I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point.

Okay, of all of things that frustrate me about the show, and there are several :), none come close to the mess they made of the Mary Bartowski story. They spent so much time in early S4 trying to make us question if she was a good or bad character that they sort of painted themselves into a corner. Even if you can accept that she left her husband and two small children in the middle of the night without a clue where she was going… with her only excuse being 'I just got caught up for twenty years', she led Volkoff to Orion's lab and helped him destroy it. She took away the Intersect from Chuck. She even shot him. And then they want us to believe that the family would so quickly accept her back with open arms, so much so that she was the one person who went into the labor room with Ellie. Wow.

I bring this up because there is a point in this chapter where it might appear that I'm trying to rehabilitate the Mary character. Trust me, that is not the case. Whatever motherly feelings of remorse she might feel for a few minutes, she's made her choice. When push comes to shove, her loyalties are with Volkoff.

I always expected that Gobbler would show the distinction between Agents Frost and Walker and they would have something of an eyeball to eyeball moment shouting at each other about love vs. duty. That never happened. In fact, I'm not totally sure what did happen. :) I would love to get Joan (who is the Anti-Mary) in a position to have that eyeball to eyeball moment with Agent Frost as she sticks up for her husband. That would be fun to write. But given the circumstances of the story, that's probably not going to happen. So Sarah will have to do as she sticks up for her husband. Not to worry, I think that Sarah can knock Mary Bartowski face down (metaphorically and maybe even literally) in the dirt. That might be a little fun. :)

I understand that there isn't a review function on this site. But I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything.

A Boatload of Assets

x-x-x-x-x

When Sarah woke up the first thing she noticed was that Chuck was next to her spooned into her. That in itself was very unusual. It wasn't at all how they normally slept. The second thing that she noticed was that she was basically naked. On the other hand, that wasn't all that unusual. It was basically how they normally woke up. The next thing she noticed was the sunlight streaming through the window. Suddenly full memory returned. "How long have I been sleeping?" she asked in alarm.

Chuck ignored her question. "How do you feel?" he asked.

Sarah, in turn, ignored his question. She rolled over to face him. "Damn it, Chuck, Devon said I would only sleep for a couple of hours," she said angrily.

Chuck sat up a little. "Don't blame Devon," he said firmly. "This is not his fault. He was actually very hesitant to give you the full dose. He didn't want to look like he lied to you. That was totally my decision. You needed to get some honest sleep for a while. If you're going to be pissed at anyone, it should be me. So, Agent Walker, once again, how are you feeling?"

Chuck could immediately tell that she was emotional. The quiver in her upper lip said that. It took a long time for her to gather her composure enough to keep her voice from breaking. "Do you really think of me as Agent Walker?"

Chuck was quick to let her know that he was teasing and maybe calm her down a little. He put his head back on the pillow next to her. "I'm not sure," he said. "If you are Agent Walker maybe I shouldn't be here in bed with you. I'm not her type, remember? And she's known to be a bit fiery. If she woke up from a deep sleep, dressed like you aren't, with a computer nerd in her bed, snuggled up next to her… well I seriously don't think that would have a happy ending for him. Do you?"

Sarah was at least relieved that he was teasing her. That was hopeful. It took a little of the tension away. "I suppose not," she said. "But come on, Chuck. Be honest here. You're pissed at me. It's okay to admit that. I have it coming. I'm pissed at me. Let's deal with it."

"I wouldn't call it pissed," Chuck protested. "If you want honesty, I'd characterize it more as concerned. Having said that, I do want you to explain something to me. Why would you think that Carina seducing me was even the remotest of possibilities? Aren't we way, way, way past that? It's reasonably insulting on multiple levels."

"I know," Sarah sighed. "I was out of control. I wasn't thinking. I'm so, so sorry how that looked to you. For the record, I never feared that you would ever cheat on me, and especially not with Carina. We are way past that. But you don't know her. When she is on a quest, she simply doesn't give up. It's what makes her a great spy. But it's also what makes her something of a challenge as a friend."

