The Nerd Versus the P.I. Family
By Steampunk . Chuckster
A/N: Well we're back! I don't know how else to say this so here goes: If you're here for a lot of mystery plot progression and not a character study, a romance, a friendship, and a deeper analysis of parenthood/family dynamics, you will be disappointed. If you just want to see a lot of Chuck and Sarah dialogue and growth and a really cute kid with a rollicking side plot mystery, you're going to be very happy. Enjoy, folks!
Summary: Sarah Walker has uprooted her life, leaving her job with the LAPD and going it alone as a private investigator, all in the hopes it provides her with less dangerous stakes and a schedule she can control so that she can handle her most important job, raising her toddler, a bit easier. But when the single parent thinks her computer might've been targeted by a criminal, she has to request help from the unlikeliest of sources: The Buy More Nerd Herd.
Disclaimer: I do not own CHUCK, I do not own its characters, I am not making money from posting this.
Just how many hands did Sarah Walker, proprietor of Walker Agency, have anyway?
As she broke the kiss for just a moment, her lips dotting down his jaw to his neck, her fist clenching onto the back of his suit jacket, Chuck Bartowski thought about asking her.
Both of their coats eventually ended up shrugged off and thrown carelessly to the front seat…area…somewhere. And her hands were…everywhere.
He repaid her attentions, kissing along her jaw, latching his lips onto her throat, and then letting her feel his teeth graze the skin at the crook of her neck as he grinned.
"What?" she panted, another hand of hers slipping up into the curls at the back of his head. His eyelids fluttered at how good it felt.
Feeling cheeky, he propped himself up on his elbows, hovering over her where she was still draped long ways over the backseat, her neck craned up against the handle of the door in what looked to be an uncomfortable way. Chuck snatched both of her hands then and held them up where they both could see them. She gave him a curious look, her brow furrowed, her mouth tilted up at the corner in dubious amusement.
"Just trying to count for myself how many hands you have," he said, and then he made a show of looking around them, shifting to peek under the seat cartoonishly as she laughed at him. "I only see the two. Are you hiding another one, or two, or three, somewhere else?"
She laughed harder, seeming to get what he was insinuating. He wasn't sure if the pink in her cheeks was from the making out before or if he'd just made her blush with his cheesy line. "You accusing me of being a bruja with more than two hands?"
Chuck cracked up. "No! I'm saying you're really freaking good at th—God damn it, Sarah."
She snickered, her tongue cheekily poking out between her teeth. "So we're playing it like that, huh?"
"Like what? Me being a massive nerd?"
"I mean, what's new there?"
He met her teasing gaze, her blue eyes sparkling in mischief, with a proud shrug. "Nothing at all. It's what I do. I yam what I yam."
"Mmm, I know," she drawled, her voice crackling satisfyingly, a slow smile on her face as she broke his grip and rounded his shoulders with her arms, pulling him down by the fingers she combed into his hair.
Their lips met, and something seemed to almost erupt between them. Chuck felt it acutely. Like someone had torched his car while they were inside of it.
He slipped his arms between her back and the seat, causing her to arch just enough for him to pull her up the rest of the way. But he felt her pushing too, as if they were on the same page at the same time.
She swung her weight against him and in less than a moment, they were sitting up with her straddling his lap, hugging his head close to her, their lips moving together as her chest heaved. She giggled into the kiss and he beamed, trying to suppress it because it was hard to kiss and grin at the same time, and he chose kissing.
Chuck kept his hands at her hips, letting her have the control for a while, just getting lost in her. He knew how much of a gift this was. It had been so long since anyone had held him like this, kissed him like this.
The fact that it was her? Sarah Walker? Easily the coolest, most stunning, smartest person he'd ever met?
He had so many questions, but he wasn't about to ask them now.
Especially not with the patterns her long fingers were making in his curls. How did that feel so good, and how did she know that so inherently to the point where she just kept doing it? He was dying.
But he needed her closer, she was somehow too far from him, so he hugged her front to his, his arms around her back, and he swung her back down to lie on the seat.
She squeaked in surprise, breaking the kiss to laugh, giving him an arched eyebrow, biting her lip. And then she yanked him down to kiss him even harder. There was a thread of desperation now. He could feel it mounting, their touches more scorching, lips yearning. Chuck felt desire pool behind his bellybutton as she let out a soft whimper.
His brain switched off completely.
And he slipped his hand down to the hem of her dress, then down further, his fingers dancing over the soft skin of her thigh. Just like that, he clamped his large hand around her thigh and slid it up, his fingers dipping just under the dress.
She gasped into his kiss and he felt her body go rigid.
Chuck broke the kiss and froze. "W-What's—Y-You…okay?" Their noses brushed, their bodies still pressed tightly together.
