A/N: Hello again! This and the following chapter will, like the previous one, be holiday themed, with more action coming in chapter 11. Happy holidays to everyone and the best wishes for a happy and productive 2012. Next update will be on January 2nd. In the meantime, thank you all for your support and encouragement, and enjoy some holiday cheer with our favorite heroes.

Chapter 9

Sarah had plenty of fun at the company party. As she suspected, Stephen Bartowski did look like he'd spent the night on the couch. Mary Bartowski, however, was the perfect hostess. She was delighted to learn about booking the Buy More for the release event, too. Sarah also met Jill Roberts, Bryce's girlfriend. Chuck approached her, holding two glasses of champagne.

"You're awfully quiet tonight," he remarked. "You're supposed to forget about work for a few hours."

"I'm having fun, Chuck. But there is something else bothering me."

"Tell me before my sister sees us together and tries to play matchmaker – again..." He looked around nervously, feeling relieved to see her absorbed in a conversation with Hartley Winterbottom and his daughter Vivian.

"Um, I think I'm overreacting, but it's about the Walker Enterprises holiday party. I need a date for it, and I was considering asking you to accompany me."

"I'd consider it an honor."

"Thanks. But…"

"But?"

"My sister could be a problem."

"Meaning?"

"Aside from not missing the opportunity of hitting on you, she might blow your cover."

"She might what?"

"I told you I might be overreacting, as Carmichael is a common enough name and my sister is not CIA, but more of a glorified narc. She could have met another Carmichael at work."

"Narc? You mean she's DEA?"

"Yes. They work more with Customs, FBI and ATF. So, odds are you two have never met."

"We have undertaken joint operations with the DEA. What's her name?"

"Carina Walker."

All color drained from Chuck's face. "Crap," he muttered.

"So you do know her."

"I know a DEA agent who goes by the name Carina Miller. Tall, slim, coppery blonde…"

"That's her!" For good measure, she took her wallet from her purse and showed him a family photo. "Take a look to confirm."

"We're so screwed," he said morosely.

"I let it slip that I did work for Carmichael Industries, but if she puts two and two together… She'll realize I know about your CIA agent status. And despite her being good at keeping secrets, she may get curious and dig deep enough to find out about my former secret career. And the prospect scares me half to death, Chuck."

"We'll figure out a way around it. At worst, we can tell her I hired you to make Carmichael Enterprises look more legit."

"You think she'll buy it?"

"I don't see a reason why not."

"She's still going to ask a lot of questions, since it will be obvious to her that I know about you."

Bryce was whispering something to Jill and Morgan and then approached Chuck and Sarah. "Mistletoe," he said, holding a sprig above them.

"Now you have to kiss," Jill said.

Chuck and Sarah looked shyly at each other and then kissed – on the cheeks. "Happy now?" Chuck asked Bryce.

"I was expecting a kiss on the lips with a little tongue action for good measure, but this will do."

"Shut up, Bryce. Jill, keep him away from any more booze. You know how he gets when drunk. I don't want to have to fish him out of the fountain, like I did back in Stanford once."

-o-

Chuck agreed to pick Sarah up at her place for the Walker Enterprises party. So, he drove to the Maison 23, making a stop at a florist's on the way. He was humming when he exited the elevator at the eighth floor. Walking to the door of room 832, he knocked.

"Hi Chuck," Sarah said smiling. And she looked stunning in the semiformal long dress she was wearing. Chuck himself was wearing a suit, which made him look real good.

"Hi. You look amazing. And I got these for you." He offered her a bunch of gardenias.

"How did you know? These are my favorite flowers."

"I noticed that you have several plastic gardenias decorating your workspace. I'm a spy, you know."

"They are beautiful. Thank you."

"Look what the cat dragged in," Carina suddenly said from behind them. "Hello Chucky."

"Carina, hi. Nice seeing you again."

"Inside, both of you, now," Carina commanded. "Yes, sis, we know each other. But I'm curious to learn how much you know about him."

"Everything," Sarah replied simply. "About his position with Carmichael Industries, I mean."

"She didn't know about that in Europe. She found out after my Mom hired her. I had to tell her I am working for the government."

