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 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: We don't own Chuck or The Thin Man series. And we're making no monetary profit from this story.

Author's Note: We continue right where dettiot left off in the last chapter! Read on, my friends! - SC

XOXOXOXO

The moment that Chuck's parents walked into the room, Sarah could feel it. It wasn't just about being hyper-sensitive to the presence of Mary Bartowski or the way the older woman's reserve and critical nature was almost tangible. No, it was just as much about Stephen Bartowski: the man that Chuck admired so much, the man she had seen during the Gerheart investigation to be good and kind, the man who had helped make Chuck into who he was.

She was prepared for Chuck's mother to be disappointed and upset about her son's choice of girlfriend. But if Mr. Bartowski was also unhappy . . . that would cut much, much deeper.

Within a moment of their arrival, Chuck realized his parents were there. She could see him put on a brave smile as he walked up to Mr. and Mrs. Bartowski. "Mom, Dad, I'm glad you're here. There's someone I want you to meet. Although you already know her."

"Will this someone explain why you've been acting so odd, Charles?" Mr. Bartowski asked, giving Chuck an amused smile. Then he turned and saw Sarah, and his face lit up in a smile that was oh-so-similar to Chuck's. "Detective Walker!"

The sense of relief made it easy to return his smile. "It's just Sarah," she said, extending her hand to him. "It's great to see you again, Mr. Bartowski."

"Stephen, please," he said, taking her hand in both of his and giving it a hearty shake, the smile on his face never dimming. "So you and Charles, huh?"

Sarah looked up at Chuck, who had moved to stand beside her, his hand resting lightly on her back. "Yeah," she said softly, answering his father but unable to look away from Chuck, "Me and Chuck."

"Congratulations."

The single word, spoken in a tone of icy politeness, was more cutting than if Mary Bartowski had started screaming her disgust for this development. It was so tempting to respond instinctually, to meet cold with cold and show that she wasn't bothered by Mary's reaction, but Sarah didn't want to do that. Because she was bothered-not so much for her sake, because if Mary was going to dislike her, there wasn't much Sarah could do to change her mind. No, Sarah was worried for Chuck.

So Sarah did her best to smile warmly and look as happy as she could. "Thank you, Mrs. Bartowski."

"This is great news," Stephen said, looking at his wife. "We've been saying for months that something was up with Charles, and now we know what it was."

"Do we?" Mary asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Well, you will by the end of tonight," Chuck said, his voice full of forced joviality. "Why don't we all sit down and get dinner ordered?"

"Yes, please-I'm starving," Ellie said, before walking over and kissing her mother's cheek. "Mom, come sit next to me. I have so many pregnant lady questions to ask you."

Sarah felt a wave of admiration for Ellie Woodcomb. Chuck had told Sarah about how Ellie had a strained relationship with their mother. The fact that Ellie was helping deflect Mary Bartowski, at least for a little while, spoke to how much she loved her brother. And that made Sarah like Ellie even more.

The rush for everyone to be seated and order dinner helped smooth over a little of the initial awkwardness. But Sarah was very glad she was sitting next to Chuck, so she could press her knee against his, or take his hand under the table. It had been so long since she had been part of a family, even if only for the length of a dinner. Add in her nerves about meeting everyone as Chuck's girlfriend, and she was certain that it was only a matter of time before she stuck her foot in her mouth.

"So, Charles and Sarah, tell us how this happened," Stephen said, taking a sip from his glass of wine.

"Yes, I'd like to hear this," Mrs. Bartowski said, eyeing them both over the rim of her gin and tonic.

Sarah looked at Chuck, not sure where to begin-and not sure how much she wanted to reveal. She could just imagine Mrs. Bartowski's reaction when she found out Sarah didn't have a job anymore. But . . . but it was part of the story, part of the explanation for why they were announcing this now. And Chuck's mother was bound to find out the truth, so they might as well address it all now. Perhaps in a family setting, Mrs. Bartowski would be more inclined to keep her thoughts to herself for the time being.

"Well . . . it really began when we met," Sarah said, slowly speaking as she figured out how to tell this story. Chuck nodded at her in encouragement, and she knew he was letting her start so he could follow her lead. "But we didn't begin dating until December, when our paths crossed in Paris."

"Like it was fate. Meant to be," Chuck said softly.

Her cheeks must be as pink as the roses in the center of the table. Sarah nodded and turned to look at the rest of the group, making eye contact with everyone, even Mrs. Bartowski. "But we had to keep it secret, because of my job."

