A/N: Hi. There was a plan to do this right before Christmas, since it was slated to be a Christmas story. However, my wife got Covid, then I got Covid, then I got LOOOOOOOOOONG Covid. (I hate that SOB). So a few months later, but hopefully better late than never. We are careening down the path towards the end of this fic….well, at least to the original stopping point I had in mind. There's something about this one…I just love it. It's not the easiest thing to write, but God I love it so much. Enough from me, you're here to hear from…him. Ladies and Gentleman, I give you…ChuckQuinn

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

Hi, I'm Chuck! Here's a few things you might need to know or maybe you just forgot.

She spun, smiling at him, walked over, and pressed a key into his hand. Chuck looked at it, then back at her.

"I am shit at communicating, we know that, but I'm hoping this tells you what I can't seem to find the words to say. I love you. This is the key to this house, and I know it's in my name, but it is ours, Chuck." Chuck just stared at her, his mouth unable to move. "You aren't my boyfriend, you're my everything."

"I can have this," she said to Chuck.

"Uh, you can have what?" Chuck asked.

"Uh, baby brother, you might want to prepare yourself," Ellie told him, recognizing the look on Sarah's face.

"Chuck," she began.

"Yeah?"

"I want to get married," she said softly.

Carina turned to him, looking at him like he was stupid. "I am in Snoresville, Curls. SNORESVILLE! I mean, I've seen so many vans with stick figures across windshields. One was covered! Have they ever thought about butt stuff?"

"Do you want to? Adopt Molly, be her mom?"

"Do I want to?" Sarah asked. "That is a very loaded question."

"I swear to God, if anyone Fa-La-Las one more time, I'm going to use Maggie," Casey groused

"Dad, do you really think Mom would come back here, if she thought someone knew where you two lived?" Chuck asked. "She'd literally be using you as bait." Stephen gave him a look. "You two have a very confusing relationship."

"I love her, she loves me," Stephen said shrugging.

Sarah jumped as a gun shot went off and a hole appeared in Mauser's head. She whipped her head over to Mary, who was standing there looking as confused as Sarah was.

"Good Lord, do I hate the evil villain soliloquy," Casey said, walking up between the two of them, grinning. "However, it gave me time to get here and shoot him, thanks." With that he turned and walked away. "General, we're gonna need a cleanup," he said into the phone. He hung up. "Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa-la-la-la-la la. La. La. La. La."

And now, Ch 17, HOAs

Medical personnel were checking over Chuck and Stephen when Chuck saw Sarah hurrying back toward them. She was on the phone, and he wasn't sure of the look on her face. "Director, are you sure? Chuck has been through it, and I'm not sure now is the time to take him away from his family."

Chuck's anxiety shot through the roof, hearing those words. Sarah saw the look on Chuck's face, and quickly shook her head, trying to calm him the best she could. "I'll talk it over with the family, and make sure they're good with it." She listened for a moment. "If you're sure that's what you want."

What in the world was about to happen? And at Christmas time, no less. Admittedly, it was still a few weeks away, but… it was Christmas.

"Understood, I'll let everyone know and get back with you." Sarah hung up and looked over at Chuck. She was silent for a second, and then grinned. "How do you feel about decorating a house for Christmas?"

Chuck couldn't stop the grin from growing on his face.

}o{

"So no active spying?" Mary asked when the group met at Castle a few hours later. Ned had been arrested, and the NSA cleanup crew had taken over the crime scene. Everyone went back to Castle to debrief, and afterwards, Sarah informed them of General Beckman's request. "It would literally be a monitoring station?"

"That's right," Sarah told them. "There's a basement to the house that is not on the blueprints. Everything the team would need is downstairs. What they need is a way in or out, and that would be where Chuck and I come in. We drive them in, in a van, park it in the garage, and they take the stairway downstairs to their lair… that's soundproof." Sarah gave Chuck a significant look and he reddened, making the two older couples with them chuckle. "The area is filled with young, married couples, and Beckman thinks we would fit in perfectly. Chuck would be a work at home IT person, and I would be an author, so us coming and going as we pleased would never be questioned."

