A/N: Sorry for the absence. Life.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

Chuck stayed back with Casey, watching the actual family and childhood best friends celebrate with the happy couple.

"You're next, you know," Casey said softly.

"Yeah," Chuck replied. Casey gave him a look, shrugged and turned back to watch the happy group. "What's it like?" Casey turned to him. "What's different about it? What's different about being married, than just being with someone?"

"Nothing," Casey replied. "And everything." Chuck turned to Casey. "The love is still there. The bond is there, and in some ways it's stronger. And then there's the bond of two people just being there for each other. No rings, no piece of paper, but you're there for each other."

Chuck nodded, but remained quiet in anticipation of more coming. "But… for me, it's the public promise I made. The one I said. The one on the record. I guess depending on your religious beliefs, the promise you made God. For me, it's not about Carina belonging to me or anything like that, you know?" Chuck nodded, understanding. "It's all about my commitment."

"Commitment means a lot to you," Chuck said softly.

"It does," Casey agreed. Casey studied Chuck. "You chickening out?"

Chuck started to answer, when he and Casey were interrupted by Carina and Sarah. Casey and Carina headed off, leaving Chuck alone with Sarah. "I heard him asking you about chickening out."

"I'm not," Chuck told her. "If anything, I want to marry you more than ever. I want to grow old with you, Sarah Walker. I want us to have rocking chairs on our front porch, watching our grandkids, or someone's grandkids… can you rent grandkids, if you don't have your own?"

"Spiraling, baby," she said softly.

Chuck cleared his throat. "Right, sorry. Anyway, what I want to do is commit to you, publicly. I don't need all of that to know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't need all of that to promise you I'll be there for you, no matter what. I don't need all of that to tell you that I will love you for the rest of my life."

"Chuck," Sarah said softly, "I don't think you know what you're saying."

"Oh, I do know what I'm saying," he said with a shrug. "I know exactly what I'm saying." He looked her in her eyes. "I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. I want everyone to know that I love you, I am here for you, and frankly, I want to be married to you. Because I want you to know my commitment. I want you to know what you mean to me. I one hundred percent agree with Casey: I want to marry you for you. I want to marry you, so you know where I stand, always and forever."

"You don't know what you're saying," she warned, a flash in her eye.

"I've gone and turned you on, haven't I?" Chuck asked.

"Yep," Sarah replied. Chuck looked around. "What are you looking for?"

"Wondering if we have any chance to get back to the hotel before you pounce me," Chuck admitted.

}o{

An hour and a half later in the hotel elevator.

"Hey," Sarah said, looking over at him. "Your shirt is misbuttoned." Chuck looked down and saw that he had skipped a hole in buttoning his shirt. He looked over at her, and saw a smirk on her face.

"You let me walk through the hotel lobby, with my shirt like that and my hair like it is," Chuck told her. The smirk grew. "You know what it looks like we did." She turned to him, pleased with herself.

"It looks like that because we did," she reminded him.

"We're gonna have to have that car detailed," Chuck muttered, making Sarah burst out into laughter.

}o{

The next morning the group met for breakfast. They all watched as Chuck walked gingerly toward the table, his knee seemingly malfunctioning.

"Slept weird on it," Chuck told Zondra.

Zondra snorted and turned to Molly. "Seems Chuck and Sarah decided to practice consummating their soon-to-be-marriage in his car."

"Mistress Sarah, I have found a well-reviewed and discreet service to detail the inside of the vehicle," Three-Pee-Oh chirped. "They should be here in the next hour, if I reserve their services."

"Go ahead," Sarah said, taking a sip of coffee and grinning at her fiancé. "Oh, have them do a deep clean."

"I was planning on it," See-Three-Pee-Oh muttered.

"Is it me or is he snarkier than ever?" Molly asked.

"I think he's upset we broke the law last night," Chuck muttered.

"Can you keep it in your pants tonight? We have a big fish to fry," Casey reminded Chuck.

"See-Three-Pee-Oh is already hooked up to the cameras in the facility," Chuck began. "He will follow Ratner, and run facial recognition on anyone that approaches him. We won't even have to watch him. We can actually enjoy ourselves."

"Haven't you enjoyed yourself enough?" Molly asked.

"Oh, give him a break, he probably said something sweet after the wedding, and got your sister all hot and bothered," Zondra pointed out.

"Are we too old to join you?" Jack called out, walking across the room with his coffee.

"You're young at heart," Zondra replied.

"Taking a shot at your father-in-law, already?" Chuck teased.

"I'm not," Zondra protested. "He and Emma are young at heart."

"Babe, it's fine," Molly said, putting her hand over her wife's hand. "She's just nervous, because we sort of figured something out last night."

Chuck gave Carina a look. "I'm not saying a word," Carina muttered.

"Just spit it out, you two. What's the problem?" Jack asked.

"Well," Zondra began, "you know that I travel a lot for the conferences."

"Yeah," Jack said, nodding.

"And you know when I am in town, I stay with Molly quite a bit," Zondra continued.

"If by quite a bit, you mean every time you're in town, then… yeah," Jack said.

