A/N: Welp…that happened. Wait? What do you mean you don't really know what happened? I mean, I think you know. What do you mean you really want to know? Oh, you want me to shut up and you get to the next chapter. Got it. Welcome to Ep 3, No Presumption of Innocence.
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck
Sarah Walker's voice: Last time, on Private Eyes
"You sweet talker, you," Sarah said. "IF we were to do something, and we broke up, it would make things awkward around here."
"So awkward," Chuck agreed. "And think how uncomfortable we make Casey and Anna now. If we were to try something and break up, the uncomfortableness would just skyrocket."
"Fly off into the stratosphere," Sarah agreed. If Chuck didn't know better, she had somehow moved a little closer. Their lips seemed to be much closer together than a minute ago.
"And," he said in a low voice. He swore she shivered. "Ellie and Morgan."
"Oh, God," Sarah agreed. He didn't know how, but she was even closer than she was a second ago.
"Sarah?"
"Yeah, Chuck?"
"You wanna blow things up?"
"Chuck."
"Yes, Sarah?"
"Shut up and kiss me."
}o{
He walked into the bathroom, took care of business, and stood in front of the mirror. Last night…. He looked over at the speaker. "Computer, play Electric Blue by Icehouse."
He turned on the water, felt it to make sure it was the right temperature, and as the music began to play, stepped into the streams.
If a boy had a chance
A chance with someone like you
Are you gonna break his heart?
Let him cry for the moon?
Are you hiding somewhere behind those eyes?
I just freeze (I just freeze)
Every time you see through me (see through)
And it's all over you
Electric blue
On my knees (on my knees)
Help me, baby (help me)
Tell me, what can I do?
Electric blue
As Chuck felt the water cascade over him as he listened to the music and raised his face to the oncoming streams of water to drive the tiredness from his body, he felt two hands slip around his waist, slowly dragging their way up his body.
"You know this song is performed by an Australian band named Icehouse," Chuck began, enjoying all the sensations from the water, and the hands on him. "Icehouse is slang for an insane asylum in Australia."
"Mmm," hummed the voice behind him. "Is there a reason you picked this particular song this morning?"
"After Hall and Oates broke up, John Oates began to write music with the lead singer of Icehouse. The story goes that John Oates was on a topless beach when a young lady approached him, and he was trying to look anywhere but her breasts."
"I see," she said into his ear. Chuck was silent a moment, just listening to the lyrics.
Oh, I had a dream
For a moment I believed it was true
Oh, I'd have given anything
Just to be there with you
Are you hiding
Somewhere behind those eyes?
I just freeze (I just freeze)
Every time you see through me (see through)
And it's all over you
Electric blue
In too deep (in too deep)
Standing here waiting
As I'm breaking into (ooh)
Electric blue
I can see (I can see)
Can see that it may be just a vision for you
Electric blue
On my knees (on my knees)
Help me, baby (help me)
Tell me what can I do?
Electric blue
Help me baby
Yeah, yeah
Are you hiding somewhere behind those eyes? (behind those eyes)
I just freeze every time you see through me (see through)
And it's all over you
Electric blue
In too deep (in too deep)
Standing here waiting as I'm breaking in two (in two)
Electric blue
I can see (I can see)
Can see that it may be just a vision of you (of you)
Electric blue
On my knees (on my knees) (what can)
Help me baby tell me what can I do? (I do)
Electric blue (behind those eyes)
I just freeze every time you see through me
And it's all over you
Electric blue
In too deep (in too deep) (I'm)
Standing here waiting as I'm breaking in two (in two)
Electric blue
I can see (I can see)
Can see that it may be just a vision of you
Electric blue
On my knees (on my knees) (what can)
Help me baby tell me what can I do? (I do)
"You gonna finish the story, Chuck?" she asked him, emphasizing the k.
"So, John said that he tried to look directly into her eyes, but they were an electric blue, and he got lost in them. The lead singer of Icehouse doesn't recall that being how the song came to be. Long story short-"
"Not possible at this point," she said, making him giggle.
"Every time I look into your eyes, I think of this song, and particularly, the lyric."
Chuck began to sing, "I just freeze every time you see through me (see through)
And it's all over you
Electric blue
In too deep (in too deep)
Standing here waiting as I'm breaking in two (in two)
Electric blue"
"Are you in too deep when you look into my eyes, Chuck?" Chuck spun to look Sarah directly in her eyes.