"Why you?" Mary asked, a grin on her face. Sarah blushed. "Oh, does General Beckman think you two can pull off newlywed?"

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," Chuck began.

"We will be here for Christmas, we will still go to work. We'll just be living there, and Ellie, Devon and Casey will be fine without us," Sarah assured him.

"It's not that," Chuck admitted. He looked around the room and then shook his head. "Never mind."

"Okay, I need to talk to my guy about this," Sarah said, slapping her hands on her knees and standing. "But are there any objections if we decide to?"

"As far as I'm concerned you two should make the call," Mary told Sarah. "Just… don't miss Christmas. You don't need Ellie coming after you and blowing your cover."

Chuck laughed at that. He stood, and followed his fiancée out the door. "He's probably got it in his head and is thinking about what happens if they get intimate," Mary said to Honey.

"It's sweet," Honey replied. "I mean, being intimate while undercover, doesn't mean it's a… pardon the term," she said with a smile, "honey trap."

Woody and Stephen exchanged knowing looks, and both turned away from their wives, chuckling. "I guess you two don't agree?" Mary asked.

"Have you ever thought that our son might be concerned that Sarah sees this as a trial run?" Stephen asked.

"Of course she does," Mary said with a shrug. "Why wouldn't she?"

"Because it is the furthest thing from a trial run," Stephen pointed out. "It's a mission, one in which Sarah will be on alert at all times. And if anything goes wrong, she might get it in her head that she 'can't do this'," Stephen said with air quotes and disgust in his voice. Mary looked away. "If I had a dime for every time I heard I can't do this, I would be a damn millionaire."

"He's right," Honey said ruefully.

"They'll be fine," Woody said. "They'll talk about it." Stephen and Mary looked at Woody and burst out laughing. "Yeah, this is bad."

}o{

"Talk to me," she said softly, as they entered the apartment. Chuck turned to her and sighed deeply. "Oh, God, that bad?"

"No, it's just… I don't want you to worry about us, or put pressure on yourself," Chuck began.

"Chuck, I won't," Sarah promised. Chuck gave her an amused smile, making her chuckle. "Is that what it feels like when you tell me what I want to hear, and I give you a look?" Chuck shrugged, still smiling. "Fine, what's your worry?"

"That you'll make this more than it is," Chuck told her. "That you'll try and make it into a test run." Sarah stood there, and nodded. "Sarah… God, relationships are hard, and they have enough barriers and issues without adding things like running a cover op and spying and all that extra stuff. Tensions will be extra high, and if we fight or argue, or have a spat because we're trying to do a job and maintain our relationship, and giving this a test run…"

"Okay," Sarah said nodding. "So, we don't chalk anything up that happens during this time to our relationship."

"No," Chuck said shaking his head. "You can't do that either."

"Well, I'm confused then, Chuck," Sarah admitted. "You say we can't do one or the other, so, do we just not do the mission?"

Chuck stood there quietly, trying to find the right words. He walked over and took her hand in his, stroking the back of it. "Everything we do in every situation plays a role in how we feel about each other." Sarah held his gaze as he stared into her eyes. She had never felt so clothed, yet so naked, at the same time. "When we're in the middle of an op and you take just one second to squeeze my hand, or give me a smile, or just let me know that you're there… I can't ever take that out of my factoring how you feel about me."

Sarah swallowed and nodded for him to continue. "When you kissed me in front of that bomb, was it huge? Yes. You admitted you cared for me, and that you were okay spending the last seconds of your life with me. Did that sign a contract and say you were with me and I with you for the rest of our lives? No." Sarah had to make sure she was breathing, as she was so focused on what he was saying.

"Big moments are important, but the series of small, less important moments are also important… sometimes more important. You playing with my hair, with my head in your lap… something you choose to do as we just spend time together, just be together, that's important."

"It's important because you're important to me," Sarah told him, squeezing his hand.

"And you're important to me," Chuck told her. "You're the most important thing to me, what we have is the most important thing to me, and I'm just scared after all we've been through – after all you and I have been through – I don't want this to mess us up."

