Disclaimer: Chuck doesn't belong to me.
A/N: Thank you to all those that have reviewed so far. The reviews certainly help to keep me heaps for sending this story past the 150 reviews mark you all deserve some rocky road icecream.
Chapter 13 – Big Brother
"Yes Mr President I am ready to formalize my exit from the CIA" said Sarah.
"Very well, I will fax you this declaration that you will need to sign and fax back. It is specifically notes that you formally end any ties with the CIA and you apply for level 8 clearance and it also contains the necessary NDA" said the President.
The fax came through on Chuck's secure fax machine, Sarah signed it and Chuck witnessed it, Chuck then faxed the signed form back to the President.
"Thank you Barack, I will let you know how it goes" said Chuck.
"Charles, Miss Walker good evening" said the President.
"Good evening Mr President" said Sarah.
"Well I guess its official now, so are you going to tell me what's going on?" asked Sarah.
"Let's take a drive" said Chuck.
Sarah and Chuck went out in the Mustang convertible, and Chuck was very quiet.
"Chuck are you going to say anything, or am I supposed to ask questions?" asked Sarah.
"No, just trying to work out where to start" replied Chuck.
"Start at the beginning or three years ago or wherever" said Sarah.
"Well as you know, after 9/11 the government needed better intelligence sharing across the agencies and the jointly controlled Intersect computer was how that was done, right?" said Chuck.
"Yeah, I seem to have some memory of an Intersect computer" said Sarah sarcastically.
"Well you also know that since the Intersect was originally destroyed by Bryce and sent to me there have been several projects to either develop a new Intersect computer or another Human Intersect" said Chuck.
"Yes" said Sarah starting to get worried what he was going to say, 'please Chuck don't tell me you are the Intersect again' thought Sarah.
"Well billions and billions of dollars were spent by the Intelligence agencies with very little success. The US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence decided it was time for a new direction and came up with SOONI, the Strategic Outsourcing of National Intelligence. I don't know who came up with the acronym so don't ask. This facilitated certain intelligence gathering methods and operations from being taken away from existing government departments" said Chuck.
"Outsourcing of these functions was also able to circumvent the jurisdictional difficulties of domestic operations of both the CIA and NSA." said Chuck.
"Chuck I am not sure I understand what you are saying, are you or your company somehow involved?" asked Sarah.
"Sarah, I think it would be easier if I show you" said Chuck.
They had arrived at Chuck's office and he pulled into the underground car park, they walked over to an elevator. Chuck inserted his key card then he inserted his hand in a palm and finger print scanner that Sarah was surprised she didn't notice before.
The elevator went below the two parking levels and stopped, the elevator doors opened up into a room that had a retinal scanner and keypad.
Before Chuck walked up to the reader he said to Sarah.
"You haven't been given access to this area, you are been treated as a visitor and you will need to be with me at all times as I will be your escort" said Chuck.
"That's fine, I am more then happy to stay right next to you" Sarah said with a smile.
Chuck responded with a half smile, "We have some sensitive electronics within this enclosure so this part of the building is sealed with dust and foreign particle kept to a minimum. We will undergo stream of air within the next chamber. This is to minimize contamination within this environment" said Chuck.
They both walked in and the air came up from below and blew their clothing around and Sarah's hair went straight up.
Sarah came through the chamber "Charles I must be a sight, my hair is everywhere" said Sarah.
"Yes, you are a sight a beautiful sight, like you have always been" replied Chuck.
Once inside, Sarah saw a room full of computers and operators working furiously. With large screens on a 20 foot tall wall with a large map of the World on one side and a large map of the US on the other.
"Ok well, remember how the Intersect used to work, a visual or auditory cues were required then using the information stored in the database an intersection of the information allowed the computer to propose a likely scenario. Like when I first received the Intersect I was able to decide that the general was going to be bombed at his speech" said Chuck.
"Yes" said Sarah, this conversation was really scaring her.
"Now let's say I was the Intersect and you had me sitting back in a nice secured environment watching and listening to events taking place in real time. I could still respond to the auditory or visual cues" said Chuck.
'Chuck no, please no' thought Sarah.
Chuck could see the look on her face, 'Oh shit she thinks I'm the Intersect' thought Chuck.
"Sarah, listen to me carefully. I am not the Intersect nothing has been downloaded into my head, Ok?" said Chuck
Sarah was still looking worried but she just nodded her head yes.
"Ok, so the Intersect is a person watching and listening for auditory cues, it comes across one that relates to let's say the location of Osama Bin Laden. What would have happened before with me is I would tell you or John what I saw, you would call Beckman and then maybe organise for an assault team and attempt to get him right?" said Chuck.
