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The Back of the Boat

x-x-x-x-x

Laura and Casey were cuddled together in bed. If either smoked, it would be the point in the evening where a shared cigarette might come into play. Actually it was still Carina's room and hence her bed. But she had been excused from her obligations for the duration… back out to the party to torment poor Joey after only a few rounds of actual sex. Carina didn't have to be told twice. She couldn't have possibly gotten out of that room any faster.

Laura certainly had Carina perform enough tasks to fully prove her point. Casey was conclusively able to say that he was fully entertained, and had gotten his sweet revenge… Laura was able to say that she now had participated in a threesome, and more important knew what it was like to be with another woman, from the fun side for once. Her main purpose was to give Casey an erotic show that would quickly inspire round two. And it certainly fulfilled that objective. But she also would have been a little less than truthful if she tried to say that she didn't enjoy Carina's effort at some level. It would be hard to deny the moans and her hands pressing firmly on the top of Carina's head later when Casey inevitably started teasing her about how loud her orgasm was. Carina clearly had done this before a time or two. She immediately assumed the submissive role, smiled sweetly and got busy. She clearly knew every spot to drive Laura crazy, honestly seemed to enjoy proving it, and knew just what they wanted… from both a spectator and participant point of view.

But it was odd. After the first few exciting minutes both Casey and Laura quickly found that Carina ultimately got in the way of their passion far more than she helped stoke it. Their sex had always been nothing short of spectacular. They had already learned what each other wanted and when. Another set of lips and hands in the equation were simply one too many. Both were actually happy to see her go. The last round, after she left, was by far the hottest.

Neither of them wanted to take the edge off that amazing afterglow anytime soon. Finally Laura spoke. "What are we going to do?" she asked.

Casey smiled. "Whatever it is, it's going to have to wait for a half hour," he said. "I'm not a machine."

Laura smiled right back. "Two things," she said. "First, I have ten bucks that say I could get you back in the saddle in ten minutes if I wanted too. But second, I was thinking in slightly larger terms. I'm not sure that I can work for Beckman any longer. But I'm not sure that I'm ready to quit either."

"I don't think it's going to be an issue," Casey said. "Going after Alexi Volkoff is a suicide mission. We won't be working for anybody, except the worms."

Laura made no attempt to hide the laugh. That was one thing that she loved about Casey. And yes, she was fully aware that she said loved. He could make her laugh. He wasn't funny like Chuck maybe. His sense of humor was much darker and sarcastic. But he was funny. Seth was only funny in a pathetic way, when he wasn't trying to be funny. "I wouldn't bet against us," she said softly.

Casey must have finally realized that she was being serious. "I know," he said. "Me either. Are you up for working directly with Bartowski? It's something of a challenge."

"I think so," she said. "We have something of a connection."

"Careful," Casey warned. "Sarah isn't going to tolerate much of a connection before she makes a connection between her left foot and your jaw."

Laura laughed. "It's not that kind of connection. Chuck doesn't even see me as a woman. And for what it's worth, Sarah has grown. She is letting a lot of that go. She is still insanely protective of him. But the jealous thing… not so much."

"Stupid bastard," Casey said as he grabbed her and rolled her over. "Doesn't see you as a woman? He doesn't have a clue what he's missing." His smile took a decidedly evil turn. "Maybe you should work with Carina more often," he said with a smirk. "It sounded like you might enjoy that."

Laura grinned. It was so predicable that he would tease her about that. So she was ready for him. "You sound jealous," she said with her own evil grin. "Maybe you want to prove that you're better at it. I'll give you an honest chance. But she was pretty amazing. It would take your best effort."

"It looks like this is your lucky day," Casey said. "I do want to prove that I'm better."

"And you just won ten bucks."

x-x-x-x-x

As soon as they were done hugging Joey, Sarah again grabbed Chuck's hand and led him away. Clearly she was heading for the bedroom. But he pulled her past the door.

"I want to delete those pictures," Sarah protested.

"Would you stop worrying about the stupid pictures?" Chuck said with a smile. "I want to show you something first. Besides, in your mind you've already deleted them. That's all that matters." They walked to the back of the ship and found a nice padded bench to sit on. "Look," he said as they quickly snuggled.

In the total dark, the billions and untold billions of stars lit up the night sky. "Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?" Sarah asked in awe.

"Every morning," Chuck said. "When I wake up next to you."

This was one of those times that melted her heart. From another man, in another place, that would have been a line designed to separate Sarah from her panties. She had heard similar things from plenty of men in her time, all of them thinking they were being smooth, all totally confident that they had just insured her panties were going to hit the floor sometime soon. What those men never seemed to realize was that a smooth seduction line was exactly the wrong approach to take if a conquest of Sarah Walker was your goal. It disgusted her, invariably cut short whatever small amount of time she was willing to invest in conversation with them in the first place.

