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

Okay. Elise is cupid, right? Can her plan help Bryce actually get good with the ladies? Will Sarah allow 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.

Something You're Good At

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"You don't look that hung over," Sarah said. "What happened? Are you getting too old to remember how to party?"

"She's not getting too old," Chuck said. "She just spent all night working on her newest plot."

"I keep telling you," Elise said disgustedly. "We've had this discussion about a thousand times. We don't refer to my mission preparations as plots. I don't call the outrageous things that you come up with plots, do I?"

"I don't know," Chuck said with a grin. "Don't you?"

"Not to your face anyway," Elise replied in a mock serious tone. "You would think that I might get the same consideration. Besides, that's not all I did all night. If I remember right, I had to spend a fair amount of time listening to you crying that your wife was pissed at you – and how you might have to go one whole night without… well, who knows what disgusting things you two do together? Has that part slipped your mind?"

"Fortunately, she came home in a good mood," Chuck said with a grin. "A very, very good mood, actually. Disgusting things were back in play."

"I can see," Elise said. "I assume that it went well last night."

"It went fantastic," Sarah said with a sideways grin at her husband. "It might have been the best night of my life. We really connected. I took him to the warehouse where we fought Colson. I told him all about Bryce Larkin. Then we came back and walked around the Strip. We had so much fun, Elise. We rode all the rides. Bryce is such a freaking genius. He was calculating the G-force in his head as we were climbing the hills. He is also very funny once he's relaxed. He could be a stand-up guy. He had me laughing all night. But the best part was when some guys were trying to… well, hit on me. Bryce helped me shoot them down. He was a scream. Where is he now anyway?"

"He's in Janice's room," Elise said. "They are going over the plans for her announcement speech. She wants all three kids to be on the platform. She is going to make a point out of honoring them as heroes in her speech. She is going to contrast them against The President's actions. She is really going to let him have it with both barrels. Janice is as pissed as I've ever seen her. I watched her practice with Kate. It's really going to be a great speech."

"That's good," Sarah said with a smile. "I'd glad that Bryce will finally get some recognition."

"Yeah," Elise said. "I had to make sure that Janice was going to do it. Fortunately, she was already totally on board. It's a key component to Operation Amy."

"What's Operation Amy?" Sarah asked.

"Amy is the girl who dumped Bryce yesterday," Chuck said with a grin. "This is the plot… umm… I mean mission preparation that I spent all last night listening too."

"I'm going to brief you," Elise said. "Sarah, I want to make sure that I'm not going to have any doting mommy issues to deal with. I can't have that. This is a very precise plan."

Sarah's head snapped up. "What do you have in mind?" she asked.

"Step one," Elise said. "We set the trap. Amy and her dad are already set to attend Senator Casey's announcement speech this morning as her special guest. As it turns out, Amy's dad is somewhat of a supporter. That should give Amy a good earful of what a hero Bryce is."

"Okay," Sarah said. "Nothing wrong with that."

"Step two," Elise said. "We impress the hell out of her. I've secured two tickets to today's matinee performance of the same show that our newlyweds are going to tonight. Amy has graciously agreed to attend as Bryce's date. That would normally be enough. After all, this is the hottest show in North America. But I'm not in the mood to take any chances. What Bryce doesn't know is that they are going to stop the show and recognize him in the audience as a national hero. The standing ovation should drive another nail into Amy's coffin."

Sarah smiled. "Okay," she said. "There's nothing wrong with that either. As long as I don't have to hear how you got the tickets. They have been sold out for months."

"Actually, my co-conspirator got the tickets," Elise said with her own smile. "You might want to ask her how."

"Janice?" Sarah asked.

"No," Elise replied. "Kate got them from a lobbyist. I seriously didn't ask how. By the way, the day after she gets married? She is running around like a chicken with her head cut off preparing the press for Janice's speech. Alex is too. They are totally in a zone. Anyway, step three - the sensitivity hook. Bryce is going to take her for a drive in the Porsche. He is going to take her to the same warehouse that you went to last night and tell her the story of the man that he's named after."

"Wow," Sarah said. "I don't know about that. The Porsche?"

"Come on, Sarah," Elise said. "I thought that you worked all that out last night. Surely you're not worried about him driving your car – in the middle of the day? It's time to trust him a little."