Sarah nodded, and a wince crossed her face. She bit her lip and wrinkled her nose. "Shit. Sorry, I'm…I just think we shouldn't, um…"
"Right, right. No, of course." His brain wasn't where his mouth was. He was confused, afraid he'd offended her somehow or made her uncomfortable without realizing he'd even done it, he was so lost in her.
"No, it isn't—I just think this shouldn't go much further. Not that I wouldn't…" She pinked. "…like to. I would," she said, an eagerness in her face, even as she winced again. "I'm sorry, this just doesn't seem like the right…"
"Oh." What she was saying finally settled. "Oh! I…" He looked down and realizing he still had his hand holding tight onto her thigh, his fingers having snuck under the hem of her dress. He let go as though she was made of fire. "Oh shit, sorry. No, you're right. You're totally right. This place doesn't feel like it's…right."
"Exactly," she breathed, seeming relieved he got what she meant, that he agreed with her. "Is that…okay? It just—It felt like things were getting to that…point, so I thought I should stop it before it did."
"Of course." He glanced down between their bodies, still pressed tightly together and he cleared his throat, clambering back up to sit and helping her undrape her long, nearly bare legs from over his lap, sitting up properly beside him. "I-I'm sorry if I got out of hand, or-or if I crossed any lines," he rushed out, feeling like a complete jerk that he'd let his body take control like that.
"Wait. Hold on. Before you get the wrong idea, Chuck, you do realize that wasn't just you. We were both about to hurdle ourselves right off the edge of that cliff. Both of us equally." She let out a low hum and he loved it. "I haven't exactly been an unwilling participate in th—Oh God." She sat up straighter, concern in her face. "Could you tell I was—? Did it feel like I was an unwilling—Did I suck?"
Chuck laughed and shook his head hard enough that he could almost feel his brain rattling around in there. "Did you miss the really bad quip about how many hands you have? You have nothing to worry about there, trust me."
She giggled, turning to look out of the window. She frowned then, not looking at him. "Sorry. I didn't mean to, um, ruin the mood. I just—I'm maybe a little weird. The back of the car feels like…I don't know."
"Sneaking off in high school?"
"Yeah." She turned a wince on him.
"Well, rest assured, that was not my high school experience, but I watched a lot of movies where that happened." He reached up to ruffle his own hair, still trying to calm himself down. She was right. If they'd gone much further, it probably would've been way harder to stop.
How was this even happening?
He hadn't felt the grin widening on his face as he bit his lip, so he was confused when she prompted him with a "what?" and a gentle nudge with her elbow.
He turned to her with his eyes wide. "Hm?"
"You were grinning pretty hard there, buddy." The sparkle in her blue eyes made him think she absolutely knew 'what'.
"No, it just—Um, I'm just in a good place right now. In this moment. That's probably the best way I can explain it. Without sounding like a freak." He cleared his throat. "Don't worry about stopping, uh, what we were doing. You're right. Not the time or place. Totally agree."
"You're not…upset, though…right? You know it isn't about you, it's just the…place…"
He turned to face her fully, his brow furrowed in question. "Of course I'm not upset. The fact that I'm even back here right now because I was making out with the coolest person I've ever met, who also happens to be the most gorgeous person I've ever met, is…" He made an explosion sound, pulling his hand away from his head and wiggling his fingers. "Mind-blowing. I couldn't be upset right now if I tried." He ended that with a chuckle.
Sarah just smiled quietly at him for a few moments, long enough that she had him squirming a bit. And then she reached up to fix one of his curls that was probably sticking up. Since that was kind of what they did.
She pulled away then, folding her hands in her lap, looking smaller almost as she scrunched herself back against the corner of the seat and the door. And just like that, almost as if she was having some kind of inner argument with herself and one side won the battle, she leaned in suddenly to press a kiss to his cheek.
Chuck turned with his eyebrows raised to look at her. She smiled back quietly. And then she took a deep breath and shrugged one shoulder cutely.
"What are your feelings on donuts for dessert?" He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. He hadn't expected that. "I just mean…breakfast only, or…?"
"Donuts are for every time of the day, Sarah. Honestly, any kind of breakfasty carb thing is for every time of the day. I'll eat a danish at two in the afternoon or two in the morning, I don't care. I have no shame."
Laughing, she nodded. "I know a place if you're game. And…" She pulled her wrist up and took a look at her watch. "If we leave now, we'll hit 'em at just the right time, I think."
He frowned in question. "The right time?"
Her eyes were full-on glinting as she bit her lip. "Trust me. Come on."
