A/N: Hey everyone...I'm back...sorry for taking so long...little...no, lotta blockage...things sorta slid sideways and I'm scramblin'...hoped the Shnuff Fics would help and they did...a little...mostly had to unlock...something, i just don't know...let me know how this chapter seems...feels?...More coming... for Walkabout as well...maybe wrapping that one up and then dealing with life afterwards...for Chuck...yeah, a sequel...and of course...Last(ish)...who lives?who dies?...it might be fun...still plotting...both the story and eventual world domination...just saying. Please review...good or bad, I need it...sorta helps quite the voices...just kiddin'...nothing quiets them...lucky me.

Dammit...just found out...this sucks...!

Should I stand on a mountain top and shout...I don't own Chuck! I mean, I guess I could... because I don't ...but why shout out things that don't make me smile...I know...Here's one...No Beta here!...here...her...he(get it...echo?)(You know you want to smile)(ah, come on...that was fu#$ing funny)(It wasn't?...well, pfffftttt!) JT

Sarah Vs. The Strong Swimmer

As Chuck slowly began to wake up, he became aware of something…something missing! 'Sarah' he said to himself, putting a name to what wasn't where it should be. She should be curled against his side, her warm breath lightly brushing against his neck and a wet spot on his chest where his angel often drooled in her sleep. His Saturday morning wasn't off to the right start…'where was she?' he asked himself as his hand sought out her side of the bed, finding it still warm. She hadn't been gone long he realized as he wiped the sleep from his eyes and threw the covers to the side. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Chuck got to his feet and headed towards the bathroom, hoping that he wouldn't find that the morning sickness that Sarah had avoided so far had suddenly reared it's ugly head.

After finding the bathroom empty, Chuck headed back out into the hallway in search of his angel. He was fairly sure that Sarah wasn't in the kitchen…at least, not there cooking. Pausing briefly, he suddenly became aware of a sound that he hadn't noticed before. A soft metallic clanging and the sound of heavy breathing lead him to the newly christened, 'workout' room. As soon as he looked into the room he froze…and watched Sarah as she worked out with the exercise machine, treating it like she was a pro, which Chuck came to realize, she kinda was. He stood in the doorway for almost five minutes before Sarah seemed to realize that he was staring at her, a faint smile playing about his lips. Stepping away from the machine, she walked over and threw her arms around his neck, drawing him down and attacking his lips with her own. Breaking the kiss, she stepped back and watched a breathless Chuck Bartowski slowly refocus his eyes. She loved that she had such an obvious effect on him.

"Wow…just, wow! And a good morning to you, miss. I sincerely hope that my pregnant girlfriend doesn't walk in here and catch me staring at some smoking hot fitness chick…she might not understand."

"Morning, stud" Sarah replied with a smile. "If you're planning on joining us for a workout…"

"Us?"

"Us…" Sarah said as she placed her hands over her stomach, "…you might want to put on some clothes…not that I mind the view, but…"

Glancing down and then quickly jerking his eyes back up to meet Sarah's, he found her trying to hide an attack of the giggles…and not doing a very good job of it.

"Sorry…" he said weakly, smiling and blushing from his toes to his forehead, "…I woke up and you weren't there and I got worried that I'd find you in the bathroom with…you know…morning…"

"Don't you dare say it!" She nearly yelled, interrupting him mid ramble. "I swear, Chuck Bartowski…if you jinx me…I'll…I'll cut you off!"

"You'll what?"

"You heard me. Now, either go put on some work out clothes and come back here so we can work out…together or…"

"Or what?" he asked with a smirk.

"…or you can get dressed and get your cute butt into the kitchen and make the four of us some breakfast. Your choice." She finished before turning around and walking back over to the exercise machine, obviously planning to return to her workout. He couldn't help staring as she slowly started some exercise that seemed to entail her bending over at the waist…really slowly…and then straightening up…and then doing it again.

"Please Chuck…go put on some clothes before I decide to use you like a workout tool."

"Sarah…that's not much of a threat" he said with a leer.

"Chuck…please."

"Oh, alright…anything for you…you know that" he said before turning around and walking back towards their room. "I'll be back in a few minutes and you can show me some workout stuff" he said over his shoulder.

"oh, you bet I will" she said quietly as she tried to get the mental images out of her head so she could get back to her workout…which didn't really include any of the bending over slowly stuff…she had just done that to see if she could get a rise out of her boyfriend…and she smiled remembering that she had.

-00-00-0-0-000-

Almost an hour later, after pushing Chuck to keep up with her exercise routine that she had worked out for him, she called a halt to the workout and grabbed Chuck's hand and led him to the bathroom. Once in the shower, Sarah couldn't help smiling as chuck began to slowly wash her entire body, making sure that he didn't miss a spot…and washing a few spots more than once. The shower workout might have lasted longer but Sarah noticed that the hot water was almost gone.