Sarah only nodded yes again.
"Let's say I have access to a smart guy that can hack into the security cameras for that location, I get him or her to hack in and I identify Osama Bin Laden, then we can organise an assault team with knowledge that he is actually onsite and can even keep track of him up to and including the assault. Obviously this depends on the location having security cameras" said Chuck.
"Well yes I guess then when you are looking inside, you may also have further visual cues providing further intelligence." said Sarah.
"Yes exactly" said Chuck
"Now just imagine 1000's of those people sitting waiting for auditory and visual cues." said Chuck.
"Chuck, only one person has been known to successfully assimilate the Intersect, you. How is anyone going to find 1000 of them?" said Sarah.
Chuck led her to the back of the room, "I mentioned before that the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence decided because of the wasted billions of dollars that they would outsource certain intelligence functions. The government through the executive office and National Security Council awarded these functions to one company" said Chuck.
Sarah looked at Chuck
"Chuck what are you saying?" asked Sarah.
"What I am saying is that we provide all Sigint for all the Intelligence agencies within the Federal Government Intelligence brief. As well as selected Humint which includes the majority of human intelligence sources within the US Borders" said Chuck.
"Now remember what I said before about the 1000's of Human Intersects waiting for auditory and visual cues, well come this way" said Chuck.
Chuck took through another secured door and over to a balcony that overlooked a room full of computer equipment that almost looked like it was a living organism. The floor looked like it was almost 4 stories below. Lights were flashing it was hard to describe it was almost like a dream like being inside a computer almost like the movie Tron
"Sarah, this is the equivalent of a 100,000 Human Intersects all looking for auditory and visual cues, with each one capable of hacking into the security camera network or using video or audio surveillance from many different sources" said Chuck.
Sarah's jaw dropped
"Who, what, how…. Who owns this?" asked Sarah.
"The Intelligence Services Division of Aegis" said Chuck.
Sarah didn't react.
"We do" said Chuck.
"But I don't understand, who created it?" asked Sarah.
"Aegis did, we did" responded Chuck.
"The Government outsourced the functions to us, it was up to us how we provided the service this is how we did it. We have total control over this facility" said Chuck.
"Who came up with it, who dreamt this up? Only three years ago we had a single Human Intersect that was more efficient and faster then any computer could be, and now you are saying this is like 100,000 human intersects?" said Sarah.
"Sarah, well it was a group of people that came up with this, but yes I guess I was a pretty big part of it. The technology and Intellectual Property of all of this is Aegis the one caveat on that is we can't use it or sell it for applications not approved by the government for 24 months after first used in government service" said Chuck.
"How come this is not more widely known?" asked Sarah.
"Very few people within national intelligence circles know the extent of our involvement within intelligence gathering. And as you can imagine certain agencies are not happy with losing control over certain activities, as well as reduced budgets because of that" said Chuck.
"So if you have taken certain work from specific agencies what agency or who do you report to?" asked Sarah.
"While we provide intelligence to all agencies, but we report directly to the NSC . Status and non specific reports are either made to the President or to the whole council so no specific agency is aware of something that the other is not" said Chuck waiting for what he said to sink in.
"So how do you collect the intelligence, is it just what the other agencies provide you?" asked Sarah
"Well no, we have several different methods of gathering Intelligence, some of them are an honesty type scenario others are more how do we say..interactive. Some of the details I can not release. Well for example I assume you know of Echelon" asked Chuck.
"Well yes, are you saying that you get information directly from Echelon, How do you know the NSA aren't doing some kind of filtering on your access to Echelon" asked Sarah.
"Well because for the last nine months we have owned and operated the Next Generation of Echelon, and the NSA Echelon has been decommissioned" said Chuck.
"One of the challenges of Echelon was the restriction on Domestic applications and monitoring, due to the recent approvals through the Senate we have no such restrictions" said Chuck.
"So Casey is involved in this" asked Sarah.
"Yes, he operates in this side of the business he is the one that runs our operational arm within the Intelligence Services Division", said Chuck.
"Operational arm?" asked Sarah
Then behind them she heard a familiar voice "Paramilitary Special Operations, just like the CIA SAD only better" said Casey with a wry smile.
"So what does this mean to a possible future between us, um…do you have any restrictions or rules to follow?" asked Sarah concerned.