"Okay. Um. Lemme just…" He tried to hurriedly tuck his shirt back into his pants. She'd pulled a lot of it out trying to put her hand on his bare torso and now he was thinking about that and his fingers were not working as he buttoned the buttons she'd unbuttoned.
After she straightened her hair a bit, doing magic things with bobby pins sticking out from her lips, she giggled and moved in to help him.
"S-Sorry. I just…wanna get to the donut place at the right time," he lied, blushing. Her hands were on him again and he needed to chill the hell out. "Whatever that means."
She laughed, moving to start crawling to the front.
"W-Wait, lemme go first." He held her back gently. "If you're up there already, I'm worried I'll elbow you or knock you out with a knee or something while I'm trying to get up there. This is the safest place for you right now." He moved her back against the seat adamantly.
Cracking up, she was forced to watch as he unfolded one leg into the front, bracing his shoe on the passenger seat. He stuck his other one through, slipping it under the wheel. And then he threw himself into the driver's seat, knocking his elbow on the window and his head on the door, but at least it wasn't loud enough for Sarah to know, even as he winced.
"You somehow looked like a spider doing that."
He laughed, bending and unfurling his limbs in attempts to get them under the wheel so that he could sit up straight as she started her own much more graceful journey to the front. "Thanks!"
"I hate spiders, but you almost made me like 'em for a second," she giggled, plopping into her own seat and fixing her dress as he turned on the car and started carefully turning them around. Thankfully he was old hat at this, otherwise, he might look like a fool doing this to get them back down the hill.
"Oh, well, you're welcome," he chuckled. But then they reached near the end of the curve so he turned off his lights.
"What are you doing?"
"Habit, mostly. But I wanna make sure nobody sees us leaving. Just a sec. I have to check…" He stopped at the edge of the trees, the car still perched at the bottom of the hill as he put it in park and pulled the brake.
But then she put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed.
"I'll do it. We can make a quick getaway…"
She rushed out of the car and trotted down to the road in her heels before he could say anything. And he just gaped at her. A quick getaway? Knowing she was a private investigator, that she probably had done something akin to a real quick getaway before in her line of work, and hearing those words come out of her mouth, with almost no traces of teasing whatsoever, had him feeling a little overwhelmed.
How could one person be this hot?
She looked one way, then the other, and back again, and back yet again, before she waved him out, hurrying into the road.
Chuck shook himself, beaming dreamily as he guided the car out of the trees and onto the road. He paused beside her so that she could swing the door open and dive into her seat. She'd barely shut the door when she snapped, "Go already!"
He did, his chest flooded with what he could only assume was glee. And he burst into laughter, watching her as she put her seatbelt back on, grinning with mischief. "You are something else, you know that? Oh my God."
"What?" she asked, shrugging innocently, though it wasn't very effective with that mischievous grin still on her beautiful face.
"Holy crap, that was amazing."
"We made it without anyone seeing us. Wasn't that the goal?"
Chuck had never really had a type before. Any girl who gave him the time of day—any woman—was his type. With some exceptions, obviously. But he thought he had a type now. He was pretty sure he had a type now.
She was sitting right next to him, with a manic look still on her face, like she wasn't done enjoying the thrill and adrenaline of leaving a place they weren't technically supposed to be in.
Tall, fit, gorgeous… No, no. Genius, courageous, strong. With blond hair and sharp blue eyes that got a little softer when a certain two year old was around and still somehow got sharper at the same time.
His type laughed easily, but only after there was some semblance of trust established there. His type required some diligence, effort, and a little determination…or maybe a lot of determination, but she was worth every bit of it. Who didn't require effort? Shit, he was sure he did. He knew as he sat at a red light, waiting for her further directions to get to this donut place, that his type was a woman so filled with independence and agency that she was bursting at the seams with it.
"Chuck?"
He shook himself and put his foot on the gas. "Ahem. Yes? Sorry."
"Just making sure you saw that the light changed."
Thankfully nobody had been behind him, or he would've had a cacophony of honks breaking the calm silence of the night. And rightfully so, honestly. "Thanks!"
"You seem sort of far away…" she said then, and he felt her eyes on the side of his face.
"Nah, I'm right here." He turned to grin cheekily at her and she smirked, rolling her eyes. "Just kidding, I know what you mean. And I was just thinking about something, stopped paying attention to the light. Won't happen again, detective."
"Stop," she chastised, giggling as she shoved gently at his shoulder. "Just making sure you're okay." There was something in the air, something about the way she cut herself off.
"…What?" he prompted, furrowing his brow at her.
She shrugged in the dark, the light intermittently flashing over her face as they passed under streetlights. He saw embarrassment in her face maybe. "You weren't just saying you were okay with what happened earlier, right? Me stopping things I mean. Or did I…upset you actually and you said what you knew I wanted to hear?"
