A/N Posted 4/16/12

I don't own Chuck.

Chuck Versus the Lost Years

Act 2 - Chuck the Handler

- I -

Sarah walked around the Porsche 911 Turbo Cabrio parked next to her Lotus. My, it was a pretty car, and she wanted to drive it! It was so much like her old Porsche. She kept wondering what had happened to it, because she would never have sold that car. Not quite the same color as her Evora, but close, the deep metallic finish sparkled in the late afternoon sunlight.

Curiosity was burning within her to know how differently the two cars might drive. After another longing look at it, and a peek into the interior - because the top was down - she resisted the temptation to sit in it, and the further temptation that it might have created if she did, so she reluctantly climbed into her Evora for the drive back to her hotel.

As Sarah pulled out of the lot she remembered the fact that she wouldn't let Chuck drive her own car and wondered whether he was trying tweak her a bit with this car of his. Curiously, the memory of not letting Chuck drive her car caused an immediate headache that emanated from right behind her eyes and radiated outward towards her temples. She shook her head in what she realized was an odd attempt to shake the feeling off, and drove right past the freeway on-ramp.

"Dammit," she exclaimed to herself as she realized what she had done and drove to the first available turn lane to do a U turn. She couldn't believe she was letting her thoughts of this man affect her this way. With a mixture of wonder and aggravation, Sarah wondered if he'd always done this to her psyche when she thought of him.

When she opened the door to her hotel room a little while later her eyes fell to a shiny disk at her feet just inside the door. Attached to it was a Post-It note. She picked it up and read the note:

Hey Walker,

I figured Chuckles wasn't going to push this on you. He's too damned much of a gentleman for that. But I didn't see why I shouldn't. Face it. Sometimes you need a good shove, so I made a copy of mine for you. Bear that in mind when you see who is standing behind you in this. Call me anytime if you want to talk about it.

-Carina

She pulled the Post-It note off of the disk and written on the face of the disk printed in Sharpie was:

Chuck & Sarah

May 14, 2011

A DVD? A moment of raw fear and hesitation gripped her and butterflies filled her chest. Glancing over at the flat screen TV, and the DVD player below it, Sarah then looked back at the DVD and reread the title. She stared at it for she didn't know how long, and finally, she looked back at the DVD player. Crossing the room her hands slowly reached for the tray switch, placed the disk in the tray, and reached for the remote control. As she sat with her legs crossed on the bed with the remote cradled in her hand, and her gaze fixed on the play button, she remembered how the mission logs had affected her more than a month before. Her eyes and face were filled with trepidation… but eventually she pushed the play button.

- II -

"Hello Diane", Chuck said to the screen as the large monitor came to life. Beckman was wearing a crew neck cotton knit sweater, casual wear. And from the looks of the background behind her she must have been in her den at home, judging by the family photos on the credenza and the wall behind her. He looked at his watch. It was 7:10pm in DC. "I hope we aren't interrupting your dinner."

"Hello, Chuck. No, we just finished dinner a few minutes ago. You saved me from the clean up," a tight smile appeared on her face. "Good afternoon, Mr. Grimes."

"Good evening, Diane...I mean, General…sir, ma'am…*cough*," Morgan stammered, squirming in his seat when Beckman threw Morgan a look that had a dagger flying in it.

Chuck cast his best friend a quick glance of contained amusement and continued. "General, I apologize for calling you after hours like this, but I thought the matter was important enough to warrant it and didn't want to let it wait, especially in light of some new information I just received."

"That's all right, Chuck, there's nothing to watch on the TV tonight because NBC canceled my favorite show. What did you want to talk about?"

"Diane, I have my sister Ellie holding on another secure line. I'd like to bring her into this conference if I may."

"All right. If this is important enough to pull your sister away from her research, bridge her in."

A few keystrokes on the keyboard in front of Chuck brought the monitor to life next to the one General Beckman was on. And there sat Ellie in her scrubs, apparently at her office desk, with their dad's repaired Roark 7 laptop computer open next to her, the screen casting a glow on her. "Hello General Beckman, Morgan. Little brother, I've been pacing my office worried sick since our conversation a little while ago. What's this all about?"

Chuck glanced back and forth between the General and Ellie's images on the screens, and his face filled with worry and apprehension. Catching the change, Morgan examined his friend, leaned forward placing his hands on the table, and then fixed a serious stare at the monitors.

For a moment, Chuck looked to be deep in troubled thought. "Ellie, how much do we know about the Ring version of the Intersect Sarah downloaded and what Quinn did to her?" He drew a shuddering breath. "Does Sarah still have the Intersect?"

Ellie's eyebrows drew together and dropped as she tried to read Chuck's face. She glanced at the laptop next to her. "Chuck, I had a feeling you were going to bring this up. Has something happened to Sarah?" A genuine look of alarm was drawn on her face.

"I think so...maybe...I'm not sure…yes." Though the 'yes' was barely audible, it was emphatic.

"What happened, Chuck?" Ellie, the General, and Morgan all asked simultaneously.

Chuck's gaze flew rapidly to all three of them in surprise, and then it settled back on Ellie. "The other night when we were at dinner…I think...I think she may have flashed."