"No I have no restrictions or rules other then any other civilian. Obviously I am not able to release sensitive information, I have signed the same NDA you signed earlier. But as far as a future for us, I am concerned that I will not be able to give you the kind of life you deserve. While I may not work for the Government directly, I have spent the last 3 years of my life doing my duty to help those men and women who give up there lives in national service" said Chuck.
"Is there anything else something else you are keeping from me that could affect a future between us" asked Sarah.
"Yes, t has to do with the past" said Chuck.
"What do you mean by the past Charles, is it because I left?" asked Sarah concerned.
"No not directly, when you first left I was initially very hurt and thought that maybe you never really had real feelings for me. But soon after you left, I realized the good you were going to do and felt selfish wanting to keep you with me. I was not a hero, but I could still do whatever I could to help and to also keep people like you safe. So that is when I started developing the Nexus. During design and development I became aware of the greater capability and implications of the Nexus and started working on that as well. A by product of this was the software that I initially licensed to Microsoft and Apple. While that was not my primary goal it did put the company in the public eye and brought in the necessary R&D funds to continue to develop the other side of the business. So you left to do your duty and I started this company to do mine, my goal was to develop technology to help keep this country and its allies safe. But the public success of Aegis was an added bonus" said Chuck.
"Chuck I had no idea, I didn't realize that the Government work was the primary business with the other the sideline, I thought it was the other way around" said Sarah.
'Here I thought he maintained his true nature by helping wherever he can, even though he was so successful. But he is successful because he only ever set out to help people. Who said nice guys finish last' thought Sarah.
"Sarah, I have done some things that you may not be happy with. You could say I have been stalking you for the last few years. I have been keeping an eye on your missions and sometimes even getting involved" said Chuck.
"You spoke to my Communications expert on the first mission using the Nexus?" asked Sarah.
"Well yes, but I meant more directly" said Chuck.
"How, what do you mean?" asked Sarah.
"A few of your missions, things seemed to happen at just the right times, a power outage here an open security door or an assault team turning up just when you needed it. I am sorry I couldn't help myself, I needed to do what I could to help keep you safe" said Chuck.
Sarah put her hand on Chucks.
"Chuck, you do not need to apologize and I think its sweet that you cared. Carina and I thought we must have had a Guardian Angel, and I guess we did" said Sarah. Sarah lifted her other hand and placed it on Chuck's cheek.
"But Sarah you have to understand this work I do has become very important and I do not want to make my life anymore complicated then it is already. If we were to have a relationship and it was to end badly I am not sure how it would affect my ability to do my job. Some people think a calming and positive influence in my life would be good. But I still need time to work out if this is something I could have with you. I hope you understand that" said Chuck.
Chuck could see that Sarah was hurt, she wanted so much more but Chuck didn't know how he could give it yet.
"Chuck, do you still have feelings for me?" asked Sarah.
"Sarah, how could you even ask that, of course I do I…I love you Sarah, but I need time to see how we can work" said Chuck.
'He said it, he loves me. But he still wants time', thought Sarah.
"Sarah, I know its not what you want to hear, but I do want a future with you, and I know that if it was just about me, then that morning after Dinner with the President I would never have gotten out of bed, but Its not just about me" said Chuck.
"Chuck, I understand I guess its kind of Ironic but one of the things that I love about you is the thing that is keeping us apart" said Sarah sadly.
"Sarah, just don't give up on me please" said Chuck.
"Chuck, I will never give up on you. I will be waiting with open arms no matter how long it takes. But if you tell me to leave and that we could never have a future I will leave" said Sarah.
"Sarah, I don't think I could ever say never. Sometimes the only thing that keeps me going is the chance that I could be happy and with you." said Chuck he gave a weak smile to Sarah.
Sarah responded with a huge smile back, and then Chuck gave his trademark just for Sarah smile. As usual it made her weak at the knees.
"Charles, you need to give me some warning before you flash one of those. I kind of loose control when you smile like that" said Sarah.
'Oh, my god I love this woman so much. I have got to work this out', thought Chuck
"So what do all these operators do"? asked Sarah.
"Well the new Intersect, the next generation Intersect we created takes the intelligence that is provided to it, whether through Echelon, video feeds or other means and provides usable intelligence for existing operations. That intelligence needs to be provided to those operations that require it. The Intersect is capable of knowing what operations, but the actual passing of Intelligence is currently reviewed and provided by the analysts. Also the analysts receive intelligence from different operations and are responsible for making sure that intelligence finds its way into the Intersect" said Chuck.
"So each of the analysts talk to different contacts and individuals at certain agencies, how do you keep this operation secret?" asked Sarah.
