A/N: Sadly, there aren't many reading this story, and therefore not many reviews, so I'd just like to say thanks to those of you that took the time to read and review, or PM'd me, about it. I really appreciate the feedback.

As with the last two chapters, this one was pre-read by MicroGirl1225 and CharmingCharles2896. Thanks to both of them.

No beta, so PM me if you spot anything you feel needs correcting.

We continue the Egyptian tour, initially still in Cairo…

Chuck vs Egypt

Chapter 3

The Muhammad Ali Mosque was impressive, but for Chuck it was the woman walking beside him that impressed him most. He could feel himself getting more caught up in his feelings for her. He knew this was crazy and tried desperately to suppress them.

After the mosque, they were taken to the streets of Cairo, including a bewildering race through the bazaar. It was incredibly busy and Sarah grasped both Zondra's and Chuck's hands to ensure they didn't get separated because their guide led them at a crazy pace. Her action proved essential with the bustling people bashing their shoulders, and the motorbikes and cars forcing their way through as well, making pedestrians like them have to dodge to get out of the way.

Once they returned to the start of that circuit, their Egyptologist, Ahmed, who was acting as their guide on this part of the tour as well, said that was just to orient them. Chuck shook his head, feeling completely disoriented. "Now, we go through again, but stop at a few key points for information and to explore some."

Sarah quickly grabbed their hands as the fast walk restarted. They did have a few stops, where various buildings were pointed out with long explanations as to why they were significant. They also entered one of the buildings for a tour inside. Thankfully, this had a courtyard and nearby were toilets, so everyone got to relieve themselves for the price of ten Egyptian pounds, which was around thirty cents.

They stopped at one of the gates which could be entered. Here they climbed a series of stairs to be able to look over what had been the city back in those days. Some climbed further, up to the top of the minarets, but Chuck waved Sarah and Zondra on because he felt he might struggle as they got higher. Sarah looked at him. "You ok, Chuck?"

"Yeah, sure, just not climbing further."

She looked uncertain, but Zondra said, "Come on, Blondie. Let him have a rest."

He took a photo when she stood at the edge, some 30 feet higher, and waved at him.

They continued on. The traffic was increasing, making the likelihood of a car or hitting them. In fact, at one point, Sarah yanked on Chuck's hand, making him almost fall into a store, but he realized why she'd done it as the headlights of a car brushed against his leg. If she hadn't acted, he would have been hit.

Then, they entered another building with its own courtyard. The first room they were taken into was said to be suitable for winter to keep warm, the next for summer to keep cool. By this time, Chuck could hardly listen, his head was in such a spin from this part of the tour.

"We'll stop for lunch now," Ahmed said. He offered choices, but they all needed to settle on one. Of course, they couldn't agree. The idea of buying something to take back to the bus meant everyone would need to carry their sandwich as the rush continued. The majority settled on a seated lunch in a hotel restaurant not far away, so Ahmed made arrangements while some of the people moaned about the cost.

When they climbed the stairs in the hotel to the covered and air conditioned rooftop restaurant, Chuck was relieved.

He and his two companions were joined by the older guy, Paul. Chuck noticed Carina and her man were joined by the other two single men. She seemed to love the attention of all three of them.

The tables were all square, so Sarah and Zondra were sitting opposite each other at theirs, as were Chuck and Paul. The conversation was light and they enjoyed the set meal offered.

All too soon, the hour there was up and they set off again, walking even faster as they headed out of the bazaar. For Chuck, it was a relief when they finally escaped. The only good thing being that he had Sarah's hand clasped around his throughout.

When they reached the tour bus, she released his hand and he almost wished they were back in the bazaar.

She looked at him and grinned. "I can hold your hand on the bus as well, if you need it."

He held her gaze and said, "Yes, please."

Her grin wavered and then noticed the twinkle in his eyes. "You've gotten wise to my teases, haven't you?"

He looked innocent as he replied, "I wasn't joking."

She said nothing, just kept looking at him. He eventually looked away. She wasn't sure what to do. Should she kiss him or just take his hand as the bus set off. She was already sitting beside him so no one would notice the latter.

