Posted November 22, 2023

A/N: The evil one is gone, but Jeff and Lester are at Thanksgiving dinner. It's probably definitely a good trade-off. It's still pre-Charah, but at least it's heading in the right direction again.

"Chuck vs the Gravitron" (2x08) Recap
There are a few things you might need to know.

In 2002, Chuck sat with Jill on the top of a stopped Ferris wheel. She loved the view, but he was nervous. He admitted he bribed the carny to stop the wheel. Jill said that was moronic because Chuck was afraid of heights. Chuck was going for romantic and tried to say he and Jill should be "more." Jill told him to stop talking and kissed him.

In 2008, Sarah and Casey talked to Beckman on video. The general couldn't believe Jill was Fulcrum. Casey had practically given up, but Sarah said there was hope because Fulcrum didn't know Chuck's the Intersect, and they didn't know Jill had been burned.

Chuck and Jill were in bed together at a hotel. His cell phone rang, and while he was concerned there would be yelling, being with Jill was worth it. She left to take a shower. Chuck saw Jill's buzzing phone with a call from "Uncle Tobias," who he flashed on. Chuck panicked and excused himself to get coffee.

Outside the hotel, Casey and Sarah pulled Chuck into a tent. He tried to tell them Jill might be Fulcrum, based on his flash. They already knew her code name was Sandstorm and ordered him to go back.

Later, Chuck lamented to Casey and Sarah because he thought he could be a regular person with a "normal" girlfriend. They revealed "Uncle Tobias" was "Leader" in Fulcrum. Chuck was given a mission to use his relationship with Jill, to see if she made contact with him. Chuck said he'd do it to get back at the woman who betrayed him twice.

At the apartment, Ellie freaked out to Chuck because Devon's parents, "The Awesomes," were coming to Thanksgiving.

Morgan came by and asked if Chuck "the other woman," Jill, was around. Chuck said there was no other woman. Then Morgan asked about the smell. Ellie was practicing how long to cook turkeys. Ellie had Morgan try a cooked turkey, which he loved, but which she threw out because it was too dry. Then she told him he was uninvited to Thanksgiving, breaking his heart.

At Buy More, Morgan complained to Chuck, who said he'd work it out with Ellie. Hearing Morgan didn't have plans, Big Mike ordered the green-shirt to stand guard here at the store on Thanksgiving, before Black Friday.

Down in Castle, Chuck got a call from Jill, and he was ordered to answer because he was supposed to stay close to the Fulcrum agent. She suggested a date, which Chuck accepted and lied he'd tell bodyguards to take the night off.

After the call, Chuck asked Sarah for help about how to survive the night. Sarah dimmed the lights to try to show Chuck how to fake being under Jill's spell. After getting Chuck to look at Sarah's eyes and lips, she stopped the lesson before they ended up kissing.

The NSA detected Jill's credit card was to a concert downtown, so Casey and Sarah headed there. The date was actually a surprise at a carnival. Jill stopped a Ferris wheel at the time.

Jill revealed to Chuck that she worked for Fulcrum, who had ordered her to kill him. He tried to talk her down. She wasn't a killer, but she said there was a Fulcrum operative waiting on the ground, so she had to take him to a car or they would kill her.

Casey and Sarah realized they were going the wrong way and turned around. Meanwhile on the ground, Leader ordered Jill to kill Chuck in a Gravitron ride. She refused, so Leader took Chuck. Jill helped him escape from a spinning Gravitron. Sarah ended up stopping Leader, but he escaped, and Chuck stood up for Jill, who he thought had saved his life.

In Castle, Jill was given a lie detector. They got Leader's location, so Casey and Sarah went after him. Before leaving, Sarah warned Chuck not to trust Jill.

At Buy More, Morgan, Jeff, and Lester guarded the store. Morgan couldn't believe Big Mike locked them in while he went fishing. Morgan couldn't believe the pathetic Thanksgiving meal, so he promised to go out where there was fun, food, and friends. Lester and Jeff helped him get through the locked front, but then it closed and trapped them inside. Big Mike was alerted about the security breach from the door opening.

At the apartment, Ellie calmed down because Devon's parents canceled. The problem was Ellie had told Morgan not to come, and he was part of the traditional fun. They heard "some animals" in the garbage, but it was Morgan, diving for the real turkey Ellie had thrown out. He was re-invited, but he convinced Ellie and Devon that he could bring a couple guests.

