A/N: Chuck and Sarah continue to adjust to the routine of having a normal life as a committed couple. And, as in every relationship, they hit the occasional speed bump and finding fun ways to overcome problems. So… enjoy!

Chapter 24

"I still don't understand why you dragged me here, Chuck," Sarah complained.

He chuckled while pushing the shopping cart beside her. "Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm not?"

"Look, all this stuff is necessary. Trust me. I know what I'm saying."

Before Sarah had a chance to reply, a little old lady butted in on their conversation. "How long have the two of you been married?"

"We're not married, ma'am," Chuck replied.

"We're not even living together," Sarah added.

"You could have fooled me. You're acting like my husband and I used to do in the early years of our marriage. Now, we've mellowed with age, but back then it was a whole different story."

"Did your husband ever try to convince you to buy things you didn't need?"

"I certainly thought so at the time, but in the end he was proven right – mostly."

"See?" Chuck smiled triumphantly.

"Don't gloat," she said, a little annoyed.

"Come on Sarah, indulge me."

"Fine. You better hope you'll be proven right."

The old lady smiled before leaving them to continue their shopping. "I'll say it again: You are a very nice couple."

"Thank you," they said in unison.

Later, they were at Sarah's place, putting away the day's purchases. "Will you be spending the night?"

"Yes," he replied. They had a convenient arrangement. Six days out of seven, they spent the night together either in his or in her place, leaving one night to stay on their own in their respective places. It was a most convenient arrangement for both of them, allowing for spending time both with each other and with their families and friends. "And now your kitchenette is properly equipped. You won't be limited to making coffee and nuking TV dinners. You'll actually be able to do some real cooking."

"I'll have to learn to cook better first."

"According to Ellie you are a fast learner."

"Maybe, but I can't cook for you tonight. My fridge is empty."

"No problem," he said smoothly, whipping out his phone. "Tonight we'll order in."

"Chinese?"

"It's been a while since we last had Chinese," he agreed. "Luckily, I have the Bamboo Dragon's number and we're within their delivery radius. What do you want me to order for you?"

"You know the dishes I like, so any one of them will do. But I'd like the fried ice cream for dessert."

"And afterwards we get to open our fortune cookies together."

"Like always," she agreed. "What are you waiting for? Make the call already."

-o-

The following day Chuck left his office humming a happy tune. On the way to the elevators, he high-fived with one of the floor staff. They had every reason to be happy at Orion. The latest product, Chuck's game, was selling so well that the few machines allocated to its production could barely keep up with demand. Right now he was on the way to drag Sarah from her cubicle and take her to the cafeteria for lunch. Only, she wasn't there. And neither was her bag.

"Hey Ollie," Chuck called out to the young guy in the next cubicle. "Have you seen Sarah?"

"Watkins called her to his office just after ten. She left immediately afterwards and hasn't come back yet."

"It must have been big for Watkins to send her out."

"He did say it was important."

"Thanks Ollie. I'm gonna go talk to him."

"OK Mr. Bartowski."

"Call me Chuck." He went and knocked on Watkins' office door.

"Chuck, if you're looking for the lovely Ms. Walker…"

"Yes, I'm looking for her. I was about to take her to lunch."

"Mrs. B called down and had me send her to supervise an install for a customer."

"What kind of install?"

"I think it was a security system. Mrs. B says that Sarah is quite the expert."

"She's done her homework. And she has this unique ability to anticipate everything one could think to overcome a security system. So, for every aspect of it that can be overcome, there are two supporting subsystems."

"You two could make a fortune stealing, you know."

"Really, Mr. Watkins?"

"Just kidding. Besides, you're making a ton of money already with your hardware and software, and she's a veritable cash cow with her ideas and unique marketing gimmicks."

"Somehow I don't think Sarah would appreciate being called a cow."

"Well, the girl sure has the Midas touch."

"You don't happen to know when she'll be back, do you?"

"It'll probably take a while. I told her to go home once they're done at the site."

"Then I won't bother you anymore. I won't bother her either, so I'll call her at home later."

Chuck went to his office after having lunch with Morgan and Bryce at the cafeteria and busied himself with project budgets and technical reports. He'd been so busy that he didn't realize it was well past five until his Dad knocked on his door.