Everyone seemed to hang on her words, even Morgan who knew most of the story. With occasional contributions from Chuck, Sarah told the story of their relationship up to this point. Not leaving out anything important, making sure that she communicated how she felt about Chuck without giving away every detail, especially those that should be private and not shared with Chuck's parents. It was scary and she gripped Chuck's hand so tightly that she was sure his fingers were numb and she was barely able to look at Mrs. Bartowski. But she did it. And when she sat back and took a sip of her wine to ease her suddenly-dry throat, Sarah felt a wave of pride in herself.

It was possible to open up. To let people in. You just had to pick the right people to let in. She wasn't like Chuck, able to charm and disarm anyone, able to persuade people to drop the barriers they kept up most of the time. But . . . but at least she was able to do this much.

And it was all thanks to Chuck.

Sarah would bet that Stephen still had questions. She knew that Ellie was probably eager to corner her for some 'girl talk'. And it was pretty clear that Mrs. Bartowski was barely hiding her doubts about her only son's newly-revealed relationship. But none of that mattered, because they all knew that Chuck and Sarah were together.

They were together and Sarah wasn't going to let anything or anyone change that.

Now that the details were fleshed out, a buzz of conversation broke out around the table. Chuck fielded most of the questions, tossing off jokes with his answers, smiling and looking as happy as Sarah had ever seen him. This was what he had wanted, and now that he had it, Sarah felt a thrill at knowing she had helped make it happen.

Mrs. Bartowski's voice cut through the conversations as she eyed Sarah. "You're fortunate that you can stay with Chuck, since you're out of work. Because Chuck has such a lovely condo. Are you planning to continue staying there?"

Although she would love to throw back her glass of wine, Sarah made herself sip from her goblet of water instead. "I am lucky that Chuck was there for me when I lost my job," Sarah said. "But as soon as I get a job, I'll be getting a place of my own."

"Which I've told you isn't necessary," Chuck said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Sarah didn't look away from Mary Bartowski. "I know, Chuck," she said, "but I want to stand on my own two feet. And besides, there's changes at your place I'd like to make, but until I can afford to help pay for them, it doesn't seem right to suggest anything."

It was all Sarah could do not to smirk. Mary Bartowski might think Sarah was a gold digger-that she was with Chuck just for his money-but she'd just answered that unspoken question.

"Oh, yeah?" Devon asked, who seemed completely oblivious to the undertones of Sarah and Mrs. Bartowski's conversation. "Like what?"

"I'd really like to install some Venetian blinds," Sarah said, timing her sentence for when Chuck had just taken a drink of water. As she hoped, he immediately caught the reference and choked on his water.

Ellie held a hand out to Sarah in a "you get it!" gesture. "I've told Chuck a million times that he should put something up in those windows. Just to protect his furniture from the sunshine, if nothing else!"

Rubbing Chuck's back, Sarah sent him a quick smirk and turned to Ellie. "Some days, I don't mind waking up to the sun. But most of the time, I want to be able to sleep in. We'll have to keep discussing it. Considering the pros and cons, because Chuck's very particular about this topic."

"I am so going to get you for that," Chuck whispered in her ear.

The sound of his voice, low and amused with a hint of sexual frustration, made her shiver a little. Turning her head to look at him, she gave him a soft smile. "I'm counting on it."

XOXOXOXOXO

Bright and early on Monday morning, Chuck walked into Bartowski Electronics with a spring in his step. Why shouldn't he be cheerful? They had made it through dinner on Saturday night and all the explanations from revealing his secret relationship with Sarah to his family. His mother hadn't seemed too happy, but she had stayed mostly polite to Sarah-and Chuck was sure it was just a matter of time before Mary would warm up to Sarah.

Even better, Sarah and Ellie had picked up where they left off last summer and were having coffee right about now. That had to be good for Sarah, getting the opportunity to talk to someone other than Chuck, to start feeling like she really lived in Los Angeles now. In fact, Chuck was pretty sure that Ellie would be bubbling over with recommendations of restaurants and cafes-and offering to play friend matchmaker and help Sarah meet some people.

Smiling to himself, Chuck opened the door to his office and drew up short. "Mom."

Mary Bartowski turned from her spot by the floor-to-ceiling windows, her arms folded over her chest. She took a moment to speak, her face set in firm lines. "Chuck. Come in and shut the door."

"I will, since this is my office," Chuck said, unable to hold back the prickle of annoyance. Yes, he was her son, but he was also a grown adult and a vital member of Bartowski Electronics. He wasn't some summer intern-he wouldn't let himself be cowed by his mother. He had in the past, but since he already had a good idea of why she was here, he wasn't going to let her have the upper hand this time.