"You know damn well I am," he told her. She smiled, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. Pulling away, she studied him. "Think we made a mistake?" he asked.
"I'm going to need some time to consider it," she said, and then kissed him again.
"How much time?"
"All the time I can get," she told him, capturing his lips with hers, again.
"Sarah?"
"Chuck, I'm trying to kiss you senseless," she said, half-kidding, half-not kidding. In fact, more like ninety percent not kidding. "What?"
"Did I live up to Friday-night-dream me?"
She was silent for a moment, and then gave him a lecherous grin. "Friday-night-dream you has nothing on the real thing." Chuck grinned and began to kiss her, but she pulled away. "I need to have a serious conversation with you."
"Seriously? Now? Both of us naked, in the shower? You should already know I'm an over-guy on toilet paper. If that's a deal breaker, you knew that going in."
"No, no, nothing like that," she said, giggling. "Listen, I have been thinking… perhaps we need to keep this between us, for now."
"So, you don't want anyone to know?"
"Please don't think it's because I'm ashamed of you, because it's not. But… given our history, our relationship… I want this to be ours, just ours. Let us figure this out, then… then we tell people. Okay?"
"Okay, if that's what you want," Chuck said with a grin, as he leaned in to kiss her.
"CHUCK!" they heard, both of their eyes widening. "Chuckster! My dude, we need to talk about you and Sarah!"
"Jesus Christ," Sarah groaned softly. "Morgan."
"I can fix this," Chuck told her. She gave him a dubious look. "Okay, I can try." She shooed him out of the shower. He grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his waist, and tucked it in on his hip. Exiting the bathroom, he prayed he could pull this off.
"Dude, sorry to bother you in the shower, but we have to talk," Morgan began.
"Morgs," Chuck said, holding one hand in front of him as to try and get Morgan to lower his voice, simultaneously gripping his towel to make sure it didn't fall with the other. "Sarah is in the bathroom. Now don't start. We both overslept, and we're rushing to get ready. While I was brushing my teeth, she got in the shower."
"And you didn't look?" Morgan asked, his eyes wide. Chuck gave him a look. Morgan held up his hands in surrender. "Fine, but we need to talk." Chuck started to argue with him. "Either now or later."
"Fine, later," Chuck said, exasperated. "Now will you get out of here?"
"Fine, fine, I'm going," Morgan said, as Chuck rushed him out the door. The door shut behind him. Morgan turned and looked at the closed portal. He shook his head, and chuckled. "Does he not realize he was glowing?" Morgan shook his head. "So, they're going to do the dating-on-the-down-low that every cop and detective TV show does. This should be fun. I need to call Casey." Morgan headed to his car, pulling out his phone.
}o{
Sarah had rushed out of Chuck's apartment minutes later, heading home to change clothes. Chuck reminded her that he had to go to the DMV that morning, and Sarah wished him luck. She went back inside, and kissed him properly, telling him she would see him as soon as he got to the office, then exited.
She knew she needed to do that.
She knew he could feel her nerves, her chaotic energy with what has happened between them… she couldn't stop the smile on her face. Sarah had had many dreams about the two of them. Sometimes in life, dreams did not meet expectations. Boy, howdy, did Chuck Bartowski surpass each and every one of those dreams.
She drove home, and decided to take a shower there. She used a very different smelling soap and shampoo than Chuck, and the last thing she needed was someone figuring things out because of her smelling of his soap. Also, there was a good chance she'd daydream every time she caught a whiff of his fragrance.
She dressed, and then changed clothes, worried that someone would think she was dressing up for him. She tried to dress the same way she always did. She found her top with the blue buttons that she knew he liked. What the hell was wrong with her? She was acting like a lovesick teenager!
They were grown adults. They had gone into this knowing the risks, and they had done it anyway. Why was she so worried? She had never worried about relationships before.
"Because it's Chuck," she said softly.
Well, shit.
Because it was Chuck. Her best friend, her partner, the man she had spent more time with than any other. The man who knew her better than anyone else, and cared about her anyway.
It was Chuck, and that… that was why it mattered.
