CHAPTER 43

The morning sun crept through the curtains, coating Chuck's room in light but the warmth that enveloped Sarah came from the arms around her and the body she pressed her back into. At some point in the night she'd turned and Chuck turned with her, one arm under her pillow while the other rested on her hip. Her fingers found his, brushing the hairs on his arm on their way to his fingers which rose to meet hers.

Still half asleep their fingers slipped between each other before he brought them to her stomach, holding her as he shifted closer to her, resting his chin on her shoulder. The scent of her hair filled his nostrils, seeming to pull him from his slumber. He watched her fingers brushing against his as she started to wake, and then she felt him kiss her neck. Her hand briefly held his before she turned to him, found his eyes with hers and saw so much in them. There was a hunger, lust, but also a warmth and thoughtfulness she rarely saw. A caring adoration she felt reverberate through her heart, sending a shiver through her body as she took a breath, glancing at his lips before his hand left hers to hold her cheek as he dove in to capture her lips in his.

Turning onto her back she tried to grasps his face and savor his lips, but they were so tangled from how they'd been sleeping he started to sit up to adjust himself. She wouldn't let him get away, and he wasn't making her, bringing her with him as he sat up, their lips never parting more than a moment. She grabbed at his neck as she nearly straddled him, but he lifted her slightly and laid her back on the pillows, their legs untangled and untwisted, pressing his hands into the mattress on either side of her as he broke their kiss.

Taking a moment to catch their breath, she brushed a hand through her hair while he grinned at her, diving in for another kiss, and Sarah knew this was it. The floodgates had opened and she was just as ready as he was. She hadn't been sure what to expect, but it wasn't what she got.

Most people who had gone as long without as he had might have been quick to rush in, but Chuck took his time. He wanted to savor every moment with her, take in every inch of her, which was as frustrating as it was surprising. At first he'd just been kissing her, letting his hands roam as she did the same to him, but then she gasped when his fingers slide up her thighs and before long she was clutching the back of his shirt, moaning as he devoured her neck before she collapsed on the bed, panting without having removed any clothing.

With a hand on her forehead she blinked her eyes open and found him grinning down at her, filled with pride. "Still got it," he said wiggling his brow at her.

Sarah laughed, propping herself on her elbows as she looked to him narrowing her gaze, "Let me show you what I can do." His amusement shifted watching her sit up, sliding off her top and tossing it aside. He seemed to barely notice she was pulling his up, instinctively raising his arms to let her remove it before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him, Sarah giggling as she let his shirt drop to the floor.

They took their time with each other, laughing more than she'd expected, but she always seemed to with Chuck. She noticed how he shied away whenever she gawked at him, clearly a bit self conscious, but was quick to lavish her with praise while kissing whatever part of her he could reach. She found it helped more than he knew, especially since he was so sincere even when he was making corny jokes and waggling his eyebrows at her. If he kept it up she worried she'd develop some kind of Pavlovian response to seeing it.

It wasn't until she was laying back with her arms around his neck, gasping with him inside her that she felt a swell of emotion flood her. Sarah felt like she would drown in it all, drawn in him as she met his eyes and saw so clearly then that he felt the same she did. She saw in his gaze that he loved her.

Maybe it was childish, but in that moment she couldn't help but think how nice it would have been if her first time was with him. She felt a rush of regret for all she'd done before that moment, wishing she could share even more with him. She would share everything with him if she could. But then she might not be the same and he might not feel the same about her, and she didn't want that. It was just startling that despite how complicated sex seemed to be at times there was none of that now. It was fulfilling and fun, relieving not just physically but emotionally to be linked so intimately with this man who loved her.

She swallowed so many things she wanted to say every day and kept so much of herself hidden away out of fear, but it didn't matter. Her arms around him and him inside her, engulfing him every way she could, none of it mattered. She had nothing to fear. So she abandoned all of it, let her past fell away and her fears for the future fade, devoting everything to her bond with him. Sarah gave herself to Chuck completely and was able to enjoy herself and him, feeling better than she ever had.

When both fell back into his pillows Sarah found herself gasping for breath with a hand on her head before opening her eyes and looking to Chuck beside her. He was letting out a long breath, staring up at the ceiling with a surprisingly contained expression.

Sarah rolled over, sighing in content at the soft ache pulsing through her as she slid a hand to his chest, brushing her her fingers through the hair there. He turned his gaze on her and smiled, sitting up slightly to slide his arm under her, letting her move closer to him while wrapping it around her.