"Come in!"

"Charles, your mother and I are going home. Unless you have something pressing to work on, you should go as well."

Chuck looked at his watch. "Damn, it's almost five thirty. I'll be going, I guess. Sarah should be at my place by now."

When he made it home, however, there was no sign of Sarah. Funny, because they'd been planning to spend time together. He waited another half hour for her and when she didn't show, he called her.

"Hello?" There must have been a problem with the cell phone signal, because Sarah sounded like she was speaking from the bottom of a well.

"Sarah, it's me. I didn't find you here and I was wondering if…" He never finished the question, because the next thing he heard was a big sneeze.

"Sorry," Sarah sniffled.

"Are you OK?"

"Just peachy," she croaked before sneezing again.

"Okay," he said disbelievingly. "I'll take it you're not coming over."

"Let's take a rain check for today."

"I can come to you, if you want."

"Don't bother. I'm not exactly in shape for entertaining guests."

"But… Hello? Sarah? She hung up?" He shrugged and scrolled down his contact list before pressing the dial button.

"Hey Chucky," a husky female voice purred.

"Carina, hi. Are you at home?"

"Yeah, I had a long boring day at the office. Right now I'm about to enjoy a bubble bath. Would you like to join me?"

"What? NO!"

"Your loss," she shrugged.

"Hardly," he replied resolutely. "I have Sarah, remember?"

"Are you two letting me forget it? You're a damn walking fairytale."

"I think Sarah's sick. She was to come over to my place, and I called her when she didn't show up. She didn't sound like she was OK and she was sneezing her head off."

"I guess the bubble bath can wait. I'm gonna go check on her. Thanks for the heads-up, Chucky."

"Don't mention it. I'll be over shortly. But first I'll have to get some supplies, like medicine and chicken soup."

"Yes, that might actually be a good idea. My medicine cabinet is almost empty. And so is hers. By the way, she hates chicken soup."

"Thanks for the warning. See you soon. Just make sure she's comfortable."

-o-

He was ransacking his medicine cabinet and the cupboards of his kitchen when he spied Ellie, who'd come back from the hospital earlier. "Hey, sis," he called out.

"Chuck, I was just about to come over and ask if you and Sarah would like to join us for dinner."

"Under normal circumstances, we'd be delighted to. But Sarah's not here."

"When will she be coming?"

"She won't. She's at home sick. I'm just gathering some stuff for her."

"Oh boy. I can make some chicken soup. It'll do her good."

"Negative. She hates chicken soup."

"How do you know?"

"Her sister told me."

"I am making onion soup as an appetizer for tonight's dinner. I hope she'll like it."

"She likes it, all right."

"Good. Get over here and I'll tell you what to take with you."

"Thanks sis, I owe you one."

Thus, armed with carefully packed bowls of onion soup, Vicks VapoRub, DayQuil and NyQuil, plus some good old fashioned aspirin, he knocked on Sarah's door. Carina answered it.

"Hi Carina."

"Hi Chucky. Come on in."

"Thanks. How is she?"

"I managed to talk her into trying to get some sleep. She's running a fever, but otherwise it's not very bad."

"I see. Thanks for looking after her."

"She's my little sister, Chuck. I'd do anything for her."

"Did she say how she managed to catch the cold?"

"She did say something about the work site being draughty."

"Figures," he muttered. "She would have been all over the place, making sure everything was just perfect."

"If you need anything, just knock. I'll be next door."

"Go enjoy your bubble bath, Carina. I'll take care of Sarah."

After Carina left, Chuck went to the kitchenette and arranged the things he'd brought on the counter. Ellie would have definitely put some croutons in the soup, but Sarah would need a little more solid food, so he just popped a couple of slices of bread in the toaster. This toaster was special. It wasn't the Darth Vader toaster he had at home (although he'd tried and failed to convince Sarah to get one for herself at the Buy More the previous day – but she did enjoy eating Darth Vader toast when having breakfast with him at his place), but an egg and muffin toaster, which could toast two bread, bagel, croissant, or English muffin slices and cook an egg, while warming a slice of Canadian bacon or sausage. Sarah had preferred it over his suggestion.