That was why she had to go back this morning and kiss him. That was why she would reassure him when he needed that she wanted this, and she was committed to it. That was why she wanted it quiet as well. She loved Morgan, but Morgan… well… Morgan could interpret things in ways that no one else could, and be terribly wrong in said interpretation.
Sarah knew this would be hard. She knew it would be possibly the hardest thing she had ever done, but she knew… knew… it would be worth it. She tried to temper her smile as she walked into the office. She was too smart to think she could keep it off her face, but she didn't need to be beaming the way she wanted to… the way she felt.
She walked in, and saw Anna talking to a tall, distinguished looking gentleman. "Hi, Anna. Hi, Roan," she chirped as she walked past them to her office. She stopped mid-stride. Roan? Roan Montgomery. She turned, her eyes wide.
"Who's Roan?" Anna asked. Sarah watched the man she thought was Roan. He had masked his expressions, the way he had taught her. But, the student had learned much over the years. "This is Dan Fielding," Anna said, gesturing towards Roan. "He's a lawyer." Sarah watched the face of the gentleman known as Dan. There was something there that said, go with it.
"My mistake," Sarah said. "It's early, haven't had my coffee, and you bear a strong resemblance to someone I once knew… in a former life."
"Ah," Dan replied. "Well, they do say there is a doppelganger out there for each of us." Anna was giving them both a look. It was clear she wasn't buying what they were trying to sell. She did something with her phone, sat it down, and watched the two in front of her. "I was referred to you."
"Oh?" Sarah replied. "By whom?"
A smile crossed Dan's face. "I was told that you are someone who has been known to help those that are in need. Someone who will go the extra mile for those who have been… wronged."
"I see," Sarah said, crossing her arms and resting against the conference table. She wasn't sure what was going on, but her instinct – her spidey-sense as Chuck called it – was going off.
"I have been working for the public defender's office for some time now, and have come across a case that seems to be one that you specialize in," Dan continued.
"Specialize?" Sarah asked, with an arched eyebrow.
"The defendant has been identified by a new computer system and I question it's validity," Dan explained.
"I'm not sure why you would think we specialize in that," Sarah protested. Dan smiled and made a tsk sound.
"Come now, Miss Walker," Dan began, clearly amused. "We both know that when it comes to all things digital and about this computer age, you have an advantage that others in the detective industry do not."
Sarah started to reply, when the door open. Chuck walked in, looking at his phone. He walked over to Sarah, and turned to face Dan. "This the guy, Anna?" Chuck asked. Sarah's smile grew.
"Yup," Anna chirped.
"Roan Montgomery, former instructor for the CIA. Taught Infiltration and Inducement of Enemy Personnel, also known as 'Seduction School.'" Chuck paused and looked at Sarah. "Side note, Casey took the class twice, because Roan failed him."
"That completely checks out," Anna muttered. "Wait, what was he doing in CIA seduction school? For that matter, what was Casey doing in the NSA? That's more your cup of tea, Chuck."
"There was a time when the NSA tried to get more hardcore, and bring in those with a military background," Sarah explained. "Of course, now, the type of crimes we're trying to stop are done electronically, or digitally, or however you want to say it."
"I bet you were good at seduction school," Chuck said to Sarah. The smile left her face. "No, no, I don't mean that in a bad way. You're just so pretty, and kind, and the kind of woman that you'd want to take home to mom."
Dan barked a laugh. "Are you sure you have the right Sarah Walker?" Everyone turned to Dan. Sarah's grin grew again as Roan had outed himself and didn't even realize it. "The kind of woman that you would want to take home to your mother? Ha! Agent Sarah Walker?"
"Sure seem to think you know a lot about her to be Dan Fielding," Anna pointed out.
"Damn it," Dan swore. "Okay." He looked at Anna.
"You can trust her Roan," Chuck told him.
"I am not Roan, not any longer," Dan told them.
"Roan was a cover," Sarah explained.
"Ohhhh," Chuck said nodding. "It's amazing everything you had to keep straight."
"It was life or death," Sarah said with a shrug. "We didn't have a choice."
"That's awful," Chuck began.
"While I appreciate the emotional support you are showing Miss Walker, can we please get back to why I am here?" Dan pleaded.
"Diane sent you," Sarah said. Dan blanched. Sarah turned to Chuck. "Those two had a love life that you would think was too much for the hallmark channel."
