Posted July 20, 2022
A/N: After season 1, season 2 didn't begin for about eight months. Blame the Writers Guild of America strike. Chuck and Sarah didn't have the same excuse as TV producers. What did they do during those eight months?
"Chuck vs the Marlin" (1x13) Recap
Here's a couple of things that you might need to know or maybe you just forgot.
At the Nerd Herd desk, Jeff and Lester received the food from the Shawarma delivery girl, Lizzie, who was wearing short shorts and a tight shirt. With a camcorder, Jeff filmed Lizzie's chest during the delivery.
After she left, Chuck confronted them about "Mammary Cam." Jeff and Lester passed the video evidence behind their backs, but Chuck wasn't fooled. Before he could completely bust them, Devon interrupted. The man was not his normal awesome-self and said he needed to talk to Chuck about Ellie.
Chuck stopped his heart-to-heart with Devon when he saw a surveillance bug on a display. Devon thought he meant a real bug, so he flipped out, trying to brush it away. Chuck covered by saying Devon got the insect. Then, he took the electronic bug and excused himself.
In the employee back hall, Chuck saw Jeff and Lester hiding something in a vent, but he didn't want to deal with the perverts. Chuck confronted Casey in the break room with the bug, accusing the spy of being sloppy because he put it where anyone could find it. Casey said to let him worry about the spy stuff.
Morgan stopped Chuck before he got back to Devon. He asked his trustworthy friend whether he could see the pre-release demo of the next Call of Duty game. Chuck said it would stay in his locker because the last one ended up on the Internet.
When Chuck returned to Devon, he was even more distressed than before. He pulled out an engagement ring and asked Chuck's permission to marry Ellie.
Chuck froze at the spender of the ring, but after he got over his surprise, he said yes. Devon was relieved, and he asked a favor. Because Ellie was a bloodhound about finding those kinds of things, he asked Chuck to hold the ring for a day. Before Chuck could decline, Devon assumed it was a yes and left it with his soon-to-be brother-in-law.
Casey showed the electronic bug to Sarah. The two of them talked to Beckman and Graham, who explained the bug was a CIA model, not what Casey used, and it was believed to be a favorite of Fulcrum. It was low power, so it required a receiver nearby, hidden in the Buy More. Casey and Sarah had 48 hours to find the receiver and the enemy operative. Otherwise, Chuck would be moved to a secure bunker.
The next day, Big Mike walked into his office, reading a tabloid, not realizing something was wrong. When he got to his desk, he saw his stuffed marlin was missing from the wall. He went back out to the store and saw all of the merchandise was gone.
Soon, the police and the early employees were in the empty store. Jeff and Lester whispered to each other about how to not get caught. Talking to Big Mike, LAPD Detective Conway confirmed no locks were broken and no alarms went off, so it must be an inside job.
Chuck walked into the store and saw everything was gone. He panicked and ran to his locker to look for Ellie's ring. It was gone too. Devon called, excited that he figured out how to pop the question. Chuck didn't admit the ring was missing and said skydiving wasn't a good idea because he might lose the ring.
Big Mike lined up the inside job suspects and said they were going to get to the bottom of things. Jeff quietly threatened Lester to say nothing. Big Mike yelled at Chuck that it was suspicious that Casey wasn't there. Casey called Chuck and told him to come to them.
At an airplane hanger, Casey and Sarah had the entire inventory of the store because they had taken everything to look for more bugs. Sarah explained to Chuck that the bug he found was from an enemy agent. They found 29 bugs but not the secondary recording device. Chuck was surprised about how thorough they were and asked for the ring from his locker. Casey and Sarah explained that if they didn't find it and if they didn't find the receiver in 24 hours, Chuck would be taken to a bunker.
A tech found Buy More security footage showing Jeff and Lester turning the security system back on before they stole Big Mike's marlin. In his office, the Fulcrum agent was seen about to steal something from the mouth of the fish, presumably the receiver.
