A/N: First off, I'd like to go on the record and thank uplink2 for spotting a flaw in my (admittedly flakey) logic. I've thought long and hard about it, and there was only one way for me to rectify it without editing chapter 4, so I hope that people will accept my explanation at face value :D

I have to say that I'm pleased at how my double cross was received. I thought about leaving that one be until the end of the story, but figured that people might chase me down with torches and pitchforks if I had Bryce be genuinely nice (seriously though, I'm not all that fussed about Bryce in the TV show.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck. I do own a lot of books with cultural hotspots in western Europe. Well, my parents do, but that still counts.

Chapter 5

Chuck was driving back home after a rather interesting afternoon. His mind was still reeling from the information that he had to process. Apparently there was a super-computer which held the intelligence of the entire world, and said intelligence could be uploaded into the brain of a human being who would then be able to assimilate the data. That about covered Bryce's explanation. And if Chuck hadn't seen his C.I.A. badge, he'd have brought him to an asylum himself.

Still, there was a massive silver lining here. He would get to travel. With Sarah. He was pretty sure that Sarah liked him. Maybe even more. And he'd be lying if he said that he didn't like her. The simple fact however, was that he was still shaken up about Jill's betrayal. Yes, the incredible night with Sarah had managed to suppress those thoughts, but they came roaring back when Bryce explained his actions. And now there was another thing to add to the already confusing life of Chuck Bartowski. Bryce screwed his girlfriend… To save him. Can't wait to explain that one to Ellie his mind thought sarcastically. Then there was Ellie. How was he ever going to explain this to her? Well, it was simple enough really. Just say that he'd gotten an assignment from Graham to go with Sarah. But then he'd have to tell her he was going with Sarah. And him telling Ellie that he was going with a potential suitor was sure to bring about the Ellie Inquisitions. He had to be a fast talker to get out of that one with all of his extremities intact.

There was another thing that was bothering Chuck. That comment by Sarah. What did she mean by "his real proposal." Was she referring to Jill? Because, he might not have been an expert on proposing, but he thought he did okay for his first time. Even if he didn't actually get to ask the question, the preparation was top notch. And what about the closing moments of their first date? She'd asked if he would come in. And he declined. Not because he didn't want to. God he wanted to. It was as he told her. He respected her too much to have a physical relationship based on 6 months of her flirting, 6 months of him being oblivious to it and one fantastic night. Still, Sarah seemed eager for them to continue dating, so Chuck was definitely counting it as a win. A massive win. A win that equaled a little-league team winning the World Series. Twice. And now he'd be able to woo her outside of L.A. Which is why his first stop was at his local travel agency.

But thinking about travelling brought his thoughts back to Bryce. Was Bryce speaking the truth? Surely he had to be, right? I mean, he was a freaking C.I.A. agent. Since when couldn't you trust the people who were assigned to protect the nation? Still, his conscience (which always seemed to have Ellie's voice) was waging a war with the irrational side of his mind. The part that screamed at Chuck, that it hadn't at all been necessary for Bryce to use sex to separate Jill from him. That he could've simply arrested her, and Chuck had simply thought she had up and left him. It would've saved his friendship with Bryce. Still, if he had done that, then Chuck would've never quit Stanford. And as a result, he would've never met Sarah. Maybe he should have written him a "Thank you" card, instead of socking him in the jaw. Although the punch did feel good. And he caught a fleeting glance from Sarah that was slightly predatory.

As Chuck was reflecting on the rather intimidating past couple of days, he was content to notice that he had actually told Sarah the truth at the beach. He was feeling much better spending time with her. She was a beautiful enigma after all. No one at the office knew about her past. They only had slithers of information. And they didn't seem to correlate at all. Chuck was honored that Sarah had decided to tell him about her. He figured that it was an excellent way to judge how much she trusted him. And he had no intentions of breaking that trust. But there was one thing above all else that was clear to Chuck. Until they'd found the Intersect, Chuck and Sarah's life wouldn't be the same. And Chuck was okay with that.

