A/N: *Sigh* I questioned this chapter a lot, and as other pre-readers have said it's very light on Chuck and maybe that's it, but I don't know. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

A knock on Chuck's door made him leap to his feet. Walking over, he opened the door, and smiled. "Well, hello beautiful," he said in a low voice, smiling at the woman.

"Charles Bartowski," the older lady said, grinning at him. "You are too kind."

"Nonsense, Mrs. Baker," Chuck replied. "Now, I hate to tell you, but I have a girlfriend… you missed your chance." She swatted at him playfully. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm having Internet trouble again. Do you think you could help?" she asked him.

"Of course, I can," Chuck told her. "Let me grab my bag, and we'll go take care of it."

}o{

Sarah took a deep breath, and knocked on Chuck's front door. She knew he had invited her over… hell, he had invited her to live there, but she didn't think it was right to just let herself in. There was no answer, and she tried the door. The door opened.

"Chuck?" she called out. She didn't hear him, and thought maybe he had run to the store for a second. Coming in, she set her bag by the door, and looked around the apartment. She was feeling fear, and excitement, in equal measure.

She studied the living room. She had been in there a few times before, but both times she hadn't really paid attention to the room itself. She was more concerned with the man in the apartment, than the decor. As she looked around the room, in her head she could hear Chuck calling it nerd chic. She felt the smile grow across her face, as she realized she felt just as home here as she did at her parents' house… maybe even more so.

She walked into the kitchen, and noticed quickly that everything was organized, cleaned, and just generally tidy. Sarah remembered him saying before that Bartowskis cleaned when they were stressed or nervous, and she wondered how much the past little bit had stressed him.

She worked her way down the hallway, trying to decide between his bedroom or the bathroom. Sarah chose the bathroom, thinking she needed to build up to the bedroom. Walking into the bathroom, and found herself smiling, as she looked around. A feeling of comfort permeated the space. In all the time she and Barry dated, she didn't know if she ever felt this at home at his place. Hell, she knew she didn't.

They had never really cohabitated. They'd spent the night at each other's place from time to time. But live together? There was no way. Barry needed his stuff, and Sarah just didn't seem to function the way she wanted to, at his place.

That was the thing about her: She needed her space to recharge. She could recharge in a hotel room, but it wasn't the same as being at home, or in her office. That was her space. This was her biggest fear; well, one of them, about moving in with Chuck. Could his place be a place in which she could recharge? Could it be home? She had told him he was her home, but could his residence be her home? It was a question that terrified her.

If she were one hundred percent honest with herself, she was glad he wasn't here right now. She was getting to know his apartment… their apartment. Sarah felt a peace wash over her at those words. Their apartment. God, she loved him. She knew she could talk to him about all of this, but this was something she had to find out for herself.

She approached his bedroom doorway, and paused. She looked into the room, but hadn't yet crossed the threshold. Taking a deep breath, she stepped across and, in that moment, every worry she had was gone. While his living room may have been nerd chic, this room was totally and completely Chuck Bartowski.

She could see herself, in bed, reading as Chuck played a video game, or read, or whatever he wanted to do, and she would just be… content. Recharging her batteries, loving her life. She felt happiness, and she found herself wiping her eyes at the happy tears that began to build.

She heard the front door open, spun, and hurried to the living room. She pulled up short at who she found there.

"Chuckster," Morgan said. "How about some COD toni…ght?" The look on Morgan's face was complex. There was a lot of surprise, a little suspicion, and if she was honest, some hurt. "So, that's the way it's gonna be, huh?" Morgan said, crossing his arms.

"That's the way what's gonna be?" Sarah asked, completely confused.

"Master Grimes, Master Chuck has asked Mistress Sarah to move in with him, and has given her a key," C3PO said.

"Oh," Morgan replied. He looked around and then turned back to Sarah, confusion growing on his face. "Where is Chuck?"

"I don't know," Sarah admitted.

"And you have his cell phone?" Morgan asked.

"I do not," Sarah replied. "I just got here, and I was going to give him some time to get back."

Morgan started to speak a few times, but stopped each time. His brow furrowing, he brought his finger to his lips, and started to speak, gesturing with his finger. "C3PO," Morgan said. "Where are you?"

"Installed on Mistress Sarah's phone," C3PO replied.

