A/N: Hey, thanks for stopping by. This is the last part of this episode. I know it's short, but what I wanted done got completed. The next ep….Boy Howdy…does it go into some stuff and gets deep. As of right now, I'm on part five of it, and I'm not sure if there will be a sixth part or not. Remember, I don't post any of an episode, until the entire episode is complete. I hope to be done by next week but I promise nothing. Long covid…it still hates me. Enough about me and my life, on with the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

The clock was nearing five in the afternoon, and Sarah hadn't interacted Chuck since that morning. She had heard him muttering about the man being detained, Terrance Bryant, and how it wasn't right. She had walked by a few times, glancing into his office. One of those times, she was confronted, and in a way she never expected.

"He's real isn't he?" she heard behind her. She turned to see Anna standing there, watching Sarah watch Chuck. "Like, I thought… I thought it was an act. I thought he was just being a certain way with you… with me… with Casey. No one can be… well… that, right?"

"Yeah, he's real," Sarah said, nodding and sighing. She walked over towards Anna, Chuck entirely consumed by his work that Sarah didn't understand… couldn't understand. Not that she wasn't smart, and couldn't use technology. It was just…his brain. It was different, when it came to that sort of thing. He thought in ways she never could. "You know I was CIA, right?"

"Yeah," Anna replied. "I bet you've never met anyone like him in the CIA, huh?"

Sarah chuckled. "God, no," she said, shaking her head. "Guys like Ro… Dan? Yeah. Guys who are slick, and think they are the greatest thing on earth? Yeah. Dime 'a dozen. And don't get me wrong, they're kind of pushed that way. You know?" Sarah was silent for a second trying to figure out how to explain it. "They take the competitiveness in people… they take the mistrust in people, and use it… nurture it"

"How?"

"They plant seeds of distrust. That you should only trust yourself, that you can only count on yourself, and maybe your partner, but even then…" Sarah trailed off and shrugged. "They try to sow into your head how the only person you can trust is yourself… and your country."

"That… that doesn't sound the best," Anna said.

"The funny thing is, as they teach you these things, when things go wrong, it can't be the person's fault, the agent's fault. It can only be your country's fault," Sarah said with a shrug. "Everything failed you. You did what you were trained to do, and the system let you down. People can become bitter, resentful…" Sarah trailed off. "Basically everything Chuck is not."

Anna nodded, looking through his doorway at him. She watched him crouching almost, over the computer, looking for something. What, she had no idea.

"You meet these men that are blustery, that are so sure of themselves, about everything. And then… then there's Chuck." Sarah shook her head, smiling. "Take Casey for instance. He gives Chuck nine kinds of hell, but it doesn't bother him, really. The reason is, he knows that's just Casey's language. Also, Casey wouldn't bust Chuck's balls if Casey didn't care. Casey would just ignore Chuck if he didn't like him."

"Still doesn't make it right," Anna muttered.

"Not to a civilian, it doesn't," Sarah agreed. "But that is the culture of the military, and Casey is a born-again-hard Marine, through and through. Chuck understands, and doesn't want to make a big deal out of it. The fact he snipes back occasionally keeps Casey going, and Chuck knows it. It's their thing."

"Why would Chuck be bitter and resentful?" Anna asked.

Sarah sighed. "He was kicked out of Stanford for something he didn't do. He was kicked out because of a CIA agent's lie." Anna's mouth dropped. "He did go to work at the Buy More and hid there, but he wasn't resentful… well, he's a little pissed at the agent-"

"As he should be," Anna cut in.

"Oh, I agree," Sarah said. "And trust me, if I ever find that jerk, I will make him regret what he did." Anna smiled at that. "But Chuck didn't grow bitter. He had every right to be, but he wasn't."

"What's he doing in there?"

"I have no idea," Sarah said with a shrug. "But I trust him."

}o{

"Sarah, I'm leaving," Anna called out, pulling Sarah out of her thoughts of earlier in the day.