Chuck had arrived at the travel agency. He was ashamed to notice a bounce in his step. He was genuinely excited. He couldn't help but let his mind drift to all the wonderful things that were going to happen. Stay in 5 star hotels all over the world. Chasing bad guys, and fighting for freedom. Doing all those things with a gorgeous woman by his side. Chuck seriously contemplated forgoing the entire trip to the travel agency to go online and get some linguistic lessons. He was hoping that he could get a posh British accent so his transformation to James Bond could be complete. But he trudged on, and walked into the office building. To his surprise, the place was packed. Still, he was going to do this right, and that meant getting information. So he sat and waited.

"Sir?" Chuck felt himself stirring. Did he really just fall asleep in a travel agency? That was just great.

"M'wake…" Chuck slurred. Truthfully, he wasn't all that uncomfortable. His dream had been a pleasant one at least. Sufficed to say, it involved a female companion. And it wasn't Ellie or Jill. But Chuck sprung to action anyway. He scuffled to one of the free chairs at the desks and sat down.

"Good afternoon, Sir. How may I help you?"

"Um… Hi… I was kind of wondering if you had some sort of guide that could show you what the touristiest places were in a city."

"Well, we have quite the selection of those kinds of guides. Any specific city you'd like?"

"Um…" Chuck started sweating. What the hell was he going to say? But he figured he might as well go for broke here. "Everything?"

The receptionist, he figured her name was Carrie, looked at him, blinked once and then asked him to repeat what he said.

"Um, I'd like to purchase a guide on every city that you have available."

"In the United States?"

"No… In the world if that's at all possible." Chuck said, and he felt the blush starting. How was he ever going to justify this? He might be able to get a pass from Sarah, after all he was technically doing it for her. But what was he going to say to the C.I.A.? "Hey, so, here's a massive bill for you people to pay so I can properly court my… girlfriend? Fellow companion? Significant other? Woman who was interested in him against all odds? They hadn't really put down specific terms yet, but whatever they were to each other, he knew that he wanted to impress her.

"Sir, you might just be better off buying books about countries. I'm sure that you'll end up much cheaper that way."

"…Okay. So, if I were to purchase, say, all the books about the western part of Europe. How much would that set me back?"

Carrie started typing some things in her computer. He couldn't quite tell what was going on, but he figured she was ringing up the prices. Either that, or she was chatting with her friends over the giant nerd that was currently sitting opposite her, who was about to single-handedly earn her, her bonus for the month.

"Let's see, that's books about Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Greece. Going at a rate of $19,99 a book equals $299,85. So, uh, can I ask why you need all these books?"

Chuck had to do some pretty fast thinking. And he would come to regret this move later, but he felt it was a stroke of genius when he was sitting there, being interrogated like that. "Uh… It's for my honeymoon… Yep, I'm about to get married you see, and my fiancé sort of took it upon herself to book the honeymoon… But I have no idea where we're going… So that's why… I'm buying these books… Yeah, that's the reason."

Carrie simply looked at him. "Right… Would you like a bag to carry these in?" She asked, nodding towards the books.

Ellie was going to kill him. And if the C.I.A. didn't reimburse this, Sarah would probably kill him as well. He didn't have too much money anyway, and if he spent whatever little he had left on a bunch of silly books, his life would've been over before they could even begin their grand adventure. So Chuck pretty much possessed the knowledge about every good spot in every good country in the western hemisphere. And he paid the price for it. So, with his car stuffed to the roof with books, he decided it was time to face the firing squad. Or, at least Ellie and Sarah. He wasn't sure which one of those two he found scarier. He really hoped the Intersect wasn't in Asia, or eastern Europe. Or if it was, that they could just snatch and grab it. Still, he was enthusiastic about this whole ordeal. He was going to miss his games, but one can't have everything in life. And if the option was between an adventure in real life or an adventure in a video game, well the choice was obvious, wasn't it? He'd choose the video game, every damn time. But now, it was an adventure with Sarah Walker in said real life. And the technology to have a constant real life, smoking hot companion throughout the virtual adventures hadn't been invented yet.

