This is not an original story. It was written during the middle of season 2. The original story assumed a sequel that never happened. So there will be some brand new content in this rewrite and several new chapters at the end.

I still don't own Chuck.

I want to say a few words about Bryce. I understand that he probably looks like a villain to most of you at this point. I hesitate to portray him as a villain, for multiple reasons.

First it's too simple. Just because he is (or was) Chuck's rival for Sarah's affections, doesn't make him evil. From his perspective, Chuck stole his girl. If the show was called 'Bryce', we'd root for him and think that Chuck was the villain. His being jealous of Chuck or wanting Sarah back doesn't make him a villain.

But more important, I don't think he was a villain on the show. What he was portrayed as is totally dedicated to his duty. He honestly cared for Chuck. He honestly cared even more for Sarah. But he was always willing to put his duty ahead of any personal feelings. We've seen several instances in the show where he put duty ahead of his relationships with Sarah and Chuck. In fact, that's one of the main differences between him and Chuck, one of the key characteristics of Chuck that Sarah's very attracted to.

So Bryce is going to do some things that Chuck, Sarah or we are not going to like very much. Beckman is every bit as much to blame. But they're not really villains. In fact, they firmly believe they are doing the right thing. The villains in this story will be easy to pick out.

Speaking of the story, we're done with any relationship angst. Even if it looks different for a moment or two, Chuck and Sarah are married, totally committed and secure in each other, and will be for the rest of their lives. So rest assured. Whatever fantasy Bryce comes up with is just that… fantasy.

If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review. It only takes a second – and it really, really makes a difference. That's probably more important than ever now that the series has ended. If you want to keep the Chuck fandom alive and continue to read about these characters, you really need to think about rewarding the people whose hard work make that possible.

The Plane Truth

x-x-x-x-x

Casey and Laura were on the tarmac seeing Chuck and Sarah off on their honeymoon. Beckman had sent her personal plane to fly them to Hawaii. It was clear that they were looking forward to Chuck and Sarah actually getting on the damn plane. They were just as clearly planning to have, maybe not a honeymoon of their own, but certainly a wild night, or maybe even two.

So Chuck was more than a little surprised when Laura grabbed his hand and wordlessly led him out of earshot.

"I just want you to know something," Laura said as soon as they stopped walking. "I'm glad that I got to know you a little. Thank you for giving me that chance. I know that wasn't easy for you. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better someday. You're not like any other man I've ever met. You haven't allowed the nasty darkness of this life to change who you are. It's actually very sexy. I can see what Sarah sees in you."

Chuck shrugged off the compliment. "You have nothing to thank me for," he said. "I'm glad that I got to know you too. You're not at all the person I assumed you were, the one I was prepared to hate. I'm grateful I was able to find that out. You're funny and fun to be around. This sort of sounds like we're saying a long goodbye."

"We are," Laura said. "At least for a while. You're going on your honeymoon. I have to get back to my assignment in Miami."

"How long will that take?"

"It's impossible to say," Laura said with a sigh. "Another month, maybe two before we're out of the fucking stage and into the shooting stage."

Laura didn't have to see the blush in his neck to know that it was there. "I hate the fucking stage," he finally said. "I think that you know that. I'm not trying to make you feel bad about it, but I really do. I hope that you'll stay safe."

Laura couldn't resist teasing him. "Don't worry about me," she said. "It's actually not all bad. The man can stay hard forever. It's the only thing he's good at, but he's very good at it. It'll be a shame to shoot him, almost."

Changing the mood, Laura grabbed both of Chuck's hands, forcing him to face her. "I know that I don't have to say this to you," she said softly. "But I'm going to anyway. She needs you to take care of her. In some ways, she's the toughest person I know. But in other ways, she's actually pretty fragile. She's finally willing to expose that fragile side of her to someone. That's really scary for her. I'm counting on you to protect her. Now, kiss me."

Chuck did a double take. "Kiss you?" he asked. "Why would I do that? My wife is standing right there watching us. And you're right. You don't have to say it."

Even in the dark, he could see the twinkle in her eyes. "Several reasons," she said. "First, I'm not going to see you for a while. What's wrong with a harmless kiss goodbye? I'm not asking for any second base action here. And that's probably a good thing as I fully realize that I'm never going to get anything like that from you anyway. Second, I'd like to use the opportunity to poke a little fun at Casey later tonight. I'm sure you can relate to that and will make every effort to give the man a goal to shoot for. But the main reason is that Sarah needs to be punished. I'll let her explain that to you in more detail but this is what we came up with. She keeps telling me how good of a kisser you are. Her punishment is that I get to find out myself. Don't worry. She knows all about this. She's maybe a little less than enthusiastic but she knows that she has it coming and wants to get it over with. She's not going to be mad at you."

