"Chuck vs the Aussie"
AN1: So last chapter was a transition with less Chuck and Sarah – unfortunate but necessary. This one is basically all chuck and Sarah and will be a big growth chapter and is it ever a long one! Now, not to promote the last chapter, but I would recommend re-reading at least the Castle scenes before reading this because it has some of the descriptions of the club - and overall ch 5 and 6 are best read together (they are companion chapters). This chapter is basically pure Chuck and Sarah and I hope you all like their interactions – it is my first time writing like this and I would love to hear your thoughts on whether this is a hit or a miss. Also, I need to apologize – this was a little late – but for good reason – I was researching and setting the timeline up for chapters 10 and on (The competition – I swear it is coming – yes actual swimming!) So I need to thank "Ripe" from the bottom of my heart – they know far more on the subject and have been very kind in fielding questions that has ensured realism for the swimming events each character will participate in. Ripe will get another shout out in the AN for ch10, but I wanted to mention how much I appreciate the hand now.
Disclaimers – I don't own Chuck or the Olympics (additional disclaimers in AN2).
Oh – italics will always denote character thoughts and once again keep an eye on the time shifts and dates.
And thank you to everyone who has provided feedback – you have no idea how much I appreciate it! I try to always PM reviewers my thanks and little bits of info or when I think chapters are coming and to respond to great questions! So thanks again!
Chapter 6: In the Club
Previously at Castle Nightclub…
"Chuck this is Sarah Walker. Sarah this is Chuck Bartowski."
Both Chuck and Sarah continue to stare in slight shock until both burst out laughing, much to the surprise of their friends.
As Chuck and Sarah laugh heartily at their humorous third introduction.
They regained their composure briefly and Sarah smiled and stretched out her hand, "Nice to meet you Chuck," trying and failing to suppress her giggles.
Chuck smiles back with his Bartowski grin, "Likewise Sarah… it's very nice to see you… again," he finishes with a wry smile as he shakes her hand playfully.
Castle Nightclub (Upper Level Lounge)
London, United Kingdom
July 24, 2012
21:40 hrs BST
Sarah and Chuck can no longer hold in their delight as they both laugh at the situation. Both smile as they pull one another into a sweet hug, still fighting chuckles from the humor of being set up… again by another friend. As soon as they broke the hug they looked in unison at their stunned friends who looked on with slack jawed expressions at the unexpected sight before them.
"OK, what the bloody hell is all this? Sarah what is going on… you said you had met a guy?" Alex asks with her brow scrunched in confusion.
Morgan, teetering a little adds, "Ya buddy your leggy Valkyrie will be pissed at you for hugging Sarah… wait!" Morgan exclaims as his the wheels in is drunken mind begin turning… slowly. "Wait, wait, wait! Her name is Sarah? Your name is Sarah?"
Sarah looks at Morgan with an awkward smile, "Um... ya that's me…"
"So you're the one from the airport? So you were the one I saw!" Morgan continues his drink addled brain finally catching up.
"Once again, yes…" Sarah says with a cute little snort at Morgan's ramblings.
"OK, I really need to be caught up here… I am a little confused and the alcohol is not helping any." Alex says with a pleading look, while she shakes her head slightly.
Chuck and Sarah exchange a wry look, "Do you want to start or shall I?" Chuck asks Sarah rather cordially.
"You start Chuck," Sarah responds with a wide smile, humor clearly dancing in her eyes. She thinks, I can't wait to see little Alex's face when we tell her this story… oh this is going to be so much fun!
"OK, so Morgan knows some of this. We flew out of LAX and when we arrived at baggage claim in London my bags were delayed… so I sent Morgan and my family to take a rest. While I was waiting I saw Sarah," he says as he looks at Sarah with a wide Bartowski grin. "She was looking towards me so I was looking around to see what she was looking at…"
Sarah screams in her head, I was looking at you, you big duffer! I wish I could tell you that for real…
Chuck continues, "So she came over and I thought I was caught staring… can you really blame me?" He says to Alex as Sarah tries and fails miserably to suppress a deep blush.
Sarah chimes in despite her blush, "You were lookin' round like a chicken with your head cut off! I though you needed a hand, so I walked over and said hi."
Chuck laughs at Sarah's animated hand motions as she describes his "lookin' round" before he continues, "Ya, so we introduced our selves and I made a fool of myself… which is not important…"
Sarah looks at Alex ignoring Chuck's sputtering protest, "He was so sweet! He thought I was a model for Team Australia." She thinks, and he meant it! Damn is he ever cute!
Alex studies Sarah's happy face and breaks into a wide smile herself thinking, thank god that wasn't a line and I guess I was right – Chuck is a really good guy.
Chuck blushes, "Sweet… Golly gee thanks for making me feel like I'm eight," Chuck says with a teasing, mock pout.
They all laugh at Chuck's funny display before Alex chimes in, "Aw, if Sarah didn't slug you for that comment it must have been so cute!"