Chuck and Casey rushed back into Buy More. Jeff and Lester were thumb wrestling in the middle of the group of employees with nothing to do. Chuck and Casey pulled them away to interrogate them about the fish. They resisted until Casey threatened them. The night before, they broke into Buy More because they had been kicked out of Bennigans and wanted another drink. Big Mike's private stash was empty, so with the security system off, they decided to steal the marlin. After another threat, Lester admitted they took it to Chuck's apartment because they didn't want to get busted with it.
At Wienerlicious, Sarah reported they had a lead. Graham and Beckman didn't care and had decided to retrieve Chuck, even though it had been a lot shorter than 48 hours.
Looking for the stolen marlin, Chuck and Casey tore up Chuck's apartment. Ellie came home and asked what they were up to. She told them she saw Morgan with a four-foot long marlin.
Back at the store, Morgan admitted nothing when he was interrogated by Conway and Big Mike. Big Mike revealed he bought the fish on eBay, while the store's merchandise was insured.
Chuck and Casey returned to interrogate Morgan, but before that happened, Chuck was called in for his turn to be interrogated. Casey said he would handle Morgan.
Chuck claimed innocence immediately, which Big Mike considered an admission. Big Mike insisted Chuck had to be the ringleader. He thought he should let Chuck "sweat."
Meanwhile, Casey interrogated Morgan in the home theater room. The big guy threatened torture, but Morgan said it was the wrong approach to get him to talk. With a grape soda, Morgan started talking. He thought of Chuck and him as life partners who had community property, meaning taking the preview game wasn't theft. After he took Chuck's bag from his locker, he went into Chuck's room to play the game. In Chuck's bag, he discovered the ring. When Morgan wailed, Ellie rushed in and saw it. Morgan bemoaned that they had lost Chuck to Sarah.
Lizzie showed up with a free baba ganoush because they had so many deliveries that month. Chuck heard her say 29 deliveries, like 29 bugs, giving him the theory that Lizzie was the Fulcrum agent. He sneaked out through a ceiling tile and retrieved Jeff and Lester's mammary cam video from the vent in the hallway. Back in Big Mike's office, Chuck captured a picture of Lizzie from the recording and sent it to Sarah.
Casey asked where the fish was. Morgan didn't think that was as important as the engagement ring, but after another threat, he said he had moved it to the Wienerlicious freezer. Before Casey could go after the fish, he was called in for his turn to be interrogated.
Sarah received Chuck's email right as Lizzie showed up at Wienerlicious to take the recording in the marlin. They fought, but when Sarah tried to lock the place down, Lizzie got the upper hand.
Chuck received another call from Devon, so Chuck made Devon promise to take care of Ellie. When Chuck talked to Morgan, his little buddy revealed that it wasn't too late because he hadn't given the ring to Sarah. Chuck corrected his misconception about the ring and learned it was over at Wienerlicious.
He got there too late. Lizzie had broken open the fish and taken the receiver. Sarah was locked in the freezer, so Chuck had to shoot the lock to get her out. Before he could, Conway showed up and saw Chuck holding a gun, so he "arrested" him.
Devon called again, wondering where Chuck was with the ring. Chuck couldn't answer the phone, and Devon was left without the ring for the proposal.
Conway reported in from his car, and Chuck overheard his code name, "Long Shore." The LAPD detective was an agent who was really there to secure Chuck in a bunker.
Casey freed Sarah, and the two of them reported to Beckman and Graham. Sarah insisted they could still get the receiver, but they needed help to get Chuck out of police custody. The spymasters revealed the LAPD detective as CIA, so Chuck was already on the way to extraction and lockdown. She and Casey were ordered to get Lizzie. After the call ended, Casey said he would get Lizzie while Sarah went after Chuck.
On a downtown helipad, Sarah stopped the hand-off and asked Long Shore for time to confirm their orders. He didn't do that, but he gave Chuck and Sarah one minute to say goodbye. Chuck was resigned to his fate, asked Sarah to say the right thing to his family and friends about why he was gone, and hoped the two of them could have a date while he was in the bunker. Sarah was very upset that Chuck was being taken away.