"Tell me exactly what happened," said Ellie.

"Well, we were at that Chinese restaurant that I took her to on our first real date years ago." He saw Beckman's head tilt slightly at this and he paused with a shrug giving her a brief look of admission, then continued. "She was opening her fortune cookie at the end of the meal – it was a pretty significant moment on that first date – and, all of a sudden, it was like her body went rigid, then her eyes got glassy and appeared to flutter a bit."

"Then she raised her left hand very quickly to her left temple and gasped like she was in pain. It really freaked me out. She tried to play it down and told me not to worry about it. She mentioned something about having 'flashes of memories', and that totally freaked me out...way she said it. It looked like it was causing her a lot of pain. I'm worried, El."

"Chuck," Ellie said softly, placing her hands on the desk in front of her and leaning towards the camera. "We aren't sure exactly what Quinn did to Sarah to erase her memories, but I've been looking into it here at the request of the General and the Director ever since I got to Chicago."

Casting a guilty and questioning look at Beckman, Diane somberly nodded for her to continue. "Our first conclusions were that after Quinn wiped her memories of the last five years – and we still don't know how he was able to selectively do that – we thought he removed the Intersect when he was finished, similarly to the way dad removed 1.0 from you...to prevent any further deterioration or other control problems while he was using her."

"I've been going over Dad's research the last few days," Ellie continued. "And I'm beginning to think he used some sort visual stimulation technology to make Sarah uncontrollably flash and...I'm hoping, only suppress her memories. And instead of removing the Intersect, the result was that he overloaded it and tried to burn it out. It's something like suppressing it, like Mom did to you, but the method is much more like torture than anything else."

"Quinn...tortured her?" Chuck's face was aghast.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I'm sorry Chuck, but I think that is exactly what he did to her. I now believe that the Intersect is suppressed in Sarah along with her memories. Maybe suppressed isn't the right term, I think I had it right the first time, he overloaded it until it failed, but it wasn't removed. The flash you saw may be an association to resurfacing memories that were suppressed through that torture. This may be what is causing the pain for her, but it could also be pointing to something more serious."

"If the Ring's unstable version of Intersect starts to be become active again it could cause further cognitive deterioration even as she starts to regain her memories. A governor like the one dad made for you might help some, and I'm working on that now, but if Sarah starts to flash uncontrollably… we really need to keep a close eye on her for the time being." Ellie's face clouded over, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Chuck."

Trying to maintain control of himself, and failing, Chuck's head fell into his hands and he forcefully exhaled, his fingertips clawing at his hair. Morgan reached over and started to rub his friends shoulder where it joined his neck, empathy and concern written on his face.

General Beckman spoke, "Chuck, rest assured, we are going to get to the bottom of this. We will do everything in our power to help Sarah. I'd like you to spend as much time with her as you can, watch her carefully, and report anything out of the ordinary that you see immediately to Ellie or me, understood?"

"General, I can't even get her to return my phone calls, how am I going to convince her to let me spend that much time with her?" Chuck wanly asked, looking back up at the general with a skeptical shake of his head.

"That problem is being addressed as well," the general answered cryptically.

"What?"

"Chuck," Beckman continued, "Go see Sarah. Tell her in no uncertain terms that you will be her shadow for the foreseeable future. Level with her if you have to, but I would recommend you avoid that to prevent any more stress than she's already experiencing. I guess I'm asking you to be her handler, Chuck. You'll know what to do. You learned from one of the best… Sarah."

Diane Beckman had showed a rare moment of emotional candor, the look of concern in her eyes very obvious on the screen. "In the meantime, Station Chief Bartowski, we will be pursuing every lead we can to locate Quinn's safehouse there in Los Angeles. We believe that the technology that Quinn used on Sarah is in that safehouse, and that it will help your sister shed some light on a way to help Sarah. I have four teams working this case right now, and I want you to keep looking using the means you know best, too, consistent with your mission to protect Sarah. If we find anything, you'll be the first to know."

"Chuck, I'll continue to look for a way to help Sarah here at my lab no matter what we do or don't find from Quinn," said Ellie in earnest. "I believe we can fix this. I think we'll have a working governor for Sarah in three or four days. There are some very talented people here in Chicago helping me with this. Once we have a working prototype I'll be bringing it out there personally, and I'll also be coordinating with Dr. Dreyfus to make sure we can come up with the most effective way to treat this."

"Speaking of Dr. Dreyfus," Chuck muttered heavily, "I saw Sarah as we were coming into Castle, and she mentioned her reinstatement being provisional, contingent upon an undisclosed amount of therapy and evaluation. I have concerns that this therapy could actually be detrimental to Sarah at this time, given that we now think she may still have an unstable version of the Intersect in her head."

Beckman gazed at him for a couple of seconds, as she seemed to be considering her reply. "Dr. Dreyfus will be fully briefed on the new developments we have discussed today and Sarah's treatment plan will be adjusted accordingly because of them. In the meantime, Chuck, I want you to take Sarah to her appointments with the doctor. Tell her that's an order from me if you have to. At this time, she is to be considered a subordinate. Is that clear?"

