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

I received a few comments on my question about what to do next. There was pretty much consensus. So this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to end this story. I'm going to set up the possibility of a sequel. If I do the sequel, I'll post it on FanFiction and it will be rated T. If you're reading this on Live Journal, I want to say thanks. I get that the interface at LJ is not the best. But over 250 people made the effort to register and request access to the story. That's about ten times the number I expected. I appreciate the interest.

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.

Choices

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It's funny how things work. Just a few days ago, Diane Beckman was getting screamed at by the President of the United States… in front of the entire National Security Counsel. But even that beat being captured, bound, gagged, and delivered to Alexei Volkoff. Her career, if not her very life, was over. And since her career was Diane Beckman's life, it was hard to think of a happy ending.

But the unexpected happy ending came… in spades. Today she was a national hero, recipient of an unprecedented standing ovation by the NSC, and even promised an additional star on her shoulder as soon as the paperwork could be worked out. All for recovering one little nuclear weapon.

The funny thing was how simple it was. The people guarding it were expecting an attack by a handful of people. They were ready for that. But when they found themselves surrounded by an entire battalion of NATO forces, all in full combat gear and armed with shoot to kill orders, fighting it out wasn't an option. So instead of suicide, they chose to meekly surrender.

Once they got back to the base, the President had already been alerted that the operation was underway. So the NSC was assembled in the White House Situation Room and anxiously awaiting for the secure conference call with hopefully good news. The room burst into raucous applause the instant Beckman told them that the weapon had been recovered. The President was positively euphoric. It made sense. After all, a bad ending would have ended far bigger careers than just one lonely General. His head would have also been quickly enough on the political chopping block. He even lavished praise on Agent Larkin for his role… which was a little odd since he stole the weapon in the first place.

Naturally the NSC was very interested in Alexei Volkoff's role. While they had always assumed that he was behind this, and oh so much more mischief, now they knew for sure. That meant that they now simply had to deal with him. But that discussion could wait until everyone was back in Washington and they could have it in person.

General Beckman was in a very, very good mood. That was understatement. And she knew exactly who to thank. She absolutely knew. Except that Chuck and Sarah Bartowski didn't want thanks. In fact they didn't want to be contacted at all. They had made that very clear. And while Beckman was very eager to respect their wishes, it seemed a shame after all they had done, for them to not receive any of the credit. Of course they had north of twenty billion dollars to console themselves with. But still.

Bryce walked up to her. He was clearly in a good mood as well. "When are we heading back to Washington?" he asked.

"Soon," Beckman replied. "I just talked to Colonel Donaldson. We need to stop in England for a few."

"Why England?" Bryce asked.

"That's where Jenifer Bowles is," Beckman replied. "She's trying hard to make a deal. She says she has something big. The problem is that she says she'll only negotiate with Chuck. I don't want to bother them, especially now. So maybe you can talk to her."

Bryce's unintelligible moan perhaps wasn't proper decorum. But it definitely communicated his mood.

Beckman was in far too good of a mood to get snippy over a simple lapse in decorum. "You have to admit, you do have an intimate personal relationship with her," she teased with a grin.

"Let's put that boyish grin to good use."

x-x-x-x-x

Carina was on the dining deck, enjoying the first early morning cup of coffee as the sun rose out of the Atlantic. When she noticed Joan walking up she really didn't turn her head from the sight. "It really is beautiful," she sighed. "Isn't it? I've never noticed it before."

Joan grinned as she sat down next to her and allowed chef's assistant to pour her own first cup. "It really is," she said. "See what you've been missing all of these years? Is being a real girl really all that bad?"

Carina could feel the redness quickly climbing up her neck. Okay, so she was just nailed. "Shouldn't you be in your cabin?" she asked, more to change the subject than anything. "On your back?"

"We've been working," Joan said. "We needed a break."

"Working?" Carina asked skeptically. "Is that what we're calling it now? Since when did it become work? That's not a good sign. Does Steven know that it's becoming work to you? Maybe he needs to step up his game a little. You're starting to sound like me."

Joan knew that Carina was teasing. She did. But any shot at her new husband, no matter how implied, even clearly teasing, made her momentarily bristle. "We're working on an extraction process," she said, probably a little harsher than she meant. "Trust me. There is nothing wrong with Steven's game."

Carina ignored her tone. "For the Intersect?" she asked, suddenly interested enough to turn her head away from the rising sun. "Why would you want to extract it? Chuck is the most powerful person in the world. Why on earth would he want to give up that amazing weapon? And you're telling me you've been locked in that cabin for two days and no sex was involved."

Joan took a breath and forced the smile back onto her face. "I never said that no sex was involved," she said. "There was tons of sex involved. That's sort of how we work. As far as extracting it, that's up to Chuck… and probably more realistically Sarah. Steven is more concerned about Bryce."

Now Carina was very interested. "Why Bryce?" she asked. "Why would Steven give a rat's ass about him?" Then her face lit up in sudden understanding. "He's jealous," she said. "He's jealous of you and Bryce."