As he drove up to the apartment complex, he took a deep breath. He started reminiscing about asking out Sarah for the first time. He was pretty sure that the level of anxiety that he was feeling right now was aging him at least 15 years. He picked up his stack of books, and juggled them towards the door. As he used his foot to knock, he decided that he wasn't going to scuffle around the issue. Just tell her, and get the hell out of there, Bartowski he told himself. The door opened, and Chuck saw Ellie standing in the doorway, taking it all in. "Ellie… We have to talk."

"YOU SPENT HOW MUCH?" Ellie thundered.

Chuck winced. This was it, death by angry sister. It wasn't the number one way on his 'Way's to kick it' list, but it was definitely in the top 10. Still, he decided that this might've been a perfect job for confident Chuck. It was time to pull out all the stops. "Ellie calm down. Okay, yeah, I went a bit overboard with the books. But first off, it's being reimbursed by the uh… paper… and second of all, I think Sarah deserves me actually making an effort here."

Ellie narrowed her eyes to a glare that nearly made Chuck soil himself. Damn, she was scary. "These are for Sarah?" she asked, with a growl that was so deathly, that Chuck was sure would make children all over the world instantly do their homework, eat their vegetables and clean up the table afterwards. "And pray tell me, why you've decided to spend 300 dollars on books… For Sarah?"

Crap, he forgot to tell her why. Chuck decided to resign to his fate. Just tell her up straight. Never mind, Ellie. It doesn't matter what I'll tell you, because you're going to kill me anyway. That wouldn't really work. He wasn't afraid to die, but he figured that if he told her that, she might actually torture him first. He was literally between Scylla and Charybdis. So he was going for it, consequences be damned. "Yes sis, they're for Sarah. She'd just gotten a massive assignment from… the paper… and it involves travelling. But then, Sarah would get to choose a partner, and she put my name forward. I was kind of shanghaied into it…" At least that wasn't a lie. "But I figured, hey, what the heck. I might as well make the best of it. And seeing as how Sarah didn't scream and run away in terror during our first social get-together, I figured I'd try and get another one, and now I'll be getting another date in a different city or country than L.A. So what kind of suitor would I be, if I didn't actually do some research? Wasn't it you that always taught me to be prepared for what this life might throw at you? Taking lemons, making lemonade? Ringing any bells?"

Ellie was stunned into silence. Her sarcastic, little brother was back. Finally. Still, she wasn't about to let him have the last word. "Ah, so now we get to the crux of the matter. And when were you going to tell me about this?"

"Well, I was going to do it today. We only just got the job. So, Sarah's trying to book a flight." At that point, Chuck's phone started ringing. "Oh, that's her now."

"Chuck, if you guys aren't flying out tonight, invite her over for dinner. I'll make your favorite."

Chuck started drooling. "Lasagne?"

"You know it, brother." Ellie said, with a wink. "Oh, and don't worry about the books. If the paper decides not to reimburse them, I can front you some money."

Chuck was amazed. She wasn't angry. He survived Hurricane Ellie. This needed to be celebrated. He was so busy with his celebrating, that it took Ellie to point out that his phone was still ringing. He quickly picked up. "Hey Sarah, sorry for making you wait so long… Really? So when's that? Okay, yeah, I can make that… Hey, in case I forget, Ellie asked if you wanted to come over for dinner… Sort of like a going-away party I guess… Yeah, I told her… She took it better than I expected… Lasagna… You'll love it, I promise… Well, I'd like to think that every promise I make is sacred, but my promises to you are doubly sacred… Okay, I'll see you at 6… Bye Sarah."

"You're quite the smooth talker, you know that?" Ellie said.

Chuck jumped, and let out a short shriek. He felt his masculinity level dropping to dangerous lows. A subtle change of conversation would be perfect. "We're flying out at midday tomorrow!" he blurted out. Subtlety was never one of Chuck's strong points.

Ellie laughed. "I gathered, what with you inviting her to dinner. Which brings me back to my earlier remark. Seriously Chuck, good for you." She left him alone to retreat back to the kitchen.

"So, when's Devon getting back?" Chuck called out.

"Hopefully within 15 minutes, I need him to go down to the store and get some more wine. Is Sarah an avid drinker?" the reply came.