But Chuck was totally different from those other men. With Chuck that wasn't a line, not even a little bit. It wasn't recited for any effect. He was being totally genuine. It was sweet beyond description. Of course he didn't need any help in getting her panties on the floor tonight. She was as on fire as she had ever been in her life. But it was still sweet, just another reminder of how he felt about her. "You're really trying to get me naked right here, aren't you?" Sarah asked softly just before their lips met. As soon as the long kiss broke she put her head on his shoulder. "I'm going to say something to you," she said. "And I'm going to try and say this without bawling. So I would appreciate it if you would let me get through it without interruption."

Chuck could see that she was serious. He just nodded.

"I'm so proud of you," she said. "I've already told you that. But it's even more. Most people fall in love, and in the exciting newness everything seems perfect. Then over time when that excitement wears off, they find the little faults they had previously overlooked and before they realize it they have drifted apart a little. With us, it's the opposite. The more I get to know you, I find the little things that I had missed in the initial excitement and the more I find myself falling even harder. I can honestly say that I'm more excited now about spending my life with you than I was when we first got together. If you would have told me back then that I would fall harder, I wouldn't have believed it was possible. But you keep doing things to constantly prove to me how lucky I am. Tonight was your biggest fear. I get that. You totally set it aside. And you did it for one reason, to do something special for me. Thank you, sweetie."

"You're welcome," Chuck said. "But it wasn't all that hard. I wasn't jealous at all. I knew that you were playing him the whole time. I guess we're really growing."

Sarah smiled. She took one of Chuck's hands and wordless slid it into her now mostly open shirt. "We are growing," she said. Then she slid her own hand up Chuck's leg. "You especially. I can sure feel it."

"Very funny," Chuck said. "I think I can see where this is headed. Are you sure you want to do this here? Somebody might come."

"I'm sure," Sarah said. "Carina and Laura are busy. If anybody else does see us, they could probably use the pointers anyway. Besides, can you possibly imagine a more romantic setting? Making love under a billion stars. Are you comfortable?"

"We've really grown," Chuck said. "Right?"

"We've really grown," Sarah agreed. "You were right. Beckman can't hurt us. She doesn't have that power and never will. I'm sorry that I freaked out."

"No problem," Chuck said. "We have a tough job coming up. But we'll get through it, just like we always do. Maybe next time I'll be the one to freak out."

Sarah stood to stand in front of him and made an obvious show out of unbuttoning her shirt. Her smile turned a little sinister. "Now it's official," she said as allowed it slide off her shoulders and to the floor. "Carina was the last one. You've now seen Joey, Laura, and Carina naked. Which one did you like best?"

Chuck clearly didn't want to have this discussion. "Do we really have to talk about this?" he basically whined.

"I'm not trying to trap you," Sarah said. "I promise. This isn't a jealous wife thing. I'm just a little curious. Come on, Chuck. Please don't try and tell me that you haven't noticed they are beautiful women. We're all grown up. Certainly we can have this honest discussion, can't we? Laura has the biggest chest. But Joey is perky."

"Now see, here is my problem," Chuck said, maybe a little more forcefully than he intended. "I just can't look at a woman and judge her body parts like she's a computer. This one has a faster processor. This one has more memory. That's not who I am. For a woman to be attractive to me, I'd have to get to know her. There is no way that Carina will ever be anything but a total skank to me, no matter how many other men drool over her. Laura I consider a friend. I'm glad that you have her. But I also could never see myself with her. I really like Joey. I'm starting to get really protective of her. But I also am uncomfortable talking about her naked. I never want you to mistake, even for a second, being her friend and partner with me wanting something more. I don't know how to make you understand this. You are the most beautiful woman in the world. I'm not forcing myself to not look at those other women out of some sense of loyalty. Yes, I get that all three are beautiful. I imagine that's sort of a key prerequisite for becoming a CIA Agent in the first place. But standing next to you they look plain."

"I'm sorry," Sarah said as she stepped out of the pants that were bunched around her ankles. "Please don't be mad at me. I didn't mean to spoil such a wonderful moment. Bryce would be looking for ways to me to help him see them naked again as soon as possible. It's just the way he's wired. I keep forgetting that you're not like Bryce in any detail. Keep reminding me, okay?"

Chuck's eyes narrowed. "So," he said with a bit of an edge. "Your turn. What men are you attracted too?"