With Chuck alone with Jill, he asked her more questions with the lie detector. She said it was real when they were dating at Stanford, she really liked him, she didn't love Bryce, and she didn't sleep with him. Fulcrum ordered her to dump Chuck. Because of the test results, he believed her and let her go.

Casey and Sarah returned with Leader, but Jill had turned the tables on Chuck and pointed guns at the good guys. Leader and Jill forced Chuck to give them computer access so they could look for Bryce Larkin because they thought he had the Intersect.

From a holding cell, Chuck used the security panel to stop the search, put the base on alert, and called for help. Leader put a bomb on Sarah and Casey's cell, which got Chuck to open his cell to show them out.

Sarah and Casey were left behind, but Chuck had programmed their cell to also unlock. Heading out the store, Leader tripped over Jeff's security wire. Sarah stopped Jill, and Casey tackled Leader. Jill ran off, and Chuck begged Sarah to not hurt Jill.

Big Mike showed up because of the security alarm and helped Casey stop Leader. He

Chuck found Jill about to shoot Sarah, so he convinced her to leave in a Nerd Herder. When she was in the car, he trapped her inside. He said he was going to let her get away, but when she was about to kill Sarah, she made his decision to arrest her, and he broke up with her.

Heading to the apartment for Thanksgiving dinner, Chuck apologized to Sarah for not listening to her. Sarah forgave him, saying your girlfriend being Fulcrum isn't something they teach you in spy school. Chuck was special because he's not like every other spy. He's a good guy who wants to help people.

Inside the apartment, Ellie asked Morgan if he was certain Jill was not with Chuck. She didn't want him to break up with Sarah. Morgan said they needed a Thanksgiving miracle: Chuck and Sarah arrive together. They did.

Morgan's guests were Jeff and Lester.

Songs (from 2x08):
- "Hot Mess" by Sam Sparro
- "Can You Tell" by Ra Ra Riot

www. imdb. com (8.5/10)
chuckthisblog. wordpress. com (58/91)

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Growing up in Canada, Lester never understood Thanksgiving. Canada had its own harvest celebration, but it was in October and on a Monday. It didn't start a post-Thanksgiving shopping craze. The first time he saw one of those was Buy More. In the Canadian holiday, there was turkey, but not like in the US. At least in this country, they figured out a way for the birds to volunteer. It was probably like Big Mike, but in the reverse. Instead of forcing people to work so he wouldn't eat them, the turkeys didn't want work and thought it was better to be eaten.

Waiting for his serving, Lester looked across the table to Sarah. Wow. She was all sorts of hotness. Considering he made a run at her a year ago, he was lucky she didn't strangle him when he hugged her a few minutes ago. Maybe his survival was a Thanksgiving miracle.

The blonde beauty noticed him looking. For a moment, he reconsidered and thought maybe he still had a chance with her.

That thought quickly ended. Sarah's hand darted to Chuck's, and she held it on top of the table, where everyone could see. Her boyfriend looked down at their joined hands and looked up into her eyes. A part of Lester (the part he usually ignored) said that Chuck and Sarah's public display of affection was appropriate for public, but it wasn't Lester's place to care. The truth was it was too much PDA for Chuck most of the time, but they obviously didn't care, and Lester cared even less.

Lester completely erased his previous thought about his chances. With how Chuck and Sarah were acting around each other, he didn't "maybe have a chance". He definitely had no chance. It was sickening. Despite Lester's survival a moment ago, the woman still kind of scared him, so it was just as well.

Fortunately, the statuesque fiancé-doctor was carving. Lester was pretty sure no one else there was qualified to slice and dice with a knife. No cutting was necessary at the hot dog place where Sarah used to work. Chuck's sister probably never used knives doing whatever she did as a candy-striper. Chuck would be scared of them. The idea of Morgan handling knives was scary to Lester. Jeff wasn't allowed because of a court order, and Lester didn't want to lose a finger. That left the surgeon to wield the knife.

The gaze of the couple that oozed too much cuteness was only broken when the turkey-filled plates were passed. When his poultry plate arrived, Lester asked, "Is this Kosher?"

No one made a sound. Lester didn't really care, but he couldn't help but ask what he was raised to ask.