"Oh, I can do that, not a problem. And I wouldn't know if she drinks. She did partake at our dinner, so I'd guess she does. Let me text her."

Booze, Yay or Nay?

Three minutes later, he had gotten her response.

YAY!

He softly chuckled to himself. "I guess she'll join us in indulging, Sis." He called, before he opened the door, and walked to his car.

Sarah drove her way towards the apartment complex. She'd gotten clear instructions from Chuck on when to be there, and if anything, she was a punctual human being. As she stopped before the complex, she couldn't help but drink in the ambiance. The courtyard was rather spacey, but it still had a fair amount of luscious green. In the middle, there was a stylish fountain that was spluttering away happily. Not a care in the world. And it certainly wasn't aware of the daunting task that was laying ahead for her and Chuck. Saving the free world. Sure, let me go ahead and do that for you Mr. C.I.A. God, she hated Bryce Larkin. She also found out that she could in fact be jealous of inanimate objects. She would love to be a fountain for a while. Especially if it meant that she didn't have to save the freaking world.

She had always figured that world domination was a simple plot used by mediocre writers, to captivate audiences. Never had she figured that she would stand at the forefront of it all. And she was going to have to do it with Chuck. No offense to him, he was an amazing man. She just didn't figure that saving the world came in his repertoire. And now she was tasked with not only keeping track of what the hell happened, but she also got to make sure that no one accidentally killed them. If this was what it meant to be a spy, she was glad that she'd never opt for that particular career.

Still, the fountain looked deliciously inviting, and she decided to sit down on it for a while. Simply think things through once more. Her mind had been racing non-stop since leaving Larkin Manor, and even though she now had tickets to a first-class flight to Washington D.C. (Hey, if the C.I.A. was offering to pay, who was she to say no?) she still had no idea where to start. Major Alexander Coburn, suspected Ring member. She had to agree with Chuck, the name was ridiculous. But if Alex was rogue, why did he help her? Ever since she broke the story that he helped her garner, the political landscape had changed. But she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Just another Republican. Of course, they had recently elected Obama, but even in the years of Bush Jr. she didn't notice any sort of major changes in politics. Except for maybe the Patriot Act, but it wasn't that bad.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Chuck walking up behind her. "Hey, Sarah. So glad to see you could make it." He said cheerfully. He saw she was still deep in thought, so he crouched in front of her, and waved his hand in front of her face. "Hellooo, Chuck to Sarah here. Sarah, do you copy?"

Sarah smiled. "Copying you loud and clear, Chuck. Over." She stood up from the fountain, and without even thinking about it, she looped her arm with Chuck's. She felt him stiffen, and laughed. "Please, aren't we far past the stage where it's awkward to link arms? After all, we're older than 12 years old, you know." Sarah asked.

"You noticed that, huh? Well, don't get me wrong, I don't mind. But it seems so… surreal. I mean, you were so unattainable only three days ago, and suddenly I find out that you could actually stand me. It's a surprising change of pace, is all."

Sarah looked offended. "Well, if I couldn't stand you, my actions would've certainly been a tad awkward, wouldn't you agree. You were pretty much the only one I bothered talking to."

"But what about Morgan then?" Chuck asked.

Sarah smiled, and arched her eyebrow. "Chuck by proxy." was the only thing she said. Chuck burst out laughing. He was still laughing when he opened the door. Devon was already home, and Ellie was just finishing up the table. The scent of the lasagna that was wafting throughout the house was delicious. Sarah couldn't help but feel the saliva building inside her mouth. It smelled… divine.

"Wow, Ellie. It smells amazing in here." Sarah said.

Ellie looked pleased. "Thanks, Sarah. I hope you'll enjoy it. It's actually Chuck's favorite." Sarah stored that little tidbit of information in her brain. After all, if there was one thing she didn't mind, it was learning more about Chuck. "Please, make yourselves comfortable."

Chuck took Sarah's coat and Sarah noticed how Chuck barely realized that he was even doing it. It was ingrained on him. As they settled at the table, Devon kicked things off.