"Let's practice some of that new found mature couple stuff that you're so proud of and stop dancing around this," Chuck said. "This was more than just being pissed at Carina. I watched you crack like an egg last night. It was maybe the very worst moment of my life. So I'd really, really like you to consider dropping out of this mission. It's not worth it. Having to become Agent Walker again is making you crazy. I hate seeing that. Besides, if you crack like this in Russia, we're all going to get killed. We'll find another way to get them."

"You just don't understand," Sarah said sadly. "I have to be Agent Walker. We have no choice. The stakes are simply too high. Our future depends on it. And you're wrong. Agent Walker didn't crack last night. She would never, ever crack. You don't have to ever worry about that. That was totally Sarah. Chuck, I fucked up my relationship with Devon, Joan, and maybe even you last night. And even if I didn't last night, it's only a matter of time. I can't bear that thought. I'm losing it."

"Here's the deal," Chuck said with something of a grin. "You're the one who just doesn't understand. And although I'm starting to really like it when you talk dirty to me, you didn't fuck up anything last night… with anybody really, but especially not with me. If it wasn't so silly, it'd be fairly insulting. A matter of time? That's particularly silly. Sarah, there are some things that no matter how hard you try, you just can't fuck up. I said that I would be there for better or worse. I meant it. And this isn't even close to being worse. The love of a family is another one of those things. You've lost nothing… not even close… and I can prove it."

Chuck's grin was fairly infectious. "Care to tell me why you're in such a good mood?" Sarah finally asked.

Chuck pondered the question for a beat. "A few reasons actually," he finally said. "I pretty much knew that I wouldn't be able to talk you out of your part of this mission. But I do think that I can fix this Sarah / Agent Walker issue for you."

This got Sarah interested. "How?" she asked.

Chuck laughed. "Carina told me that everybody thinks I'm some sort of genius, and maybe it was time to start acting like it," he said. "I hate it when she's right."

Sarah quickly found that she wouldn't be able to stay in a bad mood for long, not with Chuck grinning so broadly at her. "Okay," she finally said. "What did you do?"

"It's a surprise," Chuck said. "You'll find out in a few minutes. But first I have a couple of confessions to make."

Sarah furrowed her brow in confusion. "Confessions?" she asked. "I knew it. You're mad at me. It's okay to admit that. You have a perfect right to be mad."

"Listen to me," Chuck insisted firmly. "How many times do I have to say this? I'm not mad at you. Not even a little bit. Nobody is mad at you. We're all just a little worried about you. In fact if anything you should be mad at me. I want to apologize to you. I saw you struggling with something and didn't do enough to help you through it. Carina pointed it out to me. I was a lousy husband. So I'm very sorry."

That got Sarah to sit up and take notice. "She called you a lousy husband?" she asked, the anger in her voice clearly obvious. "If she thinks I kicked her ass last night, she hasn't seen anything yet."

Chuck gently but firmly pulled her back down to the bed. "Relax," he said calmly. "She didn't call me a lousy husband. That's what I'm calling myself. She just pointed out what I didn't see, that you were struggling and why. She was in here while you were sleeping. She says it wasn't the first time you've kicked her ass and it probably won't be the last. She told me to tell you that next time she expects to give you a better fight."

Sarah's lip started to noticeably quiver as she struggled for composure. "Then you need to stop calling yourself that right now," she finally said. "I mean it. I'm not going to lay here and listen to someone talk despairingly about the love of my life, not even you. For one thing it's ridiculous for you to feel badly, confessing that you're lousy at being something that you are actually so good at. The truth is that you're a perfect husband. That's actually part of the problem. You're so perfect that I'm terrified of losing you."