Seeing her observing him he asked, "What are you thinking?"

"How lucky I am,"she said placing a kiss on his collar.

"I was thinking the same," he said with a smirk. "How lucky you are."

Sarah giggled, sliding herself against him while her arm snaked up his torso and neck to brush through his curls. Then meeting her gaze he watched it harden as she declared, "I am." She enjoyed seeing him so confident and self assured. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the morning was the assertiveness he showed at times.

"So am I," he said brushing back a strand of sweat dampened hair to kiss her forehead. "It have been a while, but that was easily the best."

"By far the best," she nodded in agreement. She'd expected surprise but found he simply looked pleased. "It's never been like that." With a playful smack of his shoulder she teased, "If I didn't know better I'd think you lied about your history. That kind of thing only comes with lots of practice."

"I'll avoid the obvious joke," he said with a grin that made her roll her eyes, "and remind you I'm a nerd who went without for a long time, not a priest who's afraid terrified of the subject. I've had a lot of time to watch stuff and do a lot of reading. I don't think we've done even half the stuff I've thought about doing with you."

"Is that so? We'll have to start working on that," she said leaning in for a kiss, then redirected her lips to his cheek adding, "another time."

"You're evil, Sarah Walker," he said shaking his head as she pushed off him and the bed before sliding off the bed. He'd expected to watch her pick up some clothes, but instead she bent over to pick up her overnight bag despite it only being on his deckchair. She even made a point to wave her rear at him as she looked through it, as if swaying with indecision before taking out her toiletry bag. She giggled hearing him groan and mutter, "Cruel."

Walking to the bedroom door she stopped and turned to him with a smirk. "Well?" When he raised a brow questioningly she smirked, "I've sure you thought of a few things in the bathroom. I know I have."

Chuck watched her leave the room, blinking for a moment before throwing the blankets aside and leaping out of the bed to chase after her.

After brushing their teeth became testing their breath, which became testing the stability of the sink, and Chuck did his best not to remember he was doing what he'd caught his sister and Awesome doing in the shower, they returned to his room and got dressed. Though he'd offered to get them croissants or cook breakfast again Sarah shook her head.

"As much as I want to stay with you all day we still have our cover," she said motioning toward the living room windows.

Though disappointed Chuck hid it with a teasing smirk. "You just don't want to have to deal with Ellie when she gets home."

"Guilty as charged," she said with a laugh.

Chuck stepped up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Then I guess you should be punished, hm?"

Sarah's brow rose. "Oh? You're into that, huh?"

"I'm into you," he said.

"Not at the moment," she said making him laugh.

"And you say you're not funny." Chuck leaned in to kiss her neck before placing a quick kiss on her lips. "We'll talk later?"

"I'm sure Beckman will have an update on the mission."

"Okay," he said dubiously, surprised she put it like that.

"Remember, they track your phone," she said poking his chest. "So our cover extends to our texts and calls."

"So I guess no sexting, huh?"

"Chuck, do you want to sext with me?" she asked quickly.

"What?" He cleared his throat. "No, no, I was just, you know, haha!"

Sarah nodded skeptically before kissing him, clutching his shirt before almost throwing herself back and forcing herself to leave.

She wasn't wrong about Beckman having an update, telling them a house was being purchased and their identities being created. He only had to suffer three days in white pants before he started packing for the mission, which was where Ellie caught him.

"Breaking out a dad shirt, huh?"

Spinning around he showed her the old buttoned shirt. "Uh, yeah. What do you think?"

"Well, I think it makes you look very grown-up," she offered.

"Oh, good, that's kind of the idea," he said putting it on the bed with his others.

"Yeah? Where are you guys going?" Ellie asked crossing her arms, "What's the mission?"

Chuck sighed, having been avoiding this. After she came home from work the day after the sleepover she'd had a knowing grin plastered on her face for two days whenever she saw him, and when Sarah came over for dinner had pulled her aside, which terrified him, especially as Sarah came back blushing and nervous.

"Well there's this guy, Alexei Volkoff," Chuck said leaning against the frame of the closet door. "He's the worlds largest arms dealer and I tracked a shipment of all these electronics parts to this suburb in the valley. So we're all heading there to see why they would need enough electronics to open a Buy More."

He saw Ellie start to piece it together, her lips briefly stretching to a grin before she contained it asking, "What's your cover?"

Knowing there was no escape, he dove in. "Sarah and I are newlyweds and Casey is her brother."

"Oh Chuck, that's great!" She bounced.