"So Chuckster, I hear you and Sarah are going on a little trip eh? That's awesome."

"Uhh… Thanks Captain… Well, I guess you could call it a trip. But we'll probably be working most of the time."

Sarah sat with a confused expression. Finally, she had to ask. "Captain?"

Devon replied. "Yep, that's what they call me. Captain Awesome. I guess it's cause my life is so awesome. I've got an awesome fiancé, an awesome almost brother-in-law and an awesome job."

Sarah chuckled. "Are you sure it has nothing to do with your tendency to say awesome a lot?"

Devon scrounged his eyebrows. "I wouldn't know about that. And my life is pretty darn awesome, so I think it's just that. Hey, but speaking about awesome, Chuck, I see you're taking this whole dating game to a new level? That's outstanding, bro."

Sarah was confused. One, Devon hadn't said awesome. But two, what did he mean by taking "the dating game to a new level"?

"What are you talking about, Devon?" Sarah queried.

"The books that Chuck bought. Y'know, getting you to do all the touristy stuff? Dinner by candlelight? Washington monument? Lincoln memorial?" Devon realized that Sarah had no idea what he was talking about, so he promptly shut up. Still, the damage had been done, and Chuck's face betrayed one thing. PFOD.

"Excuse us for just one moment" Sarah said, glaring at Chuck. As she stood up, she grabbed hold of Chuck's earlobe and dragged him into the hallway. "Books?" she hissed.

Chuck used his secret power. His power of lightning fast communication. "Funny story, actually. So remember when Bryce was all like: "Hey, guess what, you're going to travel a lot and it's going to be on the governments dime? Well, then you asked me if I still wanted to continue seeing you, and that got me thinking. And I don't want to be self-centered here, but I kind of feel that thinking is my forte. So, I was thinking, dating you has so far turned out to be a pretty damn good experience for me. And I wanted to make it special for you as well. So I decided to go out to a travel agency and stock up on some information. But I didn't really know where we were going, so I decided to just get as much as I could… And that's the story of how I spent 300 dollars trying to find ways to impress you." He finished, sulking.

Sarah stood frozen to the spot. She wasn't really mad. She just loved teasing Chuck. But this changed everything. "You did this… for me?"

Chuck looked up, wielding his disgustingly effective smile. "Well, of course. Who else would I do it for? In case you haven't noticed, apart from my family, Morgan and you, my life is pretty boring. And also, just for the record." He moved towards Sarah, who still stood frozen. He leaned in, and whispered: "…I don't plan on being romantic with anyone of them, except for you."

Chuck walked back to the dinner, looking oddly satisfied with how that whole ordeal went. Still, when he looked back, Sarah was still nailed to the exact same spot. "Sarah, you coming? Dinner's getting cold." Ellie burst into a fit of giggles, and it seemed that that had the desired effect on Sarah. She sprung back into action, and rejoined the table. The rouge on her cheeks was still visible.

The rest of the dinner went well. The wine was getting consumed at a scary pace, and it wasn't long before both Ellie and Sarah were the more cheerful versions of themselves. They retreated to the kitchen, as Chuck and Devon went to watch a game on TV.

"Sarah, I want to apologize." Ellie said, with just the tiniest hint of a slur.

"What for Ellie?"

"When I said that that you loved Chuck, silly."

Sarah's brain took a moment to connect the necessary dots. But she did arrive at the proper conclusion. "You mean… in the… uh… hospital, right?"

Ellie tried to put her finger on her nose, but failed miserably and ended up poking her cheek. It was a good enough effort. "That's the one. I really only tried to get you to make a comment about it. I can't actually read people." She said, obviously embarrassed about that last bit of information. Still, she couldn't help but giggle.

Sarah thanked her lucky stars that Chuck wasn't here to hear the conversation. "Psst… Ellie. Lean forward a bit." Ellie did, and bumped heads with Sarah. "Ow… Sorry about that… I guess... The truth is… I don't know what love is… I think…" she said, the slur becoming more predominant. "… But that's okay… I'm willing to learn…"

At that point, Chuck came back into the kitchen. He saw the state of Sarah and looked at the time. "Sarah, it's time that you went home. We've got to get up early tomorrow and pack up. I'll drive you, and then get a cab or something."

