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

Alex has won the approval of Casey and Janice. Now it's time for the acid test. No – not Chuck and Sarah. They're pretty easy. There is someone else who is even more critical. If Alex can win him over – he's home free.

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 In Laws

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck just looked at his wife and let his shoulders slump. Oh, it went smoothly with Yuri. The drug worked just like it was supposed to. Their biggest chore was to get the body undressed and in bed. Chuck always wondered – whenever he heard about a famous person having a heart attack – how often was it the CIA? Sarah told him that it happened more than you would expect.

It had taken Sarah a lot longer with the French authorities than they had planned. After all, the concept of a person having a fatal heart attack while having sex was fairly – unusual. Then they got a look at Sarah and it didn't seem so unusual. They thought about just leaving the body someplace - but Chuck wanted it to get back to Shaw. He wanted Shaw to think that Sarah had truly broken. Perhaps that would embolden him to continue his plan. And that meant reporting Yuri's death to the authorities. It also meant they had to scramble to catch the last fight back home, the dreaded red eye.

But finally they were comfortably in the air and had a chance to talk. "I thought that Asimov would hold out a lot longer," he said with as much energy as he could muster. "After all of his bluster, he sang like a canary. So at least now we know. I knew that Shaw was after more than just getting you in the sack."

Sarah sighed. This was something that they had fought over many times in the past ten years. Now it turned out that Chuck was right. Thankfully, he was letting it side – for now, at least. She would have to think of a special way to apologize to him. At least Chuck appeared more concerned with the news about Shaw than with the guy in the grey suit across the aisle who was currently overtly checking her out. That was one good thing. And in a little over six hours, she would get to meet this new guy that Katie was so head over heels about. So, all in all, she was in a pretty good mood - considering that her boss wanted to totally break her will to resist, force her into bed, and then kill her. Oh, and that he was apparently willing to destroy Kate, Robbie, and probably a lot more in the process. "My red test was over twenty-five years ago," she said. "If Shaw was looking for revenge he's had plenty of chances. Are we sure that Asimov was telling us the truth? Was it really Shaw's wife?"

"There is one way to find out," Chuck said. "I've always stayed out of your file out of respect. I figured that anything I needed to know, you'd tell me. So, before I look, is there anything that you want to tell me about?"

"There is probably some footage of me and a mark getting pretty heavy," Sarah said sadly. "You already know that this happened. My assignment was to keep him occupied and we were under video surveillance. I didn't sleep with him – but it got pretty close. So, if you see that, I'm sorry if it hurts you."

"Why would you be sorry about that?" Chuck asked. "It was years before we even met."

"I don't know," Sarah said with a soft smile. "I just am. We've been together pretty much every day for the last twenty-five years. In case you haven't noticed mister, things that hurt you bother me."

Chuck was out of it for quite a while. After all, Sarah's file must be one of the biggest ones in the entire intersect. And Sarah was right - there was some pretty graphic surveillance footage. But even that wasn't that horrible. Chuck wasn't even sure why. There was a time when watching a mark get Sarah naked would have driven him up the wall. But now, he knew her. He could look at her face and instantly tell that she was faking any passion. There was a little second base action. Okay, a lot of second base action – but it was twenty-five years ago… and she had saved the Italian President from being assassinated.

Chuck had to admit, she had long ago told him about every single thing that was in that file that could be remotely considered controversial. He already knew about the week of living with the mark in Dallas, the time that she had to keep the assassin off the grid for three days in Rome, and, yes, even the un-redacted version of the now famous wet t-shirt contest in Cleveland and its aftermath.

Quite honestly, reading clinical field reports sort of made it impersonal anyway. After all, he already knew more details about those events than were in the reports anyway. It was almost as if he was reading about some other Sarah Walker – not the love of his life and mother of his three children.

But finally, Sarah could tell that he was back - and just in the nick of time. Grey Suit was clearly getting ready to come over and offer to keep her company – since her husband was asleep. And then Chuck told her that he was back – just not with words. He grabbed her face in his hands and planted a massive kiss on her lips. Sarah was more than a little surprised at first – Chuck never was this affectionate in public - but she quickly warmed to the idea. It was just like a movie night kiss from before they were even married. Sarah even made it feel like old times by grabbing two fistfuls of Chuck's hair to keep his face plastered to hers.

"Wow," Sarah said with a smile when they finally had to come up for air. She flashed a look at Grey Suit that clearly said better luck next time. "What brought that on? Family tradition? Technically, we're flying West."

Chuck just smiled. "That…" he sighed. "That was to remind you of how much I'm crazy about you. And to thank you. You trusted me enough to tell me everything."