Before the extraction helicopter arrived, Lizzie showed up and shot Long Shore. When she shot a gun out of Sarah's hand, Chuck and Sarah ran. Lizzie taunted them while she hunted them, revealing she had heard Chuck had the Intersect and had found Ellie's ring. Sarah flanked her and threw her off the building into a dumpster.
After dawn, Sarah helped Chuck go through the dumpster to find the ring, and the two of them rushed to the apartment. After giving Devon the ring, Chuck joined Sarah outside.
Chuck and Sarah couldn't believe they pulled it off. Looking through the window, they watched Devon propose and Ellie accept. Chuck said they looked happy, and he couldn't leave them yet. Sarah reassured him that he didn't have to worry because he was safe. Chuck realized they kept getting closer so they would figure out who he was. Sarah changed the subject and said he should go in to congratulate the newly engaged couple. Chuck said she should come too, but she turned him down because it was "family time."
Outside, Casey came up behind Sarah at the window and reminded her they could only keep Chuck there for so long. Sarah understood, but seeing what was before her, she had tears in her eyes.
Chapter Characters: Sarah, Chuck, Casey
Songs (from 1x13)
- "Keep Yourself Warm" by Frightened Rabbit (I always think of this as the song for the end of "Chuck vs the Fat Lady," 2x07)
- "Action Theme" by Tim Jones (This is in a lot of episodes
www. imdb. com (8.7/10)
chuckthisblog. wordpress. com (19/91)
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Echo Park Apartment
How she saw it, Ellie's life was about as perfect as it could be. At the moment, she didn't care that her mom and dad left her. She was surrounded by the family that really mattered to her. She didn't care that Chuck was stuck at the Buy More after Bryce Larkin framed him for cheating and stole his girlfriend. His nemesis was dead, the evil succubus Jill was gone, and Chuck had moved on to someone who was better by a wide margin. None of that mattered because Devon put both feet in and proposed. She was going to be Dr-Mrs. Eleanor Faye Bartowski-Woodcomb!
Yesterday, she knew something was up when Morgan showed her that ring he thought was Chuck's for proposing to Sarah. The way Chuck and Sarah looked at each other, Ellie was sure one day they were going to get engaged and marry, but Chuck wasn't able to keep something like that a secret from her. He wasn't able to keep any secret from her. If Chuck was going to propose, he'd unnecessarily spiral and then ask her opinion about what Sarah would say. The answer was obvious, but that wasn't the point. The point was Chuck hadn't said something to Ellie, so he wasn't going to pop the question. When Morgan assumed it was Chuck's, he was thinking the worst-case scenario for him, but he should have realized Chuck wouldn't have kept it a secret from him either.
Then there was the ring. Working at Buy More, Chuck couldn't afford a ring without a loan, which meant asking her and Devon. Her fiancé was clueless sometimes, but he always came around eventually. Even if he was being obtuse, he wouldn't loan money to her brother without saying how "awesome" he was being by helping her family. He hadn't said anything, though, so that hadn't happened.
Also, the ring was an antique, not a new purchase. Ellie had all of their mom's jewelry in a special box. She had nothing from their grandparents. The nicest thing in it was a charm bracelet. Their mom took her ring with her when she left.
Only one thing made sense. Devon had the ring, asked Chuck to hold it, and somehow Morgan got his hands on it. Ellie wasn't going to tell Morgan that. Morgan was with Anna, but he'd probably do some stupid thing like hide the ring so Devon couldn't find it.
Since the ring was "supposed to be for Sarah" and because Jeff and Lester showed up with a stolen, stuffed fish, Ellie came up with a plan. She convinced Morgan to put the ring inside the fish. So Chuck wouldn't get blamed for stealing something else he didn't steal (like Stanford), Ellie drove Morgan to take it inside Sarah's Wienerlicious. By Morgan's warped logic, he wasn't stealing the ring because he was putting it where Sarah worked.
The ring was Ellie's, not Sarah's (once Devon popped the question), but Morgan didn't know that. She had waited enough years for Devon and could wait one day while Chuck, Sarah, and Devon sorted it out without Morgan's interference.
With the romantic evening last night, Ellie thought Devon had gotten the ring back, so that was the moment. Instead, their night was…"just" awesome…like it always was with Devon. Last night wasn't to be, but he made it two great days in a row by asking her first thing in the morning. Her life was perfect.