"No, no. That's not it!" he said, reaching out and grappling for her in the dark, trying to keep his eyes on the road. He found her wrist and he wrapped his fingers around her. "I swear I'm not upset about that. I promise. You were right back there. I'm not even a little bit upset. I was just caught up in thinking about work stuff." He shouldn't have lied right there, maybe. But the truth was a little hard to explain without sounding super intense. And he needed to walk this tightrope with Sarah Walker. He wanted to get safely onto the other side without freaking her out, making her pick up her boy and get the hell out of there, pull away from him.
He was still trying to learn what made her tick. Besides Max, obviously. This was a delicate balance and he couldn't afford to tip either way.
"Oh. That work you were doing for the LAPD earlier? Didn't you figure it out?"
"I-I did. Yeah. I'm just kind of annoyed with myself that all they have to do is show up at my door, push my ego around a bit, and I'll promise them things I might…actually…not be able to do." He was kind of impressed with himself for pulling that out as quickly as he had, and it was actually true so he didn't have to feel as bad about it anymore.
She sighed. "Yeah. Cops. We have that way with people," she drawled in a dry tone. "I used to be one. So I know. We're…really good at poking people in the right spot to get them to break down." Chuck didn't feel himself giving her a wide-eyed look until she caught it and chuckled, reaching out to put a reassuring hand on his arm. "Don't worry, I'm not a cop anymore. And I only ever use that for work." She winced. "And to get Max to do things he doesn't want to do. Manipulated that boy into many a bathtub using that specific cop tactic."
Chuck laughed. Apparently Max didn't like baths. Noted. "I don't blame you for that." He paused. "It's just that…" He stopped and tried again. "Someday there will be something they ask me to do, and I'll say 'Of course I can do it!' even when I don't think I can, and then when I actually can't do it, this contract I've got with the LAPD is gonna dry up. I'm kind of…dependent on the whims of these big-time clients." He nibbled on his lip in the long silence between them and finally admitted, "I think they know that and know they can use it against me. My career can't survive without them. My job, my role with the company, won't exist if those clients don't come to me."
Her hand hadn't moved from his arm yet. And he felt her squeeze it reassuringly. "You're not some machine, Chuck. You're a genius, but you're a human being. And there are just…some things that can't be done. I'm assuming, but I guess I don't really know a whole lot about tech. Maybe I'm wrong."
"Nah, there are some things that can't be done. You're right. I just don't want the LAPD to find one of those things. I'm annoyed that I was weak and let them play around with my ego like that, to the point where I made a promise I wasn't sure I could keep."
"You kept it, though."
"I did. But someday I won't be able to. And I need to be more professional. If I don't think I can do it, I need to say that, and then stick to it. And stop letting their goading about my skillsets get me to make promises I can't keep." He waved his hand through the air then, turning where she wordlessly pointed. "It doesn't matter. Just something I was thinking about."
"It matters. These cops you're working with sound kind of shitty."
"They're not so bad. Just a little intimidating." He sent her a smile. "I'm grateful to 'em. And I hope they know at least that much. They keep coming back, and they keep helping me pay my rent," he chuckled.
"Yeah, well…I'm sure they're not coming back for charitable purposes," she said. "That isn't really in the DNA of—Well, at least it isn't in the cops I know. Even if they're good people. The job comes first. The case comes first. Which is why I'm telling you, they keep a contract with you because you're a genius, Chuck. Because you're successful. Because you help them get what they need in a way their own analysts can't. I'll say this too: they need you just as much as you need them."
He smiled warmly at her. "Thanks for saying that."
"It's true."
"Well… Thanks, anyway."
"You're welcome."
He did have a type. His type stepped up to have his back when he didn't even realize he needed it.
}o{
Sarah peeked at Chuck out of the corner of her eye as they walked towards a bench off to the side of the hole in the wall donut shop that also sold ramen, twenty-four/seven. This had been a constant haunt of hers back in the day when she was on the beat, both as a rookie and as a detective, late nights with her partner, eating ramen on this bench, waiting for their radios to light up over a break-in or violent altercation.
Life was very different from that now.
She had a two and a half year old son who was her entire world, and she had a private investigative agency she was trying not to fumble. So far so good. Mostly.
And she was on a date with a guy who knew about Max, liked Max, was honest and upright, was funny, sweet, cute as hell…and apparently had his own career he was trying not to fumble. Somehow that made her respect him all the more.
He obviously respected her right back. He'd been allowing her the space to do what her life required of her without hounding her. He'd been giving her the control, letting her set their schedule.
That took more respect than she thought she probably even knew. Because she felt the powerful pull that existed between them. It had been there that first day in her office, and it had been getting stronger since then.