"Well the analysts are seen to work for the agencies in question to people not aware of the operation, but we have liaisons that are aware within all agencies and several within some agencies. It depends upon the time sensitivity of the intelligence what path we take; we are currently working through providing online mission intelligence to agents in the field. This is being done through back channel communications provided by the Nexus" said Chuck.
"So you are able to communicate with agents in the field via the Nexus?" asked Sarah.
"We are currently and have been for a while, eavesdropping on mission communications via the Nexus. Two way communication is possible we just have not provided it on many missions yet" said Chuck.
"There is still a lot I still don't understand" said Sarah.
"I know, um I wanted to see if you would be interested in joining us, taking up a role in my team here at Aegis. I am still ironing out the details, but if you did take up the offer you would have access to the information to answer those questions" said Chuck.
"You want me to work for you?" asked Sarah.
"Well, yeah I like to have people I can trust working for me. Sarah I trust you more then I trust anybody else" said Chuck.
Chuck leaned closer to Sarah and whispered in her ear, the feeling sent shivers down her whole body.
"By the way, all of the arrangements have been made for your father; we can fly him at anytime. Maybe discuss with him when he will be ready to leave, when you know I will arrange the plane and flights. I would prefer to do this one myself. Samantha or the pool does not know about this arrangement. His new ID packet is at home in my safe" said Chuck.
When Chuck had finished talking, Sarah's face had gone red and she was breathing raggedly. Chuck noticed and asked
"You okay Sarah" asked Chuck.
"Chuck if you are going to do that again and leave me hanging, at least do it somewhere I can go for a cold shower" said Sarah.
Chuck visibly swallowed.
"Sorry" he said with a pained expression.
'Surely I can't have that much affect on her, she must be on a knife edge all the time' said Chuck.
Chuck took Sarah aside.
"Look Sarah, sorry about before um, if it is easier for you to not be around me, I can stay at the house from now on until, well until I know what I am doing" said Chuck.
Sarah looked into his eyes.
"Please don't do that Chuck, I can take not having you as long as I can have some part of you in my life" pleaded Sarah.
Chuck gave her one of his Bartowski Grins.
"I am glad, I was kind of liking having you around" he said sheepishly.
'God, what is he trying to do. He now gives me one of those smiles that arouses all kinds of feelings'
Chuck showed Sarah around more of their operations and decided it was time to go back to the residence. They left in Chuck's car and headed back.
While in the car a realisation hit Sarah, the mission in Rio when she and Carina were captured and the unknown gunman that took each of their captors out. 'Was that Chuck?'
"Chuck, can I ask you a question? Have you ever been to Rio?" asked Sarah.
"Sarah, the answer is yes. That was a very hard day for me; it took me a while to recover. It was the first time I had ever shot anyone, and I had to deal with ending six people's lives. The only thing that helped me get through it, was I knew that if I didn't, you and Carina would likely be dead. That would be something I couldn't live with, especially if I knew I had the ability to do something about it" said Chuck.
"Chuck, I ….. Thank you for saving my life" said Sarah.
Both Sarah and Chuck were lost in their thoughts for a good minute.
"Chuck, are you ok with what happened saving my Dad. That happened and the same day I left to go skiing, I shouldn't have left you" said Sarah.
"Sarah its ok, yeah I haven't had a good time of it, but I just have to deal with it. I haven't slept that well, but I knew that if I didn't help, you and your dad might not be around anymore" said Chuck sadly.
"Chuck, please let me sleep in your bed tonight, just so I can hold you, nothing else. I just want to make sure you can get some sleep, and I know holding you helps me sleep." said Sarah.
Chuck gave Sarah a weak smile, "Yeah, thank you, I think I might like that" said Chuck.
"Do you think any less of me, knowing what I have been doing or have done?" asked Chuck.
"Chuck, No! Never! You were able to see beyond what I have done and see the girl underneath, how could I say I love you, if I couldn't see the guy, the same guy that cheered up the little ballerina the first day we met. The guy that just knows what to say to cheer me up. The guy named Chuck, my Chuck" said Sarah with tears in her eyes.
"Wow, you remember about the ballerina huh?" asked Chuck.
"How could I ever forget, that was the moment I knew you were someone special, that I knew I was falling for you. Chuck please know that I am here for you, you do not need to go through anything alone even if it is just to talk" said Sarah.
Chuck just nodded showing that he understood.