"I'll tell you what," Chuck said. "I'll kiss you if you promise to take care of Casey. He's just as fragile in his own way as Sarah. I can see the way he looks at you. I'd hate to see him get hurt."

If Laura hadn't been impressed before, she sure as hell was now. Chuck was looking out for his team. That in itself wasn't so unusual. Most spies would do a lot to protect a partner's back. After all, that was part of the code of being a spy in the first place. But Chuck took that one step further. He had his partner's back emotionally. His partner was also his friend, even more than friend, his family. That made Chuck Bartowski… well, pretty much unique. So she took the opportunity to press her lips to his with maybe a little more gusto than she had originally planned. The kiss ended up being of much longer duration and a whole lot wetter than Chuck was anticipating or comfortable with. "You have a deal," she said with a soft grin when she finally released her strong grip and let him up for air.

Once they walked back Laura took a second to poke some good natured fun at Sarah. "You're right," she said with a laugh. "He's a very good kisser."

"Yes, he is," Sarah said with a grin towards her new husband. "I'm glad that you think so."

"I trust from now on, you'll take my word for it."

x-x-x-x-x

One thing was for sure. The Director of the NSA traveled in comfort. Her personal plane may have been, well, a little drab in the style department. After all it seemed all military vehicles had to be decorated using totally khaki green. Or maybe Beckman just liked khaki green. But whichever it was, once you got past the physical appearance the plane had every comfort that the most lavish civilian corporate jet could boast.

The flight attendant, a perky early twenty something year old corporal who actually made that uniform look kinda sexy, had a drink in their hands almost before they were sitting. She made no effort to hide the fact that her orders were to make them as comfortable as she possibly could. She certainly wasn't told anything about the Intersect. She wasn't anywhere close to having that kind of clearance. But the star struck look on her face plainly said that she had been told that her passengers were national heroes of the highest order, and they were to be treated with the utmost respect.

Normally Sarah would have quickly gotten jealous over such a pretty girl gushing so overtly in Chuck's general direction. And truthfully it was definitely in there somewhere. It really wouldn't have taken too much more flirting for Corporal Rodgers to find out the hard way how possessive Sarah was willing to get. But she was able to suppress it. In fact, he was so preoccupied with looking out the window that he barely noticed the gushing. Sarah could live with that. What she couldn't live with was that he also barely noticed the bedroom eyes she was shooting him as she leaned forward to give him the best possible view down the evening dress she was still mostly wearing, hopefully for not much longer.

"What's wrong?" she finally asked. "Are you tired?" That would be disappointing. But she had to admit, it had been a long day, for both of them.

It took Chuck a long moment to realize that she was talking to him. "No," he said. "I'm not tired. Are you?"

"You seem preoccupied. What's wrong? You're not mad about Laura kissing you, are you? That was more a joke than anything."

Chuck really didn't answer her main question. "I'm not mad," he said. "Why do you think I'm mad? Let's play a game."

That got a double take… and a grin. "Sounds good," Sarah said in her teasing tone. "I thought that you'd never ask. Maybe we should take this into the bedroom compartment. Unless, of course, your game includes Corporal Rodgers. She looks like she would be more than willing to play any game you could invent. What sort of game do you have in mind?"

"It's not a sex game," Chuck said with a short laugh, ignoring the not so subtle shot. "At least it doesn't start out that way. Here is how it goes. I ask you a question. You have to tell me the absolute truth, not what you think I want to hear, not something to keep from hurting my feelings, but the truth. Can you do that?"

Sarah could instantly tell that he wasn't really teasing. What he was describing wasn't a game. It could possibly even turn the night very tense. She also could guess what his question would be. It would be about her prior missions… and the men. That clearly bothered him more than he was trying to pretend. It was not really the conversation she was looking forward to having, and especially not tonight. But he was her husband. He did deserve to know those things. "I could think of more fun games," she said. "But okay, ask your question. You do realize that the rules prohibit you from being upset by my answer, right? Don't ask a question and demand an honest answer if you don't want to hear it."

Chuck nodded and took a deep breath. "Do you wish that I was more macho sometimes? More like a spy?"

Okay, so that was the very last thing she expected him to ask. At first she didn't know what to say. "Why would you ask me that?" she finally asked. "I'm not sure what you mean exactly."

"Sometimes I think that you're happier when I'm Carmichael," Chuck said as he looked out the window.