Once again Chuck blushes, but this time he turned beet red, embarrassed by Alex's comment.
Morgan laughs out loud, "Good one buddy!" He tries to high five Chuck, but Chuck gives him a curt look, while shaking his head and mouthing 'no' to his little buddy.
Morgan scoffs, "pfft," as he waves his hand dismissively at Chuck for his dismissal of 'props' for what Morgan thought was a rather impressive line.
"Anyway… I rambled and Sarah teased me – it was fun. Sarah's Mom called to her and she had to leave. Well we forgot to exchange numbers so I never thought I would see her again, all I knew was her name and that she was an athlete at the Games."
Sarah then piped in, "And I only had his name… I had no idea he was an athlete, let alone a swimmer," she says as she smiles widely at Chuck.
Chuck adds while grabbing Morgan in a side hug, "My little buddy here helped calm me down when I was freaking out over forgetting to get Sarah's number," he says playing up Morgan to Alex. Alex gave Morgan a huge smile that he returned happily.
As Morgan and Alex have a little moment together, Sarah suddenly has a burning question, "Hey Chuck, you flew out of LAX right?"
"Ya?" Chuck responds curiously.
"Um… did your little bearded friend start a chant at the gate?" Sarah asks with rapt curiosity as she looks at Chuck as his expression turns to one of surprise.
Chuck sputters, "What the…? Ya, how did you know?" He asks with a scrunched expression on his face.
"So that was you!" Sarah replies happily. "WOW! My Mom was right… I actually just missed running into you at LAX because I went for a coffee…"
"I was going to get a coffee too, but my Mom gave me water instead so I could sleep on the plane," Chuck says with a little awe in his voice.
"Weird…" Sarah says thoughtfully as she became lost in thought for a moment.
Alex looks back and forth between Chuck and Sarah until she can take the suspense not longer, "Then what happened?!"
"Oh… sorry," Sarah says after quickly snapping out of her reverie, "Well the next day Zondra, Carina and I went to train at the Aquatics Center. I had told them both about the mystery guy at the airport and Zondra thought it might be Chuck and she wanted to introduce us anyway so she made sure I would run into Chuck. I kinda saw him at the pool and was so surprised (I freaked out if I am being honest with myself she thinks) that I ran and found Zondra and Carina. Chuck came into the gym and Zondra official introduced us before Carina tried to seduce him," Sarah says finishing with a huff at the memory of Carina going after Chuck.
"Not important!" Sarah says, which caused Alex's question to die on her lips. Alex thought to herself, I will get the full story sooner or later… maybe I'll call Zondra…
Sarah then continued, "So that day we trained and Chuck invited me to swim with him the next morning, which was so much fun!" She tells everyone, while looking deep into Chuck's eyes, causing his breathing to hitch from her intense gaze.
Chuck, still looking at Sarah with a smile continued, "Ya and now you two introduced us so this is really our third, first meeting… if that makes any sense whatsoever."
"Wow that is kind of amazing!" Alex says excitedly with a smile while thinking, yep I will definitely need to get more info later!
Morgan then pipes in, "As Devon would say – it is AWSOME!" He says while smiling widely at the group.
The group laughs good naturedly at Morgan's humorous comment. As a moment passes both Chuck and Sarah get a little shy as they now both realize that they did not want to be set up tonight… because of each other. They both wondered what that meant, how much the other knew and more importantly they both wondered how the other felt… they are rather neurotic after all.
After a moment of introspection Chuck broke the silence, "So Sarah, I know I can't drink, but could I buy you a soda… if you're not drinking of course?" His voice is uncertain and full of nervous energy… and hope.
"No alcohol for me until my events are done – so I would love a soda," Sarah says with a big smile that Chuck reciprocates immediately as his face lights up into a Bartowski grin.
Sarah has to will her legs to move and work again after the onslaught of 'that' smile/trademark grin that seemed to be reserved for her… a girl can hope no? Before the pair left they gave Morgan and Alex a smile and a small wave as they headed off to the bar for a soda. As they left Sarah looked back at Alex and Morgan and found them chatting excitedly, I reckon their topics of conversation will include me and Chuck rather heavily… I am never going to hear the end of this, oh well.
Bar at the Lounge of Castle Nightclub (Upper Level Lounge)
London, United Kingdom
July 24, 2012
21:58 hrs BST
Chuck and Sarah approach the long the silver metal bar that spans both walls in the far corner of the lounge area. The top is a dark charcoal colored metal, while the face of the bar is silver with horizontal metal grating with a checkered pattern. The bar runs parallel against two walls until it curves together as it spans the corner of the room. At the center of the bar's face (the front from the table top to the floor) is raised black metal lettering that was light up and spells out – CASTLE. Chuck guides Sarah to the bar with his hand gently touching her lower back, which causes Sarah to shiver and her heart to race at the contact as she looks at Chuck with a happy, but nervous smile.