Not when she was probably upset about him dating Sarah.

"Can I get you some coffee, Mom?" he asked, closing the door softly and walking to the coffeemaker on the credenza, his assistant having already brewed a pot.

"No," Mary said, moving closer to him. "We need to talk about Saturday, Charles. About this woman you've let yourself be seduced by."

His mother was never one to beat around the bush. Chuck took his time pouring himself a cup of coffee and adding some sugar. Using the mindless task as a way to tamp down his anger and keep his hands from shaking.

Because her words and their implications had him seeing red. Not just about the way she was insulting Sarah, but the way she was insulting him, too.

If it wasn't for the thick carpet that covered the floor of his office, he would be able to hear his mother's foot tapping in impatience as she waited for him to speak. Chuck kept her waiting by sipping his coffee, making sure he was in complete control. Then he looked at her and said, "I don't think we do. Not if that's what you think is going on."

"What else could it be, Charles?" Mary asked scornfully, following him as he walked over to his desk and sat down. "As soon as that woman showed up here last year, I knew she was playing her own angle. Drawing out her so-called investigation, using her wiles to trap you. Her incompetence directly led to you ending up in the hospital, or have you forgotten?" She stood in front of his desk, glaring at him.

"I haven't forgotten, Mom," Chuck said, setting his coffee down and looking up at her. Really looking at her, trying to get inside her head and find a way to get through to her. "And her name is Sarah. Not 'that woman'. If you really want to talk about this, I'm willing to listen, but I won't let you insult me or Sarah."

Mary pursed her lips. "You're being stubborn."

"It's stubborn to ask you to treat the woman I'm dating with a modicum of respect?" Chuck asked, feeling his heart race a little. Unlike Ellie, he had never really argued with his mother. He avoided confrontations with her, kept his distance when he knew she was angry, and eventually whatever was bothering her would blow over and they would go back to the same relationship as before. A relationship that had never been as close as he'd like, never been as good as the one he had with his father. They weren't in open warfare like Mary and Ellie were, and Chuck had told himself to be satisfied with that fact.

But he suspected that he wouldn't be able to say that for much longer.

Rolling her eyes, Mary dropped into one of the armchairs in front of his desk. "Fine. Detective Walker, then. She got you injured because she wasn't doing her job. I can't believe Pinkerton didn't fire her immediately after she wrapped the case, given my dissatisfaction with her. But that's what comes from hiring an agency that's been around since the Civil War; their ideas about performance are from another era."

On that, Chuck had to agree with his mother. But not in the way she might think. Because Chuck thought Pinkerton was colossally misguided to force Sarah out because of her relationship with a former client.

And he couldn't let himself go off on a tangent like that. Not right now.

"Mom, I got hurt because I was trying to protect Sarah. You know that. And if I had it to do over, I'd still do it. Always." He looked at her, hoping his voice wasn't shaking. "I'm dating Sarah Walker, and if you're unhappy about that, I'm sorry. I really am. But nothing you say will make me change my feelings for her."

"Are you sure about that?"

Was he imagining the malice in Mary Bartowski's voice? The not-so-veiled threat? Chuck wasn't sure, but for the first time, he felt a ripple of fear go over him. If she was just mad, he could wait out her anger, give her time to cool off. But he didn't think that would work in this case. Because his mother wasn't full of ire-she was coolly, calmly furious.

Taking a deep breath, Chuck rose to his feet. "Mom, I'm sure it was a shock to find out that Sarah and I are dating. I know you didn't see eye-to-eye with Sarah when she was here, and that might be coloring your reaction now. But I hope you'll give her a second chance, because-because I love her, and I don't want to lose you and Dad if you won't accept that."

There it was. His line in the sand. If his mother wanted to preserve some kind of relationship with him, she would have to accept that with Chuck came Sarah. They were a package deal. And he was willing to turn his back on his parents-unhappily regretfully-if they wouldn't respect that.

As the silence stretched out while he waited for his mother's response, Chuck could feel his breathing pick up speed until he was on the verge of hyperventilating. The anxiety was like a knot in his chest, but finally, finally, he saw Mary's shoulders droop a little. And he knew he had won. Well, not won, not like that-because he could see that she was still very unhappy about this. And there was no guarantee that she would come around on this. But at least he had gotten her to back down for now.

"I suppose there's some truth to what you're saying," she said grudgingly. She eyed him. "You're really serious about her?"