That got a smile. "Okay," he said. "I get it. It was nice of you to say but I'm hardly perfect. But don't you get it? Being afraid of losing me is simply ridiculous. How much plainer can I say it? Please stop worrying about that starting right now. And however you would characterize my performance as a husband, I haven't been doing my job lately. I'm going to do better. But that's not really one of the confessions. We were getting Laura last night. Carina tracked her down and took me to where she was. It was a nice thing that she did to try and make up with me. She's really trying. That's why maybe it would be a good thing for you to apologize to her. Anyway, I sorta got into a fight with Seth. And I know that I promised you I wouldn't start anything with him. But he really didn't give me much of a choice."

"A fight," Sarah said, now obviously concerned. "What happened? Did that bastard hurt you? I knew I should have ended him when I had the chance."

"That's not really the confession either," Chuck said. "The truth is that I really, really enjoyed having the Intersect wipe the room with his ass. That's one of the confessions. I'm not really proud of feeling good about that."

That got a smile, a little one anyway. "Well I am," she said. "I really wish I could have seen it."

"Me too," Chuck said. "I know how much fights turn you on. It seems like such a shame to waste that opportunity. And that leads pretty much to the other confession."

Chuck didn't wait for a response. "When I was getting you undressed last night, I realized that I had never gotten anywhere with Agent Walker for that whole first year," he continued. "Once she was naked, I had some time on my hands while she was sleeping. I decided that she had been kinda holding out on me. So I may have felt her up a little in her sleep."

That broke whatever tension that remained. Sarah couldn't keep in the wet laugh. "You felt her up?" she said as soon as she could stop laughing. "That's actually a little creepy. Weren't you afraid that she would wake up and throw a knife into your kidney? She historically doesn't take things like men getting her naked and feeling her up in her sleep all that well. So how was it? Did it make up for her holding out on you for a year?"

"It was a little creepy," Chuck admitted with a laugh of his own. "It just seemed like the nerd thing to do… payback and all. The fear of her waking up actually made it a lot more exciting. But I have to admit, she was a little chilly. I like feeling Sarah up a lot more."

"That's good to know," Sarah said as she started laughing again. "I'm afraid that I'm going to need you to prove that… like maybe right now."

"I'd be glad to prove it," Chuck said. "A little later maybe. But first, you need to get dressed. I want to show you something."

Sarah didn't say anything for a long moment. She rolled over and assumed their favorite position and simply snuggled into him for so long that Chuck was beginning to think she maybe fell asleep again.

"I'm tired, Chuck," she finally said without moving her head. Her voice was soft and muffled by his shirt so Chuck had to strain to hear her. "I've given them everything that I had for ten years. I just don't have much left. I'm running on fumes. I'm sorry. I know that we talk about getting out of this life a lot. It just never seems to happen. So after this last mission, would it be okay with you if I actually did retire?"

Chuck squeezed her as tightly as he possibly could then he pressed a loving kiss to the top of her head. "Ex Agent Walker," he said. "You have zero reason to be sorry. You've been the best of the best for ten years. You've done more than anybody could ever hope to expect from ten people put together. I'm actually way ahead of you on this one. Come on. Get dressed and I'll show you what I mean."

x-x-x-x-x

Diane Beckman sat on the bed in her… well; cell would be the only accurate description. She was deep in thought. She knew that Sarah was playing a scam of some kind. Clearly her target was taking down Alexei Volkoff. And naturally that meant that Chuck was the brains behind this. He was always the one with the plan.

Diane's problem was that she didn't know what the plan was. All she knew was the little bit that Walker had told her, that Volkoff wanted to use her to get Walker in a corner, with the hope of using that to trap Chuck. And that seemed to be in line with how they were treating her. Oh, they asked her some questions. But they seemed resigned to accept that she wouldn't or couldn't answer any of them. There was no hint of any enhanced interrogation techniques. They were clearly marking time until Walker showed up to rescue her.

But what was the plan after that? Certainly there was one. But she didn't have an idea what it might be… or how to assist it. She was so wrapped up in trying to come up with scenarios that she didn't notice the figure enter the room out of the shadow.