"I'm not worried about him driving the car," Sarah said. "It's not about trust. That's not it at all. I'm worried about the girl – Amy, is it? After that full court press – with that hot car - she is going to want to… umm…"

"Reward her newly famous heroic boyfriend by offering to remove some or all of her clothes?' Elise asked. "Of course she is. She absolutely is. She's going to be on him like stink on a pig. That's all part of the plan. Why do you think that they are going someplace so secluded?"

"Come on, Elise," Sarah said cautiously. "I want Bryce to have a good day. Of course I do. But he's only sixteen. There is no way that I'm signing off on such an explicit seduction mission. Maybe we could find him another car."

Elise didn't respond to Sarah. Instead she turned to Chuck. "Tell me," she said. "Have you ever tried to have sex in a Porsche? In particular that Porsche?"

"Only about a million times," Chuck sighed. "It's simply impossible."

"Exactly," Elise said sarcastically. "Find him another car, Sarah? Maybe a Crown Vic with a nice big comfortable back seat? How about they take the totally non-sexy mission van – with the fold out bed in the back? Oh wait – I have an even better idea. How about you try and show a little faith in your humble mission planner here? Bryce's innocence is going to still be intact after today. We're not trying to make him a man with this plan. We're trying to give the poor guy some confidence. I'll tell you what. Why don't you two rookies go find something that you're good at and leave the romance planning stuff to a professional? Chuck, maybe you could go play some more Blackjack. Sarah… I don't know, sweetie. What are you good at? Maybe you could go kill someone."

Sarah grinned. "Okay," she said. "You made your point. I'm sorry that I questioned you - but enough with the gloating. What is the rest of the plan?"

"Step four – we seal the deal. They are going to take a romantic helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon," Elise said as her sly grin returned. "Then a limo is going to pick them up and drive them around the Strip for a while and then bring them back here. They are going to have a nice soft candle-lit lobster and filet dinner with you two. Sarah, you might want to close your ears for this part – but I could see some serious necking in the back of the limo. I wouldn't worry too much. There's no way that Bryce would try to go farther than second base in such a public place – even with her encouraging him. I imagine that her dress is mostly going to stay on. Sarah – you have to be nice to her at dinner. You can't scare her off. We can't have any bad ass Agent Walker coming through. Keep your knives in the room."

Sarah sighed. "I guess," she said. "This is for Bryce. But it's going to be hard for me. He's only sixteen."

"Exactly," Elise said. "Sweet sixteen and never been kissed. That has to change. The whole day is designed to give Bryce some confidence. To tell him that he has a ton of things going for him that girls look for and if he is just himself that they will come to him. That leads us to step five – leave her wanting more. Bryce and Amy will spend the rest of the night with her dad – and me, walking around the strip. It will be a good opportunity for them to hold hands and actually talk. Amy's dad might get a little drunk and pass out."

Chuck laughed. "You're going to drug the poor guy?" he asked. "That's hardy sporting – is it?"

"Maybe," Elise said. "I'm not sure yet. That's a game time decision. It depends on how aggressive he gets with me. I'm not really looking for a prom date with six arms that I have to fend off. The other thing is Joe. I sure don't want to give Joe anything that would allow him to claim that I owe him one – if you understand my meaning. He has far too active of an imagination and isn't shy about using it. I'd like to let a little more time pass before I have to endure another session of his version of dress-up-night – like maybe a few years. So, Sarah, are we good?"

"I guess that would be okay," Sarah sighed. "I'm not crazy about the removing some or all of her clothes in the Porsche or the second base necking in the limo parts. But he is growing up."

"Yeah," Chuck said in horror. "But neither of those things sounds nearly as bad as Joe's version of dress-up-night. Did you really have to tell us about that? I might have nightmares."

"Good," Elise said, ignoring Chuck. "I'm glad that you're on board. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go talk to our Romeo and buy him a new suit. After all, he has to know exactly how to act for any of this to work. Sarah, remember. Be nice to her."

x-x-x-x-x

"Aunt Janice," Bryce said. "I know that you're in pre-game mode. So if this is bothering you, it can wait. But can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Bryce," Janice said. "Don't worry about pre-game mode. Actually it will help to get my mind off it for a couple of minutes. What do you want to know?"

"How much of what Aunt Elise claims is really true?" Bryce asked. "She claims to be cupid herself. The only thing that is missing is the bow and arrow."