"Oh, that's gonna go over just swell," Morgan said with good-natured cynicism, but still drawing rather pointed looks from the general and Ellie. "Sorry," he added slouching a bit in his seat from the visual rebuff. "Just stating the obvious."

Chuck swallowed loudly, "Yes, General, very clear." And then he considered her statement, and the obvious challenge facing him that Morgan had pointed out. Chuck's face started to show the resolve that he knew he could always muster when the odds were stacked against him. He was going to do this. And he would do his part to help save the love of his life no matter what it took.

"I'm going over to Sarah's hotel right now. Morgan, steal one of the unmarked herders and go fill Nikki in on the current situation, and don't let her charm and good looks fluster you into leaving out any details, understood?" Morgan started to open his mouth, but when Chuck checked him with an upheld hand, his mouth snapped shut. "Tell Nikki to redouble her efforts to find Casey, and to make sure she tells him what Sarah's current situation is. I have a feeling we're going to need his help if we locate Quinn's safehouse."

Morgan made a crisp nod of his head as an answer.

Chuck looked back up at the monitors and caught Diane Beckmans's eyes, "And with that", she said, "this briefing is over. Good luck, Chuck."

The monitors went blank, and Chuck and Morgan quick-stepped out of Castle.

As they stepped out the door of the office into the parking lot Morgan looked up at his best friend. "Try not to worry over it, Chuck. Maybe what you saw the other night was just the afterglow from those exquisite dumplings they serve at the Lo Ming," he said, pasting on his most reassuring Morgan smile.

With a tight-lipped grin, Chuck clasped his hand on Morgan's shoulder. "Thanks, buddy. I'm really glad you were here with me during that call, it means a lot to me. Now, go brief Nikki, and don't spare any details."

And then he turned without any further ceremony and strode very purposely off to his car.

"Good luck, Chuck," Morgan said under his breath. "Watch out for that sleeper choke-hold."

- III -

Sarah awoke on her bed, for a moment trying to regain her bearings. She was still dressed and laying atop the bedspread, and she had a nasty headache. The TV was on, and fixed on the screen was a still picture of the back of a limousine with the words 'Just Married' written in a banner on the rear window and cans and ribbon dangling from the rear bumper.

She started to tear up all over again. She wiped her cheeks as she walked to the bathroom to get some tissues and a bottle of aspirin, poured four of them into her hand, reached over for a bottle of water, and took a long pull from it after throwing the aspirin down. Then she reached for her cell phone. The phone display said it was 5:45pm. She'd been asleep for over an hour. She scrolled through her contact list and dialed.

The voice on the other end asked sarcastically, "Hello, Walker…or should I say Bartowski? I figured you would call, but not this quick."

"You were one of my bride's maids, Carina?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah, hard to believe isn't it? Zondra and me. It would have been the whole Cat Squad if Amy hadn't tried to kill the rest of us… Long story for another time. How have you been, Bartowski? Are you back at home with Chuckles? And how come you aren't doing the dirty deed with him, instead of talking with me right now?"

Sarah felt the blood rising up her neck and an odd sensation masked by, what? Regret? Guilt? "Carina..." she started to admonish her friend, but let the snarky, off-color comment slide past with a sad sigh. "I haven't seen much of Chuck for over month. We're going through some difficult times..." her voice trailed off as she blew out another, bigger sigh. "It's a long story, Carina; let me explain-"

"Stop the bus," Carina interrupted, "You don't have to say a thing, I'm the one who sent you the DVD, remember? I knew something was up weeks ago when I started getting transaction alerts on Sasha Miller's credit card accounts. I saw Casey and Gertrude in San Tropez a couple of weeks ago, and he told me the whole story. At least what he said he could tell me, which is rather extraordinary when you think about it coming from a guy like him," she laughed.

"So you know what has happened to me and how it's totally wrecked not only my life, but Chuck's too."

"Yes, the gist of it anyway. If I could dig up Nicholas Quinn and bring him back to life so I could shoot him in the face, I would," Carina said flatly. "But, listen to me, Sarah. The only way Quinn can ruin your life and Chuck's is if you let him."

That last statement hit Sarah hard. "Carina, can we get together for a talk? I could really use the ear of a friend I can actually remember right now."

"That'll be a little tough to do right now, I'm in Amman, Jordan at the moment."

"What?" She flushed again, "Oh, Jeez, it's four in the morning there, I'm so sorry I woke you up! How did that DVD get under my door?"

Carina laughed, "Don't worry about it, Bartowski, my note said call anytime, and I have to get up in an hour anyway. Next time I'll be a little more careful what I write. Somebody owed me a favor, I called it in."

Every time Carina had called her 'Bartowski' in this conversation it had caused Sarah's heart to skip several beats; she was starting to feel a little lightheaded. Several seconds passed.

Carina finally spoke, "Sarah, why haven't you seen or talked to Chuckles more than a couple of times all this time? You know he really is an adorable guy in his own nerdy kind of way, and the big sap loves you so much," she chuckled. "Are you afraid you'll fall for him all over again just as quickly as you did last time?"

What did she say? How does she know? "Did I really fall for Chuck that fast?"