She didn't just hold his hand; she laced her fingers between his and then squeezed.

"Even better," he softly said, thankfully very quietly. He was right. She hummed her approval too. They stayed like that until the bus arrived at the hotel.

Chuck staggered to his room to recover from the time out. He was asleep almost as soon as he lay on the bed.

Chuck awoke to a tapping on the door. Then, he heard a voice, "Chuck? Are you coming to dinner?"

He leaped off the bed and rushed to the door. Outside was the most beautiful woman in the world, dressed in a blue dress that just made her eyes look even more stunning.

When she smirked, he realized he was gawping at her. He closed his mouth and said, I need to have a quick shower and change. She looked at what he was wearing and how rumpled it was. "Have you been asleep since we returned?"

He nodded. She chuckled. "Please don't shower. Just change and join us." She turned and walked away.

He washed his face, quickly changed and headed down to the restaurant.

Sarah set her plate down on the table and sat beside her friend. She'd taken her time selecting items from the buffet, but Chuck hadn't joined her before she'd finished.

"So, even you turning up at his room failed to rouse him?" Zondra asked.

Sarah sighed. "He was tired out still and I apparently woke him up."

"And what did a newly woken Chuck look like?"

"Rumpled… and cute," Sarah admitted.

Zondra said nothing more for a few moments and Sarah realized she was looking over her shoulder. She turned around and saw Chuck walking in. He'd tamed his hair and changed out of his jeans and t-shirt. He now wore a long-sleeved pale blue button-up shirt and black pants. "He brushes up well, Blondie."

Sarah turned to her friend. "Did he dress up like this yesterday?"

"Shirt, yes, but he still wore his jeans," Zondra replied. "This is for you."

Sarah felt that warmth rush through her. Chuck got to her that way.

Sarah started on her food, not wanting it to go cold and also not wanting to keep looking over her shoulder at him.

The two single men not attached to Carina in the way they wanted sauntered over, clearly intending to sit with the two women. They didn't even get to the table as the piercing glares from both women made them move away.

Chuck arrived and hesitated, having noticed the glares. Both sets of eyes changed and Sarah's seemed to darken from the icy blue he'd seen. Both women smiled at him, but Sarah's seemed stronger. "So, it's ok for me to sit with you?"

"You should've sat with us back when we arrived," Zondra said and looked him in the eyes.

He blushed. "Yeah, sorry about that. I fell asleep."

"So I hear," the brunette added. Then she looked at her blonde friend who was just gazing, almost fondly, at Chuck. Zondra nudged her leg with her knee.

Sarah focused on her friend. "He looked cute with his hair all mussed up."

Chuck groaned as he sat down. "Cute! You'll say I'm sweet next."

Sarah grinned at him. "Well, you are."

The words made him feel like an eight-year-old, but that gorgeous smile took his breath away.

"Stop making eyes at each other and eat before everything's cold." Zondra's words made them both blush but they also started eating.

After several minutes of silence, Zondra spoke up. "So, early start tomorrow."

Chuck nodded. "And we have to get our cases out on the hallway before breakfast."

Sarah smiled. "We've been mostly living out of our cases. Something we learnt in our jobs."

He looked at both of them. "But your clothes always look so good on you."

Zondra grinned. "Thanks for the compliment, Chuck. We take out what we plan to wear the next day, but always choose clothes that crease very little." Sarah nodded her agreement.

"I'll try that," he said. "I have to repack everything."

Sarah's jaw dropped. "Everything? You unpacked things for later in the tour?"

He looked flustered. "I never know what to wear or if I'll spill something and have to change."

Zondra had been watching them both. "Maybe Sarah can help you plan what to wear each day."

Sarah glared at her friend, knowing exactly what she was suggesting. Chuck, however, smiled and looked at her hopefully. "Would you do that? It'd help a lot."

As she turned back to him, Sarah could see he was asking out of total innocence. She reached across and placed a hand on his wrist. "After we finish here, I'll come and select your travel gear for tomorrow."

