A/N: If you haven't heard, Zettel has had emergency open heart surgery and is battling pneumonia. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers if you would. I want to thank everyone for the continued love and support of this fic. Without further ado, ch 25

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

Chuck drove in silence to the restaurant, and pulled up to the valet service to have his car parked. He had just heard his godfather, the person that was his dad's so-called best friend, admit to him that he had hired a man to try and sleep with Chuck's girlfriend… the woman he loved. He was certainly in no mood to go inside the restaurant. He took a deep breath, and reached to open the door, when the passenger door whipped open. Standing there, grinning, was the aforementioned love of his life.

"Going my way, cutie?" Sarah asked.

"I thought-"

"Let's get out of here… there was something rancid inside. Let's go to our place."

"Where's that?" Chuck asked.

"Where they have pumpkin cheesecake," Sarah told him. He gave her a grateful look as she sat down, shut the door, and buckled in. Smiling at her, he stepped on the gas.

}o{

Sarah led him inside their restaurant, by the dessert case, where he tried not to drool. She then was forced to pull him bodily onward towards the back, where they had sat last time. As they made their way into the room, he saw her friends, his family… their people, already sitting at a table in the back, away from everyone else. Devon, Ellie, Carina, Molly, and Zondra watched them walk up. "I might have planned this," Sarah admitted.

Ellie got up, came over, and hugged him, as Sarah sat down. "You okay?" she asked softly. Chuck just shook his head. "How bad?"

"As bad as you and I worried Teddy was," Chuck began, "it's worse."

She frowned.

"Ellie I don't know what to do." Ellie took his bicep in her hands, and led him over to the table.

"Chuckster," Devon said as Chuck sat. "I have you a piece of cheesecake on the way."

"Maybe that will make him quit looking so depressed," Carina muttered. "Blondie not putting out, now that she's living with you?"

"Please, she gave me a choice of marriage or sex a few nights ago," Chuck said before he could think. His eyes widened, as he turned to Sarah.

"We do have a reputation of just saying what we think, or is on our mind, while we're here," she replied with a shrug.

"You took the sex, right?" Carina asked. Simultaneously, Chuck and Sarah took their hands off the table, and pantomimed pulling off a ring. They brought their hands back to the table, making everyone but Carina burst out into laughter. "I deserved that," she muttered.

"I need you all to hear something," Chuck began.

"Let us order first, and then play it," Sarah told him. Chuck nodded, and she signaled the waiter. They all ordered, and then Chuck played the conversation from Teddy's office.

"Well, that's that," Devon said, after hearing Teddy's admission from his own lips.

"Devon, sweetie, no it isn't," Ellie told him. "Chuck is in a hell of a spot now."

"I don't get it," Devon said, looking at Chuck.

Sarah reached over, took Chuck's hand, and gave him a look as if asking permission. Chuck nodded.

"Stephen is in denial," Sarah told him. "If Chuck plays that tape, Stephen finds out the truth. But he's in no place to accept it; in fact, knowing Chuck and his abilities, Teddy could claim Chuck fabricated the whole thing, and Stephen would be put in a spot."

"What's it going to take?" Devon asked. "Does he have to literally catch him in the act?"

"Maybe," Chuck admitted. "Maybe that's exactly what he has to do." Chuck shook his head. "I don't know, but what I do know is if I tell him what I found, it's going to destroy his only non-family friendship, and it may send him spiraling." He looked over at Ellie. "I have no idea what that would do to him… or to Mom."

"Mom can take care of herself. But maybe she should hear this," Ellie began.

"Ellie, if Mom hears this, you know what she'll do." Ellie nodded. "She'll insist dad hears it, consequences be damned."

Devon sat there a second, looking from Ellie to Chuck. He then frowned, and nodded, thinking no one saw him. Chuck did, however. He put a pin in it for now, but he was going to talk to Devon about it, as soon as he had an opportunity.

}o{

"Why do they all go together?" Chuck later asked Devon, as the ladies headed to the restroom.

"No idea, but I need your opinion on something, Chuck," Devon said, seriousness in his voice. "I know your mom and dad aren't happy about how Ellie and I got married."

"Let's be honest, neither were your mom and dad. But I get it, if no one else does. Between your parents and my parents wanting to plan a wedding…" Chuck widened his eyes, making Awesome chuckle. "So, what do you want my opinion about?"

"I want to renew our vows, at your parents' house, by the pond," Devon told Chuck.

"Awesome," Chuck said in a low reverent tone. "Devon… is that what you and Ellie want, or is it something to make everyone else in the family happy?"