Sarah just laughed. "I think that maybe you should read my file more often," she said. "But now what are you going to do for an encore? We're in the air for another six hours. And you've gone and lit the fuse – and I think you know how short that particular fuse it."

"Oh no," Chuck said in mock horror. "What have I done? This could be a catastrophe."

"A mid-Atlantic catastrophe," Sarah said with a grin. "What are we going to do? We need a hero."

Chuck matched Sarah's grin. "Fortunately, I've come prepared," he said as he held up a blanket.

Sarah sighed. "As attractive as that sounds, maybe we should talk about work first," she said.

Chuck just smiled. "Shaw will wait," he said as he pulled Sarah in for another kiss. "He's ruined enough of the mood as it is. After all, we still have six hours. Besides, he'll be dead soon. And this is a job for a hero."

x-x-x-x-x

It was the true test of any new relationship. Certainly it wasn't the sex. No, they had clearly earned an A+ on that test – but people who didn't even like each other that much could have hot sex. It wasn't the conversations. Alex and Kate had proven that they truly enjoyed each other's company. It wasn't even the arrangement details. Frankly neither Kate nor Alex cared much about whose stuff sat where in the bathroom, which shampoo did they use, or who had more of the closet.

No, the true test was pretty clear. Could two people who were fairly used to living alone – or at least sleeping alone, be together all the time? Going to bed was one of the most basic of human functions. And the honest truth was neither Kate nor Alex had ever gotten ready for bed with another person with the intent of sleeping. Now that they were officially roomies, that was the thing that was concerning Kate. Would she be able to sleep with Alex lying next to her? What should she wear? Was her normal t-shirt and panties appropriate? Did it send the signal that she was trying to seduce him? Would Alex ever feel relaxed with her oh so close to being naked? And, conversely, was she herself going to constantly be in her current state of arousal whenever she touched him?

Kate was honestly so nervous that she could barely brush her teeth. Of course, she wanted Alex to feel comfortable enough to let her know when he was in the mood. But she didn't want him to feel obligated that every time they went to bed had to end up with sex. Hopefully they could actually be a couple all the time and settle into a routine.

Naturally, Kate's concern ended up being ridiculously silly. They quickly snuggled together so comfortably that it was like they had been together for years. Kate sighed at how stupid she had been. As a matter of fact, Kate quickly fell into the deepest, most relaxed sleep that she had ever known. That's why the secure phone that Aunt Janice had given her didn't wake her right away.

Chuck Junior could tell that Kate was dead asleep. He had heard that voice many, many times. She was still sleeping. This was the opportunity of a lifetime to get back at his sister. So he grinned evilly into the phone and in his most matter-of-fact tone said, "Hi, Kate. Can I talk to Alex?"

x-x-x-x-x

Kate relaxed back into the pillow and closed her eyes. This was the best feeling in the whole world. It felt so good to snuggle with her new – well, boyfriend? Roommate? Lover? Whatever he was, he felt so warm. So she reached over to get closer to him. Then she remembered. Of course – he was in the living room - talking to Chuck Junior.

"What?" Kate exclaimed as she sat up – instantly wide awake. This was a disaster. That sneaky bastard had tricked her. There was no way that she would have ever let Alex talk to him alone. And he knew it. No way… Not so soon. And not without some serious preparation. For one thing, there could be now no hiding the fact that Alex was here at… One look at the clock quickly confirmed her suspicions. Oh shit – three in the morning. She would never hear the end of this. He always made fun of her for never having spent the night with Paul. Now he had plenty of ammunition to jab at her.

Now Kate was getting worried. What could they possibly be talking about for so long? What was Chuck Junior telling him? Oh, he couldn't be telling the Senior Prom story. He wouldn't stoop that low. Would he?

Finally, Alex was back. He sat her phone on the night stand and crawled back into bed without a word. He rolled over to snuggle with Kate and apparently go back to sleep.

"Oh, hell no," Kate said as she sat up. "Don't even think of not telling me what he said."

Alex just groaned. "Can I tell you in the morning?" he asked in a semi-whine. "It's late."

"Remember Slutty Girl?" Kate asked pointedly. "If you want to see her again any time soon, you're going to wake up and tell me what he said. I want every single word."

Alex could sense that she was uptight about him talking to her brother, so he tried to calm her down. "He just told me that he loved you very much," he said.

"Come on, Alex," Kate snorted skeptically. "He didn't say that."

"He absolutely did," Alex insisted. "He may have never said those words. But that's clearly what he was saying. He told me that you needed someone in your life that would look out for you – especially now that you were away from your family and spending every second trying to get Senator Casey elected president. He told me that Paul was never that guy for you. He told me that he was worried about you. He said that he had kicked Paul's ass and sort of inferred that he would do the same to me – if I ever hurt you."