He beamed at her and Sarah turned a glare at her friend who was about to smirk.

Sarah was surprised at the size of Chuck's case, but when she opened the wardrobe she was even more surprised at what he'd brought. "How long are you staying after the tour finishes?"

He blushed. "I always like to be prepared for problems."

"What problems?"

"Spills and the like, but also flight problems preventing us getting home."

"Wow! We've both learned to pack fairly light."

She pulled out a fairly thick hoodie and looked at him questioningly.

His blush deepened. "In case we have to stop on the way back, somewhere cold."

"Hence the parka, too?" He nodded and she shook her head incredulously.

She opened his wardrobe and looked at the shirts and pants hanging there. He even had spare jeans there. The ones worn were draped over the chair in the room. She wasn't going to open the drawers, but suspected underwear was neatly folded in one and t-shirts the same in the other.

She reached into the wardrobe and pulled out a long-sleeved white button-up. She handed it to him. "Wear this tomorrow evening, so put it in the case last and hang it up when we're on the boat. To travel, wear jeans and t-shirt, unless you have some light-weight pants you could wear instead." Chuck pulled some of the latter out of the wardrobe. She looked at the olive-green pants. "Yeah, wear those. You'll be more comfortable."

"T-shirt? To travel? Shouldn't I be a bit smarter?"

She faced him and said, "When we get to Luxor, our cases will go to the boat while we go straight to Karnak. What you wear is what you'll walk around in there." She thought of something else. "So, keep some sun lotion available."

"I put that on before we go, along with some deet."

She smiled. "Prepared. I approve."

His appreciative smile made her want to kiss him, but she held back. She mustn't fall for him this quickly. "You have a lot of packing to do, so I'll leave you to it."

He looked disappointed and she had to get out of there.

"Thank you for your help," he said as she exited the room.

As she rushed to her room, she couldn't help wondering how he managed to affect her so much.

Chuck obviously hadn't packed the case as well as back home because he had to sit on it to be able to close it and it was still a struggle.

Thankfully, he hadn't overslept, so he got the case out on time, but he did regret going online to check work emails, especially as Morgan had left loads that he felt he needed to respond to. He'd just finished his last response when one came through from Alex. He laughed at that one, which she sent to him and her boyfriend, admonishing the latter and telling Chuck no more would come through from Morgan. They could cope, or more to the point, she could.

Chuck had a lot of faith in Alex McHugh, so he felt he'd probably left the company in HER safe hands. However, that made him late starting to pack and he ended up getting a lot less sleep than he planned.

When he arrived for breakfast, Sarah and Zondra were just sitting down where they had the night before. He quickly got some food and a coffee and sat beside them. "Morning, ladies."

"Morning, Chuck," they both responded.

"All packed and ready?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah." She didn't need to know how close he was to failing.

"I can't wait to get to Karnak," Zondra said. He looked at her. She looked so different, all bright and excited. She was beautiful anyway, but this really lit up her face. He approved, but wasn't taken with her. He glanced at Sarah who was watching him. She had a slight frown. It was almost as if she was worried about his feelings for her friend. Even with that frown, she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She obviously noticed the change in his expression and the frown vanished. Her smile made his heart pound.

"Stop the googly-eyes, you two. We have to eat quickly," Zondra said. They both looked down and started eating.

Chuck's seat on the plane was nowhere near that of the three women. This was the first time Carina had been with the other two since the first day in Cairo. "So, how's it going, Red?" Zondra asked as Carina sat down next to her.

"Oh, up and down," Carina responded and then grinned. "And up and down."

Both of the others rolled their eyes. She'd never change. Focusing the vacation on the activities in the bedroom. "What about you two?"

Zondra wasn't going to mention Chuck, so responded about the tour activities. "The pyramids and the sphinx were spectacular. The museum was good but more time there would've been welcome."

"God, I was so bored in there," Carina said.

Zondra ignored that and said, "Cairo was interesting."

"A bit manic, if you ask me," Sarah chipped in.