So she was wrong just a second ago. Now that was the very last thing she expected him to say. "What is that supposed to mean?" Sarah asked, making sure to keep the rising anger from her voice.

"Look at the men that you've been with," Chuck said fighting to keep his composure as he continued to look out the window. "Seth and Bryce are just like Carmichael. When Carmichael was groping you in front of Bowles and her men tonight, you were clearly turned on. I could feel it. When I'm Chuck, you tell me that I'll never be a pig. Do you want more Carmichael? Do you want more of a man?"

"Hey," Sarah said softly. "Look at me."

To his credit, Chuck turned from the window and faced her.

"Okay," Sarah said firmly. "I'll honestly answer your question. But before I do I need you to listen to me for a minute. If you never hear another thing that I ever say, hear this. There is no Carmichael, dumb ass. He doesn't exist. There is Chuck. And sometimes he calls himself Carmichael. You're jealous of yourself. How stupid is that?"

Chuck opened his mouth to protest but was stopped by her look.

"And if you think that I was turned on because you were like Bryce or Seth, that's even more stupid," Sarah continued, now unable to keep the frustrated anger from her voice. "The truth is it's exactly the opposite. I was turned on in that room not because some macho pig was groping me. I actually could have lived without that part. I was excited because it was yet another example of how much you love me. You love me enough to do whatever it takes to protect me, even when it means risking your life for me, even though you haven't been trained and have no idea what you're doing. You do it anyway. Do you know what the men you're comparing yourself to, Seth or Bryce or Casey for that matter would have done in that situation?"

Now Chuck was interested. So he shook his head.

"Seth would have fled the scene and left me to fend for myself," Sarah said disgustedly. "Bryce would have hid for a few hours and waited until he had an advantage, probably while I was in the middle of being tortured or gang raped or worse and come in with guns blazing. Casey wouldn't have waited for any advantage. He would have just barged in guns blazing. Either might have rescued me eventually but the mission would have been blown. And I would have been seriously hurt if not killed."

"But not you," Sarah said much more softly. "You used your brain instead of your guns. You tricked them into letting me go by thinking that you were one of them. I didn't get a single scratch and the mission was still successful. Do I want more of a spy, Chuck? Bryce or Casey never could have done that. Seth wouldn't have tried. I don't know a single spy who could have done what you did tonight. And now you clearly still think that someone like that is going to swoop in and sweep me off my feet? I hoped that we were way past this. I would laugh at you if I wasn't so pissed off."

Chuck just looked at Sarah sadly. She was misunderstanding him.

"I'm so proud of you that I could cry," Sarah said as she grabbed Chuck's hand. "And that's what turned me on. Chuck Bartowski is not a spy, doesn't claim to be. He's so much better than a spy. Maybe he doesn't have the training, doesn't know any hand-to-hand combat moves, isn't an expert marksman. But he'll do whatever it takes to protect me, all because he loves me. He's amazing. There is nobody who I'd rather have at my back. When he's not acting all brain dead, that is."

"I'm sorry," Chuck said softly. "I feel foolish. But…"

"Well maybe," Sarah interrupted with a smile. "But you don't feel nearly as foolish as you should. More man, Chuck? Really? Chuck, just what do you think that I've been looking for in a man anyway? Bryce and I were together for two years. We've probably ordered a hundred pizzas. Do you know how many times he saw me pick the olives off my pizza?"

Chuck shook his head.

"The second time I had pizza with you it didn't have olives," Sarah said in a much softer tone. "Do you think that Seth knows where I went to high school? Do you think he would even care? Do you know how many chocolate croissants Bryce ever brought me to cheer me up when he knew that I was down? It would be easy because the answer is zero. Why are you being so stupid, Chuck? If you had a clue in that massive brain of yours. If you only knew how I feel you would never doubt me again. Now I'm really pissed."

Chuck knew that she was angry so he held his tongue until she was finished.

"And the pig thing," Sarah continued. "I'm very, very sorry if you think that I'm questioning your manhood. I just realized that maybe that's what it sounded like to you. Trust me; it's not that at all. I think that it's just that we mean different things when we use the word. You don't want to be a pig in the way I mean it. I've met enough pigs to last a lifetime. You're saying that you're a pig because you've had an impure thought about me a few times? Chuck, that just makes you human. Do you really think that I haven't had an impure thought about you a few times?"

Chuck nodded. "I'm sorry that I made you mad," he said. "I wasn't trying to make you mad. You're misunderstanding what I was asking. That's why I felt foolish. I was honestly curious if there is something I could do to make you happier. If there is, if being Carmichael makes you happy, I want to do it."