"Sarah, um tomorrow night, Monday night, I am having Ellie, Devon and Yvonne over for dinner. I would like you to be there, but if you are not ready to speak to Ellie I understand. Ellie has no idea about the CIA, she only thinks you left because you had a great job offer in Europe and you didn't say good bye because of how hard it would have been, and you didn't want to sour her wedding" said Chuck.
"I would like to be there Chuck, and I would like to see your niece, Yvonne is such a wonderful name" said Sarah.
They got back to Chucks residence and Sarah went to speak to her Dad.
"Hey dad, sorry I had to disappear like that, we had some thing to discuss. Charles tells me that arrangements have been made and things are ready for your extended vacation" said Sarah.
Jack looked a little sad and said "Oh, okay."
"Dad you are still going to go right?" asked Sarah.
"Yeah, I will go, I guess this weekend has been a bit of fun, more fun then I have had in a while. Charles took me sky diving, taught me some self defense and gave me some lessons with a handgun. He has kind of grown on me" said Sarah.
"Yeah, dad I know what you mean" Sarah said while looking wistfully at Chuck.
"Um darling, one thing I should tell you, there were a couple of women on the weekend, one at Sky Diving some Italian brunette named Roberta Mancino, she was a little aggressive with Charles and was annoyed that he wasn't taking her up on her offer." said Jack.
"So nothing happened with her?" asked Sarah.
"No, and looks like nothing ever happened, not from lack of trying on her part though" said Jack.
Jack could see anger in Sarah's eyes "You said a couple of women?" asked Sarah.
"Yeah, another brunette, pretty thing, seemed quite taken with Charles and was openly flirting with him. Charles seemed a little interested too" said Jack.
'Why bloody brunettes?' thought Sarah.
"So Chuck was flirting with her too" asked Sarah.
"Yeah, you could call it flirting and she was there with her husband too. This was at the gym, Charles just embarrassed her husband in the ring, than the husband didn't take too kindly to Charles embarrassing him with his wife" said Jack.
Sarah was thinking that she would need to keep an eye on Chuck, with all the ground she has made in the last week, she was definitely not going to loose him to some brunette skank.
"So dad will you be ready to go tomorrow?" asked Sarah.
"Yeah, just not too early, I enjoy my sleep in" said Jack
Chuck took Brian aside.
"So Brian any problems or issues in Aspen?" asked Chuck.
"No Charles, though that Carina is sure a laugh. I'm not sure if there is a single male left in Aspen she hasn't at least flirted with" said Brian.
"She is that, so no other things to report?" asked Chuck.
"Nope just a normal girl's weekend on the snow, hey got plenty of skiing in, Sarah looks to be well prepared for Heli-Skiing. She spent a major part of today skiing the double diamond runs" said Brian.
Brian could see that Chuck was looking for something else. He wanted him to ask but he decided he would spill anyway.
"It looked like Sarah was a bit of a hit amongst the locals though, a few attempted to test the waters, but they found only a shark" said Brian laughing.
"She damned near broke some guys arm for touching her, it was fun to watch" said Brian.
"What did she say to him?" asked Chuck.
"'take you hands off me, I am only interested in one man, even if he is not interested in me, you got it', I could tell it was her emotions doing the talking it was no acting" said Brian.
This bit of information brought a smile to his face.
"Thanks Brian" said Chuck.
Chuck had finished with Brian and went back to where Sarah and Jack were.
"Charles, dad said he will head of tomorrow" said Sarah.
"Okay then, Jack I will make arrangements let's say leave late afternoon you will have the day to spend with Sarah" said Chuck.
"Sounds good Charles and thank you for everything you have done" said Jack.
"Well, you stay out of trouble" said Chuck.
"Well, I will promise you, if I can get an occasional sky dive in I will do just that" said Jack.
The evening went well they had dinner at the residence and talked, it was getting late and Chuck and Sarah both decided that it was time to get some sleep. They both said good night to Jack and went off to their own rooms to get ready for bed.
Chuck had just got into bed when he heard a knock at his door.
"Come in" said Chuck.
The door opened and Sarah stepped through the door in her night gown.
"You didn't think I forgot my promise did you" said Sarah.
"Chuck smiled, what promise is that?" asked Chuck.
"The one that I would hold you to help you get good nights sleep" said Sarah.
Sarah walked up to the bed and took her night gown off, Chucks eyes bugged out. Sarah saw his reaction.
"Oh sorry, only thing I had that was clean" said Sarah smiling.
"You are not sorry" said Chuck.
"Well, maybe not sorry I can still have that affect on you, but I definitely don't want to make you feel uncomfortable" said Sarah.
"Maybe I will just put a shirt on" Chuck says.