Morgan's eyes went wide. "He installed it on her phone?" His voice had raised an octave. He looked at her like she was an alien from another planet… at least that's how she assumed he would look at an alien from another planet. There was wonder, awe, and a type of happiness on his face that she couldn't describe.

"Yes, Master Grimes," C3PO chirped. Morgan gave a fist pump, and began muttering happily under his breath, as his eyes moistened.

"I'm sorry, but I'm very confused as to what is going on," Sarah admitted.

"I am not sure myself," C3PO admitted.

"Where are my manners?" Morgan asked. He walked over to Sarah, and gently guided her to the couch. "Please, sit… can I get you a beverage?"

She sat down and looked at the bearded man like he had lost his mind. "Morgan, what is going on?"

"You really don't know?" Morgan asked. "Of course you don't, and I'm sure C3PO doesn't remember it. I'm not sure he actually existed at the time…" Morgan trailed off, tapping his lip with his finger, thinking.

"Morgan," Sarah said, becoming a little weary of the whole thing. "Why don't you tell all of us the story, and then we'll know if we've heard it or not?"

"That's a good idea," Morgan said, sitting on the far end of the couch. "It's not much of a story, it's just…." He took a deep breath. "I've been protective of Chuck for a long time. Forever, if I'm honest, but that protection went into overdrive after he dated the harpy she-devil who shall never be named, but cursed: Jill Roberts."

"You don't like her, I take it?" Sarah asked.

"I spit at her name," Morgan said. "Pbbthh!" he said, toward the ground. Sarah's eyes went wide. "She was the beginning of all his problems."

"Not his dad?" Sarah asked.

"No, not really," Morgan replied. "See…" he paused. "Let me tell you the story, and then maybe you'll understand." Sarah nodded.

"So, at Stanford. Chuck dated Jill Roberts. Now Jill seemed to be nice enough, but as we all quickly learned, she was not." Morgan grinned.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"You've got quite an angry look on your face," Morgan told her.

"Well, it's one thing for two people not to work out. But how can someone be not nice to Chuck?" Sarah asked.

"When someone wants him for who his parents are," Morgan replied. His eyes widened, as he saw her face. "Okay," he said in a low tone. "You're playing for keeps."

"Damn right I am," Sarah muttered.

Morgan made a fist and held it out to her. Sarah just stared at it. "Come on, pound it out." Sarah made a fist and bumped his. Morgan exploded his hand, complete with noises. "Come on, you gotta explode it… you know explode it, right?" Sarah pulled her hand away and gave him a look. "You're right, you're not there yet."

"Not gonna be," she told him.

"Oh, you will young Jedi… you will," he said in his best Emperor Palpatine voice.

"Oh my," C3PO chirped.

"It's okay, buddy, he won't get you," Morgan assured the assistant.

"Morgan, the story," Sarah gently reminded him.

"Oh, right," Morgan said. "So, Jill wanted to be the future Mrs. Bartowski, and be arm-candy, be taken care of. She wanted Chuck to work on ground-breaking things the US government would buy and patent."

"That's not Chuck," Sarah said softly.

"I'm really liking you," Morgan said, nodding in approval. "So, Chuck began work on C3PO. Now, back then, he wasn't sure what all he could do with it, but he was having fun."

"C3PO is pretty great," Sarah admitted.

"Thank you, Mistress Sarah, I do try my best," the assistant chirped.

"So, Jill eventually asked Chuck what he was working on, and Chuck, being Chuck, excitedly explained it to her," Morgan continued. "And Jill got very excited about its long-term possibilities."

"She was seeing the dollar signs," Sarah said, nodding, knowing exactly where this story was going.

"She asked him how much he could make off of it, and Chuck laughed. He told her he likely wouldn't make any, because the name was owned by a company. And then there was Anthony Daniels. By the time he finished explaining, apparently Jill was outraged." Morgan sat back on the couch.

"Why exactly was she outraged?" Sarah asked.

"Because he had put so much work into something that wasn't going to make any money," Morgan answered.

"So, his happiness when he worked on it," Sarah began. "That didn't matter to Jill?"

"Nope," Morgan replied. "And sometimes, he got lost in his work and was late to see her. Or worked on it in his room, instead of spending time with her."

"Oh, God," Sarah muttered. "Okay, give me the rest."

