A/N: Happenin'? Yup, it's me again. As i said last a/n here's some more...hope it's tolerable. Of course I'm sure that you'll let me know...right?...right? Oh I see, you're gonna make me beg again , aren't you? Well no...not gonna do it...I'm not gonna break...nope...I may bend , like the willow but I won't snap, like the kitkat bar...ah, who am I kidding...I give...please, please, please...review...good or bad(but good is much better for my fragile ego...really...do you want me weeping? well, do you?)

I hope that I'll have another chapter of 'walkabout' up tomorrow, fingers crossed.

I say it almost everytime so this time I'm only going to speak to the mindreaders out there. you heard me, didn't you? Man, how cool is it that we share this bond...oh, you're right...it really isn't fair to not share with the rest of ...THEM...so, for those of you who can't read minds...I'll repeat what I said to the cool, mind readers out there...I don't own Chuck or anything Chuck related!

Sarah Vs. The Strong Swimmer - Chapter 3

"WHAT? You can't be serious! You know I would never pull something like this!"

"I know Chuck, but corporate won't budge. They had threatened to prosecute but I think they knew they couldn't make it stick. They insisted that I let you go…I'm really sorry but my hands are tied. They said that without absolute proof that someone stole your password and caused this, you had to go."

"Big Mike, we both know that it was probably Lester and Jeff who somehow tricked Morgan into giving them my password. Those idiots seem to think that they need to get even with me for making them work the last four weekends…which you were responsible for."

"I think you're right but I can't do anything unless you can prove they did it. I really am sorry…I just don't know what else to do."

"How about you stand up to corporate…never mind…we both know that's not going to happen. I've been here for five years and covering your ass for four and half of those. You couldn't repay my loyalty by standing up to those douche bags? Well, you can go…go… ah, GFY, Big mike. Good luck with everything. I'm outta here!" he finished as he tossed his employee ID card onto the desk.

It took Chuck less than five minutes to clean out his locker, throwing his possessions into his nap sack and heading towards the front door. Half way to the door, Morgan caught up to him and grabbed his arm.

"What's up, Chuck? You taking off early? Got a hot date with Sarah? Don't worry buddy, I'll cover for you."

"Morgan…we've been friends for a long time and that's why I'm asking you nicely…Take your hand off me and walk away. I really don't want to talk to you right now!" he quietly said as he shook his arm loose from Morgan's grip. Turning away he continued towards the front door and stepped out into the afternoon sun. Looking very confused, Morgan watched his oldest, and some might say only, friend walk across the parking lot.

Reaching the bench for the local bus line, Chuck sat down and pulled his phone from his pocket. Hitting the speed dial, he waited for Sarah's voice, knowing that it would help calm him down. Trying to hide his disappointment when he got her voice-mail, he decided that spending time with his 'sort-of' girlfriend might not be the best idea right now.

"Sarah, I'm really sorry but something happened at work and I have to cancel our date. I really was looking forward to tonight but right now I'm afraid I'd be shitty company and I would hate to inflict that on you. I'll call you tomorrow and explain everything, promise."

After finishing his call to Sarah he turned off his phone, knowing that there wasn't anyone else he really wanted to talk with about what had just happened. Pocketing his phone he stood up and boarded the bus that had just pulled to a stop in front of him. Not knowing where he would end up, Chuck made his way to a seat and flopped down.

-00—00—0—0—

Casey had just finished selling another 'Beast Master' and was feeling pretty good with himself. This sale had officially made him the number one salesman at the Buymore and, as trivial as it was compared to flying a stealth fighter, it still gave him a small sense of accomplishment. Looking around, he hoped to catch sight of the asset so he could find out what Big Mike had wanted. Not seeing the nerd, he decided to check with Chuck's short, bearded shadow. He had no sooner looked towards the Nerd Herd counter that he was shocked to see Morgan Grimes cold-cock Lester Patel. He never thought that the troll had a violent bone in his body but Lester's bloody lip proved that he was wrong, very wrong. He began to walk faster as he saw Morgan getting ready to swing and made it to the counter just in time to stop Morgan from hitting Lester , again.

"What the hell, Grimes?"

"Let me go, Casey. These two assholes got Chuck fired!"

"We did no such thing…" Lester said, trying to look shocked by the accusation.

"You tricked me into giving you Chuck's password and you launched that virus using his account…and corporate forced Bug Mike to fire him." Morgan sputtered, looking like he might burst into tears at any moment.