"Pick out any couple that you know," Janice said with a grin. "Except for your mom and dad. They were already well beyond disgusting when Elise met them."

"You and Uncle Casey?" Bryce asked.

"Elise is the one who first told me that Casey was in love with me," Janice said. "It was the first day that I had even met her. Those were pretty much the first words that she ever said to me. You know Uncle Casey. He would have danced around it for months. But Elise forced his hand. So Casey and I went in a room and umm… well, we worked it out that day. We've been together every since. One time we had a pretty major fight. It was all misunderstanding but we weren't speaking to each other. It was Elise who got us back together. She is who I go to when your Uncle Casey has me confused. She hasn't let me down yet. I think that you know that she is the one who first asked Heather out for Sparky. She also is the one who told Kate how to tell Alex that she was in love with him. I'd say that she pretty much is cupid."

"Okay," Bryce said. "How about Aunt Ellie and Devon. They have been together longer than Mom and Dad, right?"

"Right," Janice said. "Elise didn't get them together. But they were drifting apart – and Elise did get them back together. Get your mom to tell you the story sometime. It's actually pretty racy. What did Elise tell you to do tonight?"

"Actually nothing," Bryce said. "She told me to let Amy come to me. She just told me to look into her eyes and not her chest, be myself, and don't be aggressive. That the more passive I was, the more it would drive Amy crazy."

"Well," Janice laughed. "Being passive is not my style. But I have to admit – Elise is a genius. And before I forget, wow. That suit looks fantastic. Amy is a lucky girl."

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Sarah finally had to admit to herself – this Amy girl wasn't the devil. She actually seemed pretty nice. Perhaps she wasn't the most brilliant person that Sarah had ever met – but she was nice. She was certainly very attractive. And Bryce in that suit, wow – simply wow. Say what you want about Elise – but the girl could sure pick out a nice suit. They made such an attractive couple. And poor Amy had clearly just become the latest victim of Elise's plot - umm… make that mission preparation. She was plainly overwhelmed by the accumulation of romance of the day. The doe-eyed way that she looked at him told everybody that.

And the look on Bryce's face – it was enough to make it all worth it. Although there was some lipstick on his neck that they had obviously missed cleaning up. Sarah could almost forgive the scene that had almost assuredly just taken place in the limo. It was best not to think too much about it.

Of course, it didn't hurt that this was one of the best meals that Sarah had ever had in her whole life. Elise was downright scary in her efficiency. How could she possibly have arranged for all of this in a single day? They were dining in a private room overlooking the lights of The Strip. The filet simply melted in your mouth and naturally, lobster was Sarah's favorite anyway. Elise had even made sure to pick out Sarah's favorite wine. Just who was she trying to make lucky tonight anyway? Bryce – or Chuck? Naturally, with Chuck in the room, she didn't have any worries about any awkward silences. He was simply at his most charming, funny best.

And Amy herself was clearly trying her best to impress them. "Mrs. Bartowski," she said. "Your car is unbelievable. Thank you so much for letting us drive it today. It meant a lot to me to share in your amazing family history."

Sarah had to shake off the image of one of her knifes landing between Amy's eyes. Could we really be sure that she wasn't a holdover Ring Agent? It was possible, right? After all, they loved to recruit attractive girls with big boobs. But then Elise's words echoed in her mind. Be nice to her. So she forced the soft smile on her face. "First off, Amy," she said. "My name is Sarah. But you're very welcome. Are you kids having a good time?"

The grin on Amy's face said it all. "Wow," she said. "Did you know that they stopped the show this afternoon and announced that Bryce was there? He got a standing ovation."

Sarah forced the surprised look on her face. "Really?' she said. "They stopped the show? That's impressive."

"Yeah," Bryce said with a sigh. "That was pretty embarrassing. I wasn't expecting that."

Amy turned to look at Bryce. "Stop being so modest," she said with a soft smile. "You're a national hero. Of course people are going to want to recognize you." Then she turned back to Sarah. "Isn't he cute?"

Naturally, Sarah was forced to agree. It was so plainly true. She also had to admit. Amy probably wasn't a Ring Agent. "Yes," she said with a sigh. "He's incredibly cute."

x-x-x-x-x

Elise was nothing if not precise. She was there at the exact specified minute to collect them. She sent Bryce and Amy down to meet Amy's dad in the lobby. "Well," she said as soon as they left. "How did it go?"