Once at the bar Chuck waves at the bartender to flag the man down.
"Hey could we get two soda's please… are cola's OK Sarah?" Chuck asks Sarah who nods affirmatively to him.
The bartender is dressed like an agent just as the doorman was in a black suit and tie. He was a well built man who was in his in his late twenties/early thirties with dirty blond hair and an arrogant smirk. He gives Chuck a sour expression at his order before speaking in his deep accent, "The matter Yank, big boy drinks too much for ya? At least order the pretty lass a proper beverage," he says mockingly before giving Sarah a wink.
Sarah's smile immediately falls into a frown as a dangerous and angry look crosses her face. She surprises, well everyone when she steps forward and reaches across the bar and grabs the bartenders tie, viciously yanking him down to her eye level. Chuck looks on in surprise and a little admiration as the bartender struggles to breathe due to Sarah's death grip on his tie as she makes it very clear that he made a serious error this night.
Sarah stares with fire in her now dark blue eyes that fix a deathly glare upon the unfortunate bartender. She speaks in an icy and deathly tone that seems to lower the temperature of the room, "Listen you pompous Brit, we can't drink alcohol till after the Olympics, so will you stop being a bloody ass and get us our drinks!" She yelled at the now cowering bartender.
She releases the bartenders tie and smiles sweetly, "Oh and I hate bullies and jerks so don't let me catch you winking at me again," her face turning deadly once more as she transitioned to a menacing tone, "You. Got. That!"
The bartender cowers with a shocked and fearful expression on his face as he trembles and whimpers a reply like a small, scorned school child, "Yes mum," before running away from the young blonde woman.
The bartender fills two soda's into glasses with a rather unsteady hand, while Sarah composes herself after her 'conversation' with the rude bartender. Chuck looks at Sarah in awe before turning to the bartender who has returned with their drinks, "So what do I owe you?"
The bartenders head snaps up in fear, "Nothing… it's on the house, sorry mate," he says before rushing off to the back room behind the bar… possibly to change his knickers.
As Sarah watches the bartender rush off she completely misses Chuck's awed expression and when it dawns on her what she had just done in front of Chuck she began to freak out. She drops her head and internally admonishes herself thinking, oh god why did I do that? I probably just scared Chuck and he probably thinks I'm crazy or a freak – Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
She turns to Chuck expecting to see the worst, either disgust or fear in his eyes… or both. But as she looks at him she is shocked to see him smiling widely at her. She is immediately put at ease, hopeful she has not freaked Chuck out as she thinks, well he looks fine… maybe I didn't screw this up yet…
"Shall we?" Chuck asks cordially with a smile and a slight nod of his head.
Sarah cannot help but smile back relieved, he hasn't run off yet… that's a good sign right?
"Sure," she replies as she links her arm with his while they walk over to a large black leather couch and coffee table in the lounge area.
They sit awkwardly for a minute until Chuck can no longer contain himself, "That was so awesome! The way you dealt with that bartender!"
Sarah smiles at Chuck shyly as she looks down at her lap and her fidgeting interlocked hands, rather shocked by his outburst. "Really?" She asks hopefully as the edges of her lips begin twitching with a smile.
"Oh course! I was going to say something, but you handled it perfectly… no one should be allowed to act like that or disrespect you…" Chuck says boisterously, but trails off into a soft voice at the end as he tells her with utter truth that she deserves to be treated right.
"Thanks Chuck… I was kinda worried that it was going to freak you out…" Sarah says tentatively.
Chuck scoffs good naturedly, "pfft, never! And I would never freak out when you are standing up for yourself. Besides I have an older sister so I have seen far worse reactions to jerks… I try to avoid being in the crosshairs, but being a little brother it tended to happen more often than I would like," he tells Sarah with a wry smile.
Sarah exhales a relieved breath, "Great!"
Chuck then looks at Sarah with a mischievous and teasing smile, "So how did you become such a bad-ass! I was going to wink at you but I figured that I better not push my luck!" Chuck says as he raises his hand in mock surrender as Sarah bursts out laughing.
Sarah can't suppress her giggles, but tries to answer, "Well… I started martial arts when I was younger and I picked up a few disciplines and then I met Zondra and picked up her martial art…" she says before thinking, well this'll scare him off.
Chuck smiles before raising his hands in mock surrender again as he jokingly says, "So you can kick my ass… noted!" He says before finishing with a hearty chuckle. He the looks around the room before returning his gaze to Sarah, "So you can probably kick the ass of everyone in this room?"
Sarah smiles with her own mischievous look, "Yep!" she says with a faux cocky smirk.
Chuck laughs, "So are you a swimmer or a trained assassin?" He asks teasingly.
"Why can't I be both, you never asked me about my hobbies" Sarah says in mock seriousness. They both hold a serious expression for a moment before bursting into laughter once more.
"That is so funny" Chuck explains loudly.
