A/N: Hey everybody...great to see all of you again...and you new ones...don't be shy...you don't have to stay in the back...you can come up to the front and join the rest of the class...yeah...thanks to everyone for your reviews...it really makes an author's day...yeh...i called myself an author...what ya gonna do about it...review and refute it...go ahead, I dare you...review and tell me what a hack I am...review and tell me that my ego is the size of Shaw's forehead...review and tell me that you'd rather be reading 'walkabout'(hint hint...more 'walkabout' goodness coming soon)... review and... ah, the hell with it...you don't need a reason to review...just do it because all of the people who post for your entertainment would really appreciate it...that's right...I'm asking you to hit the review for all of those who have helped put a smile on your face...thanks.
It should be noted that no betas were injured in the construction of this chapter...hell no betas were used...period...but I bet you people already figured that out...there I go again...saying nice things about you, hoping that you'll review...which I'm sure you will... because only extremely cool and inteligent people leave reviews..asshats and nimrods don't leave reviews...wait...that's not fair...I shouldn't be trying to coerce you into leaving reviews...that's just not right...this isn't a story you want to ignore(my fingers wiggle), you want to leave a review(my fingers wiggle, again), you want to tell all your friends about me(fingers wiggle, again)...wait...no fair using Jedi mind tricks...I promised my mom I wouldn't do that anymore...the jedi mind trick finger wiggling...not the other finger wiggling...what?...you don't know what I'm talking about?...never mind then...go away...pay no attention to the idiot behind the curtain...who probably spelled curtain wrong...dammit...I should have just said wall hanging...ah, wait...time for my medication...ah, sweet, sweet Jager...
Back to the serious stuff...I know it may be hard to believe but I don't make any money writing this stunningly fantastic Chuckverse based prose because: 1- I don't own Chuck and 2- ah...that first thing explains it all... JT (that's me)
Sarah Vs. The Strong Swimmer Chapter 5
Sarah slammed Casey's door and had taken three steps towards Casa Bartowski when she noticed that Chuck was sitting on the fountains edge. Skidding to a halt, she looked at Chuck while she tried to figure out what she should say.
"So…Mrs. Larkin…" Chuck said, the hurt and betrayal evident in his voice, "…are we still going on this 'date-date' or do you have some other important mission?"
"Chuck, I'm not married to Bryce…I never was. I don't know why the CIA are trying to give me a spousal benefit check but I intend to get to the bottom of this."
Sarah slowly made her way to the fountain and sat down next to Chuck. She reached for his hand, intending to make a connection but he clearly didn't want any contact between them.
"So, you were just Bryce's partner?"
"Well…yes. We were partners and…uh…" she stammered, clearly not sure what to say next. "…Chuck, can we please go somewhere quiet, somewhere that has less listeners" she looked towards Casey's door, hoping that he caught on to her hint about the surveillance. "There are some things that I have to tell you and I'd rather not do it here in the courtyard. Please?"
"Alright, Agent Walker" Chuck replied, clearly still very upset. "We'll do this your way." Getting to his feet, he started towards the street, not bothering to look back too see if Sarah was following him.
Not sure how she would bring herself to tell Chuck everything that she felt he needed to know, she got to her feet and followed after him. "Chuck" she said as she caught up with him, "why don't you decide where we can go and have our talk." Handing her keys to him, she couldn't help but smile at the shocked look on his face.
"You want me to drive your baby?" he choked out, wanting to make sure that he hadn't misinterpreted her actions.
"Chuck…it's just a car. I know that I might seem over protective of it but, really, it's just a car. I'm sure that you can handle it."
"Okay…I'll try to not scratch it, Agent Walker" he said as he walked to the passenger side door and held it open for her.
"Would you please stop calling me Agent Walker. I would prefer it if you called me Sarah."
"Is Sarah your real name?" he asked as he climbed in behind the wheel.
"Well…uh…I…"
"Until you trust me enough to tell me your real name, I'll stick with Agent Walker or, if you'd prefer, I can switch to 'ma'am'.
Sarah chose to keep quiet, promising herself that once they got to where ever they were headed, she'd give Chuck all the answers he wanted…and then some. They rode on in silence, Sarah amazed at how well Chuck was handling the Porsche. He drove like he had owned the car for years and she promised herself that she wouldn't underestimate him again…about anything.