The hostess started, "I'm sorry, Lester. I didn't realize. I didn't know what applies to Thanksgiving dishes. I actually don't know—"

Chuck jumped in, "You don't actually practice that way, do you, Lester? We don't keep your food separate in the break room fridge, and you ate hot dogs where Sarah used to work. You didn't serve Kosher hot dogs, did you, Sarah?"

Of course Lester ate at Wienerlicious. Anyone with a pulse ate whatever that goddess served. Going there didn't change when it changed to a place with nasty frozen yogurt, which probably wasn't Kosher either.

Sarah answered, "No," and Lester mumbled the same because he didn't eat only Kosher. He quickly downed a gulp of his wine to hide the fact he had just brought attention to the religion he didn't practice to make it all about him. He hated being called on it when he didn't have a leg to stand on. He liked taking the power, but this time, the failed attempt would've been embarrassing…if he got embarrassed. Best to ignore it.

Lester didn't say anything else throughout the meal of turkey, stuffing, cranberry, and sweet potatoes. For some reason that most of the others understood, the marshmallow topping was very important.

Jeff not only asked for seconds but also thirds and fourths. Lester couldn't put away that much, but Morgan almost kept up with Lester's open-throated friend.

Each time he served another helping to himself, Morgan went overboard on the compliments to Chuck's sister. Lester was sure Anna wouldn't approve of the praise Morgan was giving to another woman. It was a good thing she wasn't there.

The food was good, and Morgan obviously loved it. Lester was also surprised by the wine. It was better quality than he normally had, but he didn't see the reason for it being ten times as expensive as what he got at Bennigan's happy hour.

When the food was almost gone, Elizabeth said, "This is so much better than judgemental parents." Lester could relate to judgmental parents. To her trophy man, she added, "No offense, Honey."

"None taken, Babe." Lester figured they were talking about Dr. Awesome's parents. From what he knew, Chuck's parents had nothing to do with these Bartowskis. Lucky them.

She said, "This went a lot better than last year. Must be the company."

The new company was Jeff and Lester. He wasn't the Grinch—that was a fictional cartoon character. That meant his heart couldn't grow two sizes, but maybe it went up half a size…or a quarter…or something. He asked, "Jeff and I are new. What company didn't come this time?"

It was quiet again. No one was saying anything, which said a lot. Chuck always folded, so Lester directed the question to him, "Come on, Chuck. Who?"

Chuck answered, "Three people." Sarah cleared her throat. "Two people."

Morgan said who. "Bryce Larkin is dead, so he couldn't be in your bedroom with Sarah." Sarah choked on something, but Morgan continued. "Instead, it was my girlfriend." So, Anna was around Morgan gushing over the cooking last year. That would have been fun to watch. "It was also the bane of my existence: John Casey. He's a neighbor, so I'm surprised he isn't here."

Lester was also surprised that he got an invite over the neighbor who carpooled with Chuck. It was just as well. Big John would bring down any party.

"And all of us are happy that Anna's green bean casserole with soy sauce is not here." Chuck's rushed assertion was followed by agreement from everyone who knew what he was talking about, even Morgan. Based on the reviews it sounded like Lester also should be happy it wasn't there.

Devon cleared the turkey carcass, and Elaina went to get pumpkin pie. Morgan followed like the love-sick guy he was. Lester thought Anna had control over Morgan, but it seemed like Chuck's sister had him on an even tighter leash, if she wanted to take advantage.

Lester overheard Eliza say from the kitchen, "Thanks for not bringing your girlfriend. I don't think she likes me." Lester didn't have to make a huge or even small leap in logic to know that was true. If it came down to two women who Morgan loved in a cage match, the little Chinese Nerd Herder didn't stand a chance. At least he didn't think so. He had seen Anna in a cage match, but it wouldn't be that kind of cage match, with a tripod weapon. This rival had her own Greek god-of-a-man, but in a cage match for Morgan, the bearded-buffoon would have a say. It was obvious that he was completely devoted to the cook. At Buy More, it usually seemed like Morgan was whipped by Anna, but after seeing Morgan for one meal, it was clear this meal's cook would be the winner over Lester's scary coworker.