"Girl, you fell head-over-heals for that boy. Faster than I ever thought would be possible for you. I knew it the first time I saw you together. Cover relationship, my ass. You'd better snap out of it and take another look at this guy you're meeting all over again for the second time. How many girls in the world can say they fell for the same guy twice like that, and a very good looking one at that, if you don't mind my adding. I'm just sayin'… but don't let a bad influence like me try to convince you." And in a challenging tone she added, "If you don't do something about this soon I may have to do something myself if you keep neglecting him."

That challenge made Sarah look up from her lap with a start, and her eyes fell on the clock on the dresser, "Carina, let's talk some more later. I'd better get off the phone. I'm expecting a call from Chuck any minute now."

"That's the Sarah Bartowski I know."

More lightheadedness. "Carina?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it, please. I have a reputation to uphold," she said with a humorous huff. "Call me anytime, Bartowski. Tell Chuckles I said hello, and give him a big hug for me...and a big, wet kiss."

- IV -

Looking at the still picture on the TV again, Sarah reached for the DVD player remote. As she started to view the video for the second time, right at the end of their vows when Chuck had dipped her, her cell phone began ringing, and Chuck's grinning dark curly haired head from three years ago filled the screen. She stared at the picture for a few seconds hearing some of Carina's words buzzing around in her head. She snapped out of it, hit the talk button, and raised the phone to her ear.

"Hi, Chuck"

"Hi, Sarah. I just got into my car and I'm headed over to your hotel right now. Can I take you out to dinner?"

"You mean you just climbed into that beautiful Porsche and your first thought was coming to see me?" she asked.

He chuckled, "Yeah, and coming to see you is giving me an excuse to drive it really fast."

She smiled at that. My goodness, a man after my own heart! "I'll be here…and dinner sounds great. I'm famished. And, Chuck? Don't get a ticket, it'll only slow you down."

"Just let them try. They'll have to catch me first."

"Keep that beautiful car, and more importantly, yourself in one piece, Chuck. I'd like to drive it, but I'm sure it wouldn't be the same if it was bent."

"I'm hanging up now. I need to concentrate. I'll see you in a little while." And he let out a breath as he pulled onto the Interstate 5 on-ramp… and flashed as he dropped the PDK transmission down two gears, and heard the bark of the turbocharged six cylinder boxer and felt the power hit the ground hard under the tires.

- V -

Frankie Sanders was a thin and wiry man filled with nervous energy. His body and his mind were both in constant motion. As he rifled quickly through the cabinets scattered around the large room in this warehouse it might have been readily apparent where he had gotten his nickname. But his nervous energy wasn't the main reason he had the nickname 'Wired'. He was given that nickname by the people he worked with because of his amazing abilities with esoteric technologies, everything from computers, software, and encryption technology, to electronics design and implementation. He was Nicholas Quinn's tech man.

And ever since Quinn had fallen off the radar about a month ago Frankie had been in panic mode. He had been left at the safehouse to wait for Quinn, and the delivery of the Intersect so he could evaluate the integration of the processor keys with the upload glasses and programming that had been stolen from DARPA. The ultimate goal was to be able to make streamlined copies of the package that integrated the technology, so it could more reliably and easily be used for Intersect updates to the user.

But Quinn and the rest of the team had never returned to the safehouse. He suspected the worst, that Quinn had been captured or killed in his attempt to steal the third key and commit his planned act of terror at the Pacific Concert Hall. Now Frankie was trying to gather up all the remaining pieces so he could sell it all to the highest bidder and then disappear.

He was searching for something in the large room where Quinn had been in the process of forcefully wiping Sarah Walkers memories from her, by causing her to uncontrollably flash on the faulty Ring Intersect she had in her brain. Agent Walker had activated her emergency tracker alerting her team to her location, and interrupted the process, a process that even Frankie could only describe as torture. Wherever Quinn had disappeared to, Frankie hoped the one place he was most of all, was dead and in hell.

"Hello, Wired, are you looking for this?"

Frankie whirled around, and his focus fell onto the hole of a very large suppressor on a very small gun. Behind the gun was Edger Sloan; and in Edger's other hand was the video camera he had been tearing the place apart trying to find. It had been left here in haste when they'd bugged out just ahead of Sarah Walkers teammates.

"Where are the cards and the rest of the tech, Frankie?"

"Cards? I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about, Edgar."

"Don't B.S. me, Wired, I've seen the video on this thing. It shows Nicholas using them. The flashcards… NOW."

"I don't know where they are, Edgar. I thought the video would give me a clue where to find them." Sweat was popping out onto Frankie's brow.

"Who was Quinn using the cards on wired? This video only shows Quinn. Is there more?"

"I don't know, Sloan," he lied, "I was hoping the video would show that too."

Sloan pointed the Walther PPK at Frankie's head, pulled the hammer back, and scowled. "Frankie, I know you've been working at Quinn's base. I'd rather have you working for me now, but you'll have to be more forthcoming for that to happen. If you don't tell me where those cards are, this is going to get very ugly. We might have to show you a way to more appreciate your nickname."

"I'm telling you I don't know where they are! And if I did tell you, Quinn would kill me!" Sanders' eyes darted around the room looking for an escape. He spun around and bolted for the doorway he'd entered.