"Sitting around watching a cul-de-sac?" He shrugged. "It should be easier than diffusing bombs at least."

"No, don't you get it? This is… this is like a dry run, you know, so you and Sarah can see what it would really be like." She gave a big toothy grin while pointing to the engagement ring she held up.

"Zip it!" He mimed zipping his mouth. "That is your wedding craziness. This is just a mission. No big deal."

"You're going to be cohabitating with your girlfriend in a house that doesn't have poster that were hung in the eighth grade," she said motioning to his Tron poster.

"That-that is a collectible," he challenged, "but fine."

"This could give you an idea what it would be like to live together once you get your place."

Sarah had gone ahead of him to help the team sent as movers prepare the house, Casey already there with her by the time he drove to the Valley, making his way into the cul-de-sac and pulled into the driveway of the Carmicael's house in a cover car. Sparing waves to the neighbors he made his way inside, stopping as he spotted a painting of Sarah in a white dress and veil beside him in a tux.

It was well done, but seemed somehow just as off as the Comic-Con picture she'd given him at Halloween. Maybe it was her smile, or the fact he had a stoic expression despite being beside the woman he loved on their wedding day, but it wasn't the only one that felt off to him. There was a picture from their wedding that never happened, them in a golf cart, in winter gear beside a rusted car, him carrying her in a wedding dress, hiking somewhere, even a dog. It all felt so fake to him, except for the dog, who rushed past him suddenly before Sarah made her way toward him with a big bowl in hand.

"Uh, whose life have I stepped into?" he said glancing back at the dog before following her. "You need help?"

"I'm fine," she said adjusting her grip on the bowl.

"What are you doing?"

Setting the bowl on a table she said, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm making potato salad."

"What are you cooking for the entire neighborhood?"

His laughter faded as she said, "No, Chuck. You are," and handed him a tray of meets for the grill.

"Hey, there's the grill-meister," said a husky man with a wave.

"Welcome, neighbors," said the brunette woman beside him.

After sparing them a smile Sarah turned back to him. "Don't forget, one of our new neighbors is likely a terrorist working on something with Volkoff tech."

Hearing a shift behind them he turned to find Casey standing behind a large television with wires for the DVD player and sound system. "You heard the little lady. Get out there and mingle." He started to turn back but them added with a smirk, "I made sure they got you the newest Beastmaster. If you screw up the food it's all you."

"Thanks, Casey," he said shaking his head as he turned back to Sarah, who gave her finishing touch to the salad and picked it up with a smile, leading him out to the grill.

With little experience helming a grill, Chuck found himself going over everything again and again before moving it to the plates. It was even in the back of his mind as he met Brad, who took him to greet the others and marvel at Sarah. He was definitely the jokester of the group, which gave Chuck room to stand apart from the group instead of trying to cut out any awkwardness.

It was there as he checked his watch that the blonde Sylvia Arculin stepped out from the kitchen saying, "My sentiments exactly." He was shocked at how blatant her advances were after that, shooing him off with a swat on the rear.

As he walked over to the girl and Sarah joined him he told her, "No Flashes. No nothing. I think our neighbors are clean… Except for that lady across the street. She's got a dirty mouth."

"Well are you sure you checked everybody?" She asked. "Heard their names?"

"Maybe I screwed it up?" He said with a shrug. "Maybe it was just shoddy record keeping?"

"Hey Sis," Casey said peeking out the window. "You should come inside. Slight problem with the cable."

Inside Chuck felt a flicker of pride seeing Casey take out the detector he made, turning it on to create a soft buzz in the kitchen. He then switched it to silent, following the growing vibration in his hand until he pulled a small listening device from under the brownies noting, "Looks like one of ours."

But Chuck felt knowledge being pulled up telling him it had been. "Uh, correction. That was one of ours. That bug was stolen from a CIA substation in Omaha in '06. Now it belongs to Fulcrum."

The agents shared a glance, Sarah saying, "And here I thought we were looking for a garden-variety terrorist."

Maybe the painting wasn't so bad. Thanks to its stoic expression giving off the sense of him being the quiet type he felt he had an excuse for keeping silent most of the time their guest were there. In truth it was just him trying not to freak out wondering which one of them was secretly a rogue CIA agent and what the hell they could be making with likely hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of electronics.

Once everyone had their fill of burgers, wieners, potato salad and conversation the yard emptied, leaving Chuck, Sarah and Casey in the house. All three took out their detectors, going a sweep which found four other bugs they disabled, letting the owners think them active but useless. Casey packed away his things and departed to inform Backman of their findings, leaving the couple alone.

