Sarah vs covers, lies and ticking time bombs

A/N Will I or won't I? *Evil grin*. I don't own Chuck.

Chapter 6

Sarah groaned and pulled the duvet over her head. She could still hear a faint ping from the knife that impaled the alarm clock seconds earlier. She didn't go back to sleep. There were too many 'damn him's running around in her head. Damn him for being so charming. And so funny. And smart. Damn him for being so tall. And damn him for having those eyes. But most of all, damn him for being such a good kisser. She turned her head and took a deep breath. She should have left. She should have taken her suitcase and got the hell out of the Dodge. Sarah ground her face into her pillow and let out a scream of frustration. Her throat hurt, probably because she hasn't used her voice in nearly three days. She spent the entire weekend under the duvet, hiding from the world. What else was she suppose to do after the most complicated week of her life?

Monday

She kissed Chuck. She had him in a proper lip lock and the world didn't end. The bomb didn't explode. For a brief second she actually wondered if their kiss did that. Sarah was looking at Chuck, trying to control her breathing. She didn't know what to tell him. How to tell him. If she should tell him. Her phone chose that moment to ring. Casey wanted to know if she managed to defuse the bomb. She almost told him she thinks she activated it before realizing he was referring to the other bomb.

Tuesday

Sarah and Casey spent the whole night in briefings again. Then they joined the cleaner team in the warehouse. The pod slid open. Sarah's world shifted. Her rogue-spy-not-so-dead-ex boyfriend took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

She spent the entire day watching Bryce through the one-way glass. He was tied up and refused to talk to the CIA. Her phone rang again. She ignored it again. She hasn't spoken to Chuck since sending him home the night before. She hasn't stopped thinking about him since listening to his message asking her out on a real date. But she could only deal with one guy at a time.

Wednesday

Bryce was still not talking. He asked for Chuck and Sarah was sent to go fetch him. Of course Chuck brought up the kiss and then asked her if they were going to get back together. Or fake back together. Two days ago that was all she wanted. Now things were even more complicated. She buried her emotions until Bryce took Chuck hostage to help him escape.

Thursday

Ellie invited Sarah to her first Thanksgiving dinner since her mom left. She could breathe a little easier. Bryce was gone. She should have known better than expecting him to stay gone. When she confronted Bryce in Chuck's bedroom, she knew what to do. About Bryce at least. She had to find out if he was rogue or not and bring him in if need be. She still had a job to do. So she kissed the mark back. Unfortunately she didn't know it was in full view of Chuck. Before she could explain, Chuck simply stated that they were not getting back together and stomped off. And then they had a mission.

Friday

Handing Bryce over to the CIA went smoothly. Sarah escorted him to the airport just to be sure. Bryce asked her to join him on his mission. She told him she had her assignment. She didn't tell him her assignment had her heart. She doesn't like to talk much. Especially when it came to her feelings.

She and Bryce still worked well together. They took out the Fulcrum agents. All but one. Sarah's heart started pounding hard when Chuck was taken hostage for the second time in three days. Then it stopped altogether when Bryce shot him. She watched in horror as his body hit the ground. She rushed to him after Casey detained Tommy. Helping Chuck up and out of the bullet proof vest, Sarah had a disturbing thought. She turned to the two men. She had to choose. She knew what she wanted to do and she knew what she had to do. Without a word she walked past both of them.

The sun was setting. Sarah didn't notice. She was too busy trying to keep her mind occupied. She folded all her clothes neatly. Set out her passport. Her gun. She was done earlier than she hoped. There was nothing left to do but stare out over the city and wait. She couldn't protect Chuck anymore. She wanted to, but her feelings got in the way. This was for the best. She was doing it for Chuck. Hopefully he'll realize that one day. The phone finally rang. On her way to answer it she stopped when her cell phone started to vibrate. Chuck's face appeared on the screen. She sighed. She was back at that cross road.

Saturday

Sarah had a duvet day.

Sunday

Sarah had a duvet day.

Monday (again)

Sarah kicked the duvet off the bed. Damn him for being so Chuck. She was probably late. She didn't care. Her job was the one thing she was good at. Now she wasn't even sure about that anymore. She was too compromised to do her job properly. And she was too in love to leave. But her first mission objective hasn't changed. Protect Chuck by any means necessary.

Sarah was hoping to make a quick getaway. The sideways glances Chuck gave her all through the debriefing made her uncomfortable. He knew. He knew she had the choice to leave with Bryce and she didn't. Knowing Chuck, he would probably want to talk about it. She just wanted to run. Chuck followed her to the courtyard.

"Hey, hey, Sarah. Wait."

"What's up?" She was in full agent mode. It felt oddly comfortable. Simple. She belonged. Her demeanor caught Chuck off guard.

"Uh…nothing. Nothing, really just… You know, good to see you. I thought you'd be halfway to Bryce by now."

"Why would you think that?" She was not going to admit that she came close and definitely not why.

"I don't know, because he offers a pretty exciting life, I guess. Sipping mai tais in Jakarta, or assassinating Afghani warlords or whatever it is that you kids do for fun." He was being the old Chuck again. The one before all the madness with Lou and the kiss and Bryce returning. Right now she can't deal with that Chuck. She needed the one she was constantly fighting with the past weeks. It would be easier to push him away.

"I'm here because I have a job to do." She had to focus on her assignment. She could only do her job properly if her emotions didn't get in the way.

"Right. Right. Of course, the job." There was a moment of awkward silence. "I better...uh, I better be going as well. I gotta punch in." Sarah was glad to escape, but Chuck stopped her again.

