he already said it – he would gladly take another one tomorrow.

Kate just took his hand and held it while she watched him sleep. He looked so peaceful – so relaxed – so perfect. How could she possibly be this sure? After all, she had known him for less than a month. But she knew. Mom had told her in Vegas – when she found the one, she would just know. She didn't understand Mom then – but she sure did now. She didn't know how she knew – she just did. So she leaned over and kissed his forehead.

"I love you, Alex," she whispered. "Tomorrow, I'm going to tell you when you're awake." She reached down and gently bushed the hair away from his eyes. "You're the one."

x-x-x-x-x