About fifteen minutes later Chuck pulled into a parking space at 'their' beach. After pulling the keys from the ignition, Chuck reached for the door, ready to get out. Sarah reached across and gently grabbed his arm.
"Chuck, before we start, I want you to take a few of these" she said, handing him a bottle of extra strength pain relievers. Seeing the question in his eyes, she added "I've got a feeling that you're going to need them for the headache that's coming your way. Please, just trust me on this."
"Yes ma'am" he said as he dry swallowed four of the pills. He was reaching for the door when Sarah grabbed his arm again.
"While you're still sitting, I'll get this started. I hope you don't hate me after this…"
"I don't think I could ever hate you…"
"Sarah Lisa Walter…" she said, softly. She watched as the flash took Chuck and she waited for it to end. It seemed to take longer than any flash she'd witnessed before and she found herself gripping his arm, scared about what he was learning of her past. The moments seemed to stretch on forever and then, suddenly, Chuck groaned and grabbed at his temples.
"God damn that hurt!" he said as he began massaging his temples. "I wish you would have warned me you were going to do that. Thanks for the pain relievers, bv the way." Having not heard a sound from Sarah, he looked to his right and saw her staring at him with tears pooling in her eyes. He dropped his hands from his temples and reached over to place them on either side of her head. Leaning forward he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and then kissed away a tear that had begun to work it's way down her cheek. "Sarah…what's wrong?"
"You hate me now, don't you?" she said, trying to keep the tears in check. "You found out all of my dirty secrets and now you hate me" she said as she shifted her line of sight to the floor.
"Sarah…Sarah, look at me" he said as he placed on of his hands under her chin and raised it up so they were making eye contact again. "I told you that I could never hate you and I meant it. I promised you that I wouldn't , intentionally, look at your files and I meant it. The fact that you trusted me enough to tell me your real name says so much…so much that I needed to hear." Leaning in, he kissed away another errant tear that had begun it's slow fall.
"Chuck…do you think we could get out of the car and go sit on the beach? I'd really like to get some fresh air and…there's some other things I need to tell you…things that weren't in the Intersect. Would that be okay?"
"Of course Sarah. I wish I'd thought ahead and brought a blanket so we…"
"I did…there's a blanket in the back seat. If you hadn't picked the beach, I was going to suggest it for our date-date" she said with a small grin.
"Well, it's good that one of us was thinking ahead" he said as he reached behind the seat, groping for the blanket that she had placed back there. His hand brushed up against a bottle neck and he grabbed it, pulling out a bottle of wine. "Planning to get me drunk and take advantage of me?"
"No Chuck…it's non-alcoholic sparkling cider. It was for later. It kinda goes along with something I have to tell you."
"Alright Sarah, you carry the bottle and I'll grab the blanket."
A few minutes later they had found a place on the beach and Chuck had spread out the blanket. After sitting down, he pulled Sarah into his lap. "Okay, Sarah…I'm all ears."
Taking a deep breath, Sarah got started, mentally checking the list of things she felt that she needed to tell him. "First things first…you already know that Bryce and I were partners. What I never told you was that we were together for over two years." she felt him tense up and she rushed on, "I thought that I was in love with him and , I guess, it took meeting you to make me realize that what he and I shared wasn't love at all. I think we just used each other to fill the voids in our lives that being a spy didn't fill. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Yeah, yeah I think I do. Please, go on."
"Well, a few months ago I began to realize that he wasn't giving me everything that I needed and then, when I met you, I realized just what I had been missing…what Bryce just couldn't give me. A sense of being cared for… a sense of being needed, for something other than sex. That's what I've found with you…and I don't think I even knew that I needed it until you gave it to me. God…how sappy do I sound right now?" she said as she rolled her eyes, looking like she couldn't believe what she had just said.
"Sarah…I don't think you sound sappy…well maybe a little, but it's the good kind of sappy." Chuck reached up a hand and pulled her in for what he intended to be a light kiss but which rapidly escalated into a very passionate kiss with some mild groping thrown in for good measure.
"Chuck…wait" she managed to say after pulling back from a kiss that had taken her breath away. "There's more that I have to say…please let me finish. After I get it all out, if you still want, we'll get right back to that great kiss…okay?"
"Yeah, Sarah…let's hear the rest of it."
"Alright…here's for your plan" she said as she punched him in the shoulder…hard!
"Ow…hey, national treasure here…go easy on the merchandise! OW! No more hitting, ok?"