She was unbelievably happy…but something was wrong. Ellie asked her brother, "Why do you keep looking out the window?" Chuck sheepishly looked down. "It's Sarah, isn't it?" He shyly nodded slightly.
That was ridiculous. She wanted all of her favorite people with her that day, so she went to the door and opened it, seeing Sarah. For some reason she had tears in her eyes. Thinking Sarah should share in the happiness because there was plenty to go around, Ellie invited her inside. She held up her hand and excitedly exclaimed, "We're engaged!"
She went to hug Sarah, who stepped back. The other woman said, "I'm filthy."
Ellie noticed Chuck was too. There was a story there. Considering what Ellie knew about the ring, it probably had something to do with finding it. Considering how easily Morgan delivered the big fish, the Wienerlicious freezer wasn't a very secure place. One of Sarah's co-workers probably threw it out so the two of them went through the dumpster to get it.
Because Ellie was so happy she was engaged, she didn't care whether Sarah was clean and pulled her into a solid hug. After a couple seconds, she reached an arm to pull Chuck into a group hug. Devon wrapped them all up, and it was perfect.
When the hug had gone on about twice as long as any of them probably wanted, Ellie released them. She said, "Chuck and Sarah, I can tell by looking at you that you were dirty together, probaby up all night. At least you didn't wake up to the horror of Morgan. This is so much better."
Sarah apologized. "I heard about Morgan. I'm really sorry about that."
Ellie waved a dismissive hand. "I don't care about that. You made sure I had someone to watch me when I was at my lowest. Morgan did that until Devon returned to me. I don't blame you for being a good friend. In fact, will you be one of my bridesmaids? I'd ask you to be my maid of honor, but I was one last year for a friend at work, so I should return the honor. All I know is I want you up there with me."
Devon said, "And I want you to be one of my groomsmen." He slapped a hand on Chuck's shoulder, and Chuck said he would.
Ellie never learned why Sarah was teary-eyed before, but since she was helping Chuck find the ring, she probably knew what was happening: Devon was proposing. Now there was a new reason. Sarah answered Ellie's question. "Of course. I would be honored to be one of your bridesmaids. I've never been one. What do I need to do?"
Ellie and Sarah hugged again. "Don't worry about it right now. It's too early to plan. Just don't upstage me when you dance with my brother at the reception."
Everyone laughed. Chuck said, "Before then, you need to give me dance lessons, Sarah. You know I only know the girl's part of the tango, and I don't want to make you look bad…like I did last time."
Ellie invited everyone to breakfast and made omelets. When they finished eating and clearing, she said, "I've noticed you two keep staying out all night in other places. You know, Sarah, you're allowed to stay here anytime. Last time I interrupted because I was poisoned. I promise that won't happen again. I won't go to the hospital again…unless I'm paged for work. "
"You two deserve privacy. Chuck and I don't want to bother you."
"You're never a bother, Sarah. You're welcome here any time."
Looking at Devon, Sarah said, "Chuck and I aren't taking a vow of celibacy." Looking at everyone, "We're not always at my apartment either. We're other places, like later this year, we're going to Comic-Con."
That was a surprise and a big deal. Devon checked he heard that right, "You're going to Comic-Con?"
Chuck didn't seem to know either. "We are?"
"I told you."
From raising Chuck, Ellie knew that look. Her brother looked like he hadn't been listening, and was about to make up an excuse. Serves him right for not listening to his girlfriend. "You mentioned that maybe we would. I didn't know you got tickets."
"Surprise!"
Sarah looked proud of her surprise. Chuck looked shocked, but pleased. Ellie half expected them to crash together, but they didn't. Chuck was so shy around other people, but he didn't need to be like that with Sarah around her. After a few seconds, they both looked at Ellie, then back at each other, then awkwardly pecked on the lips.
What was that about? "You two are ridiculous," Ellie said. "You were outside all night doing who knows what. Actually, I know what. You know that I know because I told you where the big fish was. I don't have to be a brain surgeon to figure out what else you would've been doing besides looking for my ring." Everyone laughed. Ellie was an actual "brain doctor" who read scans, not a surgeon who cut into people, but that joke always worked.