Sarah breathed a big sigh of relief. He was right. She had allowed hothead Sarah to take over and jump to the wrong conclusion. She now felt about an inch tall for that angry rant. So she reached over and grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry that I got mad," she said. "Now I feel a little foolish. That was very sweet. I really haven't answered your question, have I? The honest, straight up, no bullshit truth is that I don't want you to change, not one single thing. I love, love, love who I have. In fact, you're almost too good to be true. If you want total honesty, I maybe wish that you'd feel more comfortable with me in bed initiating things and telling me what you want instead of making me guess. But that is a minor nit, certainly nothing that I want you to feel badly about."

"Okay," Chuck said. "I'll work on that. For the record, you've been a pretty good guesser so far."

Thank got them both laughing. "Now my turn," Sarah finally said. Oft his surprised look, she smiled. "Surely you didn't think that you were the only one who gets to play. You have to honestly answer a question too. If you could snap your fingers and change something about me, what would it be? Do you wish that I was more feminine sometimes?"

Chuck took a moment to decide how to phrase his answer. He knew what she meant. Her instincts were still as much those of a bodyguard as they were of a wife. "I know that you don't believe this," he finally began. "But I love the fact that you're such a badass. It's a huge turn-on when you get all mama lioness in my defense. More feminine? Sarah, you're the most beautiful woman in the world. How could you possibly get more feminine? I would be cheating in this new game if I said that I think you're perfect and I wouldn't change a thing, wouldn't I?"

"Totally cheating," Sarah said laughing.

"Okay," Chuck said. "I'll come clean. Sometimes I maybe wish you could be more open with me. I'm your husband, Sarah. You shouldn't be afraid to tell me anything. I know that you've done things in training and on missions that you're uncomfortable with me knowing the details. You don't have to be. I get that the CIA isn't the Girl Scouts."

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked. "I think that I know you pretty well. There are some things that are going to make you wince."

"I'm absolutely positive," Chuck said. "For one thing, those things happened before we had even met. If anything talking about them would make us closer. It's something we could share and deal with together. My being a little uncomfortable or wincing for a second is a small price to pay for that, to know that you trust me enough to tell me the uncomfortable things. I promise that I'll never use any of the things you tell me to try and make you feel bad."

Sarah knew that he was telling her the truth. He wasn't looking for intel, for some excuse to hold over her head. He just honestly wanted to know her better. It was sweet… totally, incredibly, almost unbelievably sweet. "Okay," she said. "I do trust you. That sounds nice. How about after we get back from our honeymoon, we'll set aside some time and I'll honestly work on that? Now it's time for me to pick the game." Again oft his surprised look she grinned. "Do you seriously think that you get to pick all of the games?"

That got them both laughing again. "Somehow I sense your game is going to take place in the bedroom compartment," Chuck said.

"We've been married almost exactly twenty-four hours," Sarah said. "We're on a six hour flight on our way to our honeymoon. There is a bedroom on the plane. Wouldn't there be something wrong if we didn't head back there?"

"Point well taken," Chuck admitted. "What are the rules of this game?"

"It's called 'Genie'," Sarah said with a laugh. "I think that's pretty self explanatory. Over the next two weeks we both get three wishes that the other has to make come true. We'll alternate. I'll go first."

"Okay," Chuck agreed. "Go for it. What's your first wish?"

"Not so fast," Sarah said. "We have two whole weeks. My first wish will happen in Hawaii. It will take pretty much a whole day for you to make it come true."

"A whole day," Chuck sighed. "Are you trying to kill me?"

That got Sarah laughing. "It's not going to be all sex," she finally was able to get out. "There are actually other things that I like to do too, you know? Don't worry. I think that you'll survive. Maybe you should put your brain to work and start thinking about your first wish. Besides, I'm afraid we still have some work to do tonight."

"Work," Chuck groaned. "What kind of work? Come on, we're on our honeymoon."

But Sarah was firm. "Sorry," she said. "But the honeymoon will have to wait. This is important. It's very possible that you're going to see that Bowles bitch again someday. She'll be expecting to listen to a tape of what she thinks is happening right now. We need to record that scene on your cell phone. Fulcrum Agent Charles Carmichael is looking to get information from CIA Agent Sarah Walker. But first he needs to show her who is boss and break her spirit. He's already given Agent Walker her first dose of Neuorpol and she is currently pretty much his fuck toy. When it starts to wear off, she'll be begging him, willing to do anything to get the next dose, and I do mean anything. He intends to mix business with pleasure, to use her in ways he's only imagined, to…"

Chuck looked around uncomfortably. "Audio only?" he interrupted hopefully. "Are we faking this?"