Chuck nodded. "I am, Mom. Very serious. Please, for me-just try and get to know Sarah, okay? That's all I'm asking. Because if you get to know her, I think you'd like her."

"Perhaps," Mary said, sounding very doubtful. But at least she was thinking about it, Chuck told himself.

"Your father is already one of her biggest fans. And he's always been better with people than me," Mary continued. She stood up and walked around to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Perhaps the four of us could do dinner in a few weeks."

He gave her a quick hug. "I'd like that a lot, Mom. Thank you for listening to me."

"You're my only son," Mary said. "I want you to be happy. No matter what, that's my only goal, Chuck: to see my children happy. By any means necessary."

"I know," Chuck said, trying to smile at her. "Anything else to talk about? I think by now, I am so late for my first meeting that I might as well skip it entirely. So if you had anything else to discuss with me . . . "

"We're good," she said, picking up her purse. "I'll call you about that dinner." Without waiting for him to say goodbye, Mary swept out of his office.

Once the door had closed behind her, Chuck slumped down into his chair and let out a breath. That had gone okay. Mostly. At least his mom seemed somewhat less ready to disinherit him and fire him, in that order. But he still had a bad feeling about this . . .

"Oh, come on, Chuck," he muttered to himself. "Things aren't so bad that you've gotta use that line."

Trying to push the jinxed quote from Star Wars out of his mind, Chuck turned to his computer and settled in to start his day again. But his bouncy, ebullient mood was officially gone.

XOXOXOXOXO

The appeal of 'girl talk' had always been lost on Sarah, even when she was a teenager. She didn't understand what the big deal was. Sitting around and giggling about clothes and men? Opening yourself up like that to someone, a person you might not know that well? It sounded dangerous to her.

But sitting in a cozy beachside cafe, drinking a second cup of very good coffee and enjoying the bright morning sunlight as she listened to Ellie Bartowski Woodcomb talk about Chuck . . . Sarah got it now.

Girl talk was appealing because it was fun. Because it was more serious than she thought it would be. Of course they talked about Devon and Chuck a lot, their words interspersed with plenty of laughter, but Ellie had also talked about her career as a doctor in San Francisco. Hearing the passion in her voice made Sarah open up about her own struggles finding a new job. That led to a long conversation about what Sarah could do now. And while she had already talked some of her ideas over with Chuck, Sarah was surprised by how different Ellie's perspective was on some matters.

In the last week, Sarah had been thinking about starting her own investigation agency. Going out on her own, taking the cases she wanted and gradually building a name for herself. When she had mentioned it to Chuck, his enthusiasm was overwhelming. Yet there was also something . . . something she couldn't put into words and couldn't explain, something that made her not want to talk to Chuck anymore about it. When she had told Ellie about it, the older woman nodded.

"I totally understand. Don't get me wrong, I love Chuck and he's an amazing man. But he's a man who's crazy in love with you, so he's going to want to swoop in and make sure everything works out for you. But lots of times, it's failing that makes us succeed down the road."

Sarah blinked. "That's it, exactly. I don't want this to seem like some side gig . . . I'm not ready to give up my career. And I don't want to take Chuck's money for this, either."

"Of course you don't," Ellie said with a smile. "I think everyone realizes that after how you set down my mother on Saturday night. Which was amazing, by the way."

With a soft chuckle, Sarah had smiled at Ellie and changed the topic to Chuck. She didn't really want to ruin the mood by talking about Mary Bartowski's obvious dislike of her. Because that had been the only drawback to Saturday night's dinner, and she wasn't ready to lose the happy feeling she had from her emotional progress. The feeling of accomplishment at opening herself up and showing how she felt.

And it was a lot more fun to talk about Mary's son instead of Mary.

"So he's standing there, in the Hawkman costume I made him-which was not easy to make, by the way, and I should really remind him about that the next time I need a favor from him-and he gives me this big, huge smile and a really tight hug," Ellie detail, her face animated and her hands moving to punctuate her story.

Ellie could barely get the words out between her giggles. "He says thanks and then turns to Morgan and says-he says, 'Okay, let's go to the roof'!"

It was so easy to imagine a ten-year-old Chuck doing exactly what Ellie had described that Sarah burst out laughing. Ellie's giggles deepened into laughter, too, and it was a few moments before either of them were capable of speech.

"Oh-oh, thank you for telling me that," Sarah said, slowly managing to gain some control over herself. She grinned widely at Ellie, who returned the grin. "And thank you for your invitation to have coffee."