The only people left at the table were Jeff (near a Tryptophan coma), Chuck, and Sarah. Lester knew he had no chance with the gorgeous woman in front of him, and he was big enough to admit it, so he said to Chuck, "I get it, Chuck. The best man won." He still wasn't sure he was enough man for her anyway.

"What are you talking about?"

Lester answered, "I told you. When you were with the sandwich girl, I asked out your woman because she wasn't yours at the time and…" He waved his hand out that it should be obvious that anyone with a pulse would make a run at her.

The woman in question raised Chuck's clasped hand and kissed it. They were so mushy. She looked at Chuck and said, "No matter who you were going on dates with, I was yours. Know that if I had to choose between you and someone else, I choose you every time. Just like you did."

They stared at each other for a minute. It was getting awkward. Where was his pie? After he hit his mushiness limit, Lester blurted out, "Get a room."

Neither flinched, and their grins got bigger. "Thank you for picking me," she quietly said.

Chuck replied, "Of course. I always will."

Their continuous gaze was only interrupted by the delivery of the pie. It was just as good as the rest of the meal. Lester had been sure Jeff was out for the count, but when more food was put in front of him, he rallied and ate two pieces.

After dinner, it seemed like all of the guests were leaving, so Lester supposed he should leave too. Chuck and his "bearded girlfriend" disappeared back to his room. The little Canadian was surprised Chuck's "goddess girlfriend" put up with that. Never one to worry about holding his tongue, he said, "I've seen how you have Chuck wrapped around your finger. I'm surprised you put up with that. Although after seeing him with the brunette hottie, I shouldn't be surprised."

The hostess didn't look surprised at the description or the fact she existed. She looked mad—mad enough at the description for everyone. The doctor-model had no clue what he was talking about. The blonde babe seemed to know who Lester had been talking about. She didn't look happy and bubbly like she always was around her boyfriend. Lester knew what she was like from when he made a run at her last year, but even then she was a happy, sexy, succubus. At the moment, she looked very different. She looked a different kind of scary. When Lester said earlier that Chuck won, he didn't realize that the man was such a brave soul for trying to control that woman.

The tall man himself came to the front, with his little shadow nowhere to be seen. Lester never kept his mouth shut and said to Chuck, "If you need to practice mouth-to-mouth for your make-up CPR exam, it looks like you have a lot of choices."

Before anyone could explain their expressions of disgust, the teacher of said make-up test caught up to the conversation. "Chuck already passed that." (Lester had been hoping that he passed too and didn't have to take the remedial version.)

He continued explaining, "When I turned in the scores to Buy More corporate, I was informed that while they appreciated me doing the training, they didn't want the scores. HR wouldn't let them put any requirements like that on hourly employees. New requirements are the kind of thing that could lead to unionization, a hassle they don't want. If they made any new requirements, they'd add sexual harassment training first." He looked between Lester and Jeff. "Anyway, that's why you guys don't have to take remedial versions." (Maybe they hadn't passed, but the good news was it didn't matter.)

"If they did require anything, certification would have sufficed." He slapped Chuck hard on the back making him stumble forward. "So Chuckster, you never needed to take the test. That was just what your annoying assistant manager said."

Chuck shrugged that he didn't mind. His woman said, "Chuck and I practiced before the test."

Woah. Chuck looked embarrassed and looked at her like even he didn't believe her, but he finally shyly said, "Right. It was one of those times I came over to see you at your work."

Ellen said to her brother, "A tiny part of me was a little worried you might try to bring that evil harpy to Thanksgiving." Looking at the blonde, the hostess said, "Thank you for always straightening my brother out."

Morgan joined them from where he had stopped in the bathroom. The previously-bubbly woman was less so. "Sarah, you're welcome to stay. Morgan, you're not." The bearded buffoon saluted and didn't argue. "Now, I have to disinfect the bathroom. Remember I'm not your maid, like you treat your mother."

The magazine model shook their hands, and Morgan was even hugged by Eloise. That lasted less than a second, then she pushed him off of her. The little guy was still dazed when Lester and Jeff dropped him off back at Buy More. The bearded man wasn't going to see Anna until the mad house tomorrow, so he should be able to return to his senses by then.

Lester hoped this year they wouldn't have another gas leak and have to declare a "pineapple."