In his confident way, Devon said, "You two are next."
Awkward. Chuck had a dreamy look on his face. Sarah's eyes bulged like a deer caught in headlights. Ellie never saw them like that. Based on how Sarah looked at Chuck and how he was spiraled, Elliealways thought Sarah was the one who was all-in and Chuck was the one who wasn't doing enough to keep her. At the moment, they looked the opposite.
Sarah schooled her face and said, "Chuck and I haven't been together that long. How many years did you two go before getting engaged?"
Admittedly, it was a long time, but Ellie countered, "Devon and I met in school." Med school was a long time ago, but then there was residency and getting seniority so they both worked reasonable schedules.
"How many years after?"
"We lived together. That means Chuck needs to move in with you next. When Chuck chooses to move in with you, know that I understand." On most days, Ellie would push, but she had something else in mind that day. "You might want to clear out because I'm going to celebrate with my fiancé."
"Awesome." Her awesome man took her back to their bedroom to show her how awesome he was. Sarah and Chuck probably left after that point, but Ellie really could find it in herself to care.
When Chuck walked Sarah to her car, she felt she needed to apologize. "I'm sorry, Chuck."
"What for?"
"I got Ellie talking about you moving out. Casey is here, so you can't move. I'd move in with you."
"You would?"
"If I had to. If you'd let me."
"Let you? Of course I would let you."
Sarah couldn't look at Chuck. "I wouldn't want to get in the way of the other women coming in and out of your room."
"You know there's no one else. Casey has video evidence. Why would you think that? Oh. Lou. She never found out where I lived, and I didn't understand back then. That was such a huge mistake. I'll never do it again." Sarah looked at Chuck and was rewarded with one of Chuck's looks. There wasn't anything particularly unique about it. It was just how Chuck always looked at her. Sarah loved looking into his eyes. She always felt better about herself when she saw how Chuck looked at her.
After a minute simply staring at each other with silly smiles on their faces, Chuck broke the silence. "That thing about never being a bridesmaid… Really?"
"Once on a mission, I helped plan a wedding." Sarah admitted. "It wasn't my thing. We arrested the would-be husband at the rehearsal dinner, so I didn't go through a ceremony as a bridesmaid. I'm not arresting Devon or Ellie this time, so there shouldn't be a problem. I only hope I'm still here."
"Why wouldn't you be here?"
"You might get the Intersect out of your head. That's what you told me you want."
"That wouldn't mean…" Chuck trailed off.
"That wouldn't mean what?" Sarah asked.
"Nothing. So… Comic-Con. Do you realize we have to come up with a cover for several days because we can't go?"
Sarah wanted to know what Chuck was talking about her not being there, but he changed topics, so she focused on why he thought they couldn't follow through with the trip. She was a little curious about the Con when she lived in San Diego. She grew up doing little cons, and ironically she never went to the big Con, even though she knew it was different. She was sure she would enjoy it with Chuck as her guide. "Why can't we go? Don't you want to go? San Diego is close." Referring to her CIA fake photo from Halloween, she said, "We can make a real photo."
"Yes, I'd love to go, but it's insanely popular. The tickets sell out in 15 minutes, and they went on sale a long time ago."
Sarah cocked an eyebrow. "The CIA can make anything." She and her dad once stayed in the Governor's mansion. Something like tickets wouldn't be a roadblock.
Chuck didn't know what Sarah knew how to do before she joined the CIA. He said, "The best tech people on the planet run it. If they catch a forgery, you're banned for life. It's not worth the risk."
She was certain she could forge something, and the CIA had infinite resources, but they didn't need to go that route. "The CIA can get real tickets."
Chuck's face was filled with fascination. "Really? Wow. That would be fantastic." She was treated with a smile bigger than the one she normally saw—the one that made her feel wonderful inside. After a couple seconds it was gone and replaced with concern. "One problem. Where do we stay?"
"A hotel. It'd be better than leaving before dawn every day to drive down early ."