"No, you are funny Chuck!" Sarah says with a large grin.
"What can I say I'm a funny guy!"
"Clearly, but I am not funny…" Sarah says while looking down at her hands.
Chuck snorts, "Well you could have fooled me! That little assassin response was hilarious. You need to give yourself more credit," Chuck says seriously
She looks deep into his eyes and found that he was not teasing her… and she could not help the bright smile that took over her face.
After a comfortable pause Sarah decides to ask, "So Chuck… any secrets… any women?"
Chuck smiles, "Nope, no secrets and honestly I haven't dated much… in the past I never found someone I connected with," as he thinks to himself until now… I hope.
Chuck continues to open up, "There was a relationship I avoided at Stanford that would have been really bad news… the girl turned out to be really cruel and probably would have broken my heart and left me stuck in a rut for years."
"Well then its good you avoided it!" Sarah says with a smile as she thinks, I will have to ask him more about that another time… Ok if I am being honest I really want an excuse to see him again…
"How about you Sarah?"
Sarah's tries to hide her fear as she thinks, why did I ask him such a stupid question, of course he would ask me – stupid Sarah!
Chuck then continued his inquiry, "Um… Zondra mentioned that the three of you had a ton of stories from Sydney University… she said to ask about…"
Sarah dreaded his question thinking: don't ask about Amy… if Zondra told him about the Amy incident I will kill her!
"… The footie fight? Whatever that means?" Chuck finishes with a curious, yet slightly confused smile as he leans back into the soft leather cushions of the couch.
Sarah thinks to herself, well this is better than having to explain about that backstabber, but not that much better. Thanks Zondra this will surely scare him off… well here it goes.
Sarah lets out a deep sigh, "Ok Chuck, I will tell you, but promise me that you won't laugh," she says as she points her finger at him sternly, her expression colored by nervous energy.
Chuck smiles back at her and raises his left hand, "Scouts honor," he says seriously.
Sarah chuckles at his promise, which eases her tension, "You are such a dag (geek/goof) you know!"
Chuck looks her right in the eyes, "Nerd."
"What?" Sarah responds in shock at his direct response to Aussie slang.
Chuck's smile turns teasing, "I said nerd… we prefer the term nerd."
Sarah sputters as her mouth hangs open gaping at Chuck in shock, "How did you…?"
Chuck laughs, "I have the skill to determine when someone is calling me a geek in just about any language – it's my spider sense. And we do, we prefer being called nerd to geek or in this case dag," he says with a proud look.
Sarah smiles widely and wryly, "Noted."
"OK, so no more distractions, what is the footie story?" Chuck asks now serious, but with a little child like glee breaking through his expression due to his curiosity and excitement.
Sarah huffs, "Fine… so the footie thing… we all went out for drinks 'round town and when we got back to the University we had more drinks at a campus party, you get the picture." Chuck smiles and nods. Sarah smiles back at him shyly, "I may or may not have had a few too many, but I did not get sick… just to be clear. Anyway, we were walking back to our apartment when a mob of footie players, that's Aussie Rules Football, came up to us. They were rude and were hitting on us and then they started being disrespectful and one grabbed at me and I maybe, kinda lost it a little…" She says with a weak smile.
Chuck was entranced and a little worried about Sarah's safety in the story, "How do you mean?" He asks curiously as he thinks to himself, I thought Zondra said this was a funny story?
"Well… I sorta kicked their asses… all of them," she says as Chuck's mirth begins to show on his face. She continues, "These really big guys didn't know what hit 'em. Zondra said that my blonde pony tail bounced as I ran around and beat the footie players in a fit of fury."
Sarah pauses and thinks, well I better tell him the rest…
"So obviously Zondra and Carina were in shock at seeing me take down like eight guys and we ended up leaving for the apartment, the guys still writhing in pain or unconscious on the grass. Well the next day…" Sarah says before trailing off.
"What?" Chuck asks Sarah with fascination swimming in his eyes.
"Well after the altercation I developed a nickname that made its way around campus. Now Zondra and Carina swear they didn't start it or spread it, but I'm not convinced that the footie team started it...
"So they ended up calling me the giant blonde she-male for my fighting skills and because I am tall. I did sorta tear a swath through the footie boys…" Sarah says with a nervous smile as she looks at her hands on her lap before looking at Chuck to gauge his reaction.
When she sees Chuck's expression she doesn't know whether to be angry or relieved. Before her Chuck sits with is face completely red as he fights to prevent laughter from escaping.
As he sputters to hold in his mirth he asks, "Sarah."
"Ya Chuck?"
"Please release me from my promise not to laugh… I'm trying, but I think I'm dying over here… I… I might explode!" Chuck asks still red faced and holding back his laughter.
Sarah looks at Chuck and lets out a huge mock sigh before saying, "Fine, let it out Chuck."
Chuck immediately bursts into fits of laughter as he falls off the couch and onto the floor clutching his sides. Sarah cannot help the smile and laughter that comes as she sees Chuck laugh with utter joy.