"Alright, Mr. 'national treasure', no more hitting. Just listen…I can't believe that you dropped that bomb on the director and the general…do you have any idea how dangerous that was…hell, still is? I think they were too shocked to get pissed and I hope that the twenty-four hour cool down manages to get them to realize that your plan would work!" she said with a smile as she looked into his eyes. "I really think it's a great idea…what was the first one like, the one you threw out?"
"I didn't throw one out…that plan was the only one…I just changed the delivery method after the bitch and the asshat started giving me shit."
"You what?" Sarah yelled as she drew back her fist, obviously planning to break her own 'no hitting' promise from moments earlier.
"Hey…no hitting! Remember?" Chuck yelped as he tried to wiggle away, only to realize that having a dangerous spy, sitting in your lap, leaves you open to easy torment.
"Alright, Chuck…no hitting but, there's some kind of punishment coming soon. We'll wait until after the briefing tomorrow to see what that punishment will be. Now…I'm hoping that your little business proposal has an opening for me."
"What…are you telling me that you don't love working at Wienerlicious?"
"No, Chuck…I don't love it there. My hair always smells of grease and those little pervs are always trying to get pictures, with their cel-phones, every time I bend over to refill the condiment vats. Tell me you'll need a clerk/secretary at your computer business."
"I don't see why not, let's wait and see what the powers that be have to say. I, personally, like the sound of it. Of course I'll be the one taking cel-phone pictures…Ow! No Hitting…remember?"
Chuck…there's something else I have to tell you…last night, you said something at the bar. I need to know…did you mean it?"
"Actually, Sarah…I was lying…"
"What?" Sarah said, her eyes showing the hurt that suddenly hit her. Struggling to get up from Chuck's lap, she couldn't believe what she heard.
"Sarah…SARAH…calm down. I was lying because I had already fallen in love with you…I just wasn't sure that then was the best time to say it."
"You love me, Chuck?"
"Yes…yes I do!"
"You have no idea how much that means to me! I needed to hear that. There's one more thing that I have to tell you. Please promise me that you won't freak out…ok?"
"Sarah…after all that's happened in the last twenty-four hours, I'm pretty sure that nothing could freak me out. Let me have it."
"Chuck…we're going to have a baby...I'm pregnant."..."Chuck?"... "Chuck?" "Wake up, Chuck...wake up. No fair fainting on me." Sarah said as she looked down at her boyfriend who was laying on his back, out cold. Lightly slapping his cheeks finally got a response. She watched as he eyes slowly opened and tried to focus. Moments later a look of wonder and shock spread across his face.
"Sarah...what did you just say? Did I hear correctly?"
"Yeah...you heard correctly. I'm pregnant."
"But how?...I mean, I know how but...you said you had a birth control implant...I thought those were 100% effective."
"No...not 100%. When I was In DC I went in for my annual and to have the implant updated and the doctor told me not to bother. Well? What do you think?" Sarah watched as a smile began to form on his face.
"Wow...definitely unexpected, but...wow. I guess the important question is, what do you think, Sarah?"
"Six months ago...hell, three months ago I would have terminated but now...I want to keep it, Chuck. I had already decided before I told you, I just need to know how much you want to be involved...if at all?"
Sarah...of course I want to be involved. It's just...wow. A lot to process in the last twenty-four hours. What about your job?"
"I've been encouraged to terminate but , ultimately, it's up to me...and you. I'm going to be a mom...and you're...?"
"...going to be a dad!" he said as he pulled Sarah into a tight embrace, which he quickly released with a confused look on his face. "That wasn't to tight, was it?"
"Chuck, don't be silly...you can hug me all you want...until I say otherwise."
He pulled her back into the embrace and his lips sought hers, looking to continue the kiss that they had stopped earlier. "What about the sparkling cider...should we open it now?"
"That's up to you Chuck...if you want to, we can."
"Sarah...would you mind if we wait and open it with Ellie and Devon. She's gonna come unglued and we both might get hugged within an inch of our lives...but it'll be worth it. Would that be ok?"
"Of course, Chuck. Let's go tell Ellie and Devon..."
Chuck pulled her back into the kiss and decided to add some groping..."or we could wait for a little while..." he whispered into her ear before going back to nibbling in her neck.
"...a little while would be fine with me, Chuck..." Sarah responded breathlessly, "...or maybe a little longer than that..."