"Together?"
Chuck was such a prude sometimes. "Of course. I'm not letting you run around there by yourself. I need to protect you."
"If you look like you did on Halloween. I'll need to protect you."
July 23, 2008
San Diego, CA
Sarah was excited about going to her first Comic-Con. She was in the same city a couple years in high school, but she never seriously contemplated going. Back then, she was more likely to see how many pockets she could pick in a day, but now she knew better. She never dreamed there were guys like Chuck at a place like that—not that it would have mattered. Chuck said he had never been, so if Chuck wasn't there, picking pockets was all she'd be interested in. Even if there were people like Chuck there, no one was like Chuck.
She had a hard time believing that Chuck had never been. If not, how did he learn so much nerdy stuff? She hoped she could learn enough at this Con that she could follow what Chuck was saying part of the time.
Walking into their room, Chuck abruptly stopped, so Sarah ran into his. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"This can't be our room."
"Room #447. That's right."
"No, this can't be it."
"What's wrong with it?" Sarah had stayed in nicer hotels undercover in Europe, but this room was as good as anyplace she stayed while in the secret service because she was never on overt protection detail for a VIP at someplace like a summit. CIA techs had no problem getting legit four-day passes. Getting a room was a different story. They were lucky they weren't commuting from LA or sleeping in her car. Every nice hotel room within fifty miles had been booked for over a year. They grabbed a last minute cancellation.
"It only has one bed, not two," Chuck said.
"What's wrong with that?"
"Well, we aren't…you know."
"Chuck, relax. We're a couple. Getting two beds would be weird and wouldn't be good for the cover." Sarah peered around Chuck to look at the bed. "Besides, that king-size bed is big enough for us to sleep sideways, even though you're tall."
Chuck moved to make room for her to enter the rest of the way. He said, "I won't be sleeping much anyway. I can't believe you actually got tickets! Everyone at Buy More was jealous." Chuck had been going on and on about it. Big Mike threatened to schedule him anyway. Considering how many hours of unpaid overtime Chuck worked, Big Mike could get in trouble with Corporate if they found out how much he took advantage of a certain employee.
That night, Chuck and Sarah had reservations for a nice restaurant. A reservation was something that was not hard to get on a Wednesday, especially since most of the visitors to San Diego were penny-pinching to buy things at the Con. Sarah started to change out of the clothes that she wore to drive into what she packed for dinner. She didn't have time to fix her make-up like she'd like, but it was good enough.
"Hi ho." Sarah looked over, and Chuck had turned his back. She wasn't shy, and as her any-kind-of-boyfriend for over half a year, Chuck was allowed to look. Being a gentleman and giving Sarah privacy was so Chuck.
When she had her dress almost on, she asked Chuck to zip the back. He did, and his hands were soft and warm. At least that's what she imagined. Chuck was so careful… She wished she felt his gentle hands more. She quietly thanked him.
Chuck asked, "You dressed up. Am I ok like this?" Chuck didn't need to change. He looked great, like he always did, in his nerdy T-shirt, dark jeans and Chucks.
"You look great. The place we're going is good, but it doesn't have a dress code. Considering Comic-Con is going on, what you're wearing is appropriate." She ran her hand down his short and chest…and she quickly pulled it back. She needed to stop touching Chuck like that. He was her asset. It was unprofessional.
In the car on the way to dinner, Chuck said, "I'm not sure your Day 1 costume would pass a non-existent dress code in any restaurant. The guy bringing our food might get fired because he would drop the serving tray and make a mess everywhere."
"Do you really think it's ok for tomorrow? I did some more research and learned my hair isn't the right color."
"No one will care. There are a couple problems, though." Oh, no. "One problem is everyone else who is dressed like Princess Leia, will be thinking they would get a lot of guys gawking at them, but they will leave disappointed because that won't happen and they won't look as good as you. The other problem is we're going to have a lot of guys coming over to hit on you."
"I'll just have to make it clear that I'm taken." Chuck audibly gulped.