"From what I've read in his files, it would be more Skin-a-max," Chuck muttered. Sarah gave him a confused look. "So, after eleven P.M. Eastern, Cinemax had a lot of what some would call soft-core porn, and the slang term for it was skin-a-max."
"Was it soft-core because of what it told, or was there more of a plot?" Sarah asked.
"Would you believe both?" Chuck replied. Sarah gave him an amused smile, and he cleared his throat. "Not that I was a regular viewer, or know anything about that."
"The Emmanuelle series were pretty popular," Anna said. Everyone turned to her. "What? Some of those were good."
"I wouldn't know," Chuck said. Dan scoffed.
"Enough," Sarah said. "Now why did Diane send you?"
"I never said it was Diane," Dan protested, and Sarah gave him a look. "Can we just agree that I was told you were someone that can help, and we get on with this?" Sarah nodded.
"I was a lawyer before I entered the CIA, and continued to practice law as I had time after joining. Good for my cover," Dan explained. "After the… incident, that caused you to leave the CIA…" Dan paused as Anna whipped her head to Sarah.
"I was recruited illegally, and the Director was removed," Sarah said. Anna nodded and turned back to Dan.
"…Many were evaluated," Dan continued. "I… I was found to be part of the…"
"'Old boys network'?" Sarah offered.
"That will work," Dan agreed. "And I was… the CIA and myself agreed to part terms."
"Oof," Chuck muttered.
"I returned to practice law, instead of settling down like some wanted me to do," Dan continued.
"Why be so stubborn?" Sarah asked.
"It's a gift, and a curse," Dan admitted. "But when I moved to LA, I decided to be a defense attorney, and be a public defender."
"Didn't see that coming," Sarah admitted.
"Working in the public defender's office, I came across many cases that were… pitiful, but had been pleaded out, because the attorneys were overworked," Dan continued. "I left, and began pro bono work to help those that needed it. That's when I came across this case, and knew I had to be involved."
Dan pulled out a file, handing it to Chuck. Chuck opened it and began to thumb through. He looked up at Dan. "Am I reading this right?"
"What you are looking at are six different images of a killer," Dan explained. Chuck nodded. "Each image gets a little bit of his body, and the software used comes up with one composite photo. That photo is compared to a database. My client was matched from that database."
"Where does the database come from?" Chuck asked.
"My client was arrested as a teen for being a member of a gang," Dan told Chuck. "He left that life behind, some ten years now."
"So let me get this straight," Chuck said, staring at the file, then looking up at Dan. "The database is only filled with those who have been arrested?"
"That is correct," Dan told Chuck. "His hearing is in forty-eight hours." Chuck's eyes widened. "I know, I haven't given you much time to work on this. I was only contacted about this case late last night."
"I'd like to try," Chuck told Sarah. "That can't be legal, only using one group of photos. That has to be prejudicious, or something."
"If anyone can help you, it's Chuck," Sarah told Dan.
"I'll get on this in ten minutes," Chuck told Dan. "I have to make coffee first."
"Chuck, I'll get it," Sarah told him. Chuck gave her a look and she smiled and relented. "Okay."
"Coffee?" Dan asked.
"If you ask nicely he'll get you some too," Anna told Dan.
"I don't understand," Dan admitted.
"It's fine, you don't have to," Sarah told Dan.
Dan shrugged.
A/N: So far so good at hiding it, right? What do you mean no? I swear, these two.
Next time:
"Why would last night have anything to do with you finding that hot?" she asked with a smile. "I mean, last night we acted on feelings, not on the things I do that you find hot. If we're honest, you probably find me breathing hot."
Chuck started to reply, but paused. "Probably," Chuck agreed.
She sighed, tilted her head, and leaned down. "Don't do that, Buddy."
"Do what?" Chuck asked.
"Chuck, before last night, you would have made a crack about me being full of hot air or something." He tried to argue, but she raised her eyebrow and he clamped his lips shut. "We have to be us, and we." She moved her hand back and forth between them. "We banter. We make jokes. We mess with each other. It's who we are." She was silent for a second. "I don't want to lose that," she added softly.
This seems….serious…like…serious, serious. Come on back next time. If you have time to leave a review, that would be amazing. Thank you for reading.
