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

Let's see if Bryce passes Chuck's test.

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.

Always The Plan

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Joey had been pretty quiet for the flight so far. Finally she sat her complimentary beverage on the tray table and turned to Josh. "Why do you think that Orion left us together?" she asked. "He split the other couples up."

Josh turned from looking out the window to face her and considered the question for a moment. "I imagine because we're the only couple that has actually worked together," he said. "Casey and Laura really haven't. And Devon and Ellie aren't even pros. They wouldn't stand a chance."

Joey snuggled into him as much as the seat would allow. "But that was before we were really a couple," she sighed contentedly.

Josh smiled at her. "Do you think that will make any difference?" he asked. "Maybe we should talk about that."

Now it was Joey's turn to consider the question for a moment. "No," she finally said. "We still have a job to do. The only difference might be that I enjoy the cover more. Don't worry. I'm still going to be professional when it matters."

Josh returned to admiring the view of the setting sun on the horizon out the window. They just stayed comfortably and silently snuggled for a long time.

"Josh," Joey finally said so softly that he had to strain to hear her over the noise of the plane. "If I ask you a tough question will you answer me honestly without telling me what you think that I want to hear?"

The vulnerability in Joey's voice certainly got Josh's attention. "I'll tell you what," he said. "Ask me your question. If I don't think I can answer you honestly, I just won't answer at all. Fair?"

"Last night," Joey started, again very softly. "Were you really as into it as you seemed? Or were you putting on an act for my benefit?"

"Wow," Josh teased. "I guess that I'll have to be honest. I'm not sure which answer you want to hear anyway."

"I know," Joey sighed. "Me either. Both sound pretty great. But I don't want you to pretend to be something that you're not just for me… as incredibly sweet as that sounds. Look, Josh, I just have to know."

"It didn't suck," Josh said, still clearly teasing. "Except of course, for the times that you actually were. You clearly have some serious practice time invested in that particular skill. As it turns out you're quite good at it. I kinda liked that more than I thought I would. I'm not going to lie. Going in my goal was to make it be really exciting for you. But I wasn't acting if you're worried about that. As it turns out, being in love really helps. You were really patient and that also helped me a lot. So thank you."

"You have no reason to thank me," Joey said as she could feel the smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "That was the most powerful experience of my life, no close second. I'm not even sure how long it lasted. So, no pressure or anything… I understand our deal that I would never pressure you about sex. But do you think that we can possibly do it again… sometime soon? I could always use more practice."

"Can we at least wait until we get off the plane?" Josh teased. "I have no desire to join the Mile High Club."

That got Joey giggling. "Speaking of the Mile High Club," she was finally able to choke out. "Did you see the look on Joan's face when she realized that her and Carina's cover was as a couple? It's the funniest thing I've ever seen. I'm going to tease her about that for the next twenty years."

"I know," Josh said as he joined her laughing. "Carina loves to fuck with people's heads. Do you think that she has Joan joining the club as we speak?"

That got Joey giggling again. "Probably not," she said. "That's something that Carina would have to explain to Steven. But she is probably making Joan squirm really uncomfortably right about now. You're right. She loves to fuck with people."

They got quiet again for a long time.

"If I ask you another tough question, will you tell me the truth?" Joey finally asked.

Josh smiled. Oh he knew she wasn't kidding. But she was simply so cute. "How about the same deal as last time?" he suggested. "If I can't answer honestly, I won't."

Joey nodded, then paused for a moment. "Are you ready to quit?" she finally asked.

"Quit what?"

"This," Joey sighed. "All of this. After this mission we could retire, spend more time playing volleyball on the beach, join the family, and maybe even start thinking about one of our own."

Josh had never seen her like this. "Is that what you really want?" he asked.

"I'd never want you to give up a job that you love," Joey said. "Not for me. That wasn't our deal."

"That's not what I asked," Josh said, maybe a little more firmly than he intended. "Don't ask tough questions unless you're ready to answer some. Is that what you want?"

Joey tried to blink the tears from her eyes. And she was mostly successful. "I think that I do," she was finally able to choke out. "I never thought I would feel like this. But I like being part of a family, feeling loved… more than I ever thought that I could."

Josh reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. "Then that's what we'll do," he said.

"Are you sure?"