Sarah didn't know what they were doing all day at the convention. Her plan was to follow her nerd-sherpa's lead. In the car on the way down from LA, Chuck asked her what she wanted to do. She only had one requirement. With her dressed as Leia and Chuck as Han, she wanted someone to take their picture in the same location in the same pose as her fake picture from Halloween. The fake one was a good picture—better than the selfie at the Halloween party. She wanted it to be real.
Other than that, she was looking forward to hanging on Chuck's arm all day. She'd keep him safe, but she needed an expert guide to explain everything.
September 29, 2008
Construction site
Los Angeles, CA
"Stay in the car!"
Chuck nodded to Casey's order. Sarah and Casey took weapons out of Casey's trunk. Sarah gave Chuck a serious look to make sure he followed that order. Chuck nodded to acknowledge he would.
Of course he wouldn't if he had to save Sarah's life. Last year when Sarah, Casey, and Mei-Ling were captured, Casey ordered him to leave them. Chuck would never do that. He wouldn't be foolish, but he couldn't stand by if Sarah or Casey was in danger. He couldn't live with himself if they were hurt when he could have prevented it.
It had been months since the three of them had a mission. Initially, none of them knew what this mission was about. At the beginning of the year, they did missions because of his flashes, but he hadn't flashed in months. The Intersect data in Chuck's head might be getting too old to be useful.
A month ago, Chuck asked Sarah what would happen if he stopped flashing. She got mad at him and told him never again to suggest that he might not flash again. Chuck didn't understand what the issue was. If he stopped flashing, she and Casey wouldn't need to protect him all the time.
Sarah said not to worry about the fact he hadn't flashed in a while because the NSA and CIA had proven to her that they were willing to put a lot of money behind what they were doing in LA. They got Comic-Con tickets, hotel rooms, and even a new Crown Vic for Casey. Chuck assumed the spy's car had more gadgets than a Herder with ejection seats and a self-destruct. None of that was close to that mysterious construction project under the old Wienerlicious building.
This mission was not because he flashed. Instead, Sarah and Casey were given orders to retrieve a stolen chip. Even they were confused by them. Sarah said Chuck should go because the logical assumption was this mission was Intersect-related. On the drive here, they found out more. Chuck wasn't needed, so his "job" was to stay in the car.
Sitting in the Crown Vic alone, Chuck didn't have anything to do, so he thought back over the last few months. When Wienerlicious closed, Sarah wasn't working nearby, but Chuck saw her almost as much as before. She still came to lunch every day, and came to dinner at the apartment at least once a week. Sarah even came by the apartment on days he wasn't working. Since Chuck got back from Stanford, Morgan had practically been attached like a barnacle, but if you ignored work-time at Buy More and gaming marathons, Chuck was with Sarah more—maybe more than Morgan, even when counting the marathons.
Chuck didn't regret a second of his time with Sarah. Sometimes it felt like they would be together forever, and the thought didn't bother him one bit. He thought Sarah was too good for him, but for now, he was lucky to be dating her, even if it was only "fake" dating.
Not knowing it was fake, hundreds of people at Comic-Con agreed with him. The first day, it was obvious to everyone that he was with the most beautiful Princess Leia ever. It didn't matter to anyone that she was a blonde, not a brunette.
Her other costumes were far from a let down. The next day, she dressed as Chani from Dune, like she had suggested Halloween. He didn't have the sandworm costume. They would have been able to get it past security, and it would be hard to navigate in a crowd. Instead, Chuck was Paul Muad'dib Atredis. With Sarah covered with a stillsuit, that was the day she caused the fewest people to crash into things because they were not looking where they were going.
Before going to San Diego, Chuck vetoed Sarah's Star Trek Orion slave girl idea. She insisted she would wear the green body paint, and trying to convince Chuck, she said she knew it wasn't a good idea to wear that much body paint all day. Chuck didn't tell her, but the real reason was he didn't think he could handle walking around a second day with Sarah showing that much skin. Chuck vetoed Mystique for the same reason. Sarah admitted she didn't know who that was, which made Chuck wonder if she was trying to give him a heart attack because he ended up imaging her that way for days.