He didn't get two steps before the suppressed Walther popped over the metallic sound of it's action cycling. The bullet struck Frankie in the back of his left knee, and he fell screaming onto the concrete floor.

"Quinn is dead, Wired, and now you're going to tell me where his hangout is, one way or the other."

- VI -

Sarah figured she didn't have much time when she ran into the bathroom and showered like there were only minutes to spare. More minutes were lost as decisions were made about what undergarments to wear. My goodness, girl, what are you thinking? This can't be happening…

She assessed her image in the mirror as she was putting her makeup on and decided she liked what she saw, and the look she was seeing in her own eyes gave her pause. What is going on here?

As she was pulling a short very snug fitting, glittery charcoal gray knit dress up over her hips, a knock came from the door, and she swiftly pulled the bodice straps over her shoulders and slipped into her black high-heeled shoes.

She hurried over to the door, took a quick glance through the peephole, and opened it.

"Wow, you got here fast."

"I was motivated," Chuck said as he smiled, dropped his chin a bit, and did the Bartowski eyebrow dance. "Your doorman almost wouldn't let me on the elevator. He must be new around here. And if may say," he said, while looking her up and down, "you look fantastic, like you always do… as always...fantastic..."

"Thank you" Sarah beamed at him, and her smile threw him back on his heels. "Our doorman is a little overprotective and you do look like a pretty rough character." And admittedly, he did.

Chuck hadn't shaved since 5:00am that morning, his skin had a slight sheen from a stressful day, and he was still wearing the dark gray t-shirt, dark blue jeans and black leather jacket he had unceremoniously thrown on that morning. He looked a little rough after what had proved to be a very long and tense day. Of course, he was also wearing his endearingly outdated and trademark Chucks on his feet, which softened the bad boy look a bit.

"Sorry, I wasn't planning on a date tonight when my day started and there just wasn't any reprieve at the end of it to regroup. This is me in the raw," he said in a more matter-of-fact way than he ever thought attainable, while spreading his arms with a grin on his face that was only possible from him.

"That's okay, Chuck," Sarah said, looking coyly at him through her lashes, "I know how incredibly demanding the day can be for an international man of mystery."

"Lady, you don't know the half of it… well, as an international woman of mystery you probably have the inside scoop into much more than half of it." His tired eyes said it all as he offered her his arm. "Shall we dine?"

- VII -

They enjoyed a leisurely dinner at a small Italian restaurant in Echo Park not very far from their apartment. It was difficult to conceptualize it that way. Chuck knew the apartment was their place, but Sarah simply didn't appear to have much concept of the idea. It was still a really weird vibe to try to accept, and he tried his best to ignore it. Pasta, a bottle of Chianti, and exhaustion helped to soften the nerves that were creeping up on him when he thought of what he needed to do between now and 9:30 the following morning. He'd been assigned a mission, and Sarah was now his asset to be protected.

He'd picked this restaurant because he felt it was safe for Sarah. This was just a place they used to go to get a quiet meal after a hard day at work. They'd made memories here, but there hadn't been any groundbreaking moments for the two of them in this establishment. He was hoping he would be able to change that tonight.

The talk at dinner was a delightful respite, and Chuck was even starting to feel like his old self again. That was no small feat, considering what Sarah and he had been through over the last two months. Something in him was saying that when he felt this way amazing things could happen. It took him back to a time when Sarah had once said to him he could have anything in the world he wanted. And he remembered thinking at the time, that the one thing in the world he wanted the most… was her.

He tried to hold those feelings in check because there was something much larger at stake here than what his heart wanted right now. He had to protect Sarah. He had to put her safety above everything else. From the very beginning, that was what Sarah had done for him; put her own duty ahead of her heart. Or did she? All of the sudden it hit him like a two-by-four between the eyes. Regardless of what my heart is saying, this is the way I've always felt about Sarah! How I feel about her has never changed. Why do anything different?

It was so odd, because he'd always known that, even when Sarah was his handler, and it was her CIA sworn mission to protect him. The way she did it told him a lot about her real priorities. For the same reasons, all he had ever wanted to do was protect her, too, and on many occasions he had done just that. There was no way he was going to stop doing that now, it was simply unthinkable. He decided the best way to handle this was the way Sarah had handled it during their 'fake' cover relationship years before. This was not his style, but he had to do it, and he decided to dive in headfirst.

Besides, this was how he really felt anyway. And at that time when she was assigned to protect him, as he had concluded years later, so did Sarah very shortly after she had started to protect him. She had been smitten with him from almost day one. She was just going to have to learn to wrap her heart around the idea again. This was not his intention, seduction as an assignment, but tonight he decided he was going to make Roan Montgomery proud.

And for some reason Sarah was making it easier for him tonight, and he couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her in the last couple of days to cause this change because they hadn't spoken to each other since Saturday night. Up to this point, Sarah had been very aloof, avoiding talking to him at all. And then something Diane had said to him today popped into his head, "That problem is being addressed as well."

And then he couldn't help but wonder what had happened during Sarah's meeting with the General and the Director that day besides her being ordered to see Dr. Dreyfus. I guess it's good to have friends in high places he thought, and he shoved the thought out of his mind, not wanting to ponder the thought that maybe Sarah was being pressured by others. Then he considered his own 'assignment'. It was time to do this, for Sarah.