And she imagined he felt it too. Diving in headfirst would probably be the normal thing to do when there was this much attraction, this much of a connection. But the truth was, even if she didn't have her son, she still wasn't exactly the diving in headfirst type. Nor was she normal. Not even close.
Enough men could attest to that. Including the man who gave her Max Walker and then thankfully disappeared, washing his hands of all of it.
Chuck lifted the white bag with their donuts—two each—inside of it, and he grinned toothily at her, before he sang, "All the cops in the donut shop say wheeeeey ooh wheeeey ohhh oooo eeyyy eee eyyy ohhhhh…"
She laughed, her reverie officially shattered. "I don't get a lot of your references, but I did get that one."
"Oh, thank God. So you aren't a complete pop culture lost cause."
Sarah gasped, affronted, even as she cracked up, and she swung her bag to smack his arm.
"Ow!"
"You deserve that!" she giggled.
"Fine, fine. I do. I definitely do. Anyway, I was wrong. Nobody's a lost cause if there's at least one person left to fight for them."
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow and watched as he climbed up onto the bench and sat on the flat table-like area above it, his feet on the part he was supposed to be sitting on. She rolled her eyes at the way this guy never seemed to sit on things correctly.
"Yeah. And I'm that fighter, Sarah Walker. I'm ready to fight for you, to show you all things pop culture. Or at least the nerdy side of it. Music, movies, TV shows, comic—"
"Nah ah. No. Not the comic books. No."
"Aw, come onnnn."
"Nope." She sat properly on the bench, and she discovered she kind of didn't hate that she could lean her body against his leg as he opened up the bag, handed her a large napkin, and then dug in.
"What'll you have first: the sprinkles or the chocolate on chocolate with coconut?"
"Sprinkles," she said resolutely.
"Dee schprinkools eet ees, mein Fräulein."
She took the donut and shook her head at him. "Anybody ever tell you you're a cartoon character?"
"Uh, yes, actually." He laughed and shrugged, a happy look on his face as she peered up at him. She nearly took a bite out of her donut but he stopped her with an, "Ah! Ah ah! Wait!" She looked at him, startled. "Sorry. I just wanted to toast with our respective first donuts before we ate them, that's all. To commemorate my first…er…" He leaned forward and craned his neck, as if trying to look at the sign on the other side of the building. "Ramen Donut Time purchase."
She had let him pay, as he'd insisted on it. But the next time a donut excursion happened…
"That's the wrong carb," she said, pausing expectantly, grinning with her teeth showing. He looked a little confused. "Toast? Donut? Wrong carb?" she prompted, feeling ridiculous.
But Chuck burst into laughter. "That was terrible and I loved it."
He produced his sugar donut and held it between them. "To never quitting sugar, because it has never quit on us."
Giggling, she knocked her donut against his, sending sugar and sprinkles into the air, dropping down below. "I'll toast to that."
"Bottoms up, detective."
"Bottoms up, nerd."
And they ate their donuts happily, Sarah leaning to prop her cheek against the side of his knee. For warmth, of course.
}o{
He could feel her wincing in the seat beside him, but he kept as much of an unbothered veneer over his features as he could as he continued stalking the curb for a place to park.
"I'm…really sorry. This part of the neighborhood, parking is a problem sometimes."
"Hey, no worries. It's totally good."
"You say that, but this isn't the first time you've had to do this to park at my home and we've only been on a few dates."
Chuck held up a finger, still keeping his eye on the curbs, looking for any indication someone might be leaving. "Key part of that sentence is that we've been on a few dates."
He grinned at her as she gave him a confused look. "…Yeah? And?"
"Well, I just mean that's the only thing I care about. I'd look for a parking spot for a year if it meant dates with Sarah Walker, Private Investigator."
Sarah laughed and shook her head. "You're such a goof. A sweet goof, but a goof."
"I'll take it." He let out a long sigh then. "Okay, we've been at this for too long."
"Do you want to just drop me off and we can call it a night?"
"No!" he blurted, and she gave him a highly amused look, her eyebrows raised. "I just…don't want to. It's fine. I'll find something."
"Well, okay then," she drawled smoothly, but she was biting her lip, as if trying to suppress a grin. "You know, sometimes you just have to go a block or two west."
"Towards the ocean?" he asked dubiously.
"I know, you'd think it'd get worse, but it's actually a little better. Trust me."
"I do," he chirped, turning west and continuing the search. "But I have to ask you if you have to do this every time you come home, and with Max in tow. Because if so, that's awful."
She snorted. "The ultimate LA experience. But no, no. I have a spot in the lot in back of the building. Technically I have two actually."