"Have a good night," Sarah said as Anna came to Sarah's door.

"He gonna work all night?" Anna asked.

"Probably, but not here," Sarah told her. "I'll make him go home."

"I bet you will," Anna said, grinning. And with that, she turned and left.

Sarah listened to the door close, then stood and walked into Chuck's office. She had been waiting all day for this. She gently placed her hands on his shoulders, feeling the tension.

"Don't," he nearly moaned. "If you rub them, I might go to sleep, and I have a lot of work before our nine AM meeting tomorrow."

"Nine AM meeting?" Sarah asked, spinning his chair so he was facing her. "Who are we meeting, and why?"

"God, that's hot," Chuck muttered. "And for the record, I would have found that hot before last night."

"Why would last night have anything to do with you finding that hot?" she asked with a smile. "I mean, last night we acted on feelings, not on the things I do that you find hot. Honestly, you probably find me breathing hot."

Chuck started to reply, but paused. "Probably," Chuck agreed.

She sighed, tilted her head, and leaned down. "Don't do that, Buddy."

"Do what?" Chuck asked.

"Chuck, before last night, you would have made a crack about me being full of hot air or something." He tried to argue, but she raised her eyebrow, and he clamped his lips shut. "We have to be us, and we," she said, moving her hand back and forth between them, "we banter. We make jokes. We mess with each other. It's who we are." She was silent for a second. "I don't want to lose that," she added softly.

He stood up, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against him. "Okay," he said softly.

"I say all that, and you just say okay?" Sarah asked, chuckling.

"Well, you pretty much said it all," Chuck said with a shrug.

"Okay," she said, patting him on the chest and pulling away. "It's time to get you home."

"Uh, Sarah, don't take this the wrong way…" he trailed off, not sure how to say what he needed to say.

"We're sleeping alone, each of us in our own place tonight, Chuck," Sarah told him. "I know, you have work to do, and if you're doing your thing, looking all confident and…" she trailed off, shrugging.

"Please, do keep going," he nearly begged.

"Finish this, and if you do well in the meeting, you will get a reward," Sarah told him.

"Popcorn with milk duds in them?" Chuck asked.

"And I will watch all of Strange New Worlds with you," she added.

"Good lord, you and Anson Mount? Can I take it?"

Sarah burst out laughing.

}o{

Sarah stopped in the doorway of her office. Sitting at the conference table was Dan, the assistant chief of police, Sid Tabor, Casey, the mayor, Joseph Lance, the assistant DA, Jeremiah Knowles, and a gentleman she didn't recognize. She was about to ask what was going on, when Chuck walked up with coffees for everyone. She couldn't help grinning as she watched some of those men watch Chuck. She knew what was going through their minds. He was a lowly assistant. She knew what he was doing. He was getting these powerful men off-balance, in order to hit them with something. He saw her, and she knew by the look on his face she was right.

"Oh, Sarah, I have yours as well," Chuck said, walking over and handing it to her. "Won't you join us?"

"Thank you, I will," she replied, walking over to the table with her coffee, trying her best to hide her amusement. She took a seat. "Gentleman."

"Thank you for joining us, Miss Walker," Dan said, taking charge of the meeting. "As you gentlemen know, my client, Terrance Bryant, has been charged with murder."

"Are you here for a plea deal?" the assistant DA asked. "I do not understand why we are all here."

"We are not only here to demand you drop the charges, but pay restitution as well," Dan said, smiling the whole time. "Everyone here is culpable in some way to my client being unlawfully detained."

The mayor glanced at the assistant chief of police. "How do I have anything to do with this?" the mayor asked.

"You unknowingly approved of a terrible product," Chuck said, sitting down beside Sarah. Sarah was losing her battle of keeping her face a neutral mask, but that was nothing new since they started working together.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" the man she didn't recognize asked.