"If that's what you want," Josh said with a growing smile. "When are you going to finally realize that whatever makes you happy is pretty much what I want to do? It will be fun." Then he started to laugh. "It will sure make my dad happy."

That got Joey laughing as well. Now she was making no attempt to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Thank you," she finally whispered. "I'm sorry that I turned all lovesick schoolgirl on you."

"You're very welcome," Josh said with a soft laugh. "For the record, that's not something you need to apologize for. I love seeing it. Although maybe you're hanging around Sarah a bit too much."

That got them laughing again. "I know," Joey said. "I promise to never call you sweetie."

After they stopped laughing Joey just snuggled into him silently for a long, long time. Josh was beginning to think that she had maybe fallen asleep.

"I really, really love you, Josh," Joey finally said. "I know that I don't say that nearly as much as you'd like, but I do. I'm not even sure why it's hard for me. But I am going to work on it. I can't imagine what my life would be like without you. It scares me."

Josh wrapped his arm around Joey and pulled her even closer. "I know that you do," he said. "It makes the times that you do say it all the more special… like right now. Besides, from where I'm standing, nothing seems to scare you."

"And for the record, I love you too."

x-x-x-x-x

As pissed at Bryce as Sarah was, she had to appreciate him as an agent. This was why she had enjoyed working with him so much. Even she was beginning to believe that he couldn't remember meeting her. Volkoff's grin, well more like a smirk, told her that he completely bought it.

But once she was in his private suite, her admiration for Agent Larkin quickly took a back seat. This was between Bryce and Sarah. They just stood staring at each other for a long time. A lot of water had gone under that bridge in the past few weeks, most of it really bad, nasty water. "Are we secure in here?" Sarah finally asked.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?" Sarah demanded.

"We're secure," Bryce insisted. "Volkoff wants to be able to have some plausible deniability with your husband. That means he doesn't want to witness whatever happens in here. I swept for bugs. We're secure."

Sarah paused for a long moment. "So what is going to happen in here?" she finally asked.

It was the six million dollar question. Bryce didn't exactly know himself. But he did know that Sarah with the long jet black hair was even sexier than normal, for some reason. Actually he knew the reason. Alexei was right. That vinyl form fitting cat suit mission outfit certainly looked like it had been spray painted on. It certainly didn't leave much of her figure to the imagination. Maybe a bluff would buy him some time to think. "You know what Volkoff expects," he said. "He expects me to make the next few days so horrible for you that you'll go running to him and agree to his deal. If that happens too quickly, or easily, or he suspects that we're scamming him…"

"I get that," Sarah said. "Of course. We have to sell it. But certainly we can fake for Volkoff what he wants to know happened can't we?"

Bryce suddenly sensed that he had the upper hand. "Maybe," he said with his grin on full power. "But we'd have to be very convincing. Come on, Sarah. We've had sex more than a few times. Would it really be that horrible to play the victim role for a night or two? Tell me the truth. Haven't you ever had that fantasy? Lot's of women do. It might actually be very exciting for you if you'd just go with it. I'll make it good for you."

Sarah inwardly bristled at his lewd suggestion that she had a rape fantasy. Not being in control of any situation was actually Agent Walker's least favorite thing. Bryce should certainly have known that… better than anyone. Okay, so she got into it more than a little when Chuck unexpectedly took charge of her the other night. She even had to admit that she was really looking forward to the next installment of Charles-In-Charge. Maybe she could even find a gentle way to get him to go a little farther next time. That might be fun. But submitting to Bryce like that? Never in a million years. No fucking way. The very thought was turning her stomach… so much so that she had to take a moment and calm herself and get back on task. "You're clearly dancing around the core issue here," she finally said. "Let's put some things on the table. I get that this is personal for you. You obviously think there are some things that I still owe you from when we were together. Volkoff has given you permission to demand payment. I do get that. Maybe it's time that we make a deal."

Bryce was stunned that she would be so open. But he was also able to not show any surprise on his face. After all, he was an agent. And he definitely liked where this was headed. "What kind of deal?" he asked.

"I'm not ever going to try and hide anything that happens from Chuck," Sarah said. "That's not how our relationship works. He is very sensitive to the idea of you and me because of our history. I need to be able to truthfully tell him that we never had sex. That's a deal breaker. But I might be able to give you… some other things."