After a few minutes of heavy laughter, which drew odd stares from surrounding patrons, Sarah was finally able to let out a mock angry, "HEY!" While giving Chuck a truly impressive mock pout.
Chuck still laughing, but gaining some control says through giggles, "Sorry Sarah… it's just so funny someone as beautiful as you being called a she-male – a giant blonde she-male no less! I swear that I am not laughing at you, this is just one of the funniest and very likely the greatest story I have ever heard! I was worried for a second that the guys were going to hurt you."
Sarah laughs with Chuck, "Ha-ha, but yes they sure got a rude surprise I reckon!"
They continue to laugh for a bit before they are fully able to contain their mirth. Chuck and Sarah take a couple of steadying breaths and a sip of their drinks before Sarah decides turnabout is fair play. "So Chuck… now that I have embarrassed myself, I think it is your turn for a story." Sarah says with a completely serious expression that told Chuck that yes was the only acceptable answer.
"OK, well I have a ton of embarrassing Morgan stories," Chuck tries with a hopeful smile.
"Nope, I wanna hear a Chuck story," Sarah replies simply with a wry grin.
"OK, but I don't have a ton of really embarrassing ones… oh I know! How about how I ended up getting into swimming? It is a funny story."
Sarah smiles excitedly as she perks up in her seat as she slides her legs to the side under her as she rests her hand on her chin and her elbow on the arm of the couch, while looking intently at Chuck.
Chuck takes a breath before beginning, "I was about eight and my family was at our cabin in the National Forest north of Los Angles. I am admittedly a nerd and at this time I was exploring electronics… well on this trip I kind of took apart my sisters hair dryer and couldn't put it back together."
Sarah looks at Chuck incredulously and gives him a mock glare, "You murdered your sister's hair dry, what a terrible crime!"
Chuck stops as he sits gaping at Sarah with his mouth wide open.
Sarah looks at Chuck's frozen form, I think I broke him, how did I do that? "Um… you Ok Chuck?" Sarah asks a little worried.
Chuck snaps out of his daze, "Sorry… it's just that is exactly what Ellie said, kinda shorted out my brain… do all girls think alike?"
Sarah smirks, "Well we do when it comes to hair accessories," she says as she giggles adorably thinking to herself, hopefully he never finds out about my awkward stage… hum, why do I think he wouldn't care in the slightest…
"I'm back… so the story. Well Ellie was really, really upset and tried to kill me. I ran and was chased to the lake. I swam away so fast that she gave up and went back to the cabin. Sadly my Mom caught me and gave me a choice of punishments – either no electronics for a month or I had to pick a sport to compete in. I was an indoors nerd at this point so both were terrible punishments, but the sport was the lesser of two evils. I enjoyed my time in the lake and seemed to be good at it so I chose swimming. My Mom brought me out and I was really good, she actually thought I drowned because I was so far ahead of her my first time out; she was an accomplished athlete after all. So that's how I got my start, I am a swimmer at the Olympics today because I was punished for destroying a hair dryer."
Sarah was captivated, "That is amazing Chuck, just think where you would be right now if it weren't for that one moment… you could be a Hollywood director, software engineer, the next Bill Gates or even in the CIA!" She says this last one and laughs at the ridiculousness of it: Chuck a spy – now that's funny!
Chuck joins Sarah as they laugh, "I know it was such a lucky punishment! So how about you Sarah, how did you get into swimming?"
Sarah looks down at her soda, nervous to tell him about her childhood. "Well, my family moved a lot and one time when I was seven or so my Dad had to move us again and we got a vacation out of the deal. We went up to Brisbane before heading up to the Whitsunday Islands. It is so beautiful up there and I spent basically all my time in the water while we were at the beaches on Whitsunday Island. One day I was swimming and it was so peaceful… as if everything was perfect. So I rushed in and asked if we could get a pool at our new house because my parents were worried about me swimmin' in the ocean. They teased me saying no, but we ended up having a pool in every house since then. And that is how I fell in love with swimming."
"That is so cool! So… um you mentioned you moved a bit, where are you from exactly?" Chuck asks curiously with an open and comforting expression on his face.
Sarah laughs hollowly, "Well that's kind of a complicated question… how do define where you are from? Is it where you're born, where you lived the longest or the most times?"
Chuck looked at Sarah as if she had grown another head, "Um… well how about you go over it all… if that's OK… I am curious." Chuck says with a weak, but hopeful smile.
Sarah sighs, but she does smile at Chuck, "Ok, here it goes. I was born in Maroubra, which is a part of Greater Sydney. From there we moved to Adelaide and then to Perth and then back to Sydney, until I was seven and learned I loved swimming. From there we moved to Cairns and then a few years later we moved to Brisbane and later to Canberra. After that we move to Melbourne where I finished High School. Finally, I moved to Sydney for Uni and my parents are still in Melbourne." Sarah lets out another sigh as she looks at Chuck.