Sarah grabbed his hand and started to lead him to the bedroom in the rear of the plane. "Audio only," she assured him, clearly teasing. "Faking it might work. But why would we take any chances that she would see through it? Besides, what would be the fun in faking it? No, I think we'll need to do this for real. We both know that you're not a pig, Chuck."

"Let's see how big of one Agent Carmichael can be."

x-x-x-x-x

Bryce sat in his hotel room watching the scene play out on his laptop. Sarah was really slipping. It was one of those things that he had tried to warn Chuck about the other day. When spies made mistakes, even simple mistakes, they often died… or worse. And she should have guessed that there might be a hidden camera in Beckman's bedroom compartment.

This was admittedly a very tough scene for Bryce to watch. But then again, he found that he couldn't turn his eyes away from the screen. He always assumed that Chuck and Sarah were having regular sex. As much as he would have liked to, it was impossible to try and believe anything else. They were married. But that assumption was nothing like watching it so vividly happen in living color.

Sarah was amazingly beautiful, that much was pretty obvious. But the truth is Bryce had forgotten a little how truly breathtaking she was. And as much as he hated to admit it, when they were together he had never seen the glow that was currently on her face. He had slept with her more than a few times. And sure, he had gotten glimpses of parts of her naked. But he had never seen her the way that Chuck was currently seeing her. The black and white picture he was watching didn't come close. She was always so careful to make sure it was dark and she was under the covers before she ever got undressed with him. By contrast, here she was doing a slow strip tease for Chuck with the lights fully on. And actually it was more than just stripping.

He couldn't hear them. There was something wrong with the audio feed. But he didn't have to. They were obviously playing some kind of role game. Chuck was clearly giving her directions which she was just as clearly eager to follow. She stood directly in front of him and slowly lowered the zipper of her dress. Once she was done, gravity quickly took over and exposed her chest. After her dress was finally lying on the floor, she stepped out of it and took about an hour to slide her panties down those incredibly long beautiful legs before handing them to him. She then followed his instructions grinning there in the fully lit room. She was clearly enjoying posing in assorted positions for his approval every bit as much as he was.

After a while, Chuck had her sit on his lap. She looked directly into his eyes, conspicuously took his hand, and placed it on her breast. She took his other hand, placed it flat on her stomach and pushed it steadily south, submissively opening her knees to give him the total access he had clearly demanded.

After wrapping her arms around his neck and leading Chuck though some serious second and third base necking, she finally stood up and started unbuttoning his shirt, kissing her way down his chest as she went. Then she moved to the chair that was in front of him wearing only her stockings, legs propped up on the armrests, and put on quite the erotic show for her new husband. It was torture to watch, unbelievable even. It was like watching a different person. She had never come close to doing anything like that for him.

But the worst part was the way she smiled at Chuck as she helped him out of his pants and dropped to her knees. That was a very sore point for Bryce. The only way to ever get Sarah to do that for him was as payment for a huge favor. And at the end, the price was getting ridiculously high. And even those few times that he could count on one hand when he could pay the price it was as quick as possible and very obviously delivered reluctantly and with a sullen attitude. But here she was on that computer screen actually clearly getting into it with him. She even paused several times plainly to make it last for him as long as possible. It didn't take much of a lip reader to see her smile sweetly at him and tell him how much she was enjoying this, when her lips weren't otherwise occupied, that is. She was even thanking him for giving her the opportunity to do something special for him. It simply wasn't fair.

Bryce couldn't see Chuck's face directly until he fell back onto the bed. But then he looked in disgust at Chuck's face, contorted with passion as she finally quickened the pace and led him to the massive orgasm she had been delaying for so long. The laptop went flying through the air busting into, maybe not a million pieces when it hit the wall. But it would never be used as a computer again. "You son of a bitch," he finally shouted in frustration to the empty room.

"You stole my girl."

x-x-x-x-x

A/N: This is basically where the original story ended. Fulcrum has been defeated and Chuck and Sarah are ready to start their lives together. But of course their story hasn't ended. There will be new challenges to face, new enemies to defeat, new ways to grow closer together as a couple.

From now on, the story will be totally brand new. When I originally planned on the sequel, we didn't know anything about Mary Bartowski and even less about Alexi Volkoff.

Just a fair bit of warning.

I never bought their story in the show. Trying to make sense of that story makes my head hurt. So I'm going to make no effort to make them appear like canon. You're not going to like them. In fact, they may creep you out a little. Sorry about that (not really, it just seemed the thing to say). I have to earn my M rating somehow, right?

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