His eyes widened as he spun towards her. "Oh! Why don't—" Then it struck him. "Wait. Carina. Carina is babysitting your son and she's in the second spot. Duh."
"Bingo. I mean, I could call her and you could drop me off and we could play musical cars with the spots…"
"Naaaaah. She gets to leave her car exactly where it is. She's my hero."
"Is she?" she asked, laughing.
"Yeah. She keeps swooping in to babysit so that we can go out on dates."
"Oh, right," she said, beaming. "She's kinda my hero too. I'm a little surprised her constant ribbing hasn't scared you away, honestly." He felt her watching him, her head tilted. "The two year old kid, the friend who can't stop with the annoying teasing, the fucked up busy schedule, and still, you're sitting here, searching for a spot and I found one! Right there! Go go go!"
"I SEE IT!" he yelled. "IT'S MINE! MIIIINE!"
She cackled as he swooped to the side before very meticulously backing his way into a spot along the curb. "God, it's almost three blocks away, I'm so sorry."
"I'm not. Not at all."
"You're going to have to walk back here all on your own, Chuck."
"I'll survive. I have sharp elbows."
She laughed harder, unbuckling her seatbelt.
They both climbed out and he joined her on the sidewalk, smiling as he bundled up his jacket around him. They walked together, and she folded her hands around his bicep. He tried to subtly slow their pace, just wanting to make this three block situation last, in spite of the chilly night air making him shiver a bit.
"The two year old kid is pretty awesome," Chuck finally said in the silence, her words before she found the parking space stuck in his head. "And Carina? She's actually pretty funny. And yes, she's a stinker. But I can take it. Neither of those things is…I dunno, a burden? Not at all. And the schedule? Sure, I want to see you more often, but…I can't. And that's that." He shrugged.
She was quiet.
He tried to peek at her to figure out if he'd said something wrong, if something in there had bothered her. But she was good at not letting anything show in those arresting features of hers. She was really good at it. He wondered how many perps she'd questioned back in her police detective days. Granted, she probably questioned witnesses now as a P.I. too, which had to require an immovable face. And if he was going to be dating a P.I., he was going to have to get used to not being able to read what she was thinking or feeling.
He could do this. He could definitely do this.
"W-What I mean is," he tried, "you're really busy and I'm busy but not as busy, of course, and you have a son. On-On top of that. And I completely understand. I understand and I'm not going to expect you to be able to drop all of that just because I ask you out on a date. That's all I'm saying. That I understand it."
She squeezed his arm. "I knew what you meant. I was trying to absorb the fact that I'm apparently dating someone who might not know what it's like to be me, with all of the responsibilities I'm carting around, but who doesn't have to know to be…patient? I guess that's the word."
He smiled down at her. "I guess I'm pretty good at patience. But it's easy to be patient when it's about something really, really good. Or, I guess in this case, someone really, really good."
Sarah turned towards him, looking him squarely in the face. "You really are very sweet. And don't duck away from me and brush it off. I mean that as a genuine compliment."
"I know," he chuckled, ducking his head even though she technically told him not to. He couldn't help it. "I know. Thank you. And, listen, I can be patient. I can wait. I'll step into whatever time slots you've got open on your calendar. But you're going to have to be patient with me and my texts and calls trying to find those open time slots. I can be relentless if I put my mind to it. And with this? With you? I'm going to be putting my mind to it. Just so you know. Those are my cards, I'm laying them out on the table." He mimicked spreading them out in front of her.
She laughed, nodding. "I've been warned. I see the cards. And I'm perfectly fine with you being relentless. If I'm being honest with you, it—" She stopped herself then, biting her lip, a shy look on her face for a moment. And it was gone just as quick. That damn mask. "Never mind."
"What?" he prompted.
"No, I'm not gonna say what I was gonna say."
"Why? Say it. Tell me. You can't do that to me…"
Sarah giggled, shaking her head. "I don't know. Maybe a relentless Chuck Bartowski sounds kind of hot." She shrugged one shoulder, gave him an unmistakable look out of the corner of her eye, and moved up onto her tiptoes, draping her hand over the furthest side of his face and pulling him in close so that she could kiss his cheek closest to her.
She let him go then and grinned, looking straight ahead.
Chuck grinned, too, aware he must be blushing like mad and not really caring much after that. Hot? Well, okay, sure she said kind of hot. That didn't make the bright feeling in his chest dim any.
He cleared his throat. "I, uh, I will keep that in mind, Sarah Walker."
}o{
Sarah wasn't really sure what to do with all of the energy that was shooting up and down her body, buzzing in her fingers and toes, and the quivering in her chest that she couldn't seem to shake.
But she set herself to the task of unlocking the door to her apartment, feeling Chuck right at her shoulder. It was then that she heard a sound inside of the apartment that had the hair on the back of her neck standing up. Her whole body went into protective mode, tense like piano strings.