"Chuck, we were selfish-"

"No, no you weren't, Devon," Chuck cut in. "Everyone was going crazy, about what colors to wear, what type of birds to release, and God only knows what those flowers were called."

"Maybe so. But there was a place to compromise, and I didn't," Devon said with a shrug. "Plus, Ellie… well… she'd about had it with my family. And I get that." Chuck snorted. "The thing is, we're good now, and a renewing of our vows with our friends and family, that's not going to be as nerve wracking as the wedding was."

"Then do it," Chuck told him.

"But… is it the best time?" Devon asked. And that's when it hit Chuck. He shook his head, blushed a little, and smiled.

"Devon," Chuck began. "It's your and Ellie's life, and I'll be there. Don't put this on hold over me and Dad, and our issues. I don't want this affecting you."

"It does through, bro… because you're my bro," Devon replied with a shrug.

"Devon, I'll be there, and it will be fine… No," he said, grinning. Devon began to grin. "It will be…" he paused, egging Devon on.

"Awesome!" Devon said.

"Chuck, what are you doing?" Ellie asked, as she walked back to the table, the other ladies behind her.

"Just being awesome," Chuck replied. She swatted him. Sarah swatted him as well. "What did you do that for?"

"Because you obviously deserved it," Sarah told him. He stuck his tongue out at her. "Not in front of my sister," she admonished him.

He began to turn red.

}o{

"You sure it's okay being here?" Zondra asked them as they sat in their apartment, a little while later.

"Of course," Chuck said. "I want you to feel as invited here as you were at Sarah's old place." Zondra chuckled at that, and Chuck turned to Sarah, realization hitting him. "It's okay she's here, right?"

"You know how I am," Sarah began. "But Zondra and Carina, along with Molly, don't seem to sap me."

"So Chuck does?" Zondra asked, her eyebrow arched.

"Not of that kind of energy," Sarah replied, smirking. Chuck shut his eyes, trying to keep his composure, as Zondra cackled. "So, what's up?"

"Well, for once, I need a favor, but it's not dependent on you. It's dependent on him," Zondra admitted. Chuck looked at her, surprised. "We get booked a lot because of others canceling, and that's great. But if I fly my equipment to this conference, it's going to cost a lot, so that means I have to use their technology."

"Don't have time to drive?" Chuck asked.

"No roads," Zondra answered. "It's in Hawaii."

"Hawaii?" Chuck asked, turning to Sarah. She bounced her eyebrows. "Uh-"

"You'll have plenty of time to work on your tan, or gawk at Sarah working on hers," Zondra told him.

"I do not gawk," Chuck retorted. "More of an admiration… if you will."

"I will not, but you can, as much as you want," Zondra told him, grinning. "So, can you?"

"Well, I do have this client I work for," Chuck began.

"Dad," Sarah said into her phone, that Chuck hadn't even noticed her dialing. "Listen, Zondra needs me and Chuck for a conference in Hawaii." She listened for a moment. "No, I can't promise we won't elope there." She listened for a moment more. "Dad, we both know it's not mom that it would upset, but you not giving me away." Chuck buried his head in his hands. "Fine, I won't get married while we're there." She grinned. "Nope, not promising a thing about before we leave. Love ya!"

With that she hung up.

"You are so getting him back, aren't you?" Zondra asked.

"Yeahhhhh," Sarah drawled.

}o{

"I had a weird conversation with Ellie today," Sarah told Chuck later as she was getting into bed.

"Oh?" Chuck replied. "Given everything that was talked about today, the fact you think it was weird would make it especially weird."

She was silent for a moment. "Let's put a pin in my weird conversation, and talk about what's bothering you."

"Why would you think anything is bothering me?" Chuck asked.

"A man tried to seduce me tonight," Sarah began.

"Actually, I believe that would be a nightly occurrence, if you were in the right setting," Chuck pointed out.

"He was sent by a man who has known you your entire life," Sarah finished. Chuck didn't say anything. "You're allowed to be hurt, or angry, or whatever it is you're feeling."

"He's trying to destroy my family for his own benefit," Chuck said in low voice. He blew out a breath. "He is more concerned about making money than about the people that helped him when he was down." He shook his head. "God, Sarah, my dad has done me dirty, but nothing like this."

"Saying things in anger, like your father did, is nothing like what Teddy did tonight," Sarah agreed. "He tried to poison a relationship in your life, all for his personal gain."

"Yeah," Chuck said, nodding.

"I hope you know, us talking about it beforehand or not, that guy had no shot with me," Sarah told Chuck. Chuck snorted. Her hand reached over and turned his head towards her, so that he was looking her in the eye. "Chuck… none."

"I get that, Sarah, I do. But tell the truth… was he pretty?"