To say that Kate was stunned didn't come close. "What did you say to him?" was all she could think of to ask.

Alex's face got red – but he didn't look away. "I told him that I was worried too," he said softly. "You were swimming with the big fish and the stakes were unbelievably high."

Kate just nodded.

"He got kind of quiet," Alex continued. "But then I told him that no matter what – no matter how hard or crazy or even dangerous it got – there was one thing that he could know for sure. I'm here. And I'm not going away. I have your back now – and I always will."

Kate smiled at him.

"I told him that I knew that he loved you," Alex said. "But that nobody could possibly love you as much as I do. And that I was willing to do whatever it takes to prove that to him – and to you. I think that sort of shut him up."

Kate had to blink the tears out of her eyes. How could she feel any better? She suddenly felt ashamed for worrying earlier. Alex was absolutely right. He had her back. It was the very best feeling in the whole world. It was way better than sex. It was the first time in her life that she could say that. So she just settled back down on the pillow and snuggled into him. "Thank you," she whispered. "I have your back too. You know that right?"

"He did say one thing that concerned me," Alex said softly. "He said that you were going to have to let another guy down easy who was crazy about you. Kate… who is Robbie?"

Kate didn't want Alex to think that she was laughing at him, so she buried her face into his chest. Then she realized. This was how she needed to help him. If she was going to claim that she had his back – he was insecure. He needed reassurance. That was something that she didn't have any experience with. After all, everybody else in her life was confident – to a fault. "Robbie is very special," Kate said softly. "He is a close friend of the family – and I'll admit, he has a huge crush on me."

"How do you feel about him?" Alex asked.

"I absolutely love Robbie," Kate said. "I have for years. He is incredibly special."

Kate could feel Alex's body go limp. "I understand," he said sadly.

Kate lifted her head to look at him with a smile. "I don't think that you do," she said. "Robbie is twelve. I've baby sat for him since I was fourteen."

"Oh," was all Alex could say.

"Okay, Alex," Kate said softly. "Look. I know that you lack confidence. It's sweet. I just said that I have your back… it's time that I proved it. There are two rules that you need to remember that I think might go a long way. Rule number one is that I'm crazy about you. You're the one. I love you and I'm here next to you until you tell me to go away. You never, ever have to worry about me with another guy. I know about all the lunches and dinners with supporters and lobbyists that you're going to see. That's just part of the job. But you never have to worry. I promise. Please tell me that you understand."

Alex smiled. "I understand," he said. "I'm trying to be more confident. For what it's worth – I trust you. I feel exactly the same way. I'm sorry if it sounds like anything else. What is the second rule?"

Kate put her head back on Alex's chest. "Rule number two is even more important," she said. "If you ever begin to doubt me or question how I feel – see rule number one."

x-x-x-x-x

It seemed like Kate had just gotten comfortable again when she was wakened by a loud pounding on the door. She quickly glanced at the clock. It was a little after six. "This is a nightmare," she moaned. "A freaking nightmare. Is the whole world combined in some giant conspiracy to keep me from snuggling with my new guy?"

Alex was already out of bed. "I'll get it," he said with a tired grin as he pulled on his pants. "It's probably the Colonel. He just doesn't want us getting all that comfortable. I don't think he can bear the thought of what we might be doing."

"Then it's a good thing that he wasn't here three hours ago," Kate said with as much smile as she could manage.

"Yeah," Alex said. "I don't imagine that he ever wants to meet Slutty Girl."

"He would have had a heart attack," Kate laughed. And actually, speaking of heart attacks – it might be a good idea to not give Uncle Casey one. So she threw on the robe that she had bought just yesterday – exactly for this very reason. It made her look sixty – but it was the perfect compromise. She could still dress like Slutty Girl for Alex but avoid the lectures from Uncle Casey.

If Alex expected Colonel Casey when he opened the door, he was in for a huge surprise. He was looking directly at Kate – a little older, perhaps. But it was Kate. He didn't know that Kate had any sisters – he just knew about the two brothers. He really didn't know what to say. So he just stuck out his hand. "Hello," he said. "I'm Alex. It's nice to meet you. I didn't realize that Kate had a sister."

If she was at all surprised with Alex answering the door, she sure didn't show it. Her smile was relaxed and genuine. She simply ignored his out stretched hand and stepped in to embrace him. "Hi, Alex," she said warmly. "I'm Sarah Bartowski. I'm Kate's mom. I've heard a lot about you. It's good to finally meet you."

x-x-x-x-x