While waiting for the toast to be ready, he went into the bedroom. She was still asleep and for a moment he didn't want to wake her up, but it was necessary. Her forehead was sweaty and the skin felt hot and clammy against his hand. He brushed a couple of strands of matted hair off to the side and leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. She made a happy little noise, but stayed asleep.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty," he whispered in her ear.

It worked. "Huh? Chuck?"

"It's me, Sarah. Carina took good care of you and now I'm taking over." He held up an Orion digital thermometer. "First, let's take your temperature. You may also want to change clothes. You were sweating quite a bit."

"Seriously, there is no need to go into all that trouble."

"Indulge me."

"Fine," she huffed. He stuck the thermometer between her lips and moved to her closet, getting her a fresh t-shirt and another pair of pajamas. She'd just handed him the sweat soaked clothes to dump in the laundry hamper when the toaster dinged. Within minutes, he had a tray with a bowl of soup, two slices of toast and a glass of pineapple orange juice for her.

"Eat up. In the meantime, I'll make you some tea."

She hesitated before lifting the lid covering the soup bowl. "What is this?"

"It's not chicken soup. Carina said you don't like it."

"That's the understatement of the year. I like my chicken fried, grilled, or roasted on a spit. I hate it boiled and I especially hate chicken soup. But you didn't answer my question."

"Open it. It's something I know you like."

"It's onion soup! Thanks Chuck."

"Ellie made it for tonight's dinner. She was more than happy to pack a few bowls for you."

"It's fantastic. I really need to learn how to make it."

"When you're done, I'll give you a good rubdown with Vicks. And I brought some more medicine for you, too."

"Jack Daniels?" Sarah asked hopefully. To her it was the miracle cure and she preferred it over taking medication.

"Next best thing," he laughed. "I've got NyQuil and DayQuil, plus some aspirin as a reserve."

"Hrmph. Ever since college, I had nothing a shot of Jack couldn't cure." *sneeze*

"Gesundheit. I'll go make you some more toast."

Sarah soon finished her soup and her caramel tea. Chuck fed her some medication, over her initial objections, gave her a rubdown and then announced that the entertainment was about to begin. Despite her condition, she grilled him relentlessly about whatever he had in mind, but he insisted on it being a surprise.

"It's just something long overdue," was the only thing she could get out of him.

Even sickness couldn't do anything but infinitesimally slow down the thought process in her razor sharp brain. "Underworld," she said.

"How did you know? Did you see the DVD case?"

"I know you, Chuck. When Bryce mentioned it back in Paris, you said it would be on the top of the things to do list."

"Can I get you anything else before I start the movie?"

"Popcorn, pizza, a hotdog and more juice please," she replied without hesitation.

"Are you sure?"

"I've got a cold, not the flu. Trust me, I won't be throwing up. I can help, too."

"No, you stay in bed. I'll take care of everything."

"The kernels for the popcorn are in the top left hand cupboard. I have single pizza portions and hotdogs in the fridge. The buns are in the breadbox and… well, you can look for the rest."

"What happened to your 'I have to watch my caloric intake' spiel?"

"The onion soup gave me quite an appetite. Besides, I have ways upon ways to burn the calories off."

Was she saying what he thought she was saying? In any case, he decided to tread lightly. "You should really get some rest."

"My body will use a good portion of the calories fighting off the cold. Plus, it's not like I'm going to eat a whole pizza."

"All true," he conceded as he popped two small pizzas into the oven. Soon, he filled a tray with refreshments, two bowls of popcorn, two slices of pizza and two chilidogs. The decision to make the latter was not at all coincidental. The chili could help relieve her congestion.

For someone with a bad cold, Sarah was really chipper. Of course, having Chuck catering to her every very reasonable whim and keeping her company had everything to do with it.

"I see why you guys looked so surprised by my outfit back in Paris," she said. "The similarity is uncanny."

"All you needed was a nice pair of fangs," Chuck laughed.

"I can still bite. But for now, I'll finish my chilidog."

-o-

The movie over, Chuck went about tidying up the place. Fortunately, he'd brought several boxes of Kleenex with him, so there was no chance Sarah would run out of tissues before he had a chance to go replenish the supplies in the morning.

