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

As it turns out, Frost was baiting Sarah. She has never lost a fight.

For those of you who reviewed Sarah and Ellie at the Bar and want me to get Lucky47 to post more of Family Matters, all I can say is – trust me, I'm doing my best.

Okay, show of hands. How many of you translated the Russian last chapter? I thought so. :)

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.

Still Undefeated

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Laura was truly in her element. The bar was crowded, noisy, and filled with people of both genders looking for some quick… umm companionship. It was almost too easy.

She had to admit, Devon was actually doing great. He was doing as well as any pro she had ever worked with. If Laura hadn't known better she would have thought that he was actually getting into the necking at the table… a little bit anyway. And he was such a great dancer. Then there was the fact that he was easily the best looking dude in the room. Hell, he would be easily the best looking dude in most rooms. Ellie was really one lucky woman. Laura resisted the temptation to tell him how great he was doing. This was a time for pure focus. There would be plenty of time to praise him later. She did make a mental note to seriously brag him up to Ellie when they got home.

Devon was the first to spot the mark. Orion was exactly right. He was sitting at the table with his wife, apparently at the table they sat at most nights.

The wife was actually quite stunning. The mark, well, not so much. But clearly being the General Manager of Volkoff Industries key manufacturing plant, which was the only legitimate employer within several hours drive of this rather small Belgium town had its perks. Apparently one of those perks included his choice of women.

Laura's impromptu plan worked perfectly. They waited until the couple got up to dance and followed them to the floor. Laura pretended to stumble into the arms of the mark. It was just like she explained to Devon, after that it was the mark who would do all of the work. Once he felt her breast brush against his arm and got a good look down her shirt, he made sure that the two couples would spend the rest of the evening together. After a couple of drinks surely they would want to dance. Once Laura was dancing with her new friend, it was child's play to lift his key card, copy it in the ladies room, and later put it back in his pocket. The hardest part was keeping his hands off her ass. All her "newlywed husband" had to do was to keep the wife occupied. And that was easier than child's play. She was looking at him like she was ready to bear his children.

The only tense part of the night was after they left the bar. They used his key card to get inside the facility, and plant the package of explosives in the strategic spot they had identified. But even that went off without a hitch. Orion would now be able to detonate the bomb any time he wanted and shut the plant down for weeks.

Finally they were back in their room. It had been a long day, so the fact that there was only a single bed didn't seem quite so intimidating. After all, sleep was the only thing on both of their minds.

Laura had come fully prepared to protect their cover, a newlywed couple on their honeymoon exploring Europe. So naturally she had the negligee that any normal woman would almost wear on her wedding night packed in her bag. And she was totally prepared to almost wear it. It's what a spy on a mission would do. After all, this was a dangerous assignment. Even though they were alone, it was very possible that someone could knock on the door. This was Alexei Volkoff's city. He owned it and everyone in it for miles in every direction… and everyone knew it. So even someone as innocent as a room service porter could raise suspicions that could prove to be fatal.

But tonight that seemed a bit excessive. Maybe she could dial down the Miss-Perfect-Agent act down a notch or two. They were just going to sleep and in the morning head to Germany for their next similar assignment. Why put Devon through the uncomfortable place of having to explain to his fiancée that he spent the entire night in the same bed with someone who looked like Laura wearing basically nothing? So she settled for one of his t-shirts and slid into bed a respectful distance away from him.

"I have to tell you something," Laura said softly as she turned out the light. "You're doing so great. I'm very proud of you."

After the stern lecture on the plane, the very last thing that Devon was expecting was any praise. "Thanks," he said, trying to keep the surprise out of his voice. "It was actually more fun than I thought it would be. The look on that guy's face when he was looking down your shirt, it was priceless. You have a very powerful weapon. Were you able to scrub his fingerprints off your ass?"

Laura smiled at the almost compliment. "Thanks, I think," she said with a short laugh. "Don't get cocky on me. We still have to do pretty much the same thing in Germany tomorrow night. And for the record, the guy wasn't the one most enthralled. She looked like she was about to drag you out into the parking lot for a quickie."