"Mary," Beckman said in frustration once she realized who it was. "For the last time, I have no idea where Orion is or how to contact him. I've been looking for him for the past five years just as hard as you have."

"I know," Mary said. "That's not why I'm here. We always knew that trying to get operational information from you was pointless. This is more personal in nature. I hope that you appreciate the way you've been treated and will be frank with me. I'm not going to ask you anything sensitive."

Diane was puzzled by the vulnerability in her voice. Agent Frost was fairly famous for not having a single soft spot anyplace on her body. She was the most vicious bad ass one could imagine. "Okay," she said. "I'll listen. What do you want to know?"

Mary paused for a long moment. "Sarah Walker," she finally said. "The way I understand it, she is my daughter-in-law. Her reputation is about as far away from being a wife as one could possibly imagine. I've never met her, but by all accounts she is a cold stone killing machine who nobody can report ever seeing crack a smile. What's the real deal with her and Chuck? Is she playing him?"

Diane looked for any hint of deception in Mary's eyes. She certainly didn't trust her or Volkoff farther than she could throw them. Why was she fishing for information about Sarah? But she quickly decided that the truth was the most effective weapon she had. Not only could it possibly keep them off balance, it fit with what little she knew of Team B's plan. "I'm not sure that I believe it myself," she said. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd think she was pulling my leg. You're absolutely right about her reputation. It was totally deserved. She followed orders without stopping to figure out what they meant. If you got in her way, she wouldn't break stride. She would just shoot you in the head and not bother to ask any questions. She was simply the best of the best."

Mary nodded. "What happened?" she asked.

"I'm not sure that I can even explain it," Diane said. "It simply defies belief. She is amazingly beautiful. You can imagine that she had a line of men following her every move from here to Minsk trying to woo her. She never gave any of them as much as a second glance. People were honestly starting to question her preferences. Then she met Chuck Bartowski. This stone cold, burnt out, killing machine turned almost overnight into a doe eyed, lovesick schoolgirl. As dedicated as she had been to her duty, she became ten times as fanatical about protecting him… when they're not in bed that is, which isn't all that often. It borders on obsessive. As close as we are, she seriously threatened to kill me when she thought that I was giving him a dangerous assignment."

Mary did a double take. "How could she possibly have changed that dramatically?" she asked skeptically. "Are you sure that she isn't playing a scam of some kind?"

Diane actually smiled. It was time to twist the knife a little. "I'm very, very sure," she replied. "I'm not sure what your plans are for Agent Walker… but be advised… trying to get her to betray her husband in any way would be a futile and quite possibly fatal mistake. She's not even a tiny bit ambiguous about where her loyalties are, and she's not at all bashful about telling anyone who asks."

Mary considered that for a long moment. "What about him?" she finally asked. "Does he honestly love her?"

Diane's smile turned into a grin. "He really does," she said. "He lets her take the lead most of the time. But he is the one with all the plans. They fill in each other's gaps. It's reasonably sickening. Separately, they are each superior agents, but they both have exploitable flaws. Together, they're simply unstoppable. Underestimating them would be one of those fatal mistakes I was talking about. I think you're about to find that out on your own very, very soon."

"Given your history, I imagine that their reaction to you is going to be a bit… cool".

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck didn't have to take Sarah very far. It was actually the very next stateroom down the hall. When he opened the door, it was clear that there was a bustle of activity. Practically the entire team was there. Ellie and Joan were just finishing up painting the far wall. They made it look like a grassy meadow, complete with a tree swing. Joey and Carina were on ladders, hand painting puffy clouds on the powder blue ceiling.

Josh and Devon were hard at work putting together a crib. Well, it was mostly hard work. Currently they were arguing about which part the instructions said to use next and trying to figure out how it could possibly fit.

Sarah took a long moment just wordlessly taking in the scene. Then she opened her mouth to speak and found that no words would come. So she was reduced to a whisper. "Is this for us?" she asked.

