Sarah vs covers, lies and ticking time bombs

A/N I wasn't planning on updating so soon, but I couldn't leave coreymon77 hanging. After all the support, that's just wrong in my book. I don't own Chuck.

Chapter 5

Sarah didn't sleep well. She knew she was being selfish. Chuck wanted a real relationship and she wasn't in a position to give him one. Right now she wasn't so sure anymore that he would actually choose her if he had the option. If she really cared about him, his happiness should come first, no matter how hard it was for her. She has sacrificed a lot for the greater good. She just never thought she would have to give up someone she loved. She never even thought she would actually fall in love in the first place. Or that the situation would be so hopeless when she did.

It took her a while to locate Chuck. He was kneeling in one of the isles talking on his cell phone. She caught the last part of it.

"…maybe you're calling me right now. I don't know. Maybe I should hang up and just give you the chance to…" He spotted her and wrapped it up. "Okay, okay. Um, so you know, if you get a sec, you can call me back. Okay, bye-bye." He snapped the phone shut.

"Won't call you back?"

"I, uh…yeah, I think her voicemail's broken. It's very, very common."

"I wanted to apologize for last night. I suppose I jumped the gun a little and I didn't mean to interfere with your date." Though she lied about her intentions, the apology was sincere. She never meant to hurt him.

"Yeah, I'm not sure it qualifies as a date when you're bugged with CIA microphones and infiltrating an arms importer, buy, hey, I'm new at this." Sarah knew it was Chuck's way of accepting her apology. His forgiving nature was just one of the qualities she admired in him.

"Well, it's hard to have a real relationship in this line of work." She hoped that he would interpret it as her way to make him feel better, which it was in a way, and not a confession that she wanted a real relationship too.

"Apparently it's hard to have a fake one as well." He was trying to return the gesture.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I never felt like our time together was work." She didn't plan on the admission, so she decided to go before he had time to process what she said. She took two steps before remembering why she was there in the first place. She turned back to him. "Oh, uh, Gerber daisies. Lou's favorite."

"How do you know that?" Chuck was surprised.

"CIA. I had them check flower deliveries to her addresses from the last five years." Her background check was thorough after all.

"Good tip." Sarah didn't acknowledge his response. She had a mission and was glad Chuck wouldn't have to tag along. She needed a little time away from him, but more importantly, if he wasn't around the possible bomb they're looking for, it meant he was safe.

Sarah was now running on three days with barely any rest. Last night she didn't even make it back to her hotel. The intel was compromised and they raided a cargo freighter filled with nothing but air and a surveillance camera. Not only didn't they intercept the package, but whoever they were investigating knew they were coming. She and Casey spent the entire night trying to explain with the bosses what went wrong. Right now their only clue was that Stavros and his father was involved. As was Lou apparently. Sarah had the photos to prove it. This brought up two concerns. They must have missed something in Lou's background check which could put Chuck in danger. And he's going to get hurt.

When they decided it was a reasonable hour, she and Casey paid Chuck a visit. She let Casey take point. Of course he used it to goat Chuck when they found him in the bathroom talking to the mirror. She would have thought it was quite adorable, but she tried to focus her tired mind on the mission.

Chuck didn't take the news about Lou very well. He blamed the government for not wanting him to date. And he blamed her. He called it pathetic and beneath her. Sarah couldn't believe he sided with Lou despite the evidence. Then again, Chuck wasn't a spy, so he wasn't used to not letting his emotions get in the way of a mission. The thought wasn't a comfort. He had no right to treat her this way.

Exhaustion finally took over and Sarah got a few hours sleep before the stake out. It didn't do much to improve her mood though. The atmosphere in the car was tense and Chuck's sarcasm wasn't helping. Lou showed up as she and Casey suspected. Chuck still could face the fact that Lou might not be what she seemed. He took off after her and Sarah couldn't follow. They were on tape and could be made. All she could do was listen to the mike in his watch. In the middle of Chuck and Lou's fight, they lost sound. Sarah couldn't just sit by and do nothing. She went after Chuck despite Casey's protest. He knew better than to go up against a cranky Sarah Walker. She found Chuck alone, but that soon changed as Stavros had doubled back and caught them by surprise.