"C'mon Chuck" Sarah said as she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower stall, reaching for a fresh towel. "Get yourself all dried off, go put on some clothes and make us some breakfast."

"Yes ma'am" he answered with a smile as he reached for his own towel. "What can I make for the three of you?"

"Waffles…with peanut butter and chocolate syrup…and marmalade."

"…and marmalade?"

"Do not ask…just do!"

"Yes ma'am" he said with a knowing smile. "At least you didn't ask for pickles on top."

"Mmmmmm…that reminds me…"

"Vlassic or Wickels?"

"Spicy…Wickels, please…and a glass of lemonade?"

"Anything for the three of you" he said with a shiver.

-000—0-00-0-00-

After shooing Sarah off to Ellie's for a cooking lesson, Chuck sat down at his desk and started going through the dailies and was pleasantly surprised that nothing triggered a flash. 'No headache today' he told himself. After completeing his report and sending it off to the 'bosses', he was about to check the schedule to see if there was anything pressing that needed to be taken care of that afternoon. Before he could pull up his work calendar, his cell phone started playing the Star Wars Cantina band theme.

"Morgan", Chuck said after thumbing the accept icon and putting the phone to his ear, "yeah, sure. I know the model…what? Can't Jeff or Lester figure it out?...yeah, that sounds just like them…Big Mike really said that?...sure, bring it by this evening and I'll take a look…yeah, Morgan, I'll do the work for free and you can charge Big Mike…no, of course I wasn't being serious…remember?...new business here…bills to pay…mouths to feed…college to pay for…no, I'm not going back to school…for the twins…'What twins?'…mine and Sarah's, of course…oh, that's right, you didn't know…because we just found out, ourselves…ok, ok…we'll talk about it later…yeah, see you then."

After disconnecting the call and slipping his phone into his pocket, Chuck went back to checking his appointment and work schedules. Finding nothing waiting, he was about to log off and go find Sarah when a loud chirp alerted him to an incoming video call. Moments later his monitor screen split in half and General Beckman and Director Graham both appeared.

"Mr. Bartowski" the General started the ball rolling, "is Agent Walker in residence?"

"No ma'am. She's over at my sisters…"

"No matter…" Beckman cut him off, "…this call is simply to apprise you of Agent Hansen's success in the deal you helped…ahem…arrange."

"You mean the deal that my getting shot helped arrange?" Chuck asked, not even trying to hide the sarcasm.

"Yes…exactly" Director Graham answered, ignoring Chuck's tone. "3 of the individuals arrested in the sting had rather substantial bounties on their heads."

"And this means…" Chuck asked, clearly confused.

"It means…" the General answered, regaining control of the conversation "…that since government employees are encouraged to not accept rewards…and since Agent Hansen pointed out that you are not…as of yet…an official government employee…we are following her suggestion and giving you the rewards…"

"Wow…that's so cool" Chuck interrupted.

"…and after subtracting the money used to start your 'business', you will be receiving 72,300.00 dollars…after taxes, of course."

"Well…cat got your tongue, Mr. Bartowski?"

"No ma'am, sir…just absorbing the news. That will make a great start for the twins college fund…"

"Whatever…" the General interrupted, clearly not concerned about Chuck's plans for the windfall. "Just keep up the good work." She said, looking like she was almost choking on the words of praise. Before Chuck could reply the General stabbed a finger towards something Chuck couldn't see and the video link was broken.

"Well, that was a little rude…cool about the money…but rude goodbye" Chuck mumbled to himself as he pushed himself back from his desk and got to his feet. Heading to the front door, Chuck paused and grabbed the keys for the wagon and his shades before practically skipping over to his sister's apartment.

"Hey…nancy…no skipping in the courtyard" Chuck heard Casey shout out his open front window. "Remember…walking at 6 today…don't be late."

Not bothering to respond, Chuck opened the door to his sister's apartment and stepped inside and was shocked to find Ellie hugging a sobbing Sarah Walker. Catching his sister's eye, he shrugged his shoulders, silently asking for an explanation. Ellie shrugged in return, clearly not sure what brought about Sarah's tears.. Chuck was halfway across the apartment when Sarah started to speak and he froze in place.

"Ellie…I'll never learn this and…and…then Chuck will hate me because I can't cook and…and…and then he'll leave us for …for some bimbo who can cook…what am I gonna do then, Ellie?…what?"

"Well, Sarah…first you're gonna stop this silly crying and blow your nose. Then, we're gonna go back into the kitchen and go over the recipe again…and figure out what you missed. It's only lasagna, Sarah…it's not the end of the world."

"But, I have to be able to cook for Chuck…I just have to…" she said as she stepped back from Ellie's embrace and took the handful of tissues that were being offered to her.

"And you will…I promise. Besides, Chuck can't cook either." Ellie answered with a smirk towards her brother. "Sure, he knows how to make pancakes and waffles but everything else?...horrible, just awful. Promise me you'll never let him make you his 'famous' pepperoni chicken…just horrible."