"That poor girl," Sarah laughed. "She is completely smitten."

"Yeah," Chuck said with his own laugh. "She is ready to bear his children tonight."

"I know," Elise said. "I'll talk to Bryce in a couple of days on how to let her down easy."

"Let her down?" Sarah asked. "Why would he let her down? What was all of this for? I thought you were going to hook them up?"

"Come on, Sarah," Elise said with a laugh. "Amy is not the long term girl for Bryce. For one thing, she lives over an hour away. That's never going to work for a sixteen-year-old. She wants to be a beautician. Can you imagine Bryce with a beautician? What could they possibly talk about? He needs someone who can actually converse at his level. I mean, how much time can you actually spend necking? We had the same issue for a lot of years with Sparky. We eventually got him to look for something in a girl other than bra size, didn't we? Don't worry. I'm on the job. Well, I'm off for my prom date. I've already had to pry his hand off my ass once. It looks like preliminary indications are that he is indeed going to get drunk and pass out - early."

"Wow," Chuck said as soon as Elise left. "That is one scary redhead. I didn't see that coming at all."

"Why?" Sarah said with a grin. "Men are simply drawn to Elise's ass."

"Yeah," Chuck said – with his own grin. "I actually think that I have noticed that part. I was really talking about the part about Bryce and Amy."

"I know," Sarah said softly. It was true, of course. Elise was just thinking ahead of where she was. Another thing was also true. Amy clearly wasn't the devil. She was just a nice girl – who wanted to jump on her baby. Elise, on the other hand… Was she the devil? Well, the jury was definitely still out on that one.

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Sarah sat in the darkened living room. She knew that she should be downstairs in the casino with the rest of the gang celebrating Janice's kicked off Presidential campaign. And the funny thing is that she really wanted to be. After all, they were having a blast.

Kate and Heather had clearly entered into an impromptu contest at the show over who could drink the most shots of tequila without passing out tonight. Heather had taken the early lead – but Katie was closing fast. It was scary how much all of a sudden Heather and Katie reminded Sarah of her and Janice at that age – especially when they were drinking. Hopefully, there weren't any wet t-shirt contests scheduled in the immediate area. Sarah didn't have much concern about Katie becoming a wet t-shirt contestant. That would be completely out of character for her. Especially since there was no way that Alex would go for it. Heather, on the other hand…

Sarah had even surprised them by tipping her head back with a shot of tequila more than once herself. It had been a while since Janice had talked Sarah into doing any shots – but they actually went down pretty smooth. And she was in a mood to go back down and drink them both under the table. After all, Sarah was never one to shy away from a competition. Especially with Janice egging her on. It would be easy. They were rookies.

Sarah wasn't sure why it was so important for her to see Bryce tonight. She wasn't worried about him – not at all. And she didn't want to give him the impression that she was checking up on him. That really wasn't it. She just wanted to see him. She just knew that it was important for her to know that he had fun tonight – that he was happy.

"Hey," Bryce said. "Why aren't you downstairs with the gang?"

Sarah actually jumped. She hadn't even heard him come in. "I forgot something," she lied.

Bryce's face said that he plainly wasn't buying it. So Sarah came clean. "I'm sorry, sweetie," she said. "I'm not checking up on you. I promise. I just wanted to see you for a minute."

"It's okay," Bryce said with a smile. "You're allowed to check up on me. Don't worry. I still don't have anything to not tell you – not really."

Sarah laughed. "That's good to know," she said. "Did you have a good time?"

"It was amazing," Bryce said. "It was pretty much the perfect day. But…"

"But?" Sarah questioned. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Bryce quickly assured her. "Nothing's wrong. Today was perfect. It's just that… look. Yesterday getting to know my mom was the very best day of my life. Today – as perfect as it was - was only second place."

Of course Sarah was very used to sweet talking men complimenting her. She had developed a certain level of immunity to it. So why was her sixteen-year-old son able to reduce her to a quivering mess? She didn't even try to keep back the tears. "It was the best day of my life too," she was finally able to choke out. "I had a great time."

Bryce just stood there smiling for a long while. He had touched her – and he knew it. It felt great. But now it was time to let her off the hook. "Mom," he finally said. "Do men always hit on you like that? I've never noticed it before."