Sarah grinned at him. "Buddy, if you think you're getting rid of me that easily…" Her grin intensified. "Listen, I don't know if you're aware, but I don't fail my missions."

"And what is your current mission, Agent… Walker?" Chuck asked.

"To become Agent… Bartowski, and love you for the rest of my life," Sarah told him.

"I like that mission," Chuck said, stepping in close, his hand going gently to the back of her neck as he leaned in. "Would it be okay with you if I had a separate mission while you are on your mission?"

"Would it be a sub-mission?" Sarah asked, her lips inches from his, as she leaned, in a lecherous grin on her face.

"More of a concurrent mission," Chuck replied, his lips briefly touching her and then pulling away. "I already have a sub mission in mind."

"You better," she said with a wink. "What would be your concurrent mission?"

"To love you for the rest of your life," he told her, kissing her and then pulling away. "What sub mission do you think I should have?"

"Me having our kids," Sarah told him, kissing him for several seconds and then pulling away.

"Kind of not my decision," Chuck told her, a little out of breath. "But I will admit my submission would be required to have said kids."

"Are you trying to seduce me… Chuck?" she asked, clicking the k.

"Seduce, no," Chuck told her. "Make you more pliable…maybe."

"I don't think I can be any more pliable than I already am," she told him, running her hand down his torso. His eyes went wide as her hand continued south. "You, however, are not very pliable at all, Mr. Bartowski."

"Whosyourmomma!"

}o{

"So, the house is being unpacked for us, your van is already in the garage-" Sarah began.

"I have a van?" Chuck asked. The two were on the way to their new house. How long they'd be stationed there, they weren't sure.

"I mean, you are a tech wizard," Sarah told him. "And, if you have to go to someone's house to do an install, or repair, or whatever it is work at home IT guys do, you might need equipment from the van."

"So, the people doing the monitoring have already been smuggled in?" Chuck asked.

"Yes," Sarah replied. "It's Larry and Darryl, they're brothers." She was silent for a second. "I asked them if they had another brother Darryl, but they just gave me a weird look." Chuck stared at her. "I guess you don't get the joke either. You see-"

"I didn't know you like Newhart," Chuck said, stunned. Sarah grinned. "Sarah Walker… you just keep surprising me."

"My grandmother watched it a lot when I would stay with her," Sarah said shyly, shrugging.

"It was a good show," Chuck agreed, nodding. He studied her for a second. "WKRP in Cincinnati?"

"As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!" Chuck burst out laughing. "Watched a lot of Nick at Nite at her house, waiting for dad to come home… or not."

"It was Star Trek for me," Chuck said softly. "I mean, they're home now, and it's great, but…"

"They weren't there then," Sarah said, nodding.

"I haven't noticed you and your mom talking much," Chuck said gently.

"We have," Sarah told him. "It's just…" She blew out a breath. "God, Chuck, it's so hard. I went from having no parents, to being this CIA agent, and now I have an entire damn family. Hell, maybe two. And it's just so much. I know I work differently than others; I process, make lists, prepare, and then… then I meet you and your family. And I swear to God, you make the term flying by the seat of your pants seem stable." Chuck burst out laughing as she snorted at herself. "It has been a lot." She reached over and squeezed his hand. "Don't get me wrong, a good lot. But still… a lot."

"Maybe us staying in the suburbs, just me and you, will let you decompress a little," Chuck began. "I mean, if you don't have to stay alert twenty-four-seven."

"We have a monitoring station beneath us, I think I can relax a little," Sarah admitted.

"What does Sarah Walker relaxing-a-little look like?" Chuck asked.

"Oh, you know," she told him, "sitting on the couch, watching my nerd enjoy TV, while I play with his hair."

"Admit it, my curls comfort you," Chuck said teasingly.

"They do," she admitted softly. He reached over and squeezed her hand. "Hey, we're here." Chuck looked at the house, with a picket fence and a red door. "Looks like my mom's old place," she said softly.

"Well, it's our place now," Chuck told her.