"Wow… that is a lot of moves. As you were telling me it sounded so awesome, I mean I have lived in Burbank my entire life and if it weren't for swimming I might never have been on a plane let alone made it to London. But I am sorry… that many moves must have been tough." Chuck says with sympathy in this voice.
"It wasn't easy, but it was great to meet Carina and Zondra at Uni… I didn't really react very well after a while because of the moves… it's OK though." Sarah says with a smile.
Chuck sees the forlorn expression Sarah gets when talking about the moves and decides that this is a conversation for another time.
"Hey, I think the band is starting soon… do you want to head down the 'Cage' to see the start of the show?" Chuck asks to divert from the serious and less happy direction the conversation had taken.
Sarah smiles at Chuck gratefully, "I would love to," she says while thinking, he is very considerate… this should take my mind off my screwed up childhood.
"The Cage" (The Mezzanine) of Castle Nightclub
London, United Kingdom
July 24, 2012
22:20 hrs BST
Chuck and Sarah walk down the silver metal stairs to the main entrance and walk into the mezzanine area known as 'the Cage.' The Cage is basically an intermediate area between the upper lounge and the lower stage/dance area. The Cage formed a wide balcony that provides an excellent view down to the dance floor and to the stage. It was referred to as the Cage due to the silver bars that were about waist height and spanned the edge of the balcony and the large loops of silver metal chain link 'fencing' that ran from the silver bars to the roof allowing an unobstructed view of the stage and dance floor, but prevented drunken patrons from escaping (AKA falling) off the mezzanine.
Chuck and Sarah made their way to the edge of the 'Cage' and looked down at the band as they began to play. The stage was set with a large speaker and audio system that provided excellent sound as the band played on stage. From the stage there were white lights that flashed up to the vaulted area of the ceiling above the stage. In addition, green strobe lights made movements upwards behind the stage, creating a stunning scene as the band played on to the amusement of the crowd.
Sarah turns to Chuck, "They're good."
"Good! Good." Chuck calls out excitedly, but suddenly is at a loss for what to say next as he shakes his head ever so slightly. They continue to watch and listen to a couple of songs in amiable silence.
Chuck laughs, which catches Sarah's attention immediately.
"What?" She asks with a curious smile on her face.
Chuck smiles at her, "It's nothing… back home when I was in High School I use to work at the Buymore. Well there were two real burnouts who work there, still do I think, named Jeff and Lester. They started a band called Jeffster and yes they are as terrible as the name would seem to indicate. Anyway, one day they got it in their heads to play a live show at the store. Well they performed and it wasn't great, but they decided to add fireworks to their finale… in doors."
"They didn't!"
"Yep," Chuck replies with a smirk. "They set off the sprinklers and caused a bit of a riot… damn near destroyed the store, though they didn't start a fire surprisingly enough… Morgan lost money betting on that." Seeing Sarah's confused expression he added, "The employees bet on the results and Morgan had fire… normal a safe bet, but not that day."
Sarah lets out a little amused laugh and looks over at Chuck who had just shivered. "You Ok Chuck?"
"Huh, ya fine… I was just thinking if Jeffster had pulled that at a wedding, mainly my sister's wedding when she eventually does get married… I was thinking about her reaction… not pretty, trust me!"
Sarah burst out laughing, "Your funny even without alcohol in the picture, I think that's a good sign." Sarah says over the music with a teasing smile.
Chuck gives a mock hurt expression while gripping his chest as if wounded, "Well I would certainly hope so, remember me - funny guy!" As he points to himself humorously.
"Yep! Thanks Chuck I really needed this I have an interview tomorrow and I can't bail on this one, believe me I have tried." Sarah says her expression darkening slightly.
"Ah the media attack, I have a big pre-Olympic NBC interview tomorrow… as if we don't have enough to deal with!" Chuck says while shaking his head.
"I know right! Swimmers in Australia get really famous and I really have avoided interviews or getting into the public eye, but competing at the Olympics means I won't be able to hide or avoid the media any more.
"I know what you mean… it is so odd to be on the internet or to see your name in the newspaper… I never wanted to be famous, I just love swimming and I was lucky enough to qualify and represent my country… you know?" Chuck says just audibly over the music.
"I really do. Keeping a low profile has worked for me and I really don't want that to change, but we really don't have much choice so I will give the interview a fair go," Sarah says while trying to force a smile that does not reach her eyes.
Once again their conversation had gotten rather deep and both decided to look out at the dancing people below as the band played enthusiastically.
As Chuck looked down at the crowd he saw Ellie and Awesome linked in a deep kiss as the music played and people danced around them. He thought, good for them Ellie deserves a nice guy like Devon.
After seeing the happy couple below Chuck summoned his courage and turned to Sarah who was still looking out at the band. "Hey Sarah… um… I really suck at dancing, but hey it might be fun… so do you… um… want to dance with me?" Chuck asks before cringing at his rambling and his nervous demeanor.