"I was shocked to discover that the Mr. Carmichael who hired me as a consultant was in reality Chuck Bartowski. At first I thought he was up to something illegal, but then he showed me his official ID. Naturally, I was sworn to secrecy."

Carina smiled and the others inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. With a little luck, she wouldn't try to dig deeper. Chuck pasted on his charm smile and offered Sarah his arm. "Shall we?"

"By all means. Carina, would you like a ride?"

"No thanks. I'm expecting a courier from the office to pick up some paperwork, so I'll drive to the Miller on my own. Sis, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Somehow it sounded scary," Chuck admitted in the elevator.

"I agree. She probably meant that we should… y' know…"

"Uh-huh. She did come on to me when we worked together on a mission."

"I'm not surprised," Sarah shrugged. "She'll make a pass on any good looking male when in the mood."

"Let's change the subject: I'm dying to meet your mother. According to my Mom, she's one hell of a lady."

"Just don't mention where our Dads went after our Moms got that award."

"Yeah, Mom did banish Dad to the couch that night. But if your own Dad mentions it…"

"It'll be fun to see how Mom will react," she agreed.

"Can I ask you something personal?"

"Shoot."

"How come Graham made you a job offer? I've been curious about it ever since Zurich."

"Dad and I were living in San Diego for a year, while he worked on some real estate deals. That was before he and Mom bought the Miller. Carina was in college and Mom was traveling back and forth between LA and Europe on business, so Dad took me with him. I did my senior year in high school there. One day, Graham, who was a deputy director back then, showed up and arrested Dad. You see, he thought that some people who had embezzled money from the CIA were trying to launder it through him. They were indeed laundering it, but Dad had no idea. He did give Graham useful information, though. Afterwards, he let Dad go and made me a job offer. I was pissed at him for the way he had treated Dad at first, so I refused to join the CIA."

"And how did you decide to become a thief, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Dad used to be a thief. And a good one, too, since he never got caught. I guess I got a lot more of his genes than I thought. He gave it up when Mom found out. She threatened to leave him and take me and Carina with her."

"Sounds like something out of a novel."

"Tell me about it. Anyway, I thought it might be interesting, trying to be like my Dad. And, like him, I never stole from honest people. Several organized crime syndicates must have a huge bounty on my head by now, but they have no clue as to my identity. Except for you and your friends, no one does. Not even my Dad."

"And then I found you."

"You never told me how."

"It was the job you did in Monaco. I was after a banker with ties to the arms dealer whose chalet we robbed. And I saw you casing your target there. Plus, Bryce and I followed you and saw you on the job. We were impressed, did some digging and decided that you would be an asset to our mission. You know the rest."

"You followed me from Monaco all the way to Rome?"

"It was worth the diversion. You have the consultant's fee and I have the vacation days to prove it. Maybe Mom and Dad could give you some work to do for the Orion Security Systems division."

"Chuck, no! Please don't tell them anything about that! They'll fire me for sure." Sarah had a pleading look in her eyes. She didn't want to lose her new job. She also valued her employers' opinion of her highly.

"No they won't, especially if I vouch for you. Besides, you won't be stuck for ever with what you're doing now. We need people with diverse skills, Sarah."

"Well, now I have to promote your game. Mrs. Bartowski sure seems to have a lot of confidence in me."

"Sarah, she does, but it's also a kind of a test for you. The games represent a minute fraction of Orion Computers' business. If they sell, all is well. If they don't, there is no worthwhile loss. But if you manage to make my game a better success than the previous ones, you'll have a bright future in the company."

-o-

"Guys, I'd like you to meet someone I work with at Orion. Chuck, meet Jack and Emma Walker. Mom, Dad, meet Chuck Bartowski, chief game developer of Orion Computers."

"Bartowski, huh? You do look just like your father."

"Dad mentioned knowing you, sir. It's indeed an honor to meet you."

"Your mother is a great person, too," Emma added. "How does my baby girl get along with her?"

"They get along just great. In fact, she assigned Sarah the promotion of my latest game."