"He's Chuck Bartowski, the man who's about to dry up your little scheme," Casey growled. Sarah's eyes widened. There was something in Casey's voice… pride, protection, and a whole lot of menace. She didn't know what Chuck found, but apparently it had upset Casey to no end.

"Impossible," the man she didn't know said, dismissively.

"Actually, I figured out what your system was doing within thirty minutes of working on it. It was the really sleazy stuff that took a little longer," Chuck said. "Mr. Peters… or should I call you Jonathon, or John. Or, perhaps you go by Jon-Jon?"

"You're going to hear from my lawyer," Peters said, rising from his chair.

"Sit down… Jon-Jon," Casey sneered. The look that followed would have scared a ravenous mountain lion. Mr. Peters sat. "Bartowski," Casey said with a head nod for Chuck to continue.

"Your system supposedly identifies suspects based on a composite of multiple camera shots," Chuck began.

"There are no suppositions," Peters snapped.

"Your list of suspects is from those with former criminal records," Chuck continued. The Mayor looked down at Peters, then back to Chuck.

"Only those with criminal records?" The Mayor asked. Chuck nodded. The Mayor shot another look at Mr. Peters. "Please, continue, Mr. Bartowski."

"So, I used the program, ran the composite photo against another list of people, and it identified two of them as the suspect," Chuck said. He picked up a clicker, hitting it and a picture of two different men showed up on the wall. The assistant chief of police went pale. "You know these two men, Mr. Tabor?"

"I do," Mr. Tabor replied in a strained voice.

"And how do you know them?" Casey asked, glee in his voice.

"They are detectives," Mr. Tabor replied, shooting a death-glare at Mr. Peters.

"Not just detectives," Chuck continued. "But the only two black detectives in a certain precinct. Isn't that correct, Mr. Tabor?" Mr. Tabor was silent for a moment.

"Answer the damn question, Sid," the Mayor growled.

"Yes, yes they are," Sid responded, looking like he wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it.

"We obviously will be dropping the charges," Joseph Lance said, beginning to stand.

"Sit, Joe," the Mayor said. Joseph Lance sat quickly. "Mr. Bartowski, is there anything else I should be aware of?"

"Oh, yes," Chuck said. Sarah looked at Chuck, pride evident on her face. "You see, Mr. Peters here submitted this software to the NSA last year. And not only was it rejected, he was told that the software had flaws. Serious flaws."

"How serious?" the Mayor asked.

Chuck punched a button, and different black men began to show up on the screen. "This is the DMV database. The A's." There were currently fifteen men on the screen. "Not only did Mr. Peters know this, but so did his brother-in-law."

"Brother-in-law?" the Mayor asked. Sarah watched Sid Tabor swallow, and shrink in his seat. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"If I may ask, who brought this system to you, Mr. Mayor?" Chuck asked.

"Sid did," the Mayor began. He stopped, closed his eyes for a second, as if to pray that the thought that had just run through his mind wasn't true. The Mayor turned toward Sid. Sid simply nodded. "That's your brother-in-law?" Sid nodded again. The Mayor turned to Dan. "Mr. Fielding, I think you and I need to have a private conversation." The Mayor turned to the assistant DA. "I want him released immediately."

"Will do," Jeremiah said, pulling out his phone.

The mayor turned to Chuck. "I want to thank you for the good work," he began.

"Joe, you can't do this," Sid spat out. "We had good evidence on him."

"Everything is circumstantial," the Mayor retorted, pounding his fist on the table. "And this software system…" The Mayor shook his head, steam seeming to come out his ears.

"What say we meet after lunch," Dan suggested gently. The Mayor nodded, rose, and left the room, nodding to Chuck and Sarah. Everyone began to file out, except for Sid.

He sat there, glaring at Chuck. "You don't understand policing," Sid began.

"No, I don't. But I do know a flawed, prejudicial system when I see one," Chuck said. Sid shook his head, got up, and walked to the door. He paused.

"And now, a killer walks the streets," Sid said. "A good doctor was killed, and his killer is going to walk the streets, all because of you."

