The Detective and the Tech Guy
Authors: Steampunk . Chuckster & dettiot
Rating: T
Summary: A case of mistaken identity and murder brings Sarah Walker, Pinkerton agent, to sunny California. Protecting the heir to the Bartowski Electronics Corporation should be just business-but Chuck Bartowski fills out a suit nicely and makes a mean martini. Chuck lobbied to hire the Pinkerton Agency, but had no idea that the detective they'd send would be as alluring, intelligent and fascinating as Sarah Walker. Will the detective and the tech guy solve the mystery, distracted by the riddle in their own hearts? An homage to The Thin Man movies co-written by Steampunk . Chuckster and dettiot.
Disclaimer: Neither of us own Chuck. If we did, there would have been a 1940s flashback episode. And a musical episode. And . . . you get the idea.
Author's Note: So after leaving you readers on a pretty awful note at the end of our first arc, dettiot and I decided to create an epic build up to what I'm sure many of you are waiting for. This is the beginning of that epic build up. And does she ever start it with a bang! (That bang is the sound of Morgan dropping his Benihana knife. AHH!)

XOXOXOXO

A steady, rhythmic knocking finally penetrated Chuck Bartowski's hazy consciousness. Pulling himself off the couch, he shuffled to the door and opened it, not bothering to check the peephole. For a moment, he was back on that first morning, when a beautiful Pinkerton agent was waiting outside his door to inspect his apartment and protect him. In the back of his head, he could hear her voice telling him how reckless he was being for not checking to see who was on the other side of the door.

But over the last two months, he had gotten very good at ignoring Sarah Walker's voice in his head.

"Chuck! I'm back!"

Morgan Grimes, his oldest friend in the world, beamed up at Chuck. His beard was neatly trimmed, his skin was very tan, and his eyes were bright and alive.

In short, he was the complete opposite of how Chuck looked now. But just seeing Morgan made Chuck's spirits lift a little.

"Buddy!" he said, hugging Morgan for a long moment and then taking a step back. "I thought you weren't getting back until next week!"

"I know, but I had finished my coursework and was just cooling my jets in Hawaii when your sister called me." At the mere mention of Ellie, Morgan's face got his usual blissful smile, but it quickly faded. "She said she was worried about you. And now that I'm seeing you, I'm surprised she didn't call me sooner."

Chuck frowned a little and turned, heading towards the kitchen. "I'm fine, Morgan."

"She said you've been ducking out on family events, pulling all-nighters, showing up at the office looking like Grizzly Adams-"

"Grizzly Adams? Really?" Chuck ran a hand over the thick stubble on his jaw. Yeah, sure, he'd gotten a little lax with shaving lately, but it wasn't that bad.

"Really. She said she was convinced a squirrel was nesting in your beard."

He whirled around. "What?!"

Morgan held his hands up. "I know, I know. Ellie's overreacting. But buddy, it took me twelve seconds to see that something is definitely wrong."

With a deep sigh, Chuck finished walking to the kitchen and started some coffee. "It's a long story. You missed a lot with running off to Hawaii to become a Benihana chef."

"I'm sorry, man, but-" Morgan's voice was truly apologetic and sincere. But Chuck couldn't let his best friend feel guilty for following his dreams.

"No, no, you don't have to apologize," Chuck said, cutting him off. He ran a hand through his hair, then winced at the feel of the oily strands. "I did this to myself. You being here would have helped, but I don't think anyone could have stopped it."

His best friend nodded. "Have a seat," he said, navigating Chuck down onto one of the stools by the counter. "When was the last time you ate?"

Chuck shrugged.

"Yeah, I thought so," Morgan said. "Well, I'm gonna make you an omelet, and you're gonna drink some coffee, and we'll talk about what the hell happened to you."

"You just got back-you must be tired-"

Morgan turned around as he tightened the strings on the apron he had just donned. "Hush!" he said, picking up a rubber spatula and lightly smacking it against Chuck's knuckles. "I'm here and you are going to tell Uncle Morgan everything." He gave Chuck a firm nod and then got to work.

Watching Morgan bustle around his kitchen and pull out his Benihana knives to chop up vegetables, Chuck realized just how much he had missed his best friend. Missed having someone to talk to, missed having someone who was always on his side. Not that he didn't have plenty of people in his life to talk to, but . . . but it'd take someone special to be able to hear the whole story of this heartbreaking summer and understand it.

"I don't hear any talking," Morgan said, plopping a cup of coffee in front of Chuck.

He picked up the cup and took a long sip, savoring the warm richness of the caffeinated brew. "Okay. It all started when Mr. Gerheart got killed. Dad thought the LAPD had caught the killer, but I wasn't so sure. I pressured him into hiring a detective agency." Chuck paused and steeled himself to keep going. "And they sent a woman named Sarah Walker."