"Speaking of which, someone from Computer Games Magazine called earlier today."

"This is a party, Sarah," Jack reminded his daughter. "You can talk about work later."

"We'll mix business with pleasure," Sarah replied. She was eager to tell Chuck all about the latest developments, but she waited patiently as he made small talk with her parents, who seemed to like him from the get go.

"Okay, now tell me about the call from the magazine," he said when they finally managed to find a quiet spot.

"They're asking about the game. Apparently, one of their regular contributors came across the teaser trailer we posted online. I told them the projected release date and they asked me to let them know, as they want to send someone to cover the event."

"Wow, they must have really liked what they saw."

"I got a call from the Orion site webmaster. The trailer has had several thousand hits since the magazine posted a link to it on their site and their Facebook and Twitter accounts. I also saw the user comments. There is one common denominator."

"What?"

"The viewers – and the magazine – were quite eager to get their hands on a playable demo." She looked around the hotel's ballroom. "Come with me." She led him to the event coordinator's office which had a computer and opened the Youtube page with the trailer. "Take a look."

He read a few of the comments at random and looked up at her. "Your strategy is already bearing fruit." He also looked at the magazine's site.

"Listen to this," Sarah said, pointing to a new entry and started reading aloud. "Based on the response from readers we are getting about this intriguing new game and the comments posted about its teaser trailer, we feel safe in saying that our initial hunch will pan out and it will be one of the most awaited games for 2012. We hope to get further confirmation if and when a playable demo is released."

"You'll get your demo, all right," Chuck said. "I'll send you one by noon tomorrow, Sarah."

"Not to me," she said. "Send it directly to the webmaster's office. They'll post it as a downloadable file on the game's page. I'll tell what to do in advance. Now, let's get back to the party. Mom will be looking for me."

-o-

The following day Chuck waltzed into the office floor where Sarah worked and found her absorbed in something. She acknowledged his presence with a welcoming smile, without taking her eyes off of the computer screen. He sat there and watched her for a couple of minutes, until he decided to break the stalemate.

"You know it's Tuesday, right Sarah?"

"So?"

"They'll be filming the commercial at the Buy More today. And you're starring in it."

"Oh, that. Well, what time did they say they need me there?"

"Now is a good time. I'll even buy you lunch. You deserve a lot more, but it's a start."

"One thing my Mom taught me was to never turn down an offer of a good meal."

"And I happen to know just the place for it. Come on, let's go." He led her down to his car and drove her to the Buy More Plaza, only they didn't go to the electronics store immediately. Instead, he took her to a deli across the parking lot from the Buy More.

"Chuck, long time no see," the petite brunette behind the counter exclaimed.

"Hello Lou. Do we have to take a number, or can you…?"

"Just tell me what you want."

"In that case, we'll take two Chucks."

"Two Chucks?" Sarah echoed. She was curious about it.

"Chuck fixed my computer on his last summer at the Buy More. The least I could do was name a gourmet sandwich after him. You'll love it, trust me."

"It was delicious," Sarah concluded after devouring her Chuck. "I didn't realize I was so hungry, at least not until I took the first bite. Lou, your sandwiches are fantastic. Do you do catering?"

"Occasionally I do, why?"

"Because I know the owners of a luxurious hotel who may sometimes need a subcontractor to provide catering services for important functions."

"Tell them to give me a call some day."

"They will, sooner than you think. We have to be going. It was nice meeting you, Lou."

Chuck was out the door when Lou called out to Sarah. "If you get your chance with Chuck take it, Sarah. Don't blow it like I did once."

"You wanted Chuck?"

"Every girl in the mall had her sights on him. I now have a fiancé, and I love him very much, but back then I regretted letting Chuck get away."

"We're just working together, Lou."

Lou just shook her head and smiled meaningfully. Sarah caught up with Chuck and together they marched to the Buy More.

"There you are," Big Mike greeted them. "You're right on time. Wu, get Ms. Walker to the locker room and help her change. Jeff, what about the cameras?"

"All is in place, Big Mike. Fernando, Lester and the Green Shirts are in position. Skip will be ready in a few. Marvin and the rest of the Herders and Green Shirts are going to handle the customers."