Now Bryce really liked where this was headed. "What kind of deal?" he asked. "Why would you do that?"

Sarah looked at Bryce like he had just grown a third arm. "Why?" she asked incredulously. "We both know that I have no way to fight you here. If you decide to take matters into your own hands, I won't be able to stop you. I know you, Bryce. You are clearly calculating in your head right now how far you can go. So let me be crystal clear about exactly where the line is. If you use the Intersect to force me into fucking you tonight, I'll fight you as hard as I possibly can… and when I lose, you've made Chuck and me your lifelong mortal enemy. I know him. It would take a lot for him to take a life. But someone raping me would definitely do it. He'll find a way to kill you. I get that you don't respect him. But here is some friendly advice. It would be foolish to underestimate him. But then again, let's face facts. Nobody wins in that situation, right? So it's probably better if I just give you what I can, you get something out of it, feel something of being paid with some closure, I spend some time getting Chuck over it, and we move on. Does that make sense?"

Bryce was trying to play cool, and not really being successful. "What do you have in mind?" he asked.

Sarah looked Bryce straight in the eye. "Let's be brutally honest," she said. "There are some specific things that you've always wanted from me. You used to ask me for them all the time. Most of those things involve some physical contact between us. That isn't going to happen without a fight. So the striptease and blowjob… or the threesome with your latest conquest are definitely out. But you always wanted to see me pick up a guy from a bar, take him home, and hide while you watched me fuck him. If that will give you some closure, I guess I could hold my nose and do that. Understand, I'm not admitting that I owe you anything. I don't even think that I do. But if I do this for you, it totally clears our slate."

Bryce couldn't really hide his excitement. Was this unbelievably sexy Sarah Walker really standing there offering to freely fulfill one of his oldest fantasies? That was far too exciting to pass up. But maybe she could be pressed even a little farther. "How is Chuck going to be okay with me watching you fuck someone?" he asked. "Explain to me what's the difference between some random Russian guy from a bar and me?"

Sarah took a deep breath. "Honestly?" she asked softly. "He won't be too wild about the idea. That's putting it mildly. I'm not to wild about it either if we're being totally honest. But you leave Chuck to me. I'll be able to eventually get him over you watching a one time thing with another guy as long as I can couch it in terms of being necessary for the mission. You're totally different. Chuck is very sensitive to the thought of you and me. It's hard to blame him for that. He would never get over me willingly having sex with you. In fact that would fuck him up for a long, long, long time. It's something I will never willingly do. So do we have a deal?"

Bryce looked at her sadly for a long moment. This had gotten out of hand. Did she really fear that he would be so physical with her that she was willing to preempt the possibility by offering him this deal? Okay, yes, he thought about it for a while. Did that really make him a horrible person? But she must have known that he wasn't a rapist. And certainly he could never force Sarah. Her not knowing that he still loved her was a little disappointing. Maybe he should just tell her that none of this was necessary. That would probably be the right thing to do.

Or… was she really telling him something else? Like maybe she was ready to pick up where they left off? She offered this far too easily. Maybe Chuck had changed her. Maybe she now had more needs. Was this her way of easing into the type of relationship with him that he had always wanted… wild sex… without emotional strings? The more Bryce though about it, the more it made sense. Sarah could get her emotional needs from Chuck but sex with him had to get boring, right? So when she just needed to wildly fuck… it was back to good old dependable Bryce. That knowledge put him firmly in control. He would now be able to set the ground rules, sometimes get the things he had always wanted from her to keep this arrangement going and a secret… and they both knew it. Okay, if that's what she wanted. "I get to tape it," he said calmly. "And I have a very specific script that you'll need to follow. If you can agree to that, we have a deal."

"I assume that you're going to make sure that Volkoff will also be watching," Sarah said with a deep sigh.

Bryce finally looked closely into her eyes and saw the pain there. The light bulb finally went on… and his vision of ever getting Sarah back vanished into the air like a puff of smoke. "You're never going to come back to me," he said sadly. "Are you?"

Sarah just stared at him for a long moment. "No, Bryce," she finally said. "I'm not. I know that you don't fully understand this. That's understatement. I don't have a clue how to explain this to you in a way that you will understand. I'm just coming to a place where I understand it myself. What I have with Chuck is at an entirely different level. He's my life, Bryce. I could never hurt him. I'm dreading even having to tell him about this conversation."