That got Devon laughing. "I seriously doubt that," he said. "Anyway, thanks for not wearing the sexy negligee that you had planned."

"You're welcome," Laura said. "It'll be good to be able to tell Ellie, right?"

Devon paused for a long moment. "Do you really think that you're fooling me?" he asked. His tone said that he clearly wasn't really kidding. "You want to tell Casey just as bad, probably worse."

Laura herself suddenly realized that he was exactly right. She was going to find a way to let Casey know what hadn't happened. Wow. She could only swallow at how clearly he had just nailed her. She could already feel the blush in her face. Maybe if she just rolled over and pretended to sleep, he would drop it.

No such luck.

"I thought that spies weren't supposed to be afraid," Devon said, the grin totally apparent in his voice. He was clearly enjoying this far too much.

"You're not going to let me go to sleep until I talk about this," Laura sighed in mock disgust as she rolled back over to face him. "Are you?" And the truth was suddenly she found herself wanting to talk about it. Maybe Devon could talk some sense into her. After all, the man was brilliant, right? "The truth is that it's… complicated."

"No it's not," Devon scoffed playfully. "It's simple really. You're just making it complicated. Ellie tells me that Sarah does the same thing. I'll prove it to you. You're either in love with him… or you're not."

Laura hesitated for a long moment. "Maybe," she said hesitantly.

That got Devon laughing. "There is no maybe," he said. "That's pure defense mechanism bullshit. You're either in love with him or you're not. Now which is it?"

Laura paused for an even longer moment. "Okay," she finally said. "You win. Yes, I'm in love with him. Is that what you wanted to hear? Trust me it's not a good thing. I've never met anyone like Casey. But he's not like you, Devon. Being a husband and father isn't in his future any more than being a wife and mother is in mine. Love is going to mess us up."

"Can I give you some free advice?" Devon asked rhetorically. "Why tie yourself up in knots worrying about the future? You're in love with the man. You're right. It's not a good thing. It's a great thing. He's even more in love with you. And here is a news flash… you're already messed up. When it's time to make decisions about the future, you'll both know what to do. Until then just enjoy the feeling."

Laura was suddenly very interested. "Why do you think that he's in love with me?" she asked.

That got Devon laughing even harder. "You're joking, right?" he asked. "I thought that spies were supposed to be good at reading people. In this case, I don't need to read him. We've been drinking together a few times. Casey isn't really a vocal man, but after a few shots of Scotch, he tends to loosen up."

Laura sat up. "He told you that he's in love with me?" she asked incredulously.

"Several times," Devon said. "When you were gone for those few days, he was moping around the ship like… well like a lovesick bastard. You're all he could talk about."

Laura couldn't speak for a long moment. She just sided affectionately into Devon and kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she finally was able to get out. "You've really helped me tonight."

"You're very welcome," Devon said as his grin turned evil. "I'm assuming this isn't one of those times where I'm supposed to cop a feel."

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Under normal circumstances Alexei Volkoff had an amazing poker face. But that was totally out the window in this situation. As soon as they were in the gym, he made absolutely no effort to keep the lust from his expression as he ogled his newest conquest. "You are truly amazing," he said as he eyed Sarah starting at the top of her head down to the tips of her toes and back again, pausing on both trips to gawk conspicuously at her chest. "I'm really going to enjoy this." He turned to Mary. "Thank you, my love. It's the best present I've ever been given."

After fighting the wave of disgust that hit her stomach Sarah did a double take. "Settle down, pervert," she said dismissively. "She hasn't won anything yet. So I'd keep it in your pants, for the time being anyway."

Alexei just grinned. "You're so feisty," he said. "I love that about you. It's one of the main reasons I'm going to enjoy your submission so much. You see, silly child, you simply don't understand the predicament that you've stumbled into. I'm afraid that you've got zero chance. I still can't believe you would willingly face Frost in the ring. She is undefeated. So I'll keep it in my pants, for the time being anyway. After all, ultimately it's you who is going to take it out for me. In fact, you're going to get really familiar with it. It's going to become your best friend and ultimately your master."