That got Joan blushing. "Maybe a little," she admitted. "But not really. That was more embarrassing than anything. I don't deny that Steven is very sensitive to the fact that he easily seduced me and I spent a night with him. So I'm very careful to never bring it up. I'd appreciate it if you never do either. But this is more than jealousy. We're really concerned over the possible side effects."

"What side effects?" Carina asked. "I thought that you built that wristwatch thing."

That got Joan laughing. "The governor only does certain things," she said. "It keeps the Intersect from monopolizing his brain and frying it. It protects him against memory manipulation. But it doesn't do anything about the possible effects on his personality. The Intersect was designed around Chuck's brain. It works in Bryce. But not nearly as well. We're not 100% sure. But it's very possible that having that much power might eventually go to his head."

"You mean he'll become arrogant?" Carina asked facetiously. "I'm afraid you're a little late on that one."

"That got them both laughing helplessly. "I know," Joan said. Then she got more serious. "I'm afraid that it's more than just being arrogant. What we're worried about is that he'll develop a god complex. He'll start to think of himself as a god of sorts."

"Again," Carina said. "Too late."

Joan didn't laugh this time. "This would be ten times worse," she said. "If it happened, over time he wouldn't be bound by any sense of right or wrong. As a god, he'd define right or wrong. So whatever he wanted, he'd feel totally comfortable taking it. And since he's the 2nd most power person in the world…"

Carina didn't need for her to finish the statement. "Have you told Sarah?" she asked.

Joan shook her head. "Why worry her?" she asked. "We don't know for sure if he is going to develop a god complex. It's possible that he won't. Even if he does, it will take time, months. Hopefully he's over Sarah. And we can protect her anyway. Frankly, we're more worried that he'll go after Chuck. That's much more likely. Chuck is who he feels betrayed him. But that's basically why we want to extract it."

"Why take any chances?"

x-x-x-x-x

As soon as they were back in the hotel room, Chuck stumbled to the bed and basically collapsed backwards onto it. "I don't think I've ever been so tired in my life," he said between panted breaths.

Naturally there wasn't a single bead of sweat anyplace on Sarah. She looked like she was getting ready to run a long distance race. "You asked me to show you Paris," she giggled as she headed for the bathroom. "That's what you wanted, right?"

"I did want that," Chuck said. "I just wasn't thinking we'd see the entire city in two days. I must have hit my head and forgot who my guide was."

"Sorry," Sarah called from the bathroom. "The Enforcer will be here tomorrow. And besides, it seemed like every time we stopped for a second, some French tart was hitting on you. I figured it was best to keep moving."

"Umm," Chuck said thoughtfully as he finally acquired enough energy to sit upright. "I'm not complaining. I'm sorry if it sounded like that. It was a blast. And for the record, you got more than your fair share of attention from whatever the male version of tart is."

"I know," Sarah sighed. "That's why it's best if we just got back here in the room as soon as possible. Given our possessiveness I'm not sure that France is the best place for us. Well, maybe Europe as a whole when you get right down to it."

Chuck laughed. "I don't see how that's going to help," he said. "They may not have tarts and their male counterparts in the states. But I'm afraid that you will still attract tons of attention."

"Now see," Sarah said. "I get that this makes me a total hypocrite. But I'm not worried about that at all. You've been great. Probably because you're so used to it. I haven't told you nearly enough how proud I am at how well you've handled all that nonsense, especially when you could easily use the Intersect to kick some ass. But I am very proud. No, I fear that it's me who is far more likely to start some stupid scene. It almost happened a couple of times today. I'm still a known hothead. I'm afraid that the question is not 'if', it's 'when' do I kick some tart in the side of her head while she is checking out your ass."

Chuck opened his mouth to protest, but Sarah beat him to it. "I know," she said. "You don't believe that. But trust me. It happens. You're just so incredibly clueless about it."

Chuck really didn't know what to say. She was clearly not kidding. "I'm sorry," was all he could come up with.

That got Sarah laughing. "Relax," she said. "I'm not upset with you. Not this time anyway. You didn't encourage anyone. In fact you're clueless that it even happened. You can't help it that you're adorable. Fair warning. When it comes to you I'm always going to be very possessive. I even reserve the right to get upset in the future if I think you're not being sensitive enough. Sorry. I know that is perhaps unfair. It even makes me a hypocrite given my famous insensitivity. But this is one area where I'm claiming my wifely privilege to be totally unfair. And you do realize that you're married to a hothead with a hair trigger. So when I do get upset with you, I promise there will be no ambiguity."

Chuck really wanted to change the subject to stop her rambling. "Let's talk," he said. "We have some decisions to make."

"Chuck," Sarah said, her voice taking on a sort of pleading quality as she stepped out of the bathroom. "We'll talk. I promise. But not now, okay? We have the rest of our lives to decide what to do with them. For right now, can't we just call 'time in' on our interrupted honeymoon?"

Chuck opened his mouth to tell her that she misunderstood him… that the decisions he was talking about were where should they resume their honeymoon. After all, he had never seen her happier than she was in Hawaii. But he suddenly found that no words were coming out.