"I saw you'd snagged a man there, Blondie," Carina said.

"I thought two women on their own would attract unwanted attention," Sarah said, trying not to sound defensive.

Carina grinned. "No attention is unwanted."

Sarah rolled her eyes, as did Zondra. "Sarah's right, and it worked."

Carina huffed and couldn't say more as the airline safety broadcast started, first in Egyptian, then English.

Sarah wished Chuck was with her and looked out at the preparations to leave happening outside.

Chuck's lack of sleep meant that he dozed all the way to Luxor and only woke when the Egyptian woman sitting next to him tapped on his shoulder and pointed out that people were getting up.

He grabbed his backpack and stood up. He looked around and spotted the three women further back on the plane. He waved at Sarah, as she stood in her window seat, when she looked forward and was pleased to see her spot him and wave back. She did it surreptitiously and he guessed that was because she didn't want Carina to know. He'd worked out that the redhead was trouble.

He was off the plane before them and wasn't sure what to do. If he waited for them, Carina would suspect a connection between him and Sarah. He wanted that, but didn't want to make problems for her.

He joined the group who were congregating with Kiro and Ahmed.

Several of the couples had formed smaller groups and were in conversation. He didn't feel like trying to join in.

"Not lost her, have you?" He turned and found Mary, the middle-aged woman who had approached him the morning before was now standing by him, alongside her husband, Jack.

"I'm not-"

Mary cut him off. "Please don't deny it. We've all seen how the two of you look at each other." She grinned. "It's like being in a Hallmark movie."

"Mary, don't torment him," Jack muttered.

Chuck was just thinking about her words, how he and Sarah looked at each other. He didn't realize the couple had walked away until his hand was clasped. "Lost?" Sarah teasingly asked him.

He focused on her. "Without you, yes."

She gasped then narrowed her eyes. "I'm the one who's teasing."

He managed to keep a straight face. "Who says I'm teasing?"

She tightened her grip on his hand and locked eyes with his. "Really?" she asked breathlessly.

He instantly felt flustered. Her tone of voice cut right through him. "I- I-" he just couldn't get his mouth to work.

She grinned. "Gotcha."

Realizing what had happened relaxed him. "Your smiles always do." Her smile wavered and he looked around and saw the group was moving off. He turned back to a speechless Sarah. "Come on." He pulled her to join them.

Sarah was quiet on the bus journey to Karnak. The interaction with Chuck had been playful, but the undercurrent of truth was getting to her.

He'd released her hand before they joined the rest of the group in the airport, noticeably before Carina spotted them, but she still grinned at them.

Sarah couldn't deny to herself that she wanted Chuck in a way she'd not felt before.

He obviously noticed her change and was letting her keep her thoughts to herself. He did place his hand on hers after they sat down, but said nothing else. She appreciated both. She really liked the warmth that spread from his hand.

She knew they needed to have a serious conversation when they could. Flirting and teasing aside, there was something real here that they needed to discuss. Hell, they hadn't even kissed and that was needed too!

"When we reach Karnak, there's a lot to see," the Egyptologist said. "Before we go fully in, we'll stop and I'll talk about when it was built, by who and what it represented. We'll do that initially inside, but will have other stops too."

Zondra groaned in the seat on the other side of the aisle from Sarah.

"Rest rooms before we go in," the man said in response to a question from the front.

"I just want to explore on my own," Zondra muttered.

"We could lose you in there," Sarah replied.

Zondra looked at her and flicked her eyes to Chuck and back. She smirked. "I think I've lost you already." Thankfully, she said that quietly and Chuck didn't seem to have heard.

The pyramids and the Sphinx had been amazing, but Karnak was something else, absolutely breathtaking. Even as they stood listening to Ahmed before they entered, Chuck felt overwhelmed. The rows of sphinxes either side of the walk to the entrance were incredible. He could just imagine walking between them in ancient times feeling awed as they looked down on him.

They then set off walking between the statues and entered. Initially they were in an open area with the walls at the edge lined with further statues, but ahead were the columns he remembered from watching the movie "Death on the Nile."