"Jack, stop it," Emma said, swatting her husband on the leg.

"I didn't do anything," Jack protested. "I wasn't the one that went and got married without realizing I had no place for me and my wife to live."

"Jack Burton!" Emma said.

"He's in for it now," Sarah said in a low sing-song voice.

"Move out of that apartment, and you two can have the downstairs," Emma told Zondra and Molly. She turned to Jack. "And if you don't like living with them, you can go move into Zondra's apartment."

Jack looked at his wife, then turned to Zondra. "Welcome home, roomie," Jack said.

"He knew about the housing situation, and was gonna have her stay with them the whole time, wasn't he?" Chuck asked Sarah.

"Yeah," Sarah replied, grinning. "He's a big ole softie, and he has a special place in his heart for anyone that loves his girls."

"Does that include the guy on the corner that drools all the time and tell you how pretty you are?" Chuck asked.

"You know he told me if he were a few years younger, he'd ask me to marry him," Sarah retorted.

"Luckily you got a better offer," Chuck replied.

Sarah shrugged. "He gets his new teeth in next week, and told me he'd take me out for a steak dinner."

"Why wait?" Chuck asked her. "You could go now, and chew for him."

Sarah snorted, and shook her head at him. That was when they both realized everyone was looking at them. "What?" she asked.

"Do you two ever… not?" Molly asked.

"You've been around us, you know the answer to that question," Chuck replied, shrugging.

}o{

"For the love of God, Casey, why do you have to be the DJ?" Chuck asked. The group had entered the reunion. Sarah and Carina went with Molly and Zondra as they made the rounds. Chuck stayed back so he could react in case See-Three-Pee-Oh saw something on the camera feeds. Casey had stayed with him. The two had walked away to a far corner, where no one was around so that Chuck could hear See-Three-Pee-Oh if he found anything.

"Listen, I'm a little older than Carina. This way, I could get out of her way, and still be here to help and she could… enjoy herself." Chuck raised an eyebrow. "I love her, but… I mean… sometimes I think she settled for me," Casey confided.

"She's crazy about you, man," Chuck told Casey. "Come on, who wouldn't be? That granite jaw…"

"Thanks, Bartowski. There are days that you're alright."

"I think that's the nicest thing you ever said to me."

"I think I'm still over emotional from the wedding last night," Casey admitted. "I'm going to go get some punch."

"That was weird," Chuck muttered, watching Casey walk off.

"She hates me, doesn't she," he heard behind him. Chuck spun and saw Heather. "They all do… and they should."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand," Chuck began.

She gave a sad smile. "I'm sure you don't." She shook her head. "Ten years ago, I thought this would be such a great day, you know? My ten-year reunion. I would be the returning prom queen, returning with my smart, but cute, husband, and I would be the belle of the ball." She pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth. "Instead… instead, I'm miserable."

Chuck started to speak, but she kept going.

"And-and, I deserve to be miserable," Heather continued. "I was so mean to Zondra. I knew she liked women. My sister was gay, and I knew what she was going through, but instead of being kind… I tortured her. I was terrible to her, and now, look at her. She's so happy, and Zondra was never happy in high school."

Chuck listened, not sure what to say. He wasn't sure if there was anything to say.

"I went out with Mark, because like I said, he was smart, cute, and a nice guy," Heather continued. "But I pushed him, pushed him to be more, and… and I ruined that, didn't I?"

"What do you mean?" Chuck asked.

"He met a… crowd," Heather said. "He got involved with things, and… anyway, he has money now, and power, and influence… and you know what I have?"

"No, I don't," Chuck said.

"Jack shit," Heather said. "I don't have a husband. He's barely home, and when he is… it's not me he's interested in. I treated people in this school awful, and I'm getting what I deserve."

"Master Chuck," Three-Pee-Oh said into Chuck's ear. "Mark Ratner is approaching you, and he seems… pissed off."

Chuck started to ask Three-Pee-Oh if he was sure when he heard a voice. "So, you won't take my tickets, but you'll take my girl?!" Chuck turned to see Mark, and he looked pissed.

"Dude, there is a total misunderstanding here," Chuck began.

Mark grabbed Chuck's suit coat and pushed him up against a wall. "Yeah, the misunderstanding is you thought I was asking you to stay out of things," Mark said in a low, threatening voice. "You quit searching, and you leave my wife alone."

"What the hell have you done now, Mark?" Heather asked. "Let him go."

"Once he figures out not to mess with me," Mark said, nostrils flaring. "Once this string bean understands I worked too damn hard to have him messing things up." Mark looked at Chuck, and reared back his fist. "And I can only think of one way to get it through to guys like this."

Mark started to throw the punch, when a sharp pain hit him in his underarm. He was seeing stars. "You leave my fiancé alone!" Sarah told him.

"Did you kick me in my underarm?" Mark asked, finding that he had little use of his right arm. He was trying to shake it to get feeling back into it. "What the hell did I ever do to you? He's getting involved with something that is none of his, or your, business."

"Like you selling secrets?" Heather asked. Mark turned toward her. "I know, Mark, I know."