And she pushed her way inside to find her son in Carina's arms, crying as the redhead tried to rock him and comfort him.
Sarah let her purse land on the entryway table and she rushed over. "Heeey, hey. What's this? What's wrong?"
"Oh, look! Max, look who's here! Mommy's here!" Carina shifted her weight so that he red-faced little boy could see his mom. He immediately reached his little hands out for her and her heart shattered into a million pieces as she plucked him out of Carina's arms and cradled him close.
"What happened, little man? What's wrong?" She squeezed him, wordlessly asking Carina what happened with just a look.
"He woke up and started sobbing a few minutes ago, wanting his mom." Carina shrugged. "Auntie Carina wasn't enough for him. Just Mommy."
Sarah sighed, shaking her head. "I'm here, Max. It's okay." His cries became sniffles as she stroked his wavy brown hair and moved then to rub his back comfortingly. "Did you have a bad dream?"
He sniffled and held on tighter. "N-Nooo," he blubbered, and she pulled him back just a bit to look into his face, reaching up to wipe at his cheeks. "I okay," he tried, and she could see him trying to pretend he was okay, even as he took rough, quick breaths as if he was going to cry again.
He sure was her son.
"Of course you're okay," she said, smiling at him comfortingly and rocking him a little. "But you can tell Mommy why you thought you weren't, huh?"
"Y-You wehnt he-ooo," he whimpered, sniffling hard. Carina swept in with a tissue and got him to blow, dabbing his cheeks with it as Sarah gave her a grateful look. "An-An' I din' hee-oo a'ybody. An' I t'ought I wa' by…myse'f."
"Awww, Maaax." She gave him a squeeze. "Carina was right here."
Carina winced. "Crap. I-I mean…erm…crud. That-That might've been my bad. I pulled an all-nighter last night so I was wasted tired. The second I saw he was asleep, I went to watch TV and full-on passed out. So if he was calling for me for a little bit, I might've…not heard."
God, poor Carina. She immediately put her hand on her non-blood nephew's head and stroked his hair apologetically.
"Max, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I was just asleep, that's all. Auntie C needs naps too sometimes."
"No, I okay. I okay." He nodded, blinking at the tears, his lips caught between his teeth.
"Come here. Can I have a hug?" Carina held out her hands and pouted.
He nodded again, his eyes so big and sweet, reaching for her. Sarah passed him over, her heart slamming against her ribcage. God, the sound of Max crying really did crazy things to her. She became a fierce protective lioness and a terrified mouse all at once.
Carina and Max hugged. "I'm so sorry, buddy. I'll try not to scare you like that again, okay?"
"Okay. I okay. It okay," he said. And Sarah didn't think she 'd loved her son so much as she did in that moment as he patted Carina on the cheek as if trying to comfort her too. That was when she heard a chuckle behind her, over by the door, and she turned quickly, seeing Chuck still standing there.
He'd closed the door behind him but stood a polite distance away, not coming all the way into the living room. He shifted his weight awkwardly and gave her an uncomfortable but cute smile. Shit. She'd just left him there in her rush to find out what was wrong with Max.
She gave him the most apologetic look she could muster and he just shook his head with a dismissive swipe of his hand through the air.
"Max, do you want to say goodnight to everyone and go back to sleep? I'm here now. We're all here and we'll stay here while you sleep, okay? Nobody's leaving you alone ever. I promise."
"Okay." He nodded as Carina put him down, but he immediately went to Sarah and squeezed himself against her leg. That was when he seemed to recognize someone else was there too. And he went into full shy mode again as he must've realized Chuck was standing there and that he'd witnessed the whole meltdown.
Chuck gave a sweet little wave. "Hey, buddy."
Max sniffled and wiped his face with his sleeve. "Hewwo."
"Y-You okay?"
Max nodded. "Yeah. I okay." He hid behind her leg a little and peeked at Chuck. "I not sca'wed ub anyt'ing."
That prompted Chuck to carefully step in a little closer, before he lowered himself down to kneel a few feet away. "Oh no no. Don't worry. I know you're not scared of anything. I didn't think you were scared for a second. Sometimes you just have to check and make sure you aren't alone. I get it. I do it all the time."
If Carina didn't silently reach out and grab Sarah's wrist, she thought she might just collapse onto the floor. She was careful not to look at her best friend, just in case.
Max nodded and came out from behind her leg, stepping a little closer, but keeping his slightly clammy palm pressed against her shin, as if making sure she was still there, that she wasn't going to disappear.
"Yeah… I-I got a owie. We went ta get, uhhh, a'scweam…" Chuck gave the two women a questioning look.