Sarah knew that she had to push down the rage she was feeling as she climbed into the ring where Frost was already stretching, waiting for her. He was clearly just trying to bait her into charging wildly into a Frost overhand right. And actually Alexei's lewd comments weren't the source of the rage, not the main one anyway. Oh it was beyond disgusting. But she expected him to try and bait her.

It was far more the idea of what this bitch had done to Steven, Ellie, and especially her Chuck that had Sarah totally seeing red. In fact, Sarah was as angry as she had ever been in her life. This was her chance to get some payback for them. But she knew, if she was going to win, and she had to win, it had to be methodical. She needed to stay within her calm center. Goading her into standing toe to toe with Frost was exactly what they wanted. When it came to brute force, she was clearly overmatched. This time, it was calm precision that was going to have to carry the day.

The actual fight started off slow. And that was fine by Sarah. The longer she could drag this out, the more time that Chuck and Bryce would have to complete their mission. Hopefully Orion was transferring the money as they fought.

They had only sparred for just a few minutes but Sarah had already learned several things, some good, and some bad. The good news was that she was clearly much quicker than Frost. She had already landed her trademark left foot to the jaw. And that immediately led to the bad news. That blow would have quickly ended most fights. Frost barely blinked as she kept advancing. That was more than a little concerning. It meant that she would have to wear her down over time… and stay undamaged herself.

Sarah had also already learned to stay away from Frost's right hand. Her ribs were still burning from her one counterpunch that had barely landed. It was plain that if Frost were to ever connect with a solid punch, anyone, Sarah included, would be in big trouble. And in this case that meant quickly being naked and on her knees in front of a gloating Alexei Volkoff paying off her bet… and who knew what else he would have planned? Speaking of knees, and not that this was a surprise in any way, but Frost was not above fighting dirty. The kicks she was aiming at Sarah's knees wouldn't have been allowed in the ring at the Academy.

Frost's fighting style was pretty obvious. There was no pretense at subtlety. She stalked her prey like a bit bull, always advancing, always cutting off the ring to give her opponent no easy way to escape without being in range of a punishing jab. Her constant jabbing and the occasional kick aimed at the knees was only a distraction as she looked to quickly end the fight with a right hand that she always had cocked and ready to let fly. She also was plainly trying to goad Sarah into blind rage with frequent lewd remarks of her own.

You almost had everyone fooled," Frost sneered as she flicked a jab towards Sarah's face. "Didn't you? This cold hardcore, enforcer, product of the CIA is really this sweet young thing who falls in love and wants to be a devoted wife and mother. Well, please keep up the act for a while longer. Alexei loves sweet young things on their knees."

Sarah didn't respond. She just dodged the jab, allowing it to come tantalizingly close to her face. She wasn't able to totally dodge the follow up second jab quite as well and it grazed her cheek. Fortunately, the blow was soft, doing little damage.

"Tell me," Frost continued her taunt. "Does Chuck buy this act… even a little? Really? Does he understand how willing you clearly are to fuck other men? Does he get that today will be the second day in a row that you have eagerly played the submissive fuck toy? How often does that happen anyway? Can't my son satisfy you? He must get that particular characteristic from his dad."

Frost followed up her two jabs with a vicious right that would have ended the fight… had it landed. Fortunately Sarah was anticipating the punch and able to easily dodge it.

"I'm honestly more than a little disappointed in him," Frost sneered as she stepped sideways to again cut Sarah off from escaping from her position trapped in the corner. "I wouldn't expect any son of mine to be so stupid. Doesn't he realize that the only reason that you're pretending to be with him is because he's the bad-ass Intersect?"

Sarah knew that she had to keep her rage under control. She absolutely knew that. But Frost had just stumbled on the one thing that worked. There was no way she was going to stand there and listen to anybody disrespect her Chuck like that, especially not this bitch. Frost's strategy had finally paid off. Sarah was now blind with rage. She had finally gotten her wish.

Be careful what you wish for.