When Morgan, Lester and Jeff left, Sarah stayed behind. She liked Ellie's suggestion of staying over with Chuck. It wouldn't go like Ellie was assuming when she suggested it. If Sarah actually slept in Chuck's bed with him, nothing would happen. Staying over would be great for the cover, though—especially since Ellie had some kind of suspicion about Jill. It would also be better for Sarah than dreaming about Chuck all night while they were separate and alone. She supposed that was the fated end of her holiday.

She knew she should be mad at him for breaking up with her and for sleeping with Jill, but the break-up under the cover a few weeks ago was the smart thing to do, and no one was ready for your ex to be a Fulcrum traitor. None of that was Chuck's fault.

Sarah could sympathize. For some reason, her ex, Bryce, wasn't technically considered a traitor by the CIA, but he had taken destructive and murderous actions on his own, without authorization. So in a way, he was a traitor. Sarah had to go through the taint of a dead ex being a traitor (even though he wasn't dead or a traitor, neither of which she understood).

In the end, the most important thing was Chuck chose Sarah over the person he had loved for years—the "one who got away." That made Sarah feel special in a way she had never felt before. It wasn't simply being chosen. It was Chuck choosing her. Whatever it was, she knew she shouldn't focus on it too much. She just wanted to be near Chuck—even if nothing could happen between her and her asset, and even if they couldn't be a real boyfriend and girlfriend. At least this way, she was certain she could keep him safe.

Unfortunately, Chuck threw a bucket of water on her evening plans when he announced to the room, "It's too bad Sarah can't stay."

She didn't understand that. The way Chuck said that, it was like Sarah and he had already talked about it, so she had to back his cover story. Thinking quickly, she said, "Right, we both have to work early tomorrow."

Ellie was confused. "I thought Buy More opens at 6am for early shoppers, but Orange Orange never opens early."

That was true, but Sarah had to come up with a story that didn't reveal where she would be. "With all of the extra shoppers, we are opening at 9am, and we have to get ready, meaning I'll be there at 8." She and Casey would actually be at the plaza the entire time Chuck was at work, meaning she'd be at Castle before 6. The cover story had to be a little later. To complete the cover, she said, "We all know if I stay here, Chuck and I will be later than 8, and he has to be at work at 5."

The story worked, and Devon even helped. "Good point. Babe, the hospital will be full of people with food poisonings and deep-fried turkey explosion burns. Everyone working there tonight will be looking to go home to eat the leftovers of what they missed today. We shouldn't keep them waiting—" He grinned a little lecherously, which was how he was allowed to look at Ellie. "—no matter how much we don't want to keep our hands off each other."

"I didn't need that image," Chuck declared. To Sarah he more gently asked, "Walk you out?"

Sarah didn't get to stay with Chuck like she wanted, but that was for the best, considering how she felt after hearing him pick her. At least this way, she knew she was going to get more
"cover-time" with Chuck alone. That was better than nothing.

Chuck was too good for her. Sarah shook out her head before she started out to her own car. Chuck held her hand and walked at her side. Alone with Chuck in the courtyard, Sarah asked, "Why am I really not staying? I hate mornings, but 4am is not too early for me when the mission calls for it." She hoped he realized "mission" was in air quotes.

"I know. You're Miss Super-spy. You're not a morning person, but I've seen what you can do to an alarm clock when you're half asleep. I also know an early time would never stop you. I just figured you wouldn't want to be around me after Jill."

After hearing Chuck's choice when he looked up his ex, she wasn't worried about that at all. Chuck was being too considerate again. It was too late to stay now, but she had to correct him. "I don't hold your girlfriend being Fulcrum against you. We both have things in our past we're not proud of." She did not want to talk about Bryce, but they both had evil exes, so she could definitely relate. "Know that I'm not going anywhere. I told that woman before we knew she was Fulcrum that it's my job to protect you from anything. That hasn't changed."

Not in a hurry, they took a few more slow steps to her car. She said, "I'm sorry you didn't get your wish."

They were holding hands for the cover, so when Chuck stopped, Sarah stopped. She wished they had stopped somewhere other than the fountain. All of her worst memories, like when Chuck broke up with her, were by the fountain. While she expected the other shoe to drop, her bewildered cover-boyfriend surprised her when he asked, "What do you mean I didn't get my wish?"

Sarah figured out days ago he wished for Jill. "You didn't tell me your wish, but it didn't happen anyway."

"Well, I thought I got it, but I was wrong."