"Naeiouuuuuuuuuu." Sarah whined, in a decidedly non-American accent. "Don't want to go… Having good time… Can sleep here…" Chuck's eyebrows shot up into his curls. Although the prospect of having Sarah sleep over certainly appealed to him, he was still a gentleman. "Alright, fine. You can take my room, and I'll sleep on the couch or something."

Sarah's eyes flew open, and the rosy glow disappeared. "Charles Bartowski, if you want to be the one sitting next to me on the plane tomorrow, you will sleep in your own bed tonight."

Chuck was shocked. How the hell did she do that? But the intensity was gone, and the glow was back, along with the droopy eyelids. "Yes ma'am." He meekly responded.

"Good…" Sarah nodded. "…And so will I."

Sarah was awoken by the rays of the sun. She wondered what the temperature was, as she was feeling pretty warm. As she opened her eyes, all she saw was gray. It felt odd on her skin. It almost reminded her of… Polyester… Her eyes flew open, and she found herself to be entangled with another person.

"Oh God," she whispered, as she extricated herself from this person. "Oh God, please tell me I didn't… How could I be so stupid… Fuck, if Chuck finds out, he's going to think that I'm a slut or something… Shit, shit shit…" Then, she got a good look at whoever she was entangled with. Her heart skipped a beat when she found out it was in fact Chuck. After the moment of euphoria, dread began to fill her heart. It was actually with the same intensity of the anxiety she felt when she thought she had another one night stand. "Oh God, did we have sex?"

She was still positively panicked when Chuck opened his eyes, looking straight in the bluest eyes he had ever seen. He was mesmerized, until he realized that her eyelids were widened in terror. He was instantly alert. "Sarah, what's wrong? Did something happen? Talk to me."

Sarah couldn't bring herself to ask the question, fearing the answer. She didn't want a relationship based on physicality either. Still, she had to know. "Chuck… Did we have… intercourse last night?" She finished with a voice that had lost much of its normal authority.

Chuck started to laugh. "Nope, nothing of the sort. It's not my style to take advantage of drunken women, no matter how beautiful they are."

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God. Because, I totally agree with what you said back at my place the other day. I don't want a relationship based on physical needs. Although the way I'm seeing it, we both have some that we might need to take care of in the near future." She finished, as she glanced down, and involuntarily licked her lips. The gesture wasn't lost on Chuck, who's face turned crimson. He dove for the covers, and pulled them over his head.

"There's some aspirin in case you have a headache…" He mumbled. "Oh, and don't take this as any offense, as a matter of fact, I'd much rather you see this as a compliment, but would you be so kind as to exit the room, so I can get dressed and not leave you an… impression of sorts."

Sarah laughed, it was rich and heartfelt. And it hurt. It hurt like hell. Only then did she notice that she had a hangover that could slay a walrus. "That's okay, Chuck. I'll go ahead and take it as a compliment… A massive compliment."

She heard Chuck groan in embarrassment and knew her job was done here. "You mind if I take a quick shower before I go back and finish packing?"

"Nope, go right ahead. Anything to get you out of here faster." He said with a teasing tone.

"Oh is that so, Mr Bartowski. Woodn't you rather I stay for a while."

Chuck groaned again. "Can we please stop with the double entendre? I'm going to have a hard time living this one down aren't I? …God damn it."

Sarah left, and found the showers. This was it. The adventure was about to commence. She just hoped that no one died in the process.

A/N 2: I wasn't planning on ending it here, but if I didn't, I would've not put out another chapter for at least 18 hours, and I really just wanted to publish another chapter. So I cut it short. Next stop; Washington and Casey.

On a side-note. I was halfway through this chapter when I read Frea's blog post about how to improve writing. I groaned when I realized that I was guilty of doing most of the things that she discouraged. But, I'm going to stick with this writing style until the end of this story, and I'll try and learn from any mistakes I make, for my next one. I'll see you guys in another 24/48 hours. Now it's time for some well deserved sleep.