XOXOXOXO

"I don't understand," Morgan said, his forehead wrinkled.

Chuck looked up from his second omelet and fourth piece of toast. Once he had started eating, he had been surprised by just how hungry he was. "What don't you understand?"

Morgan got up and began chopping up some fruit, cutting off the soft spots and piling the remaining slices in a bowl. "So this Sarah, you think she's beautiful. She's really smart. She can kick your ass and she kissed you like you've never been kissed before . . . and you haven't gone to find her?"

"You left out I'm in love with her," Chuck said, a bit glumly as he nibbled on his toast.

"Yeah, okay, you're in love with her. And again, you just let her walk out of your life like that? Stand you up for a date you thought you both had been looking forward to?" Morgan shook his head. "Chuck, buddy, that's not like you."

His best friend was right. He was no Adonis, no George Clooney. But he knew that he was smart and most people thought he was funny. Plus, there was his martini-making skills. All in all, Chuck Bartowski was a good guy. A guy people seemed to like. So he'd never felt shy about putting himself out there, trying to make a connection with someone who seemed interesting and fun to be with. Add in the fact that he was stubborn and determined, and he'd never let someone walk away from him with no explanation.

But it was different with Sarah. Because he thought she liked him. More than liked him, hopefully. There had been such a spark between them, something nurtured by all those long talks, by all the drinks they'd shared together, by the mystery and danger. But right when it was the perfect time to fan the spark into flames, she had left.

Poking at the last bit of his omelet, Chuck said softly, "My heart's never been broken before. Not like this, Morgan. She just left, and . . . and it makes me think I misjudged everything. That it was only me falling in love. And it was bad enough having her not show up for our date. Say I go find her and ask her what happened. Get her to tell me how she felt." He lifted his head and gazed at Morgan. "If she rejects me to my face, I-I don't think I could take that, buddy."

"But wouldn't it be better than not knowing?" Morgan said, pulling away his plate and putting the bowl of fruit in front of him. "To know, so you could move on?"

"That seems like small comfort right now, Morgan." To have something to do, Chuck lifted his fork and speared a piece of strawberry, eating it slowly.

"Dude, you're stuck. You're in the relationship equivalent of couch lock. You don't know how this Sarah, whoever she is, really felt about you 'cause you never really asked her-I didn't hear anything about you two talking about your feelings. It was all looking into each other's eyes and feeling 'a spark,'" he said, using his fingers to indicate air quotes. "And you've spent the last two months moping instead of trying to figure out why she didn't show up." Morgan frowned. "I hate to say this, buddy, but this doesn't sound like love to me."

A rush of anger swept over Chuck. He opened his mouth to lash out, to ask Morgan just when he'd become an expert on love and relationships, but then, thank God, a tiny scrap of logic and reason made him shut his mouth and think. Really think, for the first time in days.

It was true. He'd never said anything to Sarah that came close to stating his feelings for her. He'd held back, telling himself it was because she worked for his father. But it was really because he was scared. Scared of putting himself out there, of risking his heart like this even though the reward could be beyond all description.

The kiss, as hot and passionate and wonderful as it was . . . it was just physical. He should have said the words. Said just how amazing she was, how impressed he was by her, how much he wanted to get to know her, really know her. For all that Sarah knew, he could have just wanted sex with her. And even though his whole body recoiled at the thought that her impression of him was so wrong, it was possible she had gotten that impression.

And just how would a relationship between them work? With her job, traveling all over the country, and him based in LA? Even with the connection he felt between them, there was so much about her that he didn't know. What were the chances that they'd work out, especially when it would be a long distance relationship?

Chuck felt his mind whirling. He was really glad he was sitting down. And that he hadn't dismissed Morgan's words. Because he was pretty sure he had just reached a state of clarity.

"Okay there, Chuck?" Morgan's voice was worried. That, more than his words, broke Chuck out of his thoughts. He shook his head and looked at his friend.

"Yeah-yeah, I'm okay. I just . . . God, I messed up. And I don't know how to fix things."

Morgan reached out and rested a hand on Chuck's shoulder. "You're Chuck Bartowski. You'll fix it. You'll figure out a way to get in touch with Sarah and tell her how you feel, and then you can see how she responds. And if she's a human woman at all, she'll realize what she'd be passing up if she turns down Charles Irving Bartowski."

His smile was so wide and encouraging, his eyes so full of support. This was what Chuck had missed this summer. The feeling that he could do anything, even if it was a misguided feeling. Because he was pretty sure if he was going to convince Sarah Walker to give him a real chance, he'd need all the confidence and courage he could find.

End.