"That's a lie…and if Chuck hadn't made us work those weekends this probably wouldn't have happened to him…if that's actually what happened…I'm just saying…" Lester finished, clearly realizing that he may have said to much.

"Yeah…" Jeff added, "besides, it was done with Chuck's account so only Chuck could have done it…isn't that right , Lester?"

"That's right Jeff…now shut up!"

John Casey couldn't believe what he was hearing. These two idiots had gotten the asset fired, from a job that he didn't believe anyone could get fired from…and somehow that had involved the moron's best friend. "Well, I guess you two didn't bother checking the bottom of the schedule, did you? If you had you would have seen the note that said that all schedule changes were made by Big Mike. Now, where is Chuck?" he asked, looking at Morgan.

"He cleaned out his locker and left about fifteen minutes ago. I saw him climb on a city bus…I can't believe Big Mike fired him…what are we going to do? This place is gonna fall apart."

"Man up, Grimes." Lester hissed, "now, Big Mike will have no choice but to give me the Assistant Manager position…and then you'll be sorry for hitting me…"

"Yeah…" Jeff added, "You'll be sorry."

"Oh yeah, well…"

Casey grunted and walked away before he had to listen to anymore of the battle of the Buymore Nitwits. Heading for the front door, he pulled his phone from his back pocket and hit the speed dial. "Walker…we've got a problem…the moron just got fired…because of the nitwits and the troll…yeah, I know …he cleaned out his locker and left about twenty minutes ago…no, I don't have a clue where he was headed, the troll just said he got on a city bus…well, maybe you should call him, he is supposed to be your 'boyfriend'…hey, don't yell at me Walker. It's not my fault he got fired. Yeah…yeah, I'll check the bus schedules and see if I can get some idea where the bus might end up. Call me if you learn anything."

Putting the phone back in his pocket, Casey briefly considered doing some damage to the 'Buymorons' but decide to just check out and go home instead. Making his way to the back, Casey was surprised to be flagged down by a desperate looking Big Mike.

"Uh…hey, John…could you help me with some of this paper work?"

"You have got to be kidding me…Bartowski's been gone for twenty minutes and you're panicking already? Maybe you should have thought of that before you fired him. Sorry but I can't help. I'm off the clock and outta here. See you tomorrow. Good Luck."

Casey turned and walked away leaving a very worried Big Mike standing in the middle of the hall, looking lost and wondering how his day had turned too shit so rapidly.

-0—0-0-0-0—0

Chuck looked up and realized that he was in downtown LA and as he looked around he recognized the hotel where he had helped defuse a bomb with internet porn. That night had so many good memories…his first date with Sarah, a date that had started out as a fake but had grown into something so real that he smiled every time he thought about it. He wondered how Sarah would react when she found out that he had been fired from the Buymore. Would she be pissed that she and Casey would have to find some other way to keep an eye on him? He really hoped not…he didn't like doing anything that upset her.

Getting off the bus, he decided to go on into the hotel bar and get a cocktail. After he had a drink, maybe he'd figure out what to do…well, maybe after few cocktails he could tackle his future plans. Walking into the lounge he noticed that the bartender looked familiar. Taking a seat at the bar, he realized that the bartender was the same one he'd met the night of the 'sexbomb' as he'd come to refer to the incident.

"Hey Katie, how've you been?" Chuck asked, recalling her name and remembering dancing with her the first night they'd met.

"Hey Chuck…been a while. How's life been treating you?...What can I get for you?"

I'd love a draft and…a Jager. Life's been pretty good…at least it was until about an hour ago."

"So what happened an hour ago?" she said as she put a cold draft in front of Chuck and turned back to the bar to get him the shot of Jager.

Well…I got fired, that's what happened."

"I'm sorry to hear that. This first round's on me."

"You don't have to do that, Katie. I appreciate it but …"

"Don't say anything else…it's done. Maybe this time you'll remember to call me."

"What…was I supposed to call you? I'm sorry if I forgot…"

"No Chuck…I slipped my number in your pocket that night, hoping you'd find it and give me a call."

Remembering something from that night, Chuck asked…"was that why you grabbed my butt, too slip me your number?"

"Well, that was part of the reason…"

Oh…um…I see." Chuck choked out as he felt himself start to blush.

"That's so cute, Chuck. You blushed that night too, if I remember."