"So, that's what happened to your Porsche," he said, carefully and light-heartedly finishing the tale of how her Carrera was blown up with the push of a button in response to her uncomfortable question.

"I knew I'd never sell that car." The knowledge that her Porsche had been destroyed that way looked like it broke Sarah's heart, but thankfully it didn't cause anything serious to happen in her head.

Chuck smiled sympathetically. "No way. Unfortunately, the CIA wouldn't spring for a replacement so we bought the Lotus at a forfeiture auction. Did you enjoy your Manicotti?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject while watching the wine swirl around in his glass as he twisted it in his hand. "Nothing like good pasta to warm the belly and the heart." His eyes came up to fix on hers and held her gaze.

"I did. It was delicious. Very heartwarming." She smiled and raised her glass, the candle on the tabletop causing the red liquid within to pulse with the light from the flame. "This Chianti is fabulous too."

Chuck shot her the patented Bartowski smile then tipped his glass forward and clinked it against hers. "To heartwarming pasta and good wine to go with it... and, of course, someone special to share it with."

The smile Sarah returned to him lit up the room. For several moments, they finished their wine in surprising easy silence until Chuck finally snapped out of the trance her smile had put him in.

"Sarah, I can't begin to tell you how nice it is to see you with a smile like the one you're wearing right now." And it was. That smile was something he had missed so much since she had escaped from Quinn. It was good to see it again.

"Trust me, Chuck, I'm not just wearing this smile; it's very real."

So much for channeling Roan. "One of these days I'd like to be able to wait long enough between putting my foot in my mouth to forget what these Chucks I'm wearing taste like…"

She looked at him appraisingly with a glint in her eye and laughed. "It's okay, Chuck, I know what you meant. I'm having a very good time tonight. I hope the party isn't over yet."

"Oh, no, the party is far from over. Remember, you're with the great Chuck Bartowski. And one thing I do very well is over-plan an evening of romantic fun. Come on, let's get out of here. I have an idea."

They walked out to the car and as Chuck walked around it to open the passenger door for Sarah, she stopped a few feet away from the Porsche and looked at it approvingly. She slowly walked around the car letting her eyes caress it. Sarah then stopped at the driver's door and looked at him with a devious grin. Chuck rolled his eyes and shrugged.

He couldn't help but notice that the dress she was wearing matched the color of the car almost perfectly as he walked around the Porsche, eying her the whole way. Opening the driver's door for her, he never broke eye contact. The two of them were obviously made for each other, so why not?

Sarah giggled at him as she slid into the seat and seductively wriggled her body into the leather upholstery in a way that caused him to blush. Seeing it, she smiled with subtle self-satisfaction and she turned and looked out over the steering wheel.

When he buckled his seat belt in the passenger seat, Chuck looked over at her and showed Sarah a nervous grin. She was settling in, adjusting the seat, and feeling the distances to the wheel, pedals, and shifter as she did so. It surprised her how much refitting it required. Chuck was a big guy. The car fit him, but barely.

Her hands went to the top of the wheel and glided over it from top to bottom as she looked out the windshield. She started the engine and pumped the throttle lightly to listen to the sound of the turbocharged engine and nodded approvingly. Then Sarah reached up, adjusted the mirror, and looked over at him with a huge smile on her face that lit the car up like daylight.

"Where to?" She asked playfully.

"How about Griffith Park?" Chuck suggested, "Take the long curvy way there if you want."

"Of course. What other way is there?" she replied, glancing at him mirthfully from the corner of her eye. And then swiftly pulled into traffic, Sarah accelerated the Porsche up the boulevard weaving through the cars as she shifted manually through the gears using the steering wheel paddle shifter.

"Just try not to get us busted, OK?" Chuck said as he hung on goggle-eyed.

Sarah gleefully laughed, "Just let them try, they'll have to catch me first."

Eventually they pulled into the Griffith Observatory parking lot and Sarah sighed as she pried herself away from the drivers seat. "I wasn't too sure about this high tech transmission at first, but it makes this car zoom."

"Zoom...now there's an understatement if I ever heard one," Chuck intoned, still in shock. "You know me. I like my tech."

No, but I'm relearning, she thought with a giddy giggle. "Thanks, Chuck. That was fun. I know how personal a car like this can be. That couldn't have been easy for you."

"It'll get easier...I hope." As they started to walk up toward the observation deck he rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully and smiled, "I guess now probably wouldn't be an appropriate time to remind you that you've never let me drive your car."

She laughed, "Like I said, a car like that is a very personal thing," and she looked over at him and linked her arm in his as they walked. "Thanks for sharing."

As they approached the observation deck, Chuck said reflectively, "I like coming up here. I never get tired of the view from this place, day or night." And as he said it, he remembered a fateful night up here, and hoped he hadn't screwed up by bringing Sarah to this place. He would have to make sure they avoided the playground in particular.

Sarah looked around at the view with a sense of déjà vu even though she hadn't spent a lot of time at the observatory herself, and said, "I can see why you'd like it up here, Chuck. It's a very serene spot right in the middle of a very bustling city." She glanced up at him out of the corner of her eye. "Sometimes it's nice to get away from all the noise and distractions and reconnect with what's important."