She parked the car, looked over at him, and grinned. "Yeah, it is.

}o{

"Chuck, come look!" Sarah yelled excitedly, coming in the front door. Chuck put down the box he was going through, and walked outside with Sarah. He smiled at the blow-up eight foot tall Santa from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer that was in the front yard. "Do you like it?" she asked shyly.

"I love it!" he said, picking her up and spinning her around.

"Ahem," came a voice behind them. The two looked and saw a lady that appeared to be in her mid- to late-fifties standing at the gate.

"Oh, hello," Sarah said.

"So good to meet you both," the lady behind the gate said. She glanced at the shut gate and then back to the two of them.

"Oh, come in," Sarah told her.

"What, is she a vampire that has to be invited in?" Chuck muttered only where Sarah could hear him. It took all of Sarah's CIA training to school her features so as not to laugh.

"I am Joyce Bucket… it's pronounced bouqeeee, but it is spelled B-U-C-K-E-T, it's French," the woman began. Chuck did not have CIA training to school his features. "I have stopped by to introduce myself, let you know I am the president of the Home Owners Association, and give you a copy of the Home Owners Association rules… and not a bit too soon," she added, in a lower voice.

"I'm sorry," Sarah replied.

"Your…" Joyce looked at the Santa with clear disdain, "decoration." She said decoration like she was offended to say it, see it, or be seen near it.

"I don't understand," Sarah replied. "There are other houses on the street that have more decorations than this."

Joyce made a sour face… or perhaps that was her face's default setting. Chuck wasn't sure, but he was sure she was an unpleasant woman. "Those houses are the ones entered in the Christmas Decoration Contest. There is an entry fee, and the money goes toward the association to keep fees down for everyone. Deborah runs that, she was a past president. When I run for re-election in February, I plan on eliminating that garish contest."

"So, we could enter it, is what you're saying?" Sarah asked. Chuck looked at her, and she smiled at him.

"You could, but there is a minimal requirement of lights and other decorations," Joyce told them. "If that's something that you'd like to be a part of, Deborah is the one you should talk to. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go. Have a lovely day, and it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Yours as well," Chuck called after her. He gently elbowed Sarah.

"Yes, lovely to meet you," Sarah called out. Joyce waved at them as she walked away. "Of all the lies I've told in the CIA, that felt the absolute dirtiest." She looked at Chuck. "We're entering this contest, and we're going to win it. And we're going to be so bright and garish," she said with the most obnoxious posh accent she could, "that she is going to rue the day she met me. And then, you know what we're gonna do next?"

"Make love?" Chuck asked. Sarah's eyes went wide. "Sorry, I got caught up in your… thing, there."

"I mean, I don't mind you ever thinking that about me, but… that's a little strange."

Chuck shrugged. "You were all nerding out on something you were passionate about, and it got me up and running. I'm just sayin'."

She reached up and smoothed his shirt, smiling at him. "Well, Mr. Carmichael," she began in a low voice, dripping with honey. "It's good to know that I still get you up and running, and the honeymoon's not over."

"Uh, excuse me," came a nervous voice. Sarah and Chuck looked over at the gate. "I am so sorry to interrupt you, but I just saw you have had the… well, you met Joyce." Sarah snorted. "I'm Debbie."

"Ah-ha," Chuck said, snapping his fingers. "Would some around here, and by some I mean Madame Bouquuuueeeeee," Chuck said, drawing it out, making both women giggle, "address you as Deborah?"

"She does," Debbie told them.

"Come on in," Sarah told Debbie. "Now, I would like to join the Christmas light challenge, especially if it would make Joyce mad."

"Oh, it would," Debbie said with a snicker. "I just wish someone would run against her for the Presidency, and really make her mad."

"Hmmmm," Sarah said. The three talked for a bit. Sarah went inside, returning with the required cash to participate in the challenge. Debbie left, promising that she would be back with a welcome dish soon. The two watched her leave, then went inside.

"Sarah, what are you thinking?" Chuck asked. "We're supposed to keep a low profile."