"I'm afraid so," Sarah said. "It happens a lot when your dad is not there – and especially someplace like that where they've been drinking. Thank you for helping me shoot them down. You were perfect."

"It was fun," Bryce said with a grin. "Oh, before I forget - Elise wanted me to clear this with you tonight. I'd like to meet Amy for breakfast in the morning downstairs. And maybe we could hang out for a while? If that's okay?"

"You'd answer your phone if I called?" Sarah asked.

"Sure," Bryce said. "Of course."

"Bryce," Sarah said slowly. "I really don't know how to say this. I know that this has to be your decision. And I know that Amy is very pretty. But just because she's willing doesn't mean… I mean, you don't have to…"

"Mom," Bryce interrupted. "Don't worry. The first time that I'm going to have something to not tell you isn't going to be with Amy. At least, it's not happening this week. My first time is going to be with someone that I love. I've already had to tell her no today – twice. I think that she understands."

Sarah smiled at her son. "Okay," she said. "Thank you for telling me. That's good to know. It's very mature."

"Umm," Bryce said with a laugh. "It's certainly a conversation that I never imagined myself having."

"Probably not," Sarah said with a laugh. "I'm very proud of you. Anyway, take the car tomorrow and take Amy to Hoover Dam."

"Are you sure that you're comfortable with that?" Bryce asked.

"I'm sure," Sarah said. "I'd rather have you do that than hang around the Strip. It's a very scenic drive in the mountains. Take a tour of the Dam and find someplace for lunch. Make a day of it. Then maybe you could invite her to have dinner with the gang. They should be recovered by then."

Bryce just stood there for a long moment. "Mom," he finally said. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Sarah said with a grin. "Just please answer your phone if I call. It should be a relaxed fun day. Besides, maybe Amy should take one ride in the car while staying fully dressed."

Even in the darkened room, Sarah could see the blush travel up Bryce's neck. "Elise says that you're not going to be around much in the morning," he said in a clear attempt to change the subject. "She said that she is going to drink you unconscious tonight. She already put Amy's dad away."

Sarah was forced to laugh out loud. "She said that, did she?" she said. "We'll just see about that."

"Mom," Bryce said. "Thanks for being so cool about today. I know that wasn't easy for you."

"It wasn't easy," Sarah said with a laugh after she wiped her eyes. "I wanted to claw her eyes out. Letting go of you is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done. So I'm going to hold on for as long as I possibly can. I'm sorry if I seem clingy. I'll let go when it's important. I promise."

Bryce stepped up and hugged her. "I know," he said softly. "You never have to totally let go. I don't want you to. Elise was right – about a lot of things. But…"

Sarah pulled back to look at him. "But what?" she asked.

"Well," he said. "Mom, is Elise really going to drink you under the table tonight?"

"Sweetie," Sarah laughed. "Don't you worry. Elise is pretty impressive. But the day that she can beat me - in anything - hasn't arrived yet."

"Good," Bryce said with his own laugh. "Because I think that maybe someone needs to take her down a peg or two. She is a little too confident. If you know what I mean."

"I know exactly what you mean," Sarah said as she squeezed him as tightly as she could. "It's a little obnoxious isn't it? She definitely needs to be put in her place. Consider the assignment accepted."

"Have fun," Bryce said as he kissed her forehead. "But be careful. Too much drinking affects your judgment. A good rule of thumb is to limit yourself to one once of alcohol per hour – depending upon your individual metabolism, of course."

Suddenly Sarah realized why it was so important for her to be up here. It really wasn't a mother thing at all. She just wanted to share an important moment – with her new best friend. Sarah Bartowski had come a long way. She had come a long way from the mother that she never knew and the dad always on the hustle - even a long way from the CIA that became her surrogate family for a while. She now had friends, a soul mate, and a family that were so close that it was hard to tell which ones were actually related and which ones weren't. It was so clearly true. Her life was simply perfect. "Yes, sir," she finally said with a grin. "Don't worry about me. I'll be careful. I wouldn't want to get grounded. If you're going to worry about someone tonight, worry about your poor Aunt Elise – and after tonight how big she is going to owe your Uncle Joe."

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A/N: Okay. Do we want to read about Kate, Heather, Sarah and Elise's drinking contest? With Janice playing the role of not-so-innocent bystander? What does Sarah have in mind to make Elise owe Joe one session of dress-up-night? Or is it time for the epilogue and wrapping this AU up?

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