"Heather, you don't know what you're talking about," Mark said, stepping towards her, a menacing look in his eyes. He was so focused on Heather that he never saw Zondra's punch come flying in, hitting him directly in the jaw. After that, he didn't see anything, as he slumped unconscious to the floor.

"You okay?" Zondra asked Heather. Heather's eyes got wide, and she threw her arms around Zondra. Zondra looked over at Chuck. "Help," she said softly.

"Help with what?" Chuck asked. "I see nothing."

"She's hugging me," Zondra hissed.

"Nope, not possible," Chuck told her. "You don't hug." Zondra glared at him. "Okay, Heather, let's stop not-hugging Zondra."

}o{

"He's going to jail, isn't he?" Heather asked a little while later, as they watched Mark sitting in the back of a police car.

"It's that, or he'll be killed for treason," Casey said with a shrug. Chuck turned to Casey and widened his eyes at him.

"Thank you for your brutal honesty there, Casey," Chuck said. He turned back to Heather. "Are you going to testify against him?"

"I am," Heather said. "It's the right thing to do, and I need to start doing that." She looked over at Zondra. "I am so sorry for how I acted in high school."

"Apology accepted," Zondra said. "Just don't hug me again." Heather nodded and Zondra started to walk away, paused, and turned back. "Actually, I need to say something to you.

Chuck and Molly exchanged a glance, waiting for the bomb to drop.

"I think we have all done things when we were younger that we regret. That we were ill-informed on, and even that were absolutely stupid," Zondra began.

"This may leave a mark," Chuck whispered to Sarah.

"But today… today you did the right thing, and not when it was easy to do," Zondra told her. "You can't change the past, but you can affect the future. I don't know why you did why you did in high school. I don't know what you were going through, and that's on me."

"It's not, I wouldn't have told you if you asked," Heather replied.

"Even so, you don't know that, because I never reached out. And I know, you really didn't give me a reason to, but… we're all in this thing called life together," Zondra continued. "Today… today I have a choice; hold a grudge over some high school shit, or see someone who did a good thing, when she absolutely did not have to. Thank you, Heather." She turned to Chuck. "You stood up for one of the best people in the world."

"Can I hug you?" Heather asked.

"Absolutely not," Zondra said. Heather hugged Zondra. "People just do not listen to me when I say not to hug me."

"I don't see anything," Chuck said with a shrug.

"Let's get you out of here, blind man," Sarah said, pulling his arm and walking him off. "What's going to happen to Mark?" she asked as they reentered the gym to see very few of the attendees dancing.

"No idea," Chuck admitted, as she pulled him onto the dance floor, a grin on her face. "According to Casey, it could be bad."

"Well, Mark's lucky he didn't hit you, or I would have messed him up," Sarah told him.

"Oh, you would have, would you?" Chuck asked, pulling her tight and the two swaying to the music.

"This is a fast song, Chuck," Sarah pointed out.

"Shhh, my hearing along with my sight has been messed up from this ordeal," Chuck told her.

"So, you don't see anyone hugging Zondra, and all you can do is a slow dance, regardless of how fast the music is going?" Sarah asked.

"That's right," Chuck told her.

"Any idea how to cure this malady?" Sarah asked.

"My God, get a doctorate and use all the fancy words," Chuck teased. "Allllllllll of 'em."

"You enjoy my lexicon," Sarah told him.

"That sounds absolutely dirty, and I do love it," Chuck admitted, making her laugh. "I do have an idea how to cure it, but it's only a theory."

"Well, if it's your theory, I am sure it is a good one," Sarah said.

"Well, it might be a little out there, and it does involve you," Chuck continued.

"There are a lot of things I will do for you, Chuck Bartowski, but I do have my limits," Sarah informed him.

"I know, that's why I hesitate to bring it up," Chuck admitted.

"Well, how about you tell me, and I'll see what I can do," Sarah offered.

"What if, we go back to our room," Chuck began.

"So far, I like this."

"And we play a rousing game of Scrabble," Chuck continued. Sarah shook her head. "Okay, Connect Four?" Sarah shook her head again. "Well, what's your plan?"

"What if I take you back to the room, and show you physically how much I love you for the rest of the night," Sarah told him.

"When you say… physically?" Chuck asked. She tilted her head, grinning. "Ma'am, are you suggesting that we…" He looked around to see if anyone was nearby. She did the same, trying to control the grin on her face. "Make love?" he asked, sotto voce.

"Yes," Sarah replied. "And not just once, but many times."

"Many?"

"Many," Sarah answered.

"The sacrifices you make," Chuck told her.

"What can I say, I'll do just about anything for my Chuck," she said, emphasizing the k.

"We should leave," Chuck said his throat dry. Sarah nodded, and moved to go, taking his hand and leading him off the dance floor. "Thank you for saving my life tonight."

"Any time, baby," she answered. "Any time."

A/N: ….Good lord. Next time….I have no idea. I mean I do, but nothing is written down. This one is very close to wrapping up. Thanks for stopping by. If you could leave a review on your way out, that would be lovely. Take care friends.