"Oh, he was tall, dashing, hair that didn't move," Sarah began, watching Chuck's face fall. "I mean, not the kind that you could run your hand through," she said, as she began to play with his curls.

"Bet he had muscles," Chuck said.

"Mmmhmm," Sarah continued. "He seemed quite stiff, both in personality, and as a person. He wasn't loose, sometimes a little clumsy, but always genuine, as is a certain other man I know. No, he was definitely stiff, rehearsed everything he said, and was just… not at all what I'm looking for."

"And what are you looking for?" Chuck asked. "If I may be so bold."

"Chuck," Sarah said, giving him a look and giggling. "You may be bold any time you wish, baby."

He swallowed, but grinned.

"I like a man who tells me the truth. One who isn't ashamed to be himself in front of me, who is open, honest, and sometimes a little silly."

"That could be me," Chuck said.

She leaned in, her right hand on the side of his face, her lips a breath from his. "It is you," she said, not hiding the heat in her voice.

"I'm glad," he replied as she kissed him. After a bit, she pulled away. "Do you think we could talk about this later?"

"Oh, do you have things you'd rather do right now?" Sarah asked him.

"Yeah… just be with you, and not talk about Teddy," Chuck told her. She wrapped her arms around him. "And if you wanted to kiss me, I'd be okay with that."

"Oh," she said, disappointment in her voice. "I was hoping for naked cuddling."

"If I must," Chuck replied, with an exaggerated sigh.

"I wouldn't want to put you out," Sarah told him.

"I know," Chuck answered. "You just want me to put out." Sarah burst out laughing.

}o{

Much later, as the moon shone into the room, Chuck lay there, thinking. Sarah was asleep, her head on his chest. His arm was over his head.

"Wanna talk about it? Or just think?" he heard her ask.

"He said, and I quote, 'You left your dad high and dry for a piece of ass.' Teddy said that about me." Sarah was silent. She rubbed his chest with her hand, waiting for him to get it all out. "Did he really ever know me? Did he really ever care?"

There it was. She had been waiting for him to come to that conclusion.

The answer was, she didn't know. Either Teddy didn't know Chuck, or he did, and he had done the most hurtful thing in the world to him. The kicker, though, was there wasn't a thing Sarah Walker could do for him, but just be there. And that was a revelation in and of itself. She hadn't been good at this, in the past, with her other boyfriends. She didn't know what to do.

She really didn't know now, either, but she knew she was here for him. "I have no idea," she admitted to him. "Either way, it was a shitty thing to do."

"Yeah," Chuck said. She felt him wiping at his eyes. "I should probably just sleep, and not worry about it."

"You know, you're allowed to feel exactly how you feel," Sarah told him. "You're allowed to feel hurt, betrayed… by your father, by you godfather, or whatever Teddy was. You're allowed to cry, to feel whatever it is you need to feel, because you were hurt, Chuck. A man, who you suspected was doing bad things, did something to try and purposefully hurt you. That's not normal, you know. We all screw up, we all do stupid things, and sometimes, there are no good explanations."

He turned his head to her. "But to purposefully try to break us up, like that, and for that reason… that's low-down and dirty, and you are allowed to feel whatever the hell you need to feel."

"But that's the thing, Sarah. I don't want him to get that ownership of my feelings," Chuck told her. "I don't want to let him be in my thoughts, or to care enough that he can make me feel like that."

She scooted up, pulled him into her, and ran her hand through his hair. "I know. But the problem is, he is in your thoughts, and it did hurt."

"Yeah," Chuck told her, a sigh escaping from him. "Any suggestions about what to do about it?"

"Just accept what you feel, recognize, and know I'm here. That's really all I have," Sarah replied.

"Thank you," Chuck told her.

"I enjoy naked cuddling," she told him, grinning.

"I know, but you know what I mean." He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her tight. "God, I could sleep like this."

"Then do it," Sarah told him.

"It wouldn't be very comfortable for you," Chuck countered. She didn't say anything, she just kept running her fingers lightly through his hair. A few moments later, she heard his breathing change.

"It's quite comfortable on my end," she told his sleeping form.

A/N: Thanks for read…in..g…what? Oh…finnneee

"You two gonna join the Mile High Club?" Molly asked, her head popping over the two seats of Chuck and Sarah.

"Maybe we already have," Chuck retorted.

"Ooo, someone's fiesty," Molly replied. "Still mad about Teddy trying to have that idiot sex up my sister."

"Did we have to bring her?" Chuck asked Sarah.

Carina, Zondra, Molly, Chuck and Sarah…in Hawaii….for a BioScience conference, what could go wrong? Damn it….I had to go and say that…..