After taking the dog out for a walk together, which they used to stroll through the streets and get an idea of who lived where, they returned to their temporary home and settled in for the night. Though Casey would surely give them crap about taxpayer dollars, Chuck decided to let the government pay for them to order a movie for the night. Of course he didn't feel much guilt when Sarah settled in next to him on the couch and they missed half the movie.

As the credits rolled he asked with a smirk. "We're supposed to be newlyweds, right?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah."

"Well," Chuck said getting to his feet and looking around the house before letting his gaze settle on her. "Maybe we should go around 'christening' every room?" Seeing her brow rise he added coyly, "For the cover."

Getting to her feet Sarah pulled her top off and flung it behind her with a sly smile. "For the cover."

They got in plenty more practice that night, and Sarah found while maybe not as eye opening or emotional as their first time each was at least as enjoyable. It didn't take her long to realize he spent a good portion of each time testing her, learning things about her and how she reacted to certain things. What was too much, what made her knees wobble or hold her breath all while she tried to gather her own intel on him. By time they ended up in bed they were exhausted and more informed than they had been about each other's bodies and likes.

For Chuck it was almost like a game. Really most things felt like a puzzle for him to solve, except Sarah had a few turbo buttons for him to use before he found all the tricks and cheats.

After falling asleep with her in his arms he woke alone, his frown fading as his eyes widened at the breathing in the room behind him. His fear ended when he turned and found it was the dog staring at him from the hall. After a pit stop at the master bath he made his way downstairs with a yawn and the dog following him until he came to a stop at a wonderful sight.

There Sarah was in a pink nightie at the stove preparing breakfast. Hearing him come to sit at the island she turned with a smile. "Hi. Did you sleep well?"

This is Stepford, Chuck thought furrowing his brow, Fulcrum had replaced my girlfriend with a robot. That or the house was bugged again, so he said loudly while looking around, "Like a log, honey. How did you sleep?" Then quietly asked, "What are you doing? Did you find more bugs?"

"I'm cooking breakfast," she said shaking her head turning back to the pan. "I swept the house. It's clean."

"Are we having neighbors over?" He asked glancing at the back door.

"No, Chuck," she said flipping the omelette, "I-I'm cooking for you." When she set he pan down and turned to him she found him grinning at her. "What?"

"Nothin'" he said pulling his lips tight as she went about dicing with her usual ease. "It's just funny. I never pictured you doing this."

"Well, what can I say? I'm versatile." turning back to the pan she told him, "Sit."

Watching her slide the omelette onto the plate she prepared for him he asked, "Are-Are you enjoying this whole Martha Stewart thing?" The smile on her lips as she picked from the fruit bowl made it clear she did. "I can't believe it. Oh, please tell me you're not going soft on me."

Waving a finger she told him, "Just shut up and eat your breakfast."

"You better be careful, Sarah," he said taking his fork. "One day you might actually turn into a real girl."

Sarah smirked, watching him pull a piece off the omelette as she pulled another fruit from the bowl and turned back to the stove. It wasn't until she bit into it and tasted it that she realized she'd picked out a strawberry. It suddenly tasted bitter in her mouth as she remembered what Chuck had told her the night they got together for real.

Forcing herself to swallow the bite, she picked up a few spare bits of bacon and turned to feed the strawberry to the dog, chasing it with bacon strips, which was all Chuck saw as he turned back to her. Seeing him enjoying her cooking made her smile natural.

It felt odd getting dressed in a suit for a day slinging yogurt, but having her see him off was great, at least until she handed him a grocery list and kissed his cheek whispering, "Hand it Casey at his place"

Arriving at Casey's apartment, Chuck handed the list over which turned out to have an old school hidden message on the back about a target on the move.

"Wait, you guys figured out who planted the bug?"

"Yeah." He pulled an image of Cliff Arculin out of the file he was holding. "Ring any Intersect bells?"

"Yeah, that's crazy cougar lady's husband. How do you know it's him?"

"Well, while you and Walker were busy playing house, I was doing some old-fashioned spy work. Pulled a fingerprint off the bugs, ran it through the database."

"So, who was the guy before Fulcrum?"

"CIA Psi-Ops. Agency shrinks. A real bunch of weirdos," Casey said scrunching his face before turning to the file, showing Chuck pages. "Turns out he's in charge of the Home Owner's Association, which is who received the packages. He also ordered construction disposal two months back. I even spotted infiniband data lines coming out of his house. The same stuff we use to tap into the Agency's intranet."