Sarah turns to Chuck and smiles brightly at him thinking he is so cute when he rambles. She grabs his hand and starts dragging him to the stairs before shouting over her shoulder, "I'd love to, come on Chuck!" She's so happy he asked and is relieved to have a little fun to take her mind off the interview and the Games if only for a while.
Dance Floor of Castle Nightclub (Lower Level)
London, United Kingdom
July 24, 2012
22:39 hrs BST
Chuck followed closely behind Sarah as she dragged him down the metal stairs to the dance area and the stage. She looked back up at him as she neared the bottom of the stairs and he smiles widely at her before sitting himself on the wide silver stair rail and sliding the final four feet to the floor in style. Sarah could not help the beaming smile and amused laugh as she grasped Chuck's hand and dragged him onto the dance floor.
As they reach the dance floor and look up at the stage as the Foreign Born begins playing the song 'Into your Dream.' Chuck looks nervously at Sarah as she begins to dance like a pro as she sways her hips in a sensual manner, while Chuck watches her move in awe. He shouts over the music, "I'm not much of a dancer!"
Sarah laughs and continues to dance around him before grabbing his hand and pulling him closer, "Just have fun Chuck! It doesn't matter what you look like, just let go and enjoy yourself! I know I am!"
Chuck beams at Sarah and decides to let his inhibitions disappear, but he does think to himself, it would be a lot easier to be less self conscious if I was drunk… oh and not dancing with the coolest and hottest girl in the world! Well I better just suffer through it! Yep this could be fun.
As they dance together having fun Chuck begins to look from side to side as if he is expecting someone. Sarah stiffens and asks Chuck, "What are you looking for?"
"Sorry, I just had a random thought that I am having far too much fun and that just when I am happy the IOC… or an NSA strike team will bust in here and try and take me away." Chuck says with a joking smile, though secretly worried that something random would ruin the evening. He continues, "But I have nothing to worry about, right! You would protect me and kick all their asses… you don't carry throwing knives do you? You know what… not important."
Sarah looks at Chuck blankly before breaking into a deep laugh, "Wow Chuck! That is… oddly specific..." She smiles at him as they continue to dance till the song ends and the pair cheers loudly with the crowd.
From the stage Foreign Born's singer Matt Popieluch took to the microphone, "OK everyone, we are all done for the night. But the show is not over!" The crowd erupts in applause. "Now, I know most of you already know this as it was leaked a week ago, but maybe we can surprise a few of you. Up now is The Shins! Enjoy the show!" As the band exits the stage and The Shins enter the crowd erupts once more. Sarah is so excite that she hugs Chuck. She excited tells Chuck, "I love this band! At Uni a friend told me about an indie song called Australia and I decided I wanted to hear it. It doesn't make any reference to Australia, but I liked the band and their other songs! This is awesome!"
Chuck smiles at Sarah's giddy state, "You right this is awesome! I love The Shins too!
Chuck and Sarah continue to dance blissful to the music of The Shins and having a wonderful time with each other. They chat comfortably between songs, but as the twang of the guitar signals the next song both Chuck and Sarah freeze and lock eyes. As one they say, "This is my favorite song!" They both blush slightly before smiling and chuckling at their identical responses. Chuck summons his courage as the song begins as he holds his hand out to her. She gladly accepts and he pulls her close into a slow dance as people sway to the melody around them.
With his arms around her waist and her arms around his neck they begin to sway directionless to the song (A Comet Appears).
~o~
One hand on this wily comet,
Take a drink just to give me some weight,
Some uber-man I'd make,
I'm barely a vapor
As Chuck holds Sarah firmly in his strong arms he can't help but hear the lyrics and feel like he is grasping something special… his own comet.
They shone a chlorine light on,
A host of individual sins,
Let's carve my aging face off,
Fetch us a knife,
Start with my eyes,
Down so the lines,
Form a grimacing smile,
As they sway together Sarah presses her head to his chest as she lets out a happy sigh at the safe and calm feeling she has in Chuck's arms.
Close your eyes to corral a virtue,
Is this fooling anyone else?
Never worked so long and hard,
To cement a failure,
His heart races as he looks deeply into her ocean blue eyes and he can see her innocence, but also the pain of loneliness behind her eyes. And he knows he is not fooling anyone, least of himself… Chuck Bartowski is falling hard for the first time in his life.
We can blow on our thumbs and posture,
But the lonely is such delicate things,
The wind from a wasp could blow them,
Into the sea,
With stones on their feet,
Lost to the light and the loving we need,
Sarah looks into his kind and deep chocolate brown eyes and is put at ease instantly by their mesmerizing depths. She begins to think that maybe she needs him and she hopes he needs her just as much.