It could happen a million times and still Chuck was struck by how different his wife could make herself look. All day long she had walked around Paris looking very much like a suburban American housewife on their dream vacation to Paris. Of course, no matter how she was dressed Sarah couldn't hide the fact that she was naturally very pretty. But in her jeans, sneakers, and with her hair tied back into a pony tail, she looked much more like the girl next door.

What he was looking at now was nothing short of a genuine goddess. She wasn't naked like he half expected. In fact, the purple thing she was wearing wasn't even one of her more revealing negligees. This time she was even wearing the accessory bra and panties. But it was clear. All she had to do was to let her hair down, put on that smile that lit up the room, and she was instantly the most beautiful woman in the world.

Sarah grinned as she sauntered over to him. "I take it that your mouth hanging open is a sign that you approve," she said. "Or maybe you're more tired than I thought."

Chuck finally found his voice. "You're amazing," he said. "Is that new?"

Sarah chuckled. "It's not new," she said. "You don't remember. This is what I wore the first night we were going to sleep together. Remember the night when we got drugged by the truth serum?"

Suddenly Chuck remembered the scene. "I hope that you are going for some kind of symbolism here," he said. "Because that was a pretty awful night for me."

Sarah walked over to the bed, sat on his lap, and snuggled into him. "I know," she said softly. "Chuck, I didn't get it then. I didn't get how hard all this was for you. I honestly wasn't thinking like that. I wasn't in bed with a man that night. I was on a mission. I was in bed with a partner, not even a partner, an asset. Not only that, I was just starting to feel things that I knew I shouldn't. It scared me. So I fought it. Then I lied and told you that we were never going anywhere. The truth is I didn't even get it for a long time even after we were together. So I wanted to wear this tonight to come full circle. Agent Walker is history, a bad memory. Sarah Bartowski wants to officially say that she gets it now. And I'm so sorry for all the pain I've caused."

"You don't have to be sorry," Chuck said. "Here is the truth. You've grown so much in the past few months. It's nothing short of amazing. You've worked so hard… and really for only one reason… for me. I get all that. I'm so proud of you."

Of course Chuck knew exactly what he was doing. There was nothing that he could have possibly said to make her feel better. Suddenly her deceptively strong hands were behind his head and their mouths were pressed together.

"Thanks," Sarah said as the long, incredibly hot kiss finally broke. The twinkle in her eyes was plain. "I have a confession," she said as she stood up off his lap. "That's not the only reason I wanted to wear this tonight. Agent Walker never allowed you to see her take this off. She didn't think of it that way at the time, but the truth is that she cruelly teased you. So again, full circle, Sarah Bartowski wants to spend the rest of this night correcting that wrong and showing her husband how much she honestly adores him. I have some activities in mind that I think he might enjoy. In fact, I think he should get ready for a very wild night."

Chuck knew the grin on his wife's face. He knew it very well. There would be no talking her out of this. But again, why on earth would he want to do that anyway. So he just smiled and nodded.

"It was very sweet of you to say that I've grown," Sarah said as she reached for the hem of her negligee. "I'm not sure how you always know exactly what I need to hear. If I wasn't so incredibly aroused, I'd probably be bawling right now." She started to lift the garment slowly as she softly swayed to some imaginary music.

"Now let's see how much I can make you grow."

x-x-x-x-x

General Beckman's face most definitely lost all of its color as she listened to his report. She just sat there in stunned silence for a long moment. "Are you sure?" she finally asked.

"I'm not sure of anything anymore," Bryce said sadly. "She certainly doesn't trust me. She made that abundantly clear. But I'm also not sure why she would make up something like that. If she is using this to try and make a deal, that would only work if it's true. She says that she has proof. But going forward she'll only deal with Chuck and Agent Carter. For some reason she likes them."

Beckman was still plainly in shock. "Should we tell them?" she finally asked.

Bryce did a double take. "Why wouldn't we tell them?"

Beckman sighed. "They've already been through so much," she said. "They looked… so happy. And if they never know, what would it matter?"

Bryce wasn't impressed. "They are agents," he said. "They've taken an oath. General, this is about more than just the Bartowski family. If Bowles is right, this is different than taking on Alexei Volkoff. The average person had never heard of him. Everyone knows who this man is. He is very well connected in American politics. It's even very possible that our superiors are compromised. And without solid proof, our hands would be tied… or even worse. Agent Walker and her asset wouldn't be bound by our rules. They might have a chance to take him down."

"This isn't personal," Beckman bristled. "I'm no longer going to tolerate any of your personal feelings or your petty jealousy to influence this decision. She's no longer Agent Walker. Her name is Sarah Bartowski. He's no longer her asset. He is her husband. Whatever we do, that will be completely respected. Agent Larkin, am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Bryce sighed. "It is very clear. But it also doesn't change the facts. We need them. Not only that, they deserve to know."

Beckman sat in thought for a long while. Finally she stood up and opened the door, clearly signifying that this meeting was over.

"Let me think about it."

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