"No, we're not," Sarah told him, grinning. "We are simply living here, however we want. And think about it, Chuck… who's going to think anything is going on underneath the house, if we have these decorations, or… if I run for HOA President?" Chuck's eyes went wide. "I hate bullies," she said. She pulled out her cellphone. "General," she said after a few seconds. "I'm going to need some Christmas supplies." She listened for a second. "No, think…" She turned and looked at Chuck. "Think fourteen-year-old Chuck, unlimited budget." As she listened her smile grew.

"Perfect!"

}o{

24 hours later

"So, she's really with a guy, like for real, for real?" Zondra asked Carina.

"Yeah, and…" Carina blew out a breath. "…she's in love, Z." Zondra snorted. "Look, I know what happened between you two was… I'm still not sure what happened, but I think we need to talk to her. She's about to give everything up. She's about to become a PTA mom with 2.7 kids, and there is no way she's…" Carina trailed off, as they pulled on the street, and saw the house Sarah and Chuck were living in. Carina had convinced Casey to give her the address, saying she was checking up on Sarah.

"Holy shit," Zondra breathed. The two stared at the house down the street with what appeared to be an army of inflatables, and lights hanging everywhere.

"How's that music board coming?" they heard Sarah yell out.

"Just about got it!" yelled Chuck.

"That's him," Carina told Zondra. Zondra tilted her head, studying Carina.

"I mean, he's okay looking," Zondra said with a shrug. "But, he doesn't seems Sarah's type. Maybe it's a cover."

"Hit it!" Sarah yelled. Chuck grinned and hit the button and a light show began. Sarah and Chuck both grinned. "It's synced perfectly!"

Zondra stared at what was going on, confused, and then she saw a sign in the yard. She dug around, finding her binoculars. She looked at something, then started fiddling with the radio. A second later she found the station, and her eyes went wide. The Carols of the Bells was playing, synced perfectly to the light show in front of them.

"Get us the hell out of here!" Zondra said, turning to Carina, fear on her face. "She's gone, she's lost. And if we don't leave right now, whatever in the hell has infected her will infect us."

"But what if she's deep undercover?" Carina said, trying to find some hope.

"No one, and Red, I mean, no one is that deep undercover." Carina nodded and hit the gas, taking off down the street. Chuck saw them, and watched them, confusion on his face.

"Something wrong?" Sarah called out.

"No," Chuck said shaking his head. "I thought that was Carina driving that car, but why in the world would she be here?"

"She wouldn't," Sarah told him. "By the way," she said, her voice lowering as she got off the ladder and had made her way over to him. "In case you were wondering, Joyce has been shooting me death glares."

"I love how competitive you are," Chuck told her. She simply shrugged a shoulder and grinned at him.

"You know, doing all these… married things, has me in the mood to do something with my husband," Sarah told him.

"Play yahtzee?" Chuck asked.

"No, but if you'd like, you're welcome to yell out Yahtzee!when I do it right," Sarah told him, giving him a significant look.

"Jesus, I didn't think you could get more suggestive," Chuck told her.

"Mrs. Carmichael is a naughty girl," Sarah told him. With that, she turned and went into the house. A second later, she peered out the front door. "Everything okay?"

"Waiting for my brain to boot back up, and tell my feets to move," Chuck told her.

"Feets?"

"My damn brain is rebooting, and you expect me to get words right?!"

Sarah burst into laughter.

A/N: Hopefully the next one won't take as long. And, if you're interested, here's a little sneaky peeky.

"Sarah, you're in amazing physical shape. The day you can't do physical stuff….I'll be in the grave."

"What kinda physical stuff we talking….Chuck?" she asked, clicking the "k" and taking a bite of bacon. Chuck's eyelids fluttered. "Are you flashing?"

"No, trying not to pass out from all of this," he admitted, making her laugh.

"Well, if that has you trying not to pass out, I probably shouldn't say what I was thinking about," Sarah told him and turned back to the stove.

My lord these two are a mess. Thanks for reading, feel free to leave a review, and take care of yourself. Until next time. DC