"Of course!" Ellie said. "Even if you weren't dating Chuck, if I heard we were in the same place I'd want to catch up with you. The fact that you're my brother's girlfriend is an extra bonus."

"Because now you have someone to tell all those embarrassing stories about him that you've saved up over the years?" Sarah asked with a grin.

Ellie smirked. "You're damn right."

A comfortable silence fell between them as they each sipped their coffees. But then Ellie took a deep breath and leaned forward. "Sarah?"

There was something in Ellie's voice that made Sarah feel nervous. She gripped her mug a bit tighter and said, "Yes, Ellie?"

"You really care about my brother. It's pretty obvious," Ellie said, keeping her hazel-green eyes locked on Sarah's.

She felt her mouth go a little bit dry and took another sip from her coffee before setting it down. "I do. I . . . I love him, Ellie." Sarah huffed out a small laugh. "It took me a long time to realize it and even longer to admit it. Because just thinking about the words made me so scared. But now that I can say them . . ." She let her voice trail off, then shrugged her shoulders with a slightly embarrassed smile. How could she explain it to someone like Ellie, who was so honest and direct? How could she describe feeling so much but not being able to let it out?

Chuck's sister eyed her for a moment, then nodded. "I understand. I'm so glad you and Chuck are together, and out in the open-I've never seen him look so happy." Ellie paused, her forehead wrinkling. "That makes me worry."

"Worry?" Sarah asked, feeling confused.

"About what our mom will do to him. To both of you."

Taking a breath, Sarah took a moment to gather her thoughts. From her own observations, she had seen how strained the relationship was between Ellie and Mrs. Bartowski, well before Chuck's explanation about how often the two women had butted heads over the years. "While I just try to keep my head down and avoid Mom when she's upset," he had said with a lopsided smile.

It would be easy to assume that past history was coloring Ellie's worries about how her mother would treat Chuck and Sarah. And Sarah believed that was mostly what was going on-but it was hard to deny that Mary Bartowski was not thrilled about whom her son had chosen as a girlfriend. Given that Sarah was pretty sure Mary had lodged complaints about her to Pinkerton, it wasn't hard to believe that Mary might try to inflict some damage upon Sarah.

But would Mary do that, knowing that it would hurt Chuck, too? Sarah wasn't so sure about that. If one thing was clear, it was that Mary Bartowski wanted the best for her children. And until there was some kind of overt and explicit action against Sarah, she wanted to give Mary the benefit of the doubt.

"I know your mother wasn't very happy on Saturday night," Sarah began, choosing her words carefully. "And I know you're worried. Chuck is, too, I think. He was nervous before we walked in, because he didn't know how your mother would react. But . . ."

"But?" Ellie asked, raising her eyebrows. "Please do not tell me I shouldn't be worrying."

"I'm not saying that, Ellie," Sarah said. "Not at all. I'm-I'm very touched that you're as concerned about me as you are about Chuck. But until your mother does something, something more than being a bit rude after finding out about me, I don't want to not give her a chance."

It was on the tip of her tongue to explain why she didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with Chuck's mother. To tell Ellie that Chuck was it for Sarah and she couldn't see herself with anyone else, ever. But that was just too shattering to admit that to anyone-and the first person who should know about this epiphany was Chuck, not his sister.

Thankfully, Ellie seemed to read between the lines well enough. Her forehead was still creased with worry, but she reached out and rested her hand over Sarah's. "I just don't want either of you to get hurt." Ellie's voice rang with sincerity and Sarah felt a wave of warmth.

"Neither do I," Sarah said. "And now I know who I can talk to when I need another opinion beside Chuck's." She put on a sheepish smile. "Chuck always sees the best in people, and I can't always do that. It's good to know I can talk to you if I'm feeling crazy and paranoid."

Ellie laughed. "I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you about this one time-"

As Ellie began another story, Sarah sat back to enjoy it. But even amid her smiles and laughs, Sarah was thinking. Thinking about what she would do if Mary Bartowski lived down to Ellie's expectations instead of living up to Sarah's hopes.

What if Mary gave Chuck an ultimatum? What if she tried to break them up? What would Chuck do? What if-

Sarah stopped and took a breath. Why was she worrying about this? All the what-ifs and maybes didn't matter, because none of them took into account one very important fact.

Chuck Bartowski loved her and she loved him, too. And nothing was going to change that. Not if Sarah had anything to do with it.

XOXOXOXOXO

Author's Note: Oooooooooooooooooooooooo! Sarah means bizness! You know it's for serious when I type BIZness instead of business. Stay tuned for another two parter written by me next! - SC