"No, because your police work is shit!" Casey replied, standing. "Do the work, pound the pavement. But you wouldn't remember that, would you? When's the last time you actually worked a case, huh?"

"I trust my men and women who worked the case," Sid retorted. "This is on you and your agency," Sid snarled, pointing at Chuck and Sarah. With that, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

"You did good work, Bartowski," Casey told Chuck. Sarah nodded, agreeing.

"Thanks," Chuck replied. He sat there, wondering if he really had.

}o{

It was early afternoon, and she was enjoying her slice of pie. She had just cut into the slice when she heard the diner bell go off. She looked up and saw this older, dapper man, make his way towards her, a cock-sure grin on his face. "I must say," Dan began as he took a seat across from Zondra. "You absolutely nailed that one."

"So, he's as good as the legend says he is?" Zondra asked.

"The things he knew and told were only known, and recorded, on an NSA site, that is supposed to be un-hackable," Dan replied.

"Are you sure Diane didn't give him the information?" Zondra asked.

"I am not one hundred percent sure, but I can't see her or Major Casey either one giving him that information," Dan told her. "For one thing, I'm not sure either of them know where to look. The quick turnaround time does not sound like something that would be done for information with that lack of critical importance."

"So, he's an elite hacker, she's a former elite spy," Zondra began. Dan grinned, and said nothing as he took a sip of his coffee. "She went toe-to-toe with me, and walked away."

"From what I understand it was more like both of you limped away," Dan responded.

"In slings, if you want to get literal," Zondra snapped. Dan chuckled. "You find all this amusing?"

"I find it amusing that what happened three years ago, that was supposed to tear the agencies apart, finds all the players back in a familiar dance," Dan replied.

"I'm running out of options, Dan," Zondra told him.

"Well, you may have a bigger problem on your hands," Dan informed Zondra. "You see, that assistant police chief told Charles that a killer walks free because of what he did today."

"How is that our problem?" Zondra asked. Dan grinned. "Seriously, how does that have anything to do with us?"

Dan leaned in. "From what you've seen, do you think Charles is going to let that go? Do you think he'll sleep tonight, thinking he's the reason a doctor was murdered in cold blood, and his family has no justice?"

"Christ," Zondra groaned, her head falling back onto the seat.

"Do you think detective Bartowski is going to stand by and let someone walk free that took a life, while another man is thought to be guilty, but unable to be charged?" Dan continued.

"He's gonna solve the murder, isn't he?" Zondra asked.

"I suspect he will try," Dan told her.

"Okay, here's what we do," Zondra told him. "You hire him to solve the case. That way you know what he finds, and can keep us in the loop. I'll transfer all that you need."

"And our other cases?" Dan asked.

She was silent for a second. "You think they should be our go-to?

"You and I are much too busy to do the work needed to be caught up in that minutia," Dan replied, putting his far arm over the back of the booth. "We know their capabilities, so we aim them at things we need taken care of."

"Makes sense," Zondra admitted. They were silent for a moment. "You think I should approach them?"

"I'm not sure," Dan admitted. "For now, we continue this way. But there may come a time…" He trailed off, pressed his lips together, and lifted his eyebrows.

"I was afraid of that," Zondra muttered. She put her elbows on the table and her face in her hands. "I really hope if this has to happen, this meeting goes better than the last."

"It could hardly go any worse," Dan said, picking up his coffee and taking a sip.

Zondra raised her head, glaring at him.

}o{

"He's been released, Chuck," Sarah said, sticking her head into his office a short time after lunch.

"Great," Chuck said, lifting his head from the file he was looking at. She smiled, patted the doorframe, and walked back to her office.

She knew what he was doing. He was taking the words of Sid to heart. She knew what was coming, and she wasn't even about to fight him on it. She just hated that they would have to do this pro bono. She wasn't worried about her money, but she wanted to make sure the agency was profitable.