He turned and cast her a curious look, and said quietly, "Yeah, reconnecting is always good."

After a few seconds passed, "I talked to Carina tonight."

Now he was really curious. "How is Carina? What is she up to these days?"

"She's in Jordan. I woke her up when I called." Sarah laughed softly. "I didn't realize she was half way around the world. She says hello, and wanted me to give you a hug for her," Sarah looked a little mischievously at him still avoiding facing him directly, "though I'm not sure I want her putting her arms around you even vicariously...and a big, wet kiss is out of the question."

Chuck raised his brows with a grin. "That's Carina for you. Ask Morgan sometime about her sexual predatory tendencies."

"Tell me about it..." Then Sarah turned and looked at him with stunned incredulity. "Morgan?… and Carina? Seriously?"

"Serious as a heart attack," he answered with a chuckle. "What prompted you to call Carina?"

Still trying to shake the idea of Carina and Morgan out of her head she answered, "Huh? Did you ask me a question?"

With unmasked amusement in his voice Chuck said again, "Yes. Why did you call Carina?"

"Oh…well, um...she slipped a DVD under my door while I was out today…at least someone undisclosed did it for her. I thought she was in town, so I called her to see if she wanted to get together."

"A DVD?" And as it dawned on him what the DVD was he growled through his teeth, "I am going to kill her, and Morgan. Must… control… fist… of… death."

Sarah couldn't help but laugh at his Dilbert reference. Did he introduce me to that strip? she thought before answering a little wistfully, "Chuck, I actually thought it was very thoughtful. It was a beautiful wedding." She paused for a moment studying his heart melting reaction, then, "She isn't the only one who's been dropping less than subtle hints to me about… us."

Chuck looked at her from under a furrowing brow, "Oh? Who else couldn't butt out and let you handle this on your own?"

Sarah sighed. "A few others. Let's just say influential people...including my own subconscious." Then she let out bigger sigh as she grasped his hand for a second, and then let it go when he flinched. He seemed afraid to touch her. "Chuck, I'm not so sure I want to 'handle this' on my own anymore."

Chuck looked at her with an expression on his face that Sarah could only describe to herself as puréed emotions. She'd seen it before many times, and then pondered the source of her memory as she decided to stay quiet and let him process all of it for a few minutes.

Finally, Chuck said with exasperation in his voice, "Carina's methods may be a little reckless and unorthodox but I've always trusted her motivations, and she's been a good friend. I'll try to avoid mortal combat with her for the time being."

"That's probably a wise decision. She's a good fighter, and the idea of having to patch the both of you up after a scuffle doesn't appeal to me."

Chuck smiled at the picture that conjured in his mind, and then turned serious. "Sarah, don't let any of these people try to push you into something you're not ready to do."

Always the gentleman, even with all this history we have. "Have you ever known me to let anyone push me around?"

"Only one person. Don't let her do it."

"Chuck, Diane Beckman only gets to push me around because she is my boss, funny how that sort of thing works. But she's also right about what she's so pointedly been telling me lately. She's one smart and tough lady. I can see why the two of you have become friends."

Chuck answered her with an appreciative smile and a penetrating gaze. It was very disarming and Sarah found her hand on his arm, and felt the tingle in her fingertips as her hand glided down his forearm to grasp his hand again, this time holding on.

They stood at the observation deck wall for a while taking in the view of the city lights. It was a cool evening so Chuck took off his leather jacket and placed it over Sarah's shoulders. It actually complemented the short glittery black dress she was wearing very well and he was admiring the view of her a bit. Then he noticed she was looking him over a bit too.

Carina is right, Sarah thought to herself, Chuck really is an adorable guy. Why haven't I noticed this before? Had losing five years of her life hardened her so much that she could so easily ignore this? She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and for the first time really took in the look of him in his t-shirt and jeans. Tall and lanky, but toned and muscular and broad shouldered. Not an ounce of fat on him, he had the build of a swimmer. Sarah felt something stir within her. What was it? Simple passion? Lust? Or was it something else? Sarah took a deep breath.

Chuck noticed, and he looked over at her as she pulled her eyes forward and kept her gaze fixed over the city lights. "It's a beautiful view isn't it? I always enjoyed coming up here with my Dad and sister when I was younger. We'd stand up here for hours dropping nickels into the telescopes here on the deck and look at the city." His face suddenly hardened and his eyes looked reflective as he considered the fact that his Dad would never be coming up here again.

Sarah felt the unexpected change in him and looked at him, really looked at him. Something in her sensed the source of his sudden melancholy. She didn't remember exactly what it was, but she knew it was very important, and she moved close to Chuck and put her arm around his waist and pulled him toward her as they both stood leaning against the wall, still facing out toward the city. When Chuck's arm slid around her waist she let her head fall on his shoulder and she shared his sudden and elusive sadness.

Several minutes quietly passed. Then it seemed like Chuck was abruptly aware of her head on his shoulder, and it snapped him out of whatever difficult memory had overcome him. He turned his head and took a deep breath, as though he was taking in the aroma of her hair and he then nuzzled her ear.