Knock-knock

"Are we expecting anyone?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know. Ellie might have gotten it in her head to check up on us. I'll go see."

It wasn't Ellie. In fact, it was Sarah's mom.

"Hi Chuck. Carina told me I'd find you here."

"I didn't have anywhere else to be. Come on in."

"So, how's my baby girl?"

"Mom, I'm most definitely not a baby any more."

"You'll always be my baby girl."

"She's been fed, entertained and provided with the necessary medication," Chuck summarized.

Emma's eyes were drawn to a trash can by Sarah's bed. It was half full of used tissues.

"You should be careful, Chuck. After all, I don't think you'd like to come down with whatever she has."

"I took my precautions."

"I'll take your word on that."

"What brings you here, Mom?"

"Carina mentioned you were sick. I just wanted to see if you needed anything."

"She snitched on me again?"

"Don't be mad, Sarah," Chuck tried to calm her down. "She's your sister and she's concerned about you."

"Fine," she muttered. "Mom, it's nothing serious. In all probability, I won't even have to miss work tomorrow."

Chuck and Emma looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Sarah was incorrigible. Of course, part of it was due to her wanting to keep herself occupied. She wasn't one to stay idle.

"No, you'll stay in bed tomorrow, even if I have to cuff you to it."

"Ooh, kinky," she smiled, causing him to visibly blush.

"Sarah, I'm serious." He took his phone and fired off an email. "It's final. The office has been informed you won't be there tomorrow."

"Shouldn't I have a say in it?"

"Knowing you, no. Besides, you won't be bored. I'll stay here with you and we can work remotely. I brought my laptop along. It's in the car right now, but I'm going to get it now. I'll be right back."

"He's right, you know," Emma said after Chuck left. "You're too stubborn for your own good."

"Look who's talking. I believe I inherited that from you."

"Just from me?" Emma teased. "Your father is every bit as stubborn, which makes you twice as bad as either of us."

Sarah was about to reply when she grabbed for a tissue and sneezed loudly.

"My point exactly," her mother said smugly.

While waiting for Chuck to come back up, Sarah regaled her mother with stories from the game release event a few days ago, plus the work they were doing on the new product line. And then she had an idea. "Mom, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"As you know, Ellie and Devon are going to be getting married soon and I'm the maid of honor. She has taken it upon herself to deal with most of the wedding preparations, and we give her a hand whenever possible, but she's still stressed out. I think I can take a load off her shoulders – with your help."

"Anything you need, Sarah. Just tell me."

"It's about the wedding rehearsal and the reception. I was wondering if we could do it at the Miller, specifically at the poolside restaurant."

"Give me the dates and I'll see what we can do. Naturally, I'll have to make sure we haven't already booked anything for those days."

"What are you ladies talking about?" Chuck asked when he returned with his laptop.

"Sarah had a great idea about your sister's wedding."

"She got to you, Sarah, didn't she?"

"What does he mean, Sarah?"

"Ellie is the definition of the Bridezilla. In fact, the dictionary entry has her picture right next to it."

"Don't be so mean to your sister," Sarah scolded him.

"She's right. It's her big day, a day every woman dreams of from a young age, or from the moment she meets the right guy."

"Anyway, what was your brainstorm?"

"Sarah suggested the Miller as the venue for the wedding rehearsal and the reception."

"It is the ideal place," he agreed.

"Good. From what I see, you have everything under control here. I have to go. Jack is waiting for me at the hotel and we have an important event to supervise."

"Thanks for dropping by, Mom."

"You get well soon." She then turned to Chuck. "And I'm counting on you to keep her from doing anything stupid and ending up delaying her recovery."

"Rest assured, Emma, we'll be fine."

"Stupid cold," Sarah muttered when her mother left.

"What was that again?"

"If I hadn't caught that stupid cold, you'd have ravished me several times by now."

"Excuse me? How can you be thinking about that right now?"

"It's your fault. I can't help it."

"In that case, allow me to offer my sincere apologies."

"You can make it up to me," she said haughtily and sneezed again. "When I get better, you'd better make sure my carnal needs are met to the full."

*meep*