She knew Chuck. She knew that he would do all of this for free – lose his apartment, lose everything – just to help others. She would do everything she could to help him find justice. But at the same time, she worried about him, financially. In that sense, she was his boss. While they were partners, and everything was split evenly, if it was up to him they would never charge anyone. She loved that about him.

She stopped and pressed her fingers to her lips, thinking about the words that had just crossed her mind. She loved him. She did. She loved so many things about him, but she loved him. She knew he would never have to worry about money as far as she was concerned, but she also knew Chuck Bartowski wouldn't be a kept man. Not that he had any problem making less than a woman, even significantly so.

She did know that he would always insist on pulling his weight. What he didn't realize was that when he was with her, she felt like she didn't carry her weight.

She shook her head and got back to work on the paying gig that they had. A few hours later, she pulled her head up to look at her phone buzzing. It was a text from Roan, asking her if he could hire them to find the killer, to satisfy his client. She stood, walked to Chuck's office, and stopped in the doorway.

"Uh, Chuck," she said, making him spin to her, his eyes wide. Behind him were multiple papers on the wall, and pictures. It looked something like a conspiracy theory meme one would see on the internet.

"Sorry, I was just trying to see if I could find some clues to who the actual murderer is," Chuck said. He looked down at the ground. "I just… I just want to find the killer. That doctor's family deserves answers as well."

"They do," Sarah agreed. "Roan wants to hire us to do just that." Chuck lifted his head. "So that's a yes?" He nodded, grinning, and Sarah shot off a text to Roan. "Okay, you did extremely well today, so we can do whatever you want."

"Whatever I want?" he asked, a grin on his face.

"Yup, so what is it? A Picard marathon so you can see Seven of Nine?" Sarah asked.

"No," Chuck said, shaking his head. "She's got nothing on you." The way he said it just so… factually, made her heart pound, her breath hitch. "If I can have whatever I want, then I'd like you to answer a question."

"Anything," Sarah told him.

"Are we… exclusive?"

"You bet your cute ass we are," Sarah told him. His mouth dropped. "What, you didn't know your ass was cute?"

"Can't really see it from here," Chuck said with a shrug. "Sarah, I'm really tired."

"So, you want to sleep on my shoulder tonight, is that what you want?" Chuck nodded. "Okay, but so help me God, if you drool…"

"What?" Chuck asked.

"If you drool, I'm going to have to sleep there every night until you learn not to," Sarah told him.

Chuck narrowed his eyes. "I not sure that's the punishment you think it is."

She stepped toward him, leaving a gap of only inches. "I can get possessive and steal covers."

"Oh, I was aware of that long before… the other thing happened."

"The other thing? You mean when we made love?"

"Yup!" he squeaked, his voice high-pitched, making her giggle. He leaned forward and gently, softly, kissed her on the lips. He pulled back and she stared at him. "Too much?"

"Jesus, no," she breathed. "But I'm worried that you aren't tired enough to sleep and we might have to wear you out some more to make sure you get a good night's rest."

Chuck's eyebrows nearly shot off his face.

A/N: Poor Chuck…HA! Come back next time for an episode I like to call, Handy With a Knife.

Jeff tapped his watch, shrugged, got up, walked over to Lester, and yanked the folder away that Lester was looking at.

"This is an official government document that you can't look at unless you are employed here."

"I am employed here," Lester informed Jeff. "You never submitted my termination papers."

Jeff started to respond when he saw Chuck. "Hi, Jeff Barnes," Jeff said, starting to walk toward Chuck, grabbing a bumper sticker off the table.

"Jeffrey," Lester said. "That's Chuck, he ran your campaign, plus the election is over."

"Are you sure?" Jeff asked.

"Positive," Lester replied. "Where are you going Charles?"

Chuck was heading toward the door, tired of this madness already. "Anywhere but here."

*Holds head in his hands* What in the hell was I thinking. Come back next time and see what these and other shenanigans take place.