"That's the day their relationship changed," Morgan said, a look of sadness on his face. "Hell, that's the day they broke up. Chuck, however, somehow missed the memo. She begged off dates, or spending time with him. Eventually, he asked her if something was wrong." Morgan paused.

"Do you need some tissue?" Sarah asked seriously, seeing the look on his face.

"No, but thank you," Morgan replied. "She told him if he wanted to be with her, he needed to step up his game and do the right thing. Which entailed creating something that would make them rich."

"Chuck doesn't really care about money," Sarah said.

"Exactly, and Chuck told her that. She told him he had a week to think about it." Morgan was silent for a moment. "I think that's the last time they talked."

"Good, he should have broken it off with her there," Sarah said.

"Yeah," Morgan agreed. "But… this is Chuck." Sarah sighed; it was. "He went into a funk. He graduated, his grades never slipped, but his drive, his determination, it was gone.

"Papa Bartowski told Chuck to come work with him, create whatever he wanted, and Chuck jumped at it. For a few years he was great. He would go in, stay all hours, creating great things, and Orion Industries soared." Morgan went quiet again.

"And then Chuck realized exactly what he wanted," Sarah said. Morgan nodded.

"That's when it began. That's part of what is killing Papa Bartowski. He was there for Chuck."

"And now, in his eyes, Chuck isn't there for him. At least, in the way he wants him to be," Sarah said. "He was there for Chuck at Chuck's lowest point, and Chuck isn't there for him when he's trying to help a friend."

"Exactly," Morgan said.

Sarah was silent for a second, and looked at the time. "Uh, I don't want to be that girlfriend, but should we be worried about Chuck?"

"C3PO, where's Chuck?" Morgan asked.

"He's at Mrs. Baker's apartment, fixing her Wi-Fi," C3PO informed them. "It seems she had an Orion router, and it has an issue, as well."

"That is not good," Sarah muttered.

"What, your competition for Chuck?" Morgan asked, with a grin. "I think Mrs. Baker is eighty, and she doesn't know how to work anything technological."

"And he's over there helping her out," Sarah said.

"She's flirting hard with him, though, offering him her cookies." Morgan let out a happy sigh. "Oatmeal raisin, but before you say a word, they're super soft. They just make you give that little moan you really shouldn't, while eating food."

"That food is love moan?" Sarah asked.

"Yes!" Morgan exclaimed. The door opened and they both turned. Chuck walked in. "Hey, Chuckster, your roomie and I were just bonding."

"Did you start a sandwich debate with her?" Chuck asked, grinning at Sarah.

"No, she's not ready for that," Morgan replied. He stood. "So, I'm guessing COD is probably out for tonight, right?" He looked at Chuck, hopeful that Chuck would tell him to stay. Chuck pressed his lips together and sighed. "Right, got it, I understand." Morgan still didn't move, and looked at Sarah as if to ask her if he could stay.

"While she has every right to ask you to stay, because this is now just as much her place as mine," Chuck began, making something warm in Sarah, like she never had been before, "I would hope you wouldn't do that to her, buddy."

Morgan nodded. "I do think we'd like to have you over for dinner some night soon, though, right Chuck?" Sarah asked.

"If you want to, that would be great," Chuck replied, a thankful smile on his face.

"Don't be shocked when she and I become best friends as well," Morgan told Chuck, heading toward the door. "We have a connection, and clicked."

"I'm sure you do buddy, I'm sure you do," Chuck told him, as Morgan stopped just in front of the door. "Call you tomorrow?"

"Sounds good," Morgan said. He grinned, hugged Chuck, clapped him on the arm, and had a proud look on his face. "It's about time."

"Yeah," Chuck replied. Morgan left, and shut the door behind him. Chuck looked at it for a moment, and turned to Sarah.

"Hi," he said warmly.

"Hi," she replied.

A/N: What? Yeah I left it right there. FINE.

"Do you know you're the first person to ever care about that, and me?"

"Is it okay that I hope I'm the last?" Chuck asked. "Wait, yes, that is wrong," he hurried out. "Because that implies that I don't want anyone else to care about your well-being. God not only is that wrong, but it's awful. You must-"

He couldn't speak any more because as adorable as the spiral was, she had to stop it. She cupped his face with her hands and kissed him.

Boy, the drama and angst in this fic is just rough. I don't know how you guys stand it. PMs, reviews, finger pistols, yada yada.