Chuck nodded. "I'm guessing it's probably not for online gaming or porn?"

"More like hacking into government servers."

"Obviously," Chuck scoffed, then deflated asking, "Okay, so what do we do now?"

Closing the file and tossing it on the table between them, Casey told him, "Now you get us into that house and onto that computer."

"You want me to get out the ol' Nerd Herd uniform?" Chuck shrugged. "I might have a spare pocket protector somewhere."

"Nope," Casey said with a smirk. "You're going in the old-fashioned way. Let the horny housewife take you up to have her way with you."

Chuck stared at him for a moment. "You want me to sleep with out neighbor Sylvia?"

"No, we want you to pretend to want to sleep with her, and then see if you can get on her Fulcrum husband's PC and see if you flash on anything." Spraying him with some kind of cologne he added, "You want to throw in a little sex that's your prerogative."

Wincing at the spray, he coughed and sighed. "I doubt Sarah's going to be okay with this."

"Is he ready?" He turned to see Sarah coming through the door. Seeing his confusion and Casey's teasing smile, she quickly figured out what they were talking about. "Chuck, look, I'm sorry, but this is our best option."

He stared at her as Casey explained. "Target's got the house rigged with state-of-the-art security. And since his wife's expressed a romantic interest in you-"

"We need to exploit it," Sarah concluded.

"I doubt she's looking for romance, but sure we can exploit it I guess," Chuck said grimacing at the idea and how unaffected she seemed. For a moment he wondered what happened to that girl who was protective and possessive of him, but he also knew she was a professional, and as usual that came first.

"Look, Casey and I will be with you every step of the way," she assured, his gaze lingering on her before turning to the talking Casey.

"Yeah, if the cougar gets a little hairy you can always tap out." Chuck knit his brow wondering if Casey wanted a go at the crazy blonde woman. Maybe he was into that kind of thing.

"Look," Sarah began, "we understand if this makes you uncomfortable-"

"Breaking my fake wedding vows?" He shrugged, dripping sarcasm as he continued, "Nah, forget about it. I'm golden. Just hit me with a spritz of that." Casey did, but then sprayed his crotch. "Why there?"

"Don't want her smelling anyone else on ya," Casey said with a laugh.

Chuck grunted. "Time to go bag a cougar I guess."

Hearing him grouse as he turned to leave, Sarah grabbed Chuck's hand to stop him and looked to Casey. "Can we have a minute?"

"Keep your clothes on or I'm putting a bullet in you both," he warned before heading upstairs.

Once he left the room Sarah turned to Chuck. "I know this isn't great-"

"I get it," he assured, holding up a hand. "It's what has to be done."

It was clear in his voice he was upset, so searching his face she slide her hand down to hold his. "You don't have to worry about me, Chuck."

"I get," he repeated, pulling his hand away from hers as if his tone wasn't enough to let her knew she'd just made it worse.

Then it clicked for her. Her jaw set, she glanced over her shoulder and grabbed his wrist again, moving closer. "I'm not happy about this either," she said meeting his eyes, "but we have to be professional, Chuck. I promised Casey I wouldn't let us interfere with missions. I can't get angry or say if she does anything to you I did last night I'm going to cut her hands off, because I know you'll not want to do it for my sake and we need to get in there. This is for you, remember. We need to make sure this is successful, so I can deal with it. This isn't just a hit on Volkoff but against Fulcrum as well, and all of it because of you, not the Intersect."

Chuck sighed, sliding his wrist from her hand, but before she could react he'd grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry"

"Don't be," Sarah said shaking her head, then smirked adding, "I might not be this easy going if it was Brad's wife." Chuck's confusion lasted until he remembered she was brunette.

Sarah left first, sneaking back into the Meadow Branch while Casey went over in his cable truck to finish setting up their house. When Chuck called to say he was nearby Casey went inside for a break with Sarah to miss Chuck parking his car down the block and making his way over to the Arculin house across the street from the Carmichaels.

"Mr. Carmichael," Sylvia said opening to door to find Chuck stood in his suit. "I didn't expect you to come so quickly."

"Charles Carmichael always comes quickly." He tried to play it off with a smile upon realizing what he said.

While she laughed Casey said over his mic, "Real smooth, Bartowski."

Least Chuck Bartowski doesn't, Sarah thought biting her lip to keep from grinning and letting Casey pick up on it. She had to be professional, which is why she remained silent as Sylvia led Chuck up to her room.