Still to come,
The worst part and you know it,
There is a numbness,
In your heart and it's growing,
With burnt sage and a forest of bygones,
I click my heels,
Get the devils in line,
A list of things I could lay the blame on,
Might give me a way out,
He fights back his internal demons, the ones telling him it won't last, that she could never love a nerd like him. He thinks of all the things that could go wrong, all the reason they shouldn't be together, but as he looks at her small frame in his arms he just can't listen to his mind… his heart wins out… for now.
But with each turn,
It's this front and center,
Like a dart stuck square in your eye,
Every post you can hitch your faith on,
Is a pie in the sky,
Chock full of lies,
A tool we devise,
To make sinking stones fly,
As he spins her on the dance floor they are surrounded by the crowd listening intently to the song. Sarah is lost in the moment as the background disappears and only the song and Chuck remain. As she worries about whether he feels the same about her and whether she can have a real relationship in spite of how broken she really is. As she spirals she looks up at Chuck's smiling face and decides she will try her hand at faith… for now.
And still to come,
The worst part and you know it,
There is a numbness,
In your heart and it's growing.
~o~
As the twang of the guitars and the music begins to fade and the last line is uttered Chuck and Sarah's lips meet in a chaste, but powerfully emotional first kiss. Lost in the moment her soft lips move gently against his as they are lost in one another's embrace.
As they kiss Morgan and Alex look on with large smiles. Alex grabs her phone and takes a quick picture of Chuck and Sarah's gentle embrace and sends it off to Zondra. Her message reads: I guess you were right about Chuck and Sarah.
The kiss is over far too soon, but neither is ready for more. They continue to hold one another as their foreheads touch. Both take a steadying breath before looking into each other's eyes and smiling widely at one another. Sarah holds tightly to Chuck as his patented grin makes her weak in the knees.
Chuck is the first to be able to form words and asks, "It is getting late… did you want to head back to the Village?"
Sarah smiles at Chuck before replying shyly, "Yes, that is a good idea… I don't want to stay out too late. Let's find Morgan and Alex and your sister and then we can grab a cab.
As she says this Chuck's phone beeps. He checks it, "Ellie texted, she says don't wait up… so let's go find Morgan and Alex and then we can head out. Ellie really hit it off with a friend of mine, I was actually expecting her to spy on us all night once she found out you were here. Devon must have been distracting or she missed the memo." Chuck says with a chuckle.
"Well, I look forward to meeting her," Sarah says with an honest smile. "We can bond over hair dryers," she says with a teasing laugh that Chuck reciprocates.
The pair soon found Morgan and Alex and said their goodnights as they headed out of Castle and back to the Athlete's Village after a memorable evening.
Outside the Athletes Village (Sarah's Building)
London, United Kingdom
July 24, 2012
23:46 hrs BST
Chuck and Sarah arrive at the Athlete's Village and Chuck pays their fair. They walk towards Sarah's complex talking comfortably about nothing of importance. Chuck ever the gentleman escorts her to her door.
Sarah unlocks her apartment door and they stand facing one another in an awkward silence. Chuck smiles nervously and Sarah shyly averts her eyes to the ground. Chuck summons his courage and wishes Sarah a good night.
He almost whispers, "Goodnight."
He leans in and hugs her warmly and respectfully. As he is pulling away Sarah jumps up and gives him a quick kiss on the cheek. With a shy smile she says, "Goodnight Chuck," before turning and disappearing into her room.
Chuck stands frozen for a minute lost in the moment. He reaches up and gently touches his face where Sarah kissed him. His cheek still tingled from her touch as he began aimlessly walking to his room.
Later…
He came to his door and tried the key, but despite all his efforts to unlock the door it did not budge. He looked around and realized his mistake – he was at the wrong building… and even if he was at the right building he would have been on wrong floor as well. After he made his way to the opposite side of the complex to his building he was finally able to find his room. After entering the small apartment he collapsed into bed with a huge grin on his face.
"Best. Night. Ever!
AN2: So I hope this was enjoyable and not too excessively fluffy – not that I have anything against fluff it is just the first time that I am writing these types of interactions so I am not sure whether it was good or too over the top. I bet the Charah shippers will enjoy it and I would love to hear what everyone thinks – I am always looking to improve! The kiss was supposed to come at the end only, but as I wrote the song scene a kiss just fit too perfectly. Let me know if you liked it or hated it! Oh, and Alex's text to Zondra is based on the fact that between the C and S introduction and the text Alex and Zondra had talked on their cell phones with Alex getting more intel – I think that is reasonable, but I wanted to clarify that because it is not directly mentioned. And the song was "A Comet Appears" by The Shins, which is awesome! There were a ton of canon references – especially from the pilot (one of my favorite episodes) like the songs (The Shins and Foreign Born). So this is the start of the unofficial romance – not officially dating, but the official first date is coming. Up next is interviews and some drama enters the story.
Disclaimers – Don't own The Shins or Foreign Born nor do I own the songs… or NBC sports.