"Chuck, I have seen you chest before and if that is how you were going to sleep don't change for me" said Sarah.
Chuck just smiled, "Shut up, get into bed and hold me so we can both go off to sleep" said Chuck.
Sarah hopped into the bed moved over to Chuck put her head on his Chest, and draped her arm over his chest and stomach, Sarah enjoyed the feel of his bare chest and abs. Chuck wrapped his arm around her, they both let out satisfied sighs, they each had big smiles on there faces as they closed their eyes and Chuck quickly fell off to sleep.
Sarah had a wicked thought it was rather distracting being this close to him, while Chuck had no shirt on. He felt so good to touch and made all sorts of feeling in her spread throughout her whole body. She knows that it will only make those feelings more intense, but she wanted to be close to him and holding him without any material between.
Sarah decided to carefully take off her camisole and snuggle back up to chuck feeling her nipples touching Chuck's bare chest sent shivers through out her body. She could swear she could smell her own arousal under the covers as she could feel the warmth spread between her legs.
Sarah was getting a little uncomfortable with the growing heat between her legs, she decided to lift up one of her legs and put on top of Chuck, Sarah making sure she left some space between her spreading heat and chucks leg.
Sarah could almost feel herself losing all rational thought and only operating on instinct but she had to maintain some composure or she knew she would rip his boxers off and bury himself in her is deeply as possible.
Then chuck squirmed and moved closer to Sarah, his hip now made direct contact with her warmth and she was sure that she could feel the bottoms of her lingerie from sticking to his skin as they were wet with her arousal.
Sarah could feel the last of her resolve slipping away as she maneuvered to remove the offending article of clothing and placed her bare warmth on Chuck's bare skin, as Sarah's breathe started getting ragged.
Sarah finally fell of to sleep.
The next morning Chuck woke up first and Chuck felt Sarah's still hugging him and realized what a great sleep he got. He was once again up before he had gotten out of bed, but was able to remove himself from Sarah's hold. It was still dark, and while Chuck had thought that Sarah felt differently under the covers he did not realize that she was completely naked.
Chuck got ready for work and headed off, and let Sarah and Jack have the rest of the day to spend with each other.
While Sarah spent the day with her father she was still worried about what was going to happen tonight when she saw Ellie again, for the first time in over three years. What she did know though is that she wanted to wear the bracelet Chuck had given her the Christmas she nearly lost him to Fulcrum.
She had wanted to wear it before now but was worried about what Chuck would say and if he would ask for it back. Almost every night since she left Burbank she has slept wearing the bracelet it was the memory of when he gave it too her that she cherished.
Sarah: Oh Chuck, I can't take this. This is something real, something you should give to a real girlfriend.
Chuck: ...I know.
.
.
.
"Charles, I am pretty nervous about tonight. I know I want to go ahead with it, but I am still a little scared. Does Ellie know I will be here?" asked Sarah.
"Yes she does, I told her that we are friends and working through things, and that you are staying at the residence." said Chuck.
It is time for Ellie and her family to arrive and Sarah was still fussing over how she looked.
"Chuck, do I look okay?" asked Sarah.
"No Sarah." Said Chuck and brought a frightened expression on her face.
"You look amazing." added Chuck.
This brought a blush to her face.
"Thank you, you look pretty dashing yourself." she said with a flirty smile.
They finally arrived and it was the moment of truth, Ellie came up to Sarah.
"Sarah, good to see you again. Chuck tells me you have been working in Europe you back on vacation?" asked Ellie.
"Yes Ellie, I have been in Europe, and it is good to see you too, it looks like motherhood suits you. Um I was on leave from work but have officially resigned, so currently out of work was hoping to find something permanent around here" replied Sarah.
"Oh so you are thinking of staying in LA" asked Ellie.
"Um, I would really like to stay, but a few things need to be resolved I guess" said Sarah looking at Chuck.
Sarah wasn't sure what to say to Ellie, she wanted to be more open about things but felt strange talking about it with Chuck in earshot.
Devon walked up to Chuck.
"Hey bro, how about we go shoot some pool while we let the ladies catch up" asked Devon.
Chuck looked in Sarah's direction to see if she was ok with that, and to Chuck's surprise she was hinting for him to go.
Once they were both out of the room Sarah and Ellie went into the Living Area and sat down on the Couch's. Sarah asked if Ellie wanted a drink and she said no as she was still breast feeding.
"So Sarah, give me one good reason why I shouldn't slap you across the face for what you did to my brother?" asked Ellie.