"Hey" Chuck blurted out, causing Sarah to whirl around and stare at her boyfriend who had seemingly just appeared. "You always told me that you loved my pepperoni chicken."

"I lied!" Ellie said with a snort.

Sarah smiled at the back and forth between the two and started wondering why she had been crying in the first place. "Damn pregnancy hormones" she mumbled under her breath. Taking a few tissues, she blew and wiped her nose and then wandered over to Chuck. Standing in front of him, she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. "You better not leave us just because I cant cook…yet. I'm gonna learn…just you wait and see."

Kissing the top of her head, he used his thumb and forefinger to gently raise Sarah's face so he could look into her eyes. "I know you'll be a great cook…because I know you can do anything…anything you want. And my famous pepperoni chicken isn't that bad…"

"Yes it is, Chuck…yes it is" Ellie said from the kitchen where she'd gone while Sarah and her brother had been…distracted.

"Well…fine then…we'll both take lessons from the master. Right now though, I have some amazing news."

"What?" Sarah asked after wiping her eyes and her nose on the front of Chuck's t-shirt.

"Sarah…you have tissues…in your hand! Why?"

"Because…" she answered with a smile

Seeing the smile on her face, he had to smile in return. "Well, ok…how about…in the future…not in public?"

"We'll see. Now, what's the news?"

"Yeah, what's the news?" Ellie echoed.

"Well…Sarah's aunt Diane called. It seems that some work I did for a firm she referred me to…it seems that they were extremely happy with the programming I did for them…it really paid off for them. We just got a 72,000 dollar bonus…"

"72…" Sarah started.

"…thousand" Ellie finished.

"Well…72,300 dollars to be more precise."

Sarah smiled, guessing that there was more to the story and looking forward to hearing all about it…later. "That's great, Chuck…we can pay back some of the start-up money…"

"No, Sarah…the bonus was on top of the start-up money. Your aunt Diane took out the money she lent us to get started…the business is ours, free and clear."

"Chuck, that's amazing" Ellie said as she made her way from the kitchen to the front room. Pulling Sarah and her brother into a big hug, she smiled while almost squeezing the breath out of the couple. "That must have been some program" Ellie said after releasing her hold on the happy couple.

Chuck winked at Sarah before looking at his sister. "Yeah…it really seems to have been just what they needed. So…how about I take you both to the beach and we can have 'fun, fun, fun" Chuck warbled, off key.

"In the sun, sun, sun…" Sarah finished, proving herself to be no better at singing than her boyfriend.

"Oh God, Sarah..." Ellie said, "…tell me Chuck isn't making you watch that dopey 'Red Wharf' show."

"It's Red Dwarf…Dwarf, as in short…" Chuck said as he tried to look hurt. "…and it's not dopey…it's a classic!"

Sarah winked at Ellie, "Yeah…it's a classic. Now, my suddenly wealthy boyfriend is going to take us to the beach which means…we get to shop for a new bikini…isn't that right, Chuck?"

"Uh…yeah…I guess" he answered, not really sure how he had gone from Red Dwarf to bikini shopping.

Sarah spun back around in Chuck's arms. Standing on her tip-toes, she planted a big wet kiss on his lips. "I'll go get the keys for the…"

"I've got them right here, in my pocket…"

"Great…I'm driving" Sarah said as she fished the keys out of his back pocket…after pretending to search his front pockets…very, very thoroughly.

"Shotgun" Ellie called as Chuck struggled to recover from the frisking Sarah had just given him.

"Why do I always end up in the back seat of …MY…car?" Chuck asked, trying to sound put out.

"You weren't complaining last time we were in the back seat…" Sarah said with a laugh.

"Sarah…that's my sister…right next to you…to much information…"

"Relax…little brother. Devon and I know all about the wagon's back seat…"

Chuck immediately stuck his fingers in his ears and closed his eyes. "Stop it! Both of you…I'm now sure that one of you is the devil and one is the devil's handmaiden…I just wonder which is which…"

Sarah and Ellie both laughed as Chuck struggled to put on the seat belt with his eyes closed.

"Relax, Chuck…we're just teasing you…" Sarah said as she slammed the wagon into gear.

"…as far as you know." Ellie added with a laugh as Sarah punched the gas and sent the wagon flying down the road.

"You are both evil…and I hope you repent…soon!" Chuck mumbled from the back seat, bracing himself for something…he wasn't sure what, but he knew something was heading his way. A moment later he smiled as he remembered the backseat episode Sarah had mentioned. 'Maybe this won't be such a bad trip, after all' he told himself as he caught the reflection of Sarah in the rearview mirror. 'Devil or angel…if she's mine, I win' he told himself as the wagon slowed to take the on ramp for the freeway. Moments later as was pushed back into the seat as the mother of his kids stomped on the gas and launched their wagon into the traffic, smiling as she did.

A/N:2: For those who skip my rambles, bless you...please review. JT