Sarah was down to her panties in what she was hoping would be the beginning of Chuck's reward, but as soon as she recognized his tone she threw herself on his lap. "I'm such an idiot," she said. "I took the most romantic setting I've ever been in with the only man I've ever loved and totally fucked it up. I wasn't trying to start anything. I'm not accusing you of being attracted to other women. I'm not. I get what you're saying. I was just making conversation. Like if you were the judge in a nude beauty contest, who would win? Can we please forget I said anything? Please?"

"Laura would win," Chuck finally said with the beginning of a smile. "Will that end this? Oh, right after you tell me which man would win your contest."

Sarah was visibly relieved that he was clearly over being annoyed with her. It was her least favorite thing. "I'm going to surprise you," she said. "I think Devon would win. But I totally get your point about not being attracted to him. I love Devon. He's good for Ellie. But he's kind of a flake, isn't he?"

"Not fair," Chuck said. "You made me judge them naked. I'm assuming that you've not seen Devon naked. Who would win of the spy men you've ever saw naked?"

Even in the dark Chuck could see the color drain from her face. "I'm teasing you," he finally admitted.

Sarah put her hand over her heart. "I should be really pissed at you right now," she said. "But I'm so relieved. I honestly haven't seen very many men naked. Now can we please end this?"

"Right after you admit something to me," Chuck said. "In a little over a day, Laura and I are going under cover as something of a couple. That bothers you at some level."

Sarah just snuggled into him for a long, long moment. "Okay," she finally said. "I feel horrible about feeling that way. I do trust you."

"There is no reason to feel bad," Chuck said. "It should bother you. It's perfectly okay to admit that. If you and another man had to go under cover as a couple, it would sure as hell bother me. You don't have to make up some bullshit Miss Nude Spy contest to cover your feelings. Tell me about them, sit back, and watch me work overtime to reassure you, to constantly make sure that you're okay."

"Thank you," Sarah said softly as she squeezed him tight. "You're right. I'm going to need the overtime. I'm sorry. I understand that I shouldn't… but I do."

"No need to be sorry," Chuck said. "That's what I'm here for."

Sarah knew that their relationship had just experienced another growth spurt. It was time to prove it. So she broke their embrace and stood up. "You're not the only one who needs to put in some overtime," she said. "That's exactly what I've been trying to tell you today. That's exactly the sort of thing that I should have been doing and have consistently dropped the ball. I'm going to stop feeling bad about it, that doesn't do any good. I'm just going to do a lot, lot better. I'm going to start tonight, and I'm going to start with sex."

Sarah stopped his smart remark with a look. "I know," she said as she grinned. "What's changed, right? Well here's what's changed. I've been going about this the wrong way. I get that now. I've been asking you to go outside of your comfort zone and ask me for wild things. That was unfair of me. You're uncomfortable doing that. So now I'm just going to take charge, do what it takes to reassure you, and think of various ways to constantly seduce you. That's what I'm here for."

That got the grin she had been desperately looking for. "So let me get this straight," Chuck said. "You're taking charge of our sex life?"

Sarah matched his grin. "Good," she said playfully. "So you do understand. You can still ask for anything you want. I'll make sure that you'll get it. You can take control back anytime you want. But, yes, I'm taking charge. Any questions?"

Chuck started laughing. "Do I have to call you master?"

Sarah pretended to consider the question for a moment. "No," she said. "For one thing it would be mistress. But that's over the top, don't you think? As long as when we're being wild, you obey my every command… I do think for my first command we can change places and you can slowly strip for my amusement like I just did for you. That's fair."

Chuck was still laughing. But he didn't question her. He just stood and wordlessly pulled his t-shirt over his head.

Sarah took Chuck's seat, settled in for the show, and playfully waived for him to continue. "We're going to have to work on your striptease moves," she said with a grin. "But I do have to admit, you're naked. I suppose that's the main thing. I think that you're going to like me being in charge. I know the things you like the best anyway."

"You do?"

"Uh huh," Sarah said. "It's time that I proved it." She patted the seat next to her until he got the hint and sat. "I told you about the dream that I had last night," she said as she slid off the bench and to the deck. "Joey was actually doing this in my dream. Laura said she was fairly good at it… for a rookie."

After a few moments, Sarah paused to look up at him. "Charles Irving Bartowski," she said in mock frustration. "Don't you dare give me that guilty expression. We both know that this is what you would ask for if you weren't so damn shy about it. But since you won't ask for it… Your assignment is to clear your mind, allow your wife her very favorite thing in the world, and see how long we can make this last. That's an order."