"Ellie, if it will make you fell better or increasing the chances of you or him forgiving me I would want you to do it" said Sarah.
"Sarah, why have you come back, why now, I guess Chuck looks more attractive now with all this" Ellie said extended here arms out to indicate the residence and all the things that come with it.
"Ellie, every day since I left, I have thought of Chuck. I have thought of him and how I made a big mistake in leaving, everyday that passed it became harder and harder to go on but was even harder to go back. I came back because I new I had to do something I couldn't continue the way I was going. It was like a point of no return" said Sarah.
"Sarah, I find it hard to believe that if you felt like that, why you would have left in the first place. I am sure that job in Europe would have meant a lot but you make sacrifices to be with the one you love." said Ellie.
"Ellie, um I guess things were not as clear to me then as they are now. I love your brother and have loved him for a long time. While I knew that Chuck had feelings for me, I didn't know how deep they were. I was scared Ellie, I did not have the best childhood as I am sure you and Chuck also didn't but you had each other to love. I had no one. Chuck was the first person in my life that I have ever truly loved and if he didn't return that love I thought it would destroy me" said Sarah.
"Sarah, how could you not realise that my brother loved you, you meant everything to him" said Ellie.
"Ellie, Chuck said some things to me in the last six months of our relationship that made me doubt how real his feelings were. Then by your wedding I had decided that I had to go for the job and to stop my heart from breaking. I was just about to throw all that away when I thought Chuck was proposing at your wedding. But it turned out he just wanted me to go have some fun with him on a holiday" said Sarah.
"Sarah, I am so sorry, but I am sure you just misread things. You must know how torn up he was when you left, how much it affected him and still does. I noticed you are wearing the bracelet Chuck gave you" said Ellie.
"Now that I have been back, yes I see that, but at the time I didn't. I guess it was my own lack of self worth that clouded my mind. I didn't think I was worth loving, so I didn't think Chuck could love me the way that I love him. Ellie I wore this bracelet to bed every night, it was so I could have a little bit of Chuck with me while I slept" said Sarah.
Ellie stood up and opened up her arms.
"Sarah, come here" said Ellie.
Sarah stood up went over to Ellie and hugged her and broke down into tears.
At the sound of tears the guys decided they better go and see what had happened and found Sarah's head resting on Ellie's shoulder, sobbing with Ellie arms around her holding her.
Sarah heard the guys come back in and quickly tried to compose herself pulling herself away from Ellie. Sarah realised she must be a sight after crying.
"Sorry everyone, Just need to straighten myself up" said Sarah quickly disappearing up to her room.
Chuck walked over to Ellie.
"Chuck its ok, she just got a bit emotional everything's okay, in fact I think everything will be great" said Ellie.
Sarah came back down after cleaning her face and reapplying makeup, and everyone was enjoying the conversations. Ellie asked Sarah if she wanted to hold Yvonne and while a little nervous Sarah said yes.
She looked like a natural, and Yvonne took to Sarah quickly, smiling and making all sorts of noises and sounds. Yvonne had only recently started walking and Sarah would crawl behind her as Yvonne took off for a stroll around the house. Yvonne thought she was chasing her and would giggle as she tried to get away.
During dinner conversation turned to Chuck's success.
"So Ellie you must be very proud of your brother" asked Sarah.
"Yes I am, he has really turned himself around, all the things we had to go through growing up. I think the secret was finding that self confidence again." said Ellie.
"Yes, so Chuck used to be a bit of a genius when he was younger too?" said Sarah.
"Chuck took after our mum; they both just seemed naturals at anything. Whether it was some physical activity like sports, or something artistic like music. But Chuck also got his brain from dad, dad was a genius but I don't think he had the self confidence or drive to apply it." said Ellie.
"Okay, okay, that's enough of the how great Chuck is talk" said Chuck.
Sarah was thinking, so Chuck got some of his talents from his mum.
"Ellie, Chuck or you have never really talked that much about your mum what did she do for a job?" asked Sarah.
"Oh, not really sure, she left when we were both young. I know that mum and dad met while working and she used to be away with work for days at a time" said Ellie.
"Its funny, while she used to be like this gifted athlete that could do both gymnastics and athletics she seemed to be so accident prone, in fact just like you Sarah" said Ellie.
"What do you mean Ellie, accident prone like me?" asked Sarah.
"Oh, I didn't mean it in a bad way, but you know how you used to hit your head on walls and be in the wrong place at the wrong time for explosions and things like that. I just remember that mum had bandages and stitches and things for accident too" said Ellie.