"Yeah, I usually blush when a woman grabs my…uh…butt."

"I'll keep that in mind. If you need anything else, just give a shout. I'll check back with you in a few minutes, after I take care of these other customers."

-00—0-000-00-0-

Sarah had been sitting with Ellie for the last four hours, trying to figure out where Chuck might have gone. Ellie had suggested a few of the bars that she knew Chuck frequented but Sarah hadn't had any luck so far. Chuck's phone was still turned off and since Casey hadn't gotten around to 'chipping' Chuck's phone or watch, they couldn't track him using GPS.

Ellie had been shocked when she found out that her little brother had been fired from the Buymore. She'd been telling him for years that he should move on but was surprised that life had taken such a strange way too help with the move. When Morgan had called, almost in tears , telling her that he didn't mean for Chuck to get fired, she had spent almost fifteen minutes trying to get the whole story out of him. She had still been on the phone with him when Sarah had knocked at the door, giving her the perfect excuse to finish the phone call, promising to call back as soon as she heard anything from Chuck.

Inviting Sarah in and directing her to the couch, she stepped into the kitchen and got a bottle of wine from the refrigerator. Grabbing two glasses from the cupboard, she went back into the living room and offered to pour Sarah a glass.

"No thanks…none for me, at least not right now…maybe later." Sarah said, trying to act casual. "I was just hoping you might be able to help me find Chuck…"

Four hours had passed, during which time she and Ellie had talked about Chuck and the fact that he was no longer a Buymore 'lifer', as Ellie had called him with a smile.

"He has so much potential, I just kept hoping he'd move on and, now, maybe he will. I mean, after the whole Bryce and Jill fiasco, I just kept waiting for him to snap out of it and get back to his life. Then he met you and I hoped that, maybe he was going to start moving on, and it seems like he has been. I watch him when he's around you and I see that look…like he's found happiness again…and I see you with the same look…"

The sound of Ellie's phone interrupted whatever she was about to say. "Hello…yes this is Ellie Bartowski, who's this…well, hello Katie. How can I help… Yes, Chuck is my brother…he's where? Oh…ok, yes I'll be there as soon as I can…thanks for calling, we were starting to get a little worried…yeah, he is…yes, we'll be there shortly." Ellie looked at Sarah as she punched the end button on her phone and stood up. "That was Katie, she's a bartender downtown and she thinks I should come and pick Chuck up. It seems that he's had a few Jagers and is singing a little too loud."

"Chuck's at a karaoke bar? I didn't know he likes to sing so much."

"Um…Sarah, he's not at a karaoke bar…and evidently, according to 'Katie', he's not a very good singer. Will you come and give me a hand…I'd really appreciate it."

"Of course I will. Why don't I drive since you've had a little wine tonight."

"Thanks Sarah, that would be great. Here's the address…it's downtown."

"Yeah…I know the place and …I think I know this Katie person. She better be behind the bar because if she's not, and she's grabbing Chuck's ass like the last time I saw her, there may be a problem!" Sarah said through clenched teeth as she grabbed Ellie's keys and headed out the door.

"Slow down, Sarah. What do you mean, if she's grabbing Chuck's ass?"

"I'll tell you about it in the car. Let's go."

-00—00—0-0—0-0-

Walking in the front door of the bar, the first thing Sarah heard was a terrible version of Meatloaf's 'Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad'. Following the sound of the off-key singer she caught sight of Chuck, standing in front of the jukebox, swaying. His swaying and his singing were both out of time and most of the customers in the place were trying to ignore him. Walking up behind him, Sarah gently put her arm, around his waist and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"Chuck…let's go home. I think you've had enough to drink and I'm sure that these people won't mind if you stop serenading them. What do you say…wanna come home and snuggle for a while?" she finished with a light nip at his earlobe.

"Sarah…how'd you find me?...Oh, there's Ellie, I guess Katie called her, huh? I'm sorry I broke our date…I really wanted to go but I got fired and I figured you would be mad at me …and I knew I'd be shitty company…and…and…Sarah?"

"Yeah Chuck."

"I think I love you…is that weird? I guess you hear that all the times from assets, huh? Can we go know? I want to get home while there's still two of you…" he slurred, trying to focus his eyes. "…twice the pretty…yeah, I've had enough Jager…let's go home…please."

"Sure Chuck…let's go. Ellie took care of your tab and I've got you. Let's go home."