"I'm tired of acting like an asshole," Bryce said with a dejected look. "I'm honestly sorry. Come on, Sarah. I love you. You have to know that I could never force you into anything. You don't have to fuck anyone for me. We'll just tell Volkoff what he wants to hear for a couple of nights."

Sarah couldn't keep the smile from her face.

"I'm glad that you think breaking my heart is amusing," Bryce said. His voice was still sad… but he was clearly mostly kidding. "I am standing right here. You could at least pretend to be a little saddened on an ex's behalf."

Sarah knew that it was time to reach out to him a little. "I'm sorry about the broken heart part," she said. "I really am. That's not why I'm smiling. Bryce, I don't regret what we had at all. Even Chuck understands that. You came into my life at a low point and got me through a tough spot. I'll always be grateful to you for that. I loved working with you. We had some good times. But I needed more in my life than a spy could give. Chuck gives me everything that I never thought I deserved out of life. He saved me. It's like I'm the pampered princess living in a fairy tale. I have to pinch myself to make sure that it's not all just a really good dream. I actually like myself when I'm with him."

"I know," Bryce sighed sadly. "You two have something special. It's pretty obvious if you're willing to actually look. I'm really sorry that I wasn't willing to look for so long. He's a great guy."

Sarah looked at his sad face and suddenly felt a little sorry for him. "Come on, sweetie," she said. "Can't you find it in your heart to be just a little happy for me? It was never like that with us. And it was never going to be. You just said that you love me. We both know that's not true, not like we're talking about anyway. You know in your heart that I'm right. You're not even looking for that in a relationship. You just don't like to lose. The good news is that there is still room for you in our life, maybe even our family… as long as you're willing to stop being such a tool and honestly respect our marriage. Chuck would like that. And Bryce, I'm honestly not quite over being incredibly angry with you. You have some serious work to do to fix that. I'm still every bit the hothead that you remember. But I think that I could eventually get to the point where I'd like it too. Your decision tonight was a very good start."

"Okay," Bryce said. "I give. Then why are you smiling?"

Sarah's smile turned into a full grin. "I'm married to an absolute fucking genius," she said. "People constantly underestimate him. They call him naive. What they don't realize is that what they call his biggest weakness is actually his biggest strength. He sees the good in people. That went exactly the way he said that it would, all the way down the line. He said that once I gave in and offered you what you say you always wanted, that you would eventually remember that you're honestly our friend and basically a good guy. I'm afraid that I didn't have nearly as much confidence in you. I told him that he had a blind spot. I'm getting a little tired of losing these bets with him. I'm still every bit as competitive as you remember. But I have to admit… I do enjoy paying off. I'm afraid that we're still going to have to put on the show you wanted. Maybe not for you. But Volkoff has to see it."

Sarah laughed at the look of confusion on his face. Now she was honestly getting more than a little excited with the idea of getting Chuck to follow her, what clearly would be on the kinky side, script. Pretending to pick him up in a bar could also be a little fun. And how could Chuck possibly object to however kinky it got? She owed him more than one wild time anyway. She still felt horrible over leaving him high and dry at the warehouse yesterday. What better way to pay off than as a brunette? He wouldn't be too wild about Volkoff watching but she could make sure it was dark. He wouldn't be seeing much… and it was Chuck's idea in the first place. Be careful what you wish for sweetie. It was time for them both to step up and take one for the team… figuratively maybe in his case, but also quite literally in hers. She was getting so worked up thinking about the possibilities that she had to take a moment and settle down a little. After all, getting the second Intersect into the compound undetected was only half of Chuck's plan. There were still plenty of things to go wrong. "Okay, Bryce," she said with a laugh. "Actually Volkoff watching me fuck a random Russian guy was always Chuck's plan. I really, really miss him."

Finally, the light bulb went on. "Sonofabitch," Bryce muttered. "You just tested me. You didn't give up anything. This was going to happen exactly the same way no matter which way I decided. Is Chuck honestly that smart?"

That got Sarah laughing even harder. "He really, really is," she said. "At least you passed his test. That must feel good, right? Did I happen to mention that I really, really miss him?"

"So do we still have a deal?"

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