Sarah felt his exhaled breath on her neck and her own breathing hitched from the sensation of it. He reached to her and pulled her around to face him with a look in his eyes that she somehow recognized, and it felt mysteriously wonderful and exhilarating to her. His somber expression turned up into a smile that overtook her and Sarah found her eyes moving rapidly from his eyes to his lips and back again as they slowly moved closer together. Feeling his breath on her lips drew her in like a magnet. She felt that fluttering feeling in her chest again, and they kissed.

Thinking back to their kiss on the beach, Sarah realized as it was deepening that this one was going to put that kiss to shame. It was so intense she was seeing stars! She ran her tongue over Chuck's lower lip, his lips parted, and their tongues met half way. Sarah went weak in the knees and sensed him catching her up in his embrace. Oh, my! He was a good kisser! Her dreams had not been lying to her!

Finally after what seemed like an astonishing long time to Chuck they pulled away from the kiss to come up for air. He looked into Sarah's eyes and the best description he could find to describe the look on her face was awestruck. Her eyes positively glittered, and then she quickly reached up and grabbed him by the back of his neck, and kissed him again, fearlessly, and fiercely. The fingers of her hand moved up and weaved through his hair on the back of his head and her other hand was firmly on his back and drawing him tightly to her as his hands went to her sides in a tight embrace that slid up her back causing her breath to uncontrollably hitch. Chuck's jacket that had been around her shoulders fell to the ground. This was worth waiting for!

Both of them slowly became acutely aware of many eyes on them and they broke the kiss to see many of the other people with whom they were sharing the observation deck watching them…some were staring. An older couple about ten feet to their left were looking at them with an admiring eye, and the gentleman said to them, "Ah, young love, you two look like you should get a room."

His female companion slapped him on the butt. "Bert! Maybe you should leave them alone and focus something like that on me, instead."

Chuck and Sarah just grinned at the other couple, and after a moment the rest of the onlookers focus moved away from them. Bert and his companion cast them a knowing smile and Bert looked at Chuck, and said as he winked, "Enjoy the rest of your evening, kiddo, it definitely looks like I will."

And with that, Bert and his companion turned and sauntered off down the walkway holding hands.

"Oh, my, God," Sarah giggled, "That was so cute."

Chuck, slightly embarrassed by it all exclaimed, "I completely forgot we weren't the only ones up here. PDA isn't normally my thing." He reached down for his jacket and started to place it again over Sarah's shoulders.

"I don't think I'm going to need that any longer tonight, Chuck," she said, waving her hand in front of her flushed face.

"Me neither," he admitted. So he draped the leather jacket over the wall in front of them instead.

Turning back toward the view of the city again, they wrapped an arm around one another's waist and clasped their other hands on the wall in front of them. They stood silently for several minutes looking at the city, lost in thought.

Then Chuck, his eyes fixed ahead, said, "You know, maybe Bert is right."

Sarah turned and looked at him curiously, and yet a bit amorously, her eyes searching him and challenging him to look back at hers.

Oh, boy, here goes. It's now or never Bartowski. He turned to her and looked her intently in the eyes, and what he saw in those beautiful blue eyes made it suddenly so much easier to say. "Sarah, I think it's time for you to come back to our place, our home, and stay with me tonight."

Her eyes were locked on his and didn't waver. There was a hint of something he knew intimately in those eyes mixed with what could only be described as excited curiosity, and deeper emotion. He never could understand how he was able to look into those eyes and not completely freak out. He amazed himself every time he was able to do it.

"Are you pushing, Chuck?" Sarah asked, slowly raising a brow as she dropped her chin.

"I...I...umm...oh, damn..." He looked like he was deflating in front of her.

Sarah broke into grin. "It's okay. I'd like that Chuck. I think I'm ready to try this. But I do have an appointment in the morning with Dr. Dreyfus," she said, looking at him mischievously as she bit her lower lip. "Does that mean you're going to let me borrow your car?"

Chuck's mouth fell agape in mock incredulousness. "No, that means I'll drive you to your appointment. But, if you behave yourself and don't get a ticket on the way home, maybe I'll let you drive me there with you." He then cocked his head to the side and winked at her. "And your appointment isn't til 9:30, so we should be able to sleep in a bit."

She peered at him for a long time through her eyelashes. It felt like it was slowly melting him into a puddle of goo.

Showing her a sincere and solemn smile, he turned in close to her to hold her other hand in his, intertwining their fingers as he held it. "Sarah, take it as slow or as fast as you want, but I've been away from you for much too long already, and I can't stand it any longer. Just stay with me at our apartment tonight. You can use the guest room if you want, but take a leap of faith, and come home. I won't let you down."

As Sarah gazed back at this man she hardly knew, this man who was her husband, she became acutely aware that she was getting lost in those deep hazel eyes of his, and a very recent memory sprang forth, voiced by a loyal, if not slightly reckless friend: "Are you back at home with Chuckles? And how come you aren't doing the dirty deed with him, instead of talking with me right now?"

Did I really fall for Chuck that fast? Maybe sometimes recklessness has its place.

"Let's go home, Chuck." And then their lips crashed together again, time completely lost again until they finally gathered themselves up to leave.