Chuck wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tight. "Absolutely," he said. "It's our nursery. It's for when this mission is over, Agent Walker officially goes bye-bye, and we can turn our attention to something really important. It's something that the family wanted to do… to show you what you mean to them. We excused Casey and Laura this morning. Apparently they had something of a long night getting reacquainted. That's all the details that I really want to know. Dad is also pretty busy with the details of the plan. But they all wanted to be here."

Joey was the first one to notice Sarah was there. And even though she was on a ladder, it only took about two seconds before she had Sarah wrapped in a bear hug. For a long moment, she just held on to her mentor for dear life. "How are you feeling?" she finally asked. "We are all worried sick about you."

It only took Sarah a brief moment before she was hugging Joey back every bit as hard. It took a long time for any words to come. "I'm… better… now," she finally was able to whisper.

By this time, everybody had dropped what they were doing and were basically standing in a line behind Joey, waiting for their turn to wrap Sarah up in their own bear hug. Nobody said much if anything. Words were not necessary. In fact they would have been a distraction.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. Ellie was the last in line. And passing up an opportunity to lecture someone was not in her nature. "What is wrong with you?" she asked softly into Sarah's ear as they hugged. "Seriously. You might have plenty of things to worry about… but us loving you sure as hell isn't one of them. For one thing, everybody in the room understands that whatever you're doing, no matter how painful or harsh or distasteful it appears, you're making a sacrifice, and you're doing it totally for us. For another, you're our family. Do you even have a clue in that emotionally stunted pea brain of yours what that means? Sarah, we're so far past this that I can't believe we're even having this discussion. Do I really have to take you behind the metaphorical woodshed and kick your ass? Trust me, I totally will… if I witness any more of this foolishness. Ask Chuck how many times I've dragged him behind that woodshed."

By this time, Sarah was pretty giddy. "No, ma'am," she said without relaxing her grip a bit. "That won't be necessary. Trust me, I've learned my lesson."

"Good," Ellie said as she pulled away from Sarah a bit so she could smile at her. "I think that Chef has breakfast almost ready. Let's take a break and go eat."

While Sarah was occupied with Ellie, Carina stepped up to Chuck and sided into him affectionately. "At the risk of getting my ass kicked twice in as many days," she said. "I have to tell you something."

"Now I'm impressed."

x-x-x-x-x

Alexei Volkoff sat on the edge of their bed, slowly sipping a snifter of cognac while Mary sat at the dresser brushing her hair. Beckman's news had them unnerved, which didn't often happen. "Are you totally sure that she was telling you the truth?" he asked sadly.

"I'm not totally sure of anything," Mary replied. "But she sounded very sincere. And why would she lie to me about this? It sounds like our plan of breaking Agent Walker and using her against Chuck would take a long, long time… if she didn't see through it and go killing machine berserk on us."

"If she is telling us anything close to the truth, it would take years to break her," Alexei agreed. "We don't have that kind of time. This love stuff is getting to be a regular pain in the ass. We'll have to come up with some other way to pressure her. After all, there are different ways to seduce someone… money, power, protecting loved ones. Maybe her new mother-in-law can appeal to her new obsession and make her see reason."

"I don't think that will work," Mary said gently. "I seriously doubt that she will recognize me as her mother-in-law."

If Mary was concerned about offending him, she needn't be. "I know," he said with a sigh. "Me either."

"Maybe we would have better luck with Chuck," Mary suggested.

"Maybe," Alexei said. "But we need them both. If Beckman was right, they are unstoppable as a team. We need that working for us. Maybe we're going about this the wrong way. Maybe he needs to think that he is protecting her." Alexei looked at her carefully. "I understand that he is your son," he said. "But we might have to get a little harsher for a while to get them to see reason."

"I know," was Mary's only response.

Satisfied that Mary was on board, Alexei smiled for the first time.

"Let's send some men and have her picked up."

x-x-x-x-x