"Ice cream," Carina muttered.
"Ah, I see, yes. Continue." He watched Max intently again, actually listening to him. And she could see Max starting to open up.
"Yeah, I…I feww. I feww down. An'-An I got a owie." He yanked at his sleeve and Sarah leaned forward to look as well, as this was news to her. "See dat." He pointed to a minor scrape on his plump forearm. "I din' yike it a' alllll," he drawled, shaking his head. "But I din' cwy."
Sarah gave Carina a glance and saw her redheaded friend mouth, "Yes, he did" down at Chuck. Humor lit his brown eyes, but he kept it from showing in his face otherwise.
"Reallyyyy?" he exclaimed, looking back at Max. "That big scrape and no crying? Oh, wow." He winced then. "Can I tell you something, Max?" Max nodded. "You promise you won't laugh at me or make fun of me?"
"Yes!" Max squealed with a giggle, as though Chuck was silly for even suggesting he would.
"Okay. Thank you. Well…I was running the other day. Not from anything. I wasn't being chased by a cyborg or a mean monster or anything. I was exercising," he seemed to feel the need to say, making Max giggle again. Carina just snorted, and Sarah could almost feel her roll her eyes. "And I thought I'd take a shortcut through these rows of bicycles that were chained up. Now, I'm a pretty skinny guy, Max, as I'm sure you can tell…" He tugged on his suit and made a silly face, making Max giggle yet again. "But there was not enough room for me to get through there and it was not a smart idea to try. Know what I did?"
"What oo do?"
Chuck undid the button on the sleeve of his right arm and pulled the suit jacket and shirt sleeve up to reveal an ugly scrape on his wrist. Sarah winced. That actually looked painful even if it wasn't big. "I hit one of the bikes and got this. And you know what? I cried. I definitely cried. It hurt really bad, and I cried."
"Ooohhhh! Dat booboo biiiiiig!"
"It's a big booboo, you're right." Chuck rolled his sleeve back down and redid it. "That's why I cried." He sighed dramatically. "I guess I'm just a guy who cries about booboos, huh?"
"Yeeeeaah…" Max shuffled his feet then, and Sarah could see him thinking hard, his little face wrinkled up, consternation there. And then he turned to look up at Sarah, blinking once, before he seemed to make up his mind and look back at Chuck. "Dis hab me cwy too." He pointed to his arm. "I cwied."
God, Sarah didn't know how much longer she could do this without literally dying. Her heart was bursting.
"Wait, you did? You cried?" Chuck asked, his eyes wide. Max nodded, looking a little ashamed. "Oh, wow, Max! You have no idea how much better I feel about the fact that I cried when I got my booboo!" If this grown man said booboo one more time, she would probably die for him if it came to that. And then she had to tell that inner voice to calm the hell down before it got serious. He was too much for her to handle. Way, way too much. "You made my whole week, Max. Now I know that I'm not the only one who cries when he gets hurt. Someone as brave as you cries too! Wow! Maybe crying's not such a bad thing, huh? And I don't feel as alone, buddy! Thank you!"
He put his hand up for a high five and Max reached out and slapped it sloppily, pulling it back and clasping his hands in front of his chest, looking more pleased than she'd seen him look in a long time.
"Ya we'come!"
This time Sarah reached out and blindly grabbed at Carin's arm, and Carina grabbed back. They exchanged a look and Sarah felt like they were both on the same page. This guy…was genuinely…
Settling herself with a deep breath, Sarah knelt down next to Max and kissed his head. "That was very nice of you, Max. Good job."
"T'anks."
"Are you tired now? You seem pretty tired. Why don't we go back to bed?"
Max looked at Chuck for a second and then back to her. "I don' need s'eep, Mommy."
What was this looking at Chuck thing he was doing now, she wondered? What was going through that sweet little brain of his? "You do, my guy," she said. "We all do. But especially you. So you aren't tired tomorrow. Remember? We're going to the park. You don't wanna be too tired to play with everyone."
He paused. "Okay…I go."
He held out his arms to her and she giggled, wrapping him up in her embrace and groaning as she stood, propping him on her hip.
He said goodnight to everyone, giving Chuck another high five and she moved to go towards the hallway, but stopped, turning back to Chuck as Max hugged her neck and burrowed his face against her shoulder. "Oh, um…please don't go? I'll be right back."
Chuck gave her a slow smile as he rose to his full height, and he nodded, then pointed down at the floor. "I'll be right here."
"Okay." She beamed at him. "Good." She gave Carina her best behave please look, then went down the hallway with Max.
A/N: Honestly, I don't think I've ever written Chuck this relentlessly heartwarming. If you're a puddle right now, just imagine how Sarah feels.
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-SC