"Sarah?"

She turned around. "Yeah?"

He didn't respond immediately. They stared at each other for several seconds. The friendly camaraderie wasn't there anymore. One stupid, wonderful kiss ruined everything. As much as she knew it would help her focus, she had to admit that she missed it more than she ever could have imagined. Then Chuck found his voice.

"Should we carpool on our stay tonight?" Sarah knew it wasn't what he wanted to ask.

"Be at my place at eight," she simply answered and made sure she got away this time.

She heard him pacing in the hallway. When the footsteps stopped she called "It's open". Chuck let himself in and she spared him a glance before putting the finishing touches to her make-up.

"Not a morning person, I see," Chuck quipped.

"It depends on the morning. So we're clear on everything? Eyes and ears on anything that can trigger a flash." She caught him in her peripheral vision checking her out. She focused on the mission. "Our cover is we're a couple, you're…"

"Charles Carmichael. Yeah, I got it." He gave her his trademark grin. "It should be pretty fun, right?" Sarah stepped closer.

"It's work." She reached out to straighten his tie like she always does. She didn't realize what she was doing until her pushed her hand away.

"It's okay. I got it." His rejection caused her to slip a little. It hurt, but she got what she gave. She covered.

"Okay. Well, uh, ready to go to work?"

The evening went well as far as the mission was concerned. She managed to get close to Lon Kirk. Of course using seduction she hoped to push Chuck even further away. It worked. They didn't talk much on the way home. Sarah pulled up in front of the apartment complex.

"So, uh, what did you and Kirk talk about?"

"He invited me to his yacht tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay. What time should I be ready?"

"No. Just me," she explained. She didn't miss the look that crossed his face.

"Oh, just you, alone on his yacht. Kind of disrespectful to your boyfriend, don't you think?"

"Chuck, Bryce is not my boyfriend, and even if he was he would understand this kind of work." That was the biggest difference between Chuck and Bryce. Bryce never put her wellbeing ahead of the job the way Chuck did. And although she was keeping Chuck at arm's length, she didn't want him to think there was still something between her and Bryce.

"I meant Carmichael, actually." He looked dejected. Sarah's breath hitched. Shit. She hated hurting him, even more so when she did it subconsciously. "But don't worry. Carmichael's booked up tomorrow, anyway," Chuck continued when she didn't respond. "Very, very busy schedule," he unfastened his seat belt, "so good luck and good night." He didn't spare her as much as a glance when he got out and shut the door.

Sarah floored the gas pedal. She wondered if she would feel less miserable if she had left.

Sarah was fuming. Chuck screwed up the mission. He wasn't even supposed to be at the yacht club. All she had was the job and this was not going to look good on her record. Mostly she was just angry that all she had was the job. She rang the doorbell.

"Ellie or Awesome home?" she asked as she walked in without a polite greeting. She didn't want to be here and the sooner she got it over with, the sooner she could go back to her hotel and continue her duvet bonding.

"No." Chuck closed the door. "They're at work and hello to you too."

"What the hell happened today?"

"I don't know, I don't get it. I had a flash."

"Right when I went below deck with Kirk. It's pretty convenient timing I would say."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just when you thought I was getting intimate with Kirk, you decided to have a flash."

"What exactly are you implying? That I faked a flash? That I'm a flash faker?"

"I think we need to discuss the fact that you let your emotions get in the way today." If she had to suppress her emotions, he had to learn to do the same. It will make things easier in the long run.

"My emotions?"

"Things have been a little off since the incident, Chuck."

"Really? And what incident are you referring to, Agent Walker? Could it be the incident where you planted a kiss on me right before a bomb was supposed to go off, ending our lives? That same kiss right before your boyfriend Bryce came back from the dead? That kiss?"

"Stop saying kiss. It happened, okay. What's done is done. Can we just not talk about it, please?" If the conversation continued in that direction, she would have to tell him it didn't mean anything. That was one lie she didn't want to tell. She didn't want to taint the memory. It was the only thing that would get her through the rest of this assignment.

"Okay, fine. Absolutely. Just answer me one little thing."

"Chuck…"

"Did you kiss me that night because you thought we were gonna die and mine were the most convenient lips around, or was it actually about me?" All she could do was stare at him. Her heart sank. He was going to make her say it.

"What happened was a mistake." She stomped off. "One I will not make again." She had to get away from him.

Sarah lost her grip on the door handle when Chuck suddenly grabbed her arm and spun her around. He pinned her body against the door with his. She barely had time to react before his mouth was on hers. The kiss was different from their first. She could feel his anger and frustration. That she returned in kind. Then his hands travelled up her arms and gently cradled her face as he pulled back slightly. Afraid of losing contact Sarah leaned closer and grabbed hold of his curls. But Chuck wasn't about to let her take the lead again. His tongue sweeping over her bottom lip caught her by surprise. Hers lips parted and he swallowed the moan that escaped her throat when he deepened the kiss.

She had no idea how long they remained like that. Her mind only started working again when Chuck's lips stilled. Like the previous time, he kept his mouth pressed firmly against hers for a moment. It drove her crazy. Then he pulled away slowly. With her eyes still closed Sarah sensed his face moving closer again. She felt his breath against her ear and shivered. He had her with one word.

"Liar."

A/N Okay, so things got a little angsty there for a while, but I tried to tone it down by not going into too much detail for Chuck vs the nemesis. And I didn't leave you hanging somewhere in the middle of this chapter. That would have been just cruel.