Sarah knew that. Chuck got back together with Jill, but then they broke up. Maybe he ruined the wish by telling her. Sarah didn't need to hear about how Chuck wished for his college flame, but she didn't like the idea of Chuck keeping secrets from her. She told him, "I know what your wish was now. I know you probably told her. Now you don't have to worry about keeping it a secret from me."

Chuck was confused and said, "It was my wish, so I didn't tell anyone. I just mean I misinterpreted. I thought I got it, but I was wrong. It might still come true."

That didn't make sense. He thought his wish was granted with Jill, but now he wasn't with her. "Still? I was listening when you broke up with Jill." (and saved me)

Chuck cut off that thinking. "I never wished for Jill. My wish might still happen, so I'm not telling you." He stared directly at Sarah.

She didn't understand how he thought he got his wish but misunderstood so it might still happen. The way he was looking at her, it was like she thought before Jill—that he wished for her. It was too hard to figure out when she was going lost in Chuck's eyes, like she was at the moment. She loved when they got lost in each other's eyes like that.

After some unknown amount of time, they resumed their slow path to her car. When it was in sight, Sarah didn't want to leave yet, so she stopped them at the sidewalk. She did have an important security question. "Why was Morgan talking about Bryce?"

"Last year, you know I saw you and Bryce. After you left, Awesome asked everyone to say what they were thankful for. He and my sister basically said the same nice thing about everyone. Casey passed on his turn, of course. I said it was good that Bryce was dead and not…well you know. Casey knew Bryce wasn't dead, so he went to my room and tried to arrest Bryce. No one else understood what I was saying."

Sarah nodded. It was better cover than a "spastic colon" cover-story told to a doctor. Chuck didn't reveal Bryce was alive, and Chuck passed a message to Casey without anyone knowing. It only left Morgan confused, which was ok because no one learned the truth. She gave Chuck a tight smile to say it was ok.

They didn't take turns this year saying what they were thankful for, probably because Jeff and Lester were there. It was for the best. They didn't have to listen to Lester saying he was thankful for Bennigan's happy hour and Jeff saying he was thankful for big, older woman.

Sarah knew what she was thankful for. She was thankful she had a great guy for an asset, not a creep. She was also very thankful that he chose her. She couldn't say that out loud, though.

Chuck's embarrassment at the memory of his cover story (which broke up last year's Thanksgiving) morphed into something else. Chuck looked at her like she was the most amazing thing on the planet. She knew she wasn't, but he looked at her like that a lot, and it always felt wonderful seeing how he saw her. His looks did things to her insides. He said, "I keep saying this, but considering it's Thanksgiving, I need to say it again: Thank you."

They stood on the sidewalk looking in each other's eyes more. He ended their "moment" by saying, "I can't believe you're already past it, but I need a little time to process the last week and a half. You're not going anywhere, so I'm sure you'll know where I am."

Yes. She always knew where he was, as long as he didn't stupidly take off his watch. He was surprised she wasn't mad, but the way she saw it, everyone does things they regret. When the moment came, Chuck picked her. He didn't seem to know that Sarah knew what he said when he captured Jill. It was Thanksgiving, so she needed to let him know and thank him. "Thank you, Chuck, for picking me."

"What? Oh, you mean arresting Jill."

"More than that. I heard everything you said when you locked her in the car. Thank you." She quickly kissed him on the cheek. They couldn't really kiss with no one around—except in front of a bomb about to explode. Kissing him on the cheek when no one was around for cover was skirting the rules, but it was the least she could do. It was Thanksgiving. At the moment, no one could see them, so maybe Chuck would realize that was real.

When she stepped back and looked at his dazed face, she knew that he had realized that no one was looking, so she turned and left before he read more into it than he should. It was a good thing her alarm clock was a gift from Chuck. Otherwise it would not survive the next morning, interrupting one of those fantastic dreams she was sure she was going to have again.

A/N: Canadian Thanksgiving in 2008 was Monday, October 13. (Ironically, that was Columbus Day in the US, which is a day Lester wouldn't like on principle, even though he was a different kind of Indian.)

MyNameIsJeffNImLost AU stories:
- "The Intersect Couple vs Flashing" (chapter 9. "Superpowers")
- "Chuck & His Roommate vs the Next Mission (chapter 7, "Squeaky Clean")