Once Sarah resumed her efforts, she rather quickly had him close to the edge. After a few more moments, she paused again. "That's better," she said with a grin. "As long as we're having this conversation, just for a point of future reference, I want to get something on the table. I seriously doubt that this will ever come up. But Laura is always bragging how good she is at this. Seems like an odd thing to brag about. My experience in this activity is very limited. Now that I'm in charge, expect this to happen a lot more often, just one of the perks I get for taking charge."

Sarah found that she rather quickly had to pause again. "See how much fun it can be to follow orders?" she asked with her relaxed grin. "I don't think I've ever seen you quite like this. Just for the record, Laura and I are pretty competitive. I'm certainly not asking you to try and ever make any comparisons. And we've never had a contest or anything, so there's no way to know for sure. So maybe she is better right now."

"But I intend on putting in my fair share of practice."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck and Sarah were cuddled together on that same bench sleeping when the sun came peeking up out of the Atlantic Ocean. Frankly, the warmth of their bodies felt good against the cool, early morning air. But that's not the only thing that felt good. It felt so good to feel this close to someone, so close that it was almost as if you were one person. Sarah just sat there half awake soaking the amazing feeling in. She seriously couldn't tell where she ended and he began. And really, it no longer mattered.

When she finally decided to open her eyes, the first thing she noticed was Carina sitting on the chair across from them. She was covered by a blanket keeping her warm, so Sarah couldn't tell her state of dress. "Hey," she said. "How long have you been sitting there watching us?"

Carina ignored the question. "Do you think we could talk?" she asked. Sarah couldn't tell the tone of her voice. It didn't sound angry. That was a good thing. When Carina was angry she was… well, angry.

Chuck also picked that moment to pop awake, realize that Carina was there, and also realize that he was naked. Sarah was trying her best to shield him from her, at least the strategic parts. But that proved futile. So he just stood up calmly, turned to Sarah as he grabbed his sweatpants from the floor, and made no effort to cover himself as he slid them on commando style. "I have a headache," he said. "I haven't been able to shake it all day. I'm going to lie down in a real bed for a while and see if I can sleep it off."

Responding to Sarah's concerned look, he smiled. "It's just a headache," he said to reassure her. "It's probably not a brain tumor." He leaned in for a quick kiss and was gone down the hall.

"So," Sarah said. "Are you going to tell me how long you've been watching, or not?"

"A while," Carina answered with the beginning of a smile. "How many rounds is he usually up for in a single night? He's either a better performer than I anticipated… or you're really easy to make moan." She moved to the bench where Sarah was sitting and wrapped the blanket around both of them. "Damn, it's chilly out here," she said.

Sarah stiffened for a moment. Since they were both naked, she could definitely feel Carina's breast brush against hers. But with Chuck gone, it was pretty chilly. "You're not making a move on me are you?" she asked playfully. "I am naked. But after the four times with Chuck last night, I'm currently pretty much sexed out. Bad timing."

"No," Carina teased right back. "Laura already used up my girl-on-girl quota for this month. I just don't want to see you get cold."

So Sarah relaxed and allowed Carina to snuggle into her. She had to admit that the warmth felt good. "So," she said, still in her teasing tone. "You finally got to watch me fuck someone. Was it everything that you imagined? Are you going to critique our performance? Maybe give me some pointers?"

Carina grinned. "It was a nice show," she admitted, still clearly teasing. "I had a bit of frustration going on after my 'date' with Casey and Laura. So I hope that you don't mind if I and my right hand joined you in spirit." Then she got a little serious. "No pointers will be necessary," she said so softly that Sarah had to strain to hear her. "For one thing, it looked like you two were doing everything right. I've never seen two people working so hard to make the other happy. It was… nice. So I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I misjudged you. I misjudged Chuck. You're happy. And if you're happy, then I'm happy."

Sarah felt her whole body relax in relief. Carina was one of her very few true friends. They looked out for each other. So she put her arm around her and pulled her close. "Thanks," she said softly. "And you can forget telling me about Morocco. I find that I no longer care. You officially have my permission to stop feeling guilty about it. Whatever happened there between you and Bryce simply isn't important to me any more."

"Thanks," Carina said in honest appreciation. "I want you to be careful. You're no longer a spy. It's a dangerous world… for a housewife."

That got them both laughing. "I know," Sarah said. She squeezed Carina tightly and pulled her even closer. "Thanks for looking out for me."

Carina rested her head on Sarah's shoulder affectionately. "I've underestimated him," she said sadly. "On several levels. Will he let me tell him that I'm sorry?"

Sarah laughed. "Maybe someday," she said. "I think for right now it's best if I tell him. Don't worry. He doesn't hold a grudge very long. And as far as you underestimating him, well everyone does."

"Get in line."

x-x-x-x-x