"What do you think your, uh, wife would say if she knew you were up here?" She heard Sylvia asked over Chuck's mic. "You think she'd be jealous?"

"Well, it's like you said. I mean, the honeymoon, she is over."

"If you don't mind me asking, when was the last time you and your wife made love?"

This morning after I cooked him breakfast, Sarah thought with a contained sneer.

"Well, that's a-that's a good one," he said nervously. "You know, uh, say the wrong thing and she goes frigid."

Sarah frowned remembering their first night together for real. He'd said the wrong thing and she went frigid. Suddenly Sarah hated this. Especially when he told them she'd handcuffed him to the bedpost.

"There's a bone in your thumb," Casey told him. "Tiny bone. Real easy to break."

"He's not breaking his bone," Sarah said snapping out of her haze.

Thankfully he managed to get the keys and to the room with the infiniband wires where they heard him over the mic. "Damn it. Password protected."

Looking around the room Chuck found the little toy salamanders and shrugged, saying as he typed in the password, "Salamander."

Upon hitting enter he watched as the box on screen rapidly filled out before flashing: Test sequence initiated.

Then they started. Hundreds of images flashed on the screen, seeming almost tinted red as it felt like they were being burned into his brain until they ended, the screen declaring: Test sequence successful. Yet again he fell back, landing with a thud until he heard Sarah's voice in his ear.

"Chuck. Chuck you have to get out of there. Chuck? Chuck?"

"Stay here, Walker," he said heading for the back door, "I'm going in after him."

Chuck's eyes snapped open as he hurried to his feet, saying into his mic, "I'm getting out. I need to get out now. Problem. Big flashy problem."

"What's wrong, Chuck?" Sarah asked, having risen from her seat as Casey came to a stop near the door and turned to her.

He didn't answer, hurrying for the window and climbing out onto the roof where he dropped onto a stone fence wall and fell into bushes. Striding down the sidewalk he waved and nodded to the neighbors. "Good afternoon."

Sarah came out of the door, a hint of panic on her face that faded seeing him unharmed but undressed.

Letting out a breath he said, "You're never gonna believe what just happened over there!"

"Well this ought to be good," Brad said turning to watch along with half the neighborhood.

Realizing how many eyes were on them and what it looked like, Sarah turned to him, put on a sneer, reeled back and slapped him across the face. To Chuck's relief he knew it wasn't as hard as she could go because he managed to stay on his feet, though his jaw was momentarily numb before the pain spread.

"Uh, honey, please," he said knocking on the door. He couldn't really do much. "At least give me my keys," he said quiet enough only she could hear through the door.

A moment later the door flew open and Sarah threw a set of keys at him with tears in her eyes. "Don't come back!" Before he could speak she closed the door, briefly mouthing 'Sorry'.

He was plenty embarrassed walking back to his car in his underwear with fluffy cuffs hanging off his wrist, but Chuck had felt worse. The one person he really cared about knowing the truth of it all definitely helped a lot, but not much when he made it back to Echo Park and hurried into Ellie's for a change of clothes before heading over to Casey's. It wasn't long before they showed up.

"I'm sorry about that back there," Sarah said once she came through the door to find Chuck sat at the computer.

"It's fine," Chuck shrugged. "You salvaged the cover I screwed up."

"What happened in there?" Casey asked. "After you left the cougar and her husband were looking for you."

"I-I think I know what they're building," he said with a frown. "I checked their computer and when I put the password in… it showed me encoded images." The agents stared at him as he concluded, "I think Fulcrum's building an Intersect… and I think I downloaded part of it."

AN:

Briefly contemplated going M but didn't think I needed it to get across what I wanted with the sex scene. I've seen worse things in T fics so I figure what I went with should be okay. Beyond the start being like Vs the Colonel, the sex section is based partially off a scene from one of my favorite romance manga, to the point of having similar if not direct wording in places. 1 million imaginary points to anyone who gets it, heh.

I'm super glad I got the 'do you want to sext with me' bit in from 401. The read on it is definitely one of my favorites.

Also a reviewer asked why Quinn wasn't tracked by Copeland or in the room with Graham so I figured I'd clarify it here in case anyone else had the same question. Quinn wasn't in the Intersect room with Graham because his psych eval kept him from being fully cleared so would've been put in a later round of Intersect hosts, and the way I'm playing him here he's good at spy craft and smart enough to avoid being tracked by Copeland and the CIA. If you have any other questions feel free to ask and I'll try to explain either the story reason or the writing reason.