Sarah kept many secrets. Not only those that could compromise her cover, but also the things that would make her seem weak. She was claustrophobic. She took a deep breath before Stavros closed the trunk. To make matters worse, she wasn't alone in the small space. Oddly enough though, Chuck's close presence set her at ease. At least until he opened his mouth.

"Why did you come in? I had the situation entirely under control."

"Yeah. I could see that," she snapped at him. She was trying to suppress her anxiety and anger. And the stirrings caused by his hot breath on the back of her neck. It was too much to deal with all at once.

"So I assume you have a plan to get us out of this mess?"

"Right now Casey's tracking your GPS device in your watch. A SWAT team will be here any minute."

"Yeah. About the watch.."

It was a good thing she was tied up. Strangling the Intersect would probably kill her career. She maneuvered herself around to face him. Chuck had some serious explaining to do.

"Lou was incriminating herself and I didn't want to get her into trouble."

"Always the romantic, huh, Chuck?"

"Jealous?"

"It was foolish. Do you really think the CIA is interested in a deli-meat smuggler?"

"Well, excuse me if I'm not Mr. Perfect Spy. We can't all be Bryce Larkin, now can we?"

"Oh, who's jealous now?"

"Me jealous of you and Bryce. Never." That hit a nerve. Sarah couldn't take any more. Fighting with Chuck was exhausting.

"Said everything you want to say?"

"More or less."

"Good. Now shut up. You're sucking up all the air." Sarah turned her back on Chuck. It took all she had to ignore him and everything that was just said. She had to think of something to get them out of this.

The fight was forgotten as soon as Yari picked up the electric drill and Chuck begged him not to torture her. The next few minutes passed in a blur of threats, guns being pointed, Casey showing up to rescue his partners and Sarah taking out Margos before literally kicking Chuck to safety. She took off after the bomb with Chuck in tow. Actually she was the one in tow as he refused to let her go in alone and took off running before she could convince him to get out of there.

Sarah started to panic. She couldn't defuse the bomb and Chuck didn't flash. She ordered him to leave. He disobeyed. For the second time since they met, she pointed her gun at him. This time she wanted him to freak out and run. Instead he called her on her stupid plan. Tempers flared again, but this time for different reasons. Sarah needed Chuck to get out of there. His safety was her top priority. And the Intersect was important too.

"Why are you so stubborn?"

"Actually I consider this a moment of courage. I don't know where it's coming from. I guess you just bring out the worst in me." She put the gun away and took a step closer.

"And you in me." She glanced back at the bomb. Ten seconds left. Then she looked back at Chuck. There wasn't enough time left to get him to safety. She expected him to panic, but he didn't.

"It was nice knowing ya."

Chuck closed his eyes and resigned himself to his fate. Sarah knew she should probably do the same, but there was so much she still wanted to say, to do. It was now or never. She reached up, grabbed his face with both hands and crushed her lips to his. Chuck didn't respond at first, but Sarah didn't back down. She brushed her lips against his again and then her legs nearly gave out when Chuck's lips parted and his tongue swept the inside of her mouth. She tightened her fingers that were tangled in his curls and grabbed onto his shirt to steady herself. It wasn't really necessary as Chuck's hand between her shoulders pulled her body flush against his. Sarah flicked her tongue against his causing Chuck to return the kiss even more passionately. He must have come to his senses first. His lips stilled, but were still firmly pressed against hers. Then they both pulled away reluctantly. Sarah opened her eyes slowly, locking gazes with him. She was breathing hard. Being kissed by Chuck Bartowski was so much better than the fantasies she harbored since the moment he told a little girl that real ballerinas were tall. Their faces were inches apart and his hand was still cupping her cheek. Her eyes darted to his lips, but then she remembered the bomb. She took a small step back, releasing the grip on his shirt. Their heads turned simultaneously.

Sarah found her voice first. "Well, the good news is we're alive." She hesitated a moment. Oh God, I just kissed my asset. I kissed Chuck. Thoroughly. And I want to do it again. If only there wasn't so much at stake. She took a quick breath. "And the bad news is that this is kind of an uncomfortable moment right now."

His sudden confidence took her by surprise. "It's totally comfortable on my end. Just sayin'."

A/N I hope I did that kiss justice. It's still the best one of the show (in my opinion) followed closely by the one in seduction school. I need to respond to a couple of reviews received on the previous chapter, will do so over the weekend. It's nearly 2 am and my pillow is calling.