By instinct more than anything, Sarah knew that Frost was waiting for her left foot. It would give her the perfect opportunity to end the fight with a counter right hand. What she wasn't waiting for was her right foot. And that provided the opening that Sarah needed to land it, just under Frost's diaphragm, delivered with enough force to lift her off the canvas. For all intents and purposes, the fight was now effectively over. Frost was currently far too busy trying to breathe to be able to effectively defend herself.

Of course, Sarah wasn't about to take anything for granted. She quickly followed up on her sudden unexpected advantage. She threw her favorite weapon, her patented left foot, into her now defenseless opponent with every bit of force she could muster. It landed flush on her jaw with a sickening crack. "That was for Ellie," she growled. "She's my sister. And she is truly amazing. I love her to death. Knowing her is one of the highlights of my life. You're the bitch who took away her childhood, made her a single parent before she could drive a car. I can't tell you how much I'm going to enjoy telling her about the look on your face when I kicked your ass."

Frost was staggered but still on her feet. Sarah stepped in and threw her own right hand… directly into Frost's nose. She could hear the satisfying sound of the crunch as her fist made contact. Blood splattered seemingly everywhere from the obviously shattered nose. "That was for my husband," she said. "Far from being stupid, he's the smartest man I've ever met, a true genius. He actually is the one person in the world who honestly understands me. No one else does, especially not you. Not only that, he is easily the most wonderful man in the world… no thanks to you. I'm not sure what he sees in me, but every day I'm very grateful for it. I'm going to spend the rest of my life thinking up creative ways to thank him. Ever disrespect this amazing man again and I'm going to end you."

Frost was clearly out on her feet. She staggered mindlessly around the ring. Sarah ended the fight, and her opponent's morning, with an impressive spinning roundhouse kick that landed directly on the side of Frost's knee. No matter how tough you were, after taking that blow you were going down. Frost was no exception. She went down in a howling semi-conscious heap. She would definitely be spending the next couple of days in bed, and walk with a limp for the foreseeable future.

Sarah went to stand over her fallen foe in the victorious position. "That was for me," she said. "Plain old Sarah Bartowski, the totally devoted wife of one Charles Irving Bartowski, still proud owner of his bracelet, and future mother of his children. As it turns out, it appears that, just like my partner, I have an angry center. Thanks for bringing it out."

Alexei was clearly in shock at how decisive Sarah's victory was. She climbed out of the ring and snatched the envelope out of his hand. "Better luck next time," she said dismissively. "It looks like it'll be staying in your pants for the foreseeable future… unless you take matters into your own hands, of course."

Sarah cut off Alexei's question with a look. "Yes," she said. "We still have a deal. I'll keep my part. I'll go get my husband. You need to do your part. Beckman immediately walks out of here with the nuclear weapon. It's going to be a tough sell, but I'll talk him into using the Intersect to complete your mission. But I'd suggest that neither of you ever forget this morning. Understand now that there is a clear line that I won't be pushed over. Sex with anyone other than my loving husband is way over that line. Ever suggest it again and it will be you in an unconscious heap."

Alexei could only vacantly nod as he stared sadly at Mary crumpled and moaning mindlessly in the middle of the ring. She had clearly won today. But Alexei was willing to bide his time. She had just made this personal. He still had plenty of weapons to gain her obedience. He would still get her submission. Maybe not with sex. That was probably now off the table. But there were still plenty of other ways to show this arrogant bitch who was boss. And now his price would be going up. "Larkin will go with you," he said numbly. "You do realize the penalty for any disobedient? Don't make me use it."

Sarah didn't answer. She just turned on her heel and walked toward the door. Just before she got there she turned her head to address, the still in shock, Alexei.

"You're right about one thing," she said mockingly. "Not to boast or anything but I'm actually quite good as the sweet young submissive thing. That is a talent I didn't know that I had. I just found it out myself a couple of weeks ago. It's quite frankly something of a surprise to me. It's something I find that I really enjoy becoming. Unfortunately for you, you're never going to witness her. She is something reserved exclusively for my amazing husband. He seems to like her."

"When Frost wakes up be sure to tell her that one of us is still undefeated."

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