Chuck's idea was she could go as Vicki Vale for day three, and he would be Bruce Wayne. Sarah thought it was "not sci-fi enough" with her dressing in a party dress, like she often did on missions. She said he'd look great in a tux, but again, she stated dressing like Bruce Wayne at the party in the 1989 Batman was "not sci-fi." Chuck was vindicated when they got half a dozen compliments about their unique costumes. Morgan wasn't the only person who saw Sarah as Vicki Vale.
Sarah suggested Harley Quinn, meaning a jester costume. Chuck knew Sarah would be hot in the jumpsuit, but when he pointed out he'd have to be the Joker, she took back the suggestion because she didn't want Chuck to be dressed as a bad guy.
Chuck quipped that she could be Snow White because she's the "fairest one of all." Sarah was concerned that she again would be someone with the wrong hair color, so as a compromise, Sarah was Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, and he was Prince Phillip. She hoped Chuck would have the Sword of Truth and the Shield of Virtue. Sarah never explained why she knew it so well. The sword wouldn't be for him. It'd be there for her use. Chuck knew better than to try taking a real sword through security, so Sarah had to settle for the knives she smuggled past security every day.
While day-dreaming about how Sarah looked a few months ago, Chuck noticed a black van pull up outside the construction site. Two scary looking men got out and went through the side door. One of them was carrying a metal case. The side door was not where Sarah and Casey went. They were looking in the wrong place.
Chuck knew he should stay in the car…but Sarah and Casey were never going to find the Cipher. He told himself to stop thinking about it and stay in the car.
Chuck thought back to what he was fondly remembering. Comic-Con was the best four days of his life because of Sarah. At the Con, Sarah hung on his arm the entire time. He could have been nervous, but it felt so right. There had to be something between him and Sarah.
The first night at their hotel, he didn't sleep at all as he planned what panels they were going to each day. The second night, he and Sarah fell asleep talking. More like… Chuck talked non-stop about all the great things he saw. Sarah didn't seem to care that he was repeating what she saw too. She just smiled and looked at him with those beautiful eyes… The third and final nights, Sarah asked a non-stop stream of questions about everything she saw. She wanted to know everything about the types of things that made Chuck so excited.
It should have been uncomfortable sleeping so close to Sarah. Instead, each night was almost like a slumber party.
He worried about telling Morgan too much about how great it was with Sarah at Comic-Con, making his friend jealous, but that concern was unwarranted, because she went on and on about how much fun she had with Chuck as a guide. Morgan seemed to realize that any sane person would rather go with Sarah. While Chuck was out of town, his little friend and Anna patched things up for the fourth or fifth time, so Morgan was on the domineering woman's leash again, muting any post-trip jealousy.
Back to the present, Chuck saw the two men leave and drive off in the van. It looked like the building's side door did not shut completely. They left the case inside, through an open door. Chuck had no way of letting Sarah and Casey know. He didn't see anyone, so he could go inside, get the Cipher, and prove his worth, even though he wasn't flashing. Then, he would signal Sarah and Casey with the emergency alert on his watch. It'd be safer for them if they stopped wandering around the wrong place with guns.
Chuck got out of the car.
A/N: I've never been to Comic-Con. It sounds fun, especially with the crazy Jeffster performances at the Chuck panels and with NerdHQ. However, to me, reading Chuck's and Sarah's hi-jinks at Comic-Con in several different Chuck fanfics is possibly more fun than something you can watch on YouTube videos later.
Sarah didn't tell Chuck, but she knew Prince Phillip because Amy made the CATS watch Disney movies.
MyNameIsJeffNImLost AU stories:
- Morgan vs the Spies story (chapters 1-7: "Cover for the Beard," "Work Avoidance Skills," "He Knows Something," "Extraction Team," "Everything is Better with Bacon," "Worth Two Spies on a Mission," "Morgan's Mission")
- Casey vs the Civilians story (chapters 1-7: "No Headphones Needed," ""No First Date," "No Three-date Rule," "No Secrets," "No Leftovers," "No More Stalling," "No Place to Hide")
- Chuck vs Under the Cover (chapter 6: "Say Yes")
- Chuck vs His Former Handler (chapter 8: "Role Models")