Chuck's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets when Anna returned with Sarah. The two women were quite a contrast, one being short and brunette and the other tall and blonde. Their outfits were identical, consisting of very, very short pleated black skirts, white shirts with the tails tied above their midriffs and exposing quite a bit of cleavage, Nerd Herd name tags and ties, plus high heels.

"Wow…"

"Chuck?"

He managed to regain his composure. "They sure didn't have Herders like you when I used to work here."

"We're wasting time," Big Mike bellowed, before Sarah could reply. "Jeff, get the cameras rolling."

Chuck stood to the side and watched as Jeff ably directed the shoot. The old guy always had an artistic vein, but now, being sober, he did even better. Sarah could have been a great actress, too. The filming was wrapped up in short order and before long Sarah was back in her normal clothes.

"What did you think, Chuck?" Sarah asked him as they were driving back to the office.

"You could have pursued a most successful career in acting."

"Come on, Chuck. It was just a couple of commercials."

"True, but you are a natural. I'm a spy, so I can appreciate good acting," he said as he stopped at a red light.

"Thank you." She reached over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I appreciate the compliment."

"It was not a mere compliment, Sarah. I meant every word. By the way, I sent the demo to the webmaster's team."

"So they informed me. According to them, it was downloaded over five hundred times in the first hour after it was made available. We'll soon be seeing the results. But I'm confident people will love it."

"And you'll have another feather in your cap. I still hope you'll overcome your fear and let me tell Mom and Dad about your potential for work in the Security Systems Division."

"Do we have to go over this again, Chuck? I don't want you to think of me as ungrateful, in fact I know you simply want to do what's best for the company and for me, as it could help my career in Orion along, but somehow I don't think people will be as accepting of the facts as you are."

"You're saying that because you don't know my parents. Mom especially would jump at the chance of having someone with your abilities to help her keep the company at the number one spot. And I can already picture Dad cornering you for lengthy discussions on the technical aspects of improving the design of security systems."

"Okay," she said hesitantly. "But if I end up fired, I expect you to help me find a new job – and stay out of jail."

"Just leave everything to me," he smiled reassuringly.

-o-

"So there you have it, Mrs. Bartowski," Sarah said when she finished her story. "Chuck seems to think that my former secret career can be an asset to Orion."

"I totally agree with him," Mary said. "He was right in talking you into coming clean to us. Since he repeatedly vouched for you, I have no doubt that you didn't even think about trying to obtain information on how to beat our security systems."

"They are unbeatable anyway," Sarah told her.

"Nothing is completely foolproof, Sarah," Stephen spoke for the first time. "But with your help, we can make sure our systems come as close as possible."

"So, I can keep my job?"

"Silly girl," Mary laughed, wrapping an arm around the younger woman's shoulders in a most motherly manner. "Of course you can keep your job. The standing policy here is to leave no rock unturned when doing our recruiting. And you, I must say, are a most promising employee."

Sarah looked up at her and smiled timidly. "Thank you."

"Now tell me, how are things on the game front?"

"May I?" Sarah pointed to the computer on Stephen's desk.

"By all means."

She got up, moved behind the computer and opened the web browser. Finding what she was looking for, she turned the screen so the others could see. "The demo is getting rave reviews and it hasn't been up for a day yet. I checked every site, blog, forum or chat room I could find and everybody is quite enthusiastic and eager for it to be released. Speaking of which, we finalized the deal to hold the release event at the Burbank Buy More. It's the best venue and it's not going to cost us a cent. The manager there was eager to have us use his store."

"How did you manage that?" Mary asked, curious.

"The idea came to me during their holiday party. Chuck dragged me off work and took me there. All I had to do was agree to appear in a commercial for the store, which was filmed today, incidentally. And speaking of parties… my parents are holding a New Year party at the Miller. They told me to invite all of you. You'll receive the formal invitations, but I just had to tell you in person."

"We'll be there, dear," Mary said firmly.

"We won't miss it for the world," Stephen added.

"No sneaking off to shoot pool, mind you," his wife cautioned him.

"Whatever you say, love."