They heard about the gods represented here. Amun, Met and their son Khonsu, but also how they were also associated with Ra, the sun god. The mythology was somewhat confusing with the gods' characteristics, powers and even lineage changing through the centuries and different pharaoh reigns.

Chuck ended up ignoring the mythology and just took in the amazing setting, carvings and statues. It was indeed breathtaking. He had almost forgotten who was walking beside him. Almost, but she was even more stunning against this temple as a backdrop. He turned to her. "Could I take a photo with you standing beside one of the pillars?"

She looked at the pillar with a carving of Mut on it. She smiled shyly at him. "Why do you want me in it?"

He felt brave and said, "Modern beauty in front of ancient."

Her smile widened. "Thank you, Chuck." She posed next to the pillar and gave him that smile again. He took three photos and showed her. "They're all good. Send me one." She gave him her email address and WhatsApp details.

He thought about her request. He'd send the photo when on board the boat and could use the Wi-Fi. He looked at the photo. Sarah looked stunning and he was so pleased to have a photo of her now.

She nudged him. "You know the real thing is with you at the moment."

He smiled. "But I now have something to treasure."

She thought about photos. She'd taken a few on the tour, but none with people on them. She could have some on her phone too, and could start here. "Chuck, you don't need to send me your photo. Take one of me on my phone, and I can return the favor and take your photo on your phone." She held his gaze as she added, "Maybe I need one with both of us in it, too."

His smile made her knees feel weak. There was no maybe about it. She definitely wanted a photo of them together.

They each posed for photos on each other's phones and he took a joint selfie on his, with one long arm stretched out and the other around her shoulders. That felt right. She returned that favor, conscious of how broad his shoulders were, as well as how much she liked them standing as they were.

They both felt self-conscious after that. She found she wanted to hold his hand, but resisted.

A few minutes later, Zondra approached them amongst the columns. "You're both lucky Red didn't spot you or she'd never let up." She showed them both a photo she'd taken when Sarah had her arm around Chuck. It was just before she stretched her own arm out, and the two of them were looking at each other. They were both completely unaware of anyone else.

"I'll share a copy with you, Blondie. I'm sure you will send one to your boyfriend." Chuck spluttered and Zondra gave him a flat look. "It's written all over your face, Chuck." She glanced at her friend. "And hers."

Sarah looked at Chuck, suddenly unsure of herself. She'd spent the last two years avoiding relationships, partly because her last split had been painful, but also because no one had attracted her. These last few days had been different. She'd enjoyed being with Chuck right from the start, but her feelings for him had grown. "Boyfriend?" she asked softly with a raised brow.

His eyes were wide and he looked a bit uncertain. "Girlfriend?" he asked back.

She wasn't going to commit herself first, so she just shrugged.

Zondra groaned. "It's like watching teenagers." She sounded disgusted, but Sarah saw the twinkling in her friend's eyes.

Sarah had to admit to herself, it was like a teenage first crush. It was exactly how she felt at that moment.

She guessed he wanted them to be boyfriend and girlfriend just as much as she wanted it. He just seemed nervous about admitting it, not wanting to spoil what they already had. She inwardly sighed. Zondra was right about them, behaving like nervous teenagers.

"Everyone's rejoining the leads," Zondra said and turned away.

"I guess we better join them… girlfriend," Chuck said tentatively.

"We better, boyfriend." She emphasized the last word. Then, she couldn't resist a bit of humor. "But no holding hands," she replied, with a smile, even though she really wanted to grasp his hand.

A/N: A comment here about Chuck taking a thick hoodie and parka to Egypt in case they had to stop somewhere cold on their travels; a situation that has my sympathy. I went on a trip arranged by work that flew us from London to Bermuda. The plane stayed with us on the island before returning, so they stopped at a small Canada airport on the way there to take on fuel. We had to walk to the terminal building from the plane with banks of snow either side of us. We weren't prepared for that in our shorts and t-shirts!

If you can, I'd really appreciate a review to tell me what you think of this little tour.