The light went on in Sarah's head; Chuck's mum was a spy. Could she be the famous 'Frost', that Carina and her were talking about, on their skiing weekend. The agent that everyone at the farm says must be made up because no one could learn and be that good so quickly.
Chuck looked at Sarah and could see that Sarah was deep in thought. What was Sarah thinking about? He would have to ask her later.
"About one of the few things I remember well about mum, was how she used to read me stories about the Frost queen" said Chuck.
Sarah's eyes went wide, and Chuck noticed.
'It's true my god, it's true, Chucks mum is Frost'
Dinner was finished and Ellie and family went home, leaving Chuck and Sarah alone.
"Sarah, you seemed disturbed by something about my mum, is there something I should know?" asked Chuck.
"Chuck, I promised myself that I would tell you everything and anything that you asked. But this I am not sure how you will react, I will say it has nothing to do with me or us" said Sarah.
"Please, tell me if you know something about my mother. My mum leaving was one of the hardest things I had to go through" said Chuck.
"Okay Chuck, I have no facts only things that I know from my time in the agency, and what I have learnt from you and Ellie" said Sarah taking a breath
"I was talking to Carina on the weekend, about how quickly you seem to pick things up, things that should normally take considerable time and effort to master you seems to pick up easily. Devon told me about rock climbing, I see how you are with weapons and martial arts and even Sky Diving from my father." said Sarah looking at Chuck for recognition, he nodded for her to keep going.
"Well Carina reminded me about a rumored agent that when they went through the farm how quick new skills were able to be learnt and mastered. They became a bit of a legend within the agency. But the specific sometimes change, like I heard that it was a female that left the agency to start a family, but Carina heard it was a male that just disappeared and no one knows what happened." said Sarah.
"Is that all you have, that my mum was a gifted athlete that could do just about anything therefore she must be this spy?" asked Chuck clearly frustrated.
"Well, no chuck, Ellie said that you mum and dad met at work, remember your dad used to do work for the CIA, also Ellie said your mum used to go away for work and come back with injuries" said Sarah.
"Sarah still sounds pretty flimsy, maybe my mum was more then a normal mum, but how can you make the leap that she was this super spy?" said Chuck.
"Well Chuck, of all the stories and rumours I have heard of this agent her or his codename has always been the same, 'Frost'" said Sarah.
Chucks eye's went wide and looked at Sarah
"Um, okay I admit lots of things pointing in that direction maybe we should do some research" said Chuck.
"Okay, do you think we could ask the Intersect?" said Sarah.
"Yeah we can do that tomorrow, oh I wanted to have our Dinner tomorrow night, does that suit you?" asked Chuck.
"Yep that sounds nice, what do I need to wear," asked Sarah.
"Something formal I guess, oh also I have a question about an agent you may know?" asked Chuck.
"Okay, well I will tell you what I know" said Sarah.
"Agent Daniel Shaw and his wife Evelyn, he was trying to get a job with us, there is something about him I just don't like. I think he also abuses his wife, though I have no proof. I have got some of our people to keep an eye on them, but was just wondering if you knew anything?" asked Chuck.
"I have heard of him, he was a bit of a golden boy for a while. Hinted that he may make it right to the top, but I think an op went bad and he kind of fell out of favor. Don't know much about his wife, but I believe they met on the job" said Sarah.
"I think his wife is clean, but I have a feeling there are some skeletons in Shaw's closet" said Chuck.
"Should I be jealous of his wife?" asked Sarah.
"What, no, she might have flirted with me but my interest was only in determining her husband's motives" said Chuck.
Sarah smiled, 'I knew I had nothing to worry about'.
"Sarah, um I would like it if you would stay in my bed tonight, it did help my sleep and my nightmares" said Chuck.
'Chuck did you maybe think that the reason you slept so well was because I didn't have any clothes on?' Sarah thought with a wicked smile.
They went up stairs and got ready for bed, Sarah stole an old nerd t-shirt of Chucks and just had her panties on underneath. Chuck once again was only wearing boxers, Sarah felt like commenting if he could go bare chested why couldn't she, but she definitely didn't want him covering up. She knew she could always strip off during the night.
They both got into the bed with Sarah rested her head on his shoulder draping her arm over his chest and stomach. Sarah let out a contended sigh and they both went of to sleep.
A/N I Please review, I hope this Chapter comes out ok. I am not that happy with the explanation of Chuck's involvement with the Government. Further explanation will occur over the next several chapters but didn't want to get too deep in this chapter.
The next Chapter will be more Chuck and Sarah Centric.