A/N: We continue our story of Chuck, Sarah, and the king of Hide and Seek.
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck
"So, there they were, standing there looking up as Fire and Rescue worked to get it out of the tree," Chuck said, grinning. Sarah was trying not to laugh - and sip on her mojito all at the same time - but she was failing. "Eventually Fire and Rescue got it out, and that is why Lester and Jeff are banned from working on anything having to do with the County of Los Angeles."
"The entire county?" Sarah asked.
"Yes ma'am," Chuck told her.
"And the bats?" Sarah asked. Chuck just shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, but what about the pet skunk?"
"All we know is three kids' eyes had to be treated, and scrubbed down," Chuck said with a shrug of a shoulder.
"All that's from just one time of them going out together on a call?" Sarah asked. Chuck nodded. "Jesus, Chuck, how do you work there?" She paused. "Also, who thought it was a good idea to have a pet skunk?"
Chuck pressed his lips together, widened his eyes, and blew out his cheeks making her laugh out loud. "You know, you're kinda Ellie's hero right now." Sarah tilted her head. "Getting me out of the Buy More. She said it had stifled me."
"I agree," Sarah replied. Chuck felt something in his chest, something swell in him he hadn't felt in a long time. "So, I guess this is where we need to talk."
"Before we do, I need to make something very clear. You are my hero," Chuck told her, making her eyes go wide. "You've gotten me out of a place that I love, a place that was comfortable, but a place… a place that wasn't… isn't… good for me." Sarah held his gaze and had to remind herself to breathe. "Sarah… I'm not gonna lie, the reason I went to work today is that it was comfortable, it was a known quantity. Yeah, it's absolute madness and bullshit, but it was a known, comfortable madness and bullshit."
"Sounds like a bad marriage people are scared to leave," Sarah said. Chuck nodded.
"It just… was it what I needed at the time? Probably not," Chuck said, making her giggle. "But at that time, mentally… it was about all I could do."
"That's how you get trapped, you know," Sarah replied. "You get to thinking about all the training… conditioning. What you hear from those around you… that's all your worth. That's all your good for." She looked him dead in the eye. "And it's all bullshit."
"Can I hire you to be my personal hype man… uh, woman?" Chuck asked, making her laugh.
"No," she replied. "Butttt..."
"Oh, Lord, that feels like a big but... not that I have anything against big butts… I'm gonna shut up now before I shove my entire leg down my throat," Chuck said, shaking his head.
She started giggling. "Listen, I want you to know I've been working on this a bit, and this isn't the mojitos talking." Chuck's eyes went wide and he swallowed. "I've been talking to Morgan."
"Oh, God," Chuck groused.
"Chuck, when the money is transferred to you, people within the government will know. Some of those people have friends in the press." Chuck sobered immediately. She leaned forward, grinning. "So, how do you feel like spending some time in Alaska, with me… and chase some hairy creatures?"
}o{
The camera cuts to Chuck sitting in the interview seat.
"So, picture it," Chuck began. "You're sitting, having dinner, with this amazing, beautiful person. She's laughing at your jokes, and you're like, she's just being kind because she is doing her job, and then she asks you… would you like to go on a bigfoot hunt with me in Alaska?" Chuck leaned back and spread his hands. "Pffth... how could I not fall in love?"
Sarah's laughter is heard off-camera.
}o{
"You're pranking me, right?" Chuck asked. "Ellie and Morgan are in on this prank."
"Oh, Ellie and Morgan are in on it, but it's no prank," Sarah assured him. "Morgan's shown me… your idea."
"When you say my idea?" Chuck asked. Sarah reached over to her purse and pulled out a notebook. Chuck dropped his head into his hands. "Oh God."
"Listen, you need to not be in the continental forty-eight after this payment is made to you. And frankly, no one will follow you here," Sarah said. "Your plan is brilliant." Chuck lifted his head. "I've talked to Beckman, and the people of Nanwalek, who know you from your letters-"
"Oh, God," Chuck groused. "I tried to be polite and respect their heritage and culture."
"You have," Sarah assured him. "They have no problem doing what you want to do."
Chuck stared at her. "When you say do what I want to do…"
"Spend two weeks in Portlock, Alaska, filming and exploring for any signs of life of…" She grinned at him. "Nantinaq."
"But, Sarah," Chuck began.
"By the time we get there, it will be in the fifties in the day time, and low forties at night," Sarah told him. "I know you're a California boy, but we can get some temporary shelters built, and it won't be that bad."
"Sarah," Chuck began.
"I know, there will be the requirement of using the bathroom out in the field, and you won't get a tub soak or hot shower. But it's only two weeks," Sarah continued. "It will be your dream though, Chuck. And, you have your own personal bear guard."
"I do?" Chuck asked. Sarah nodded. "You're going to be my bear guard?"
"I'm going to be with you each step of the way," Sarah said. "Beckman has an NSA agent that can handle the stuff like filming, and setting up camp, while you do the exploring. And I can help you with any of that."
"I don't know," Chuck said.
"Then, we can go to Anchorage for a week so you can rest up, and prep for the next part," Sarah told him. "We can review the footage, and that's where Morgan is going to be stationed, so he can look over the footage we uplink each day."
"Wait, Morgan can come?" Chuck asked.
"I followed your plan, to the letter," Sarah told him. "After that, two weeks on Prince of Wales Island, where we can continue the search there." She looked up at him. "I have to say, these notes are… extensive."
"I do research… the best I can. I mean, I'm not there, so I can only make copies of the reports and scour for what I can find on the internet. Which not all of it is trustworthy…" Chuck stared at Sarah. "You're going with me?" Sarah nodded. "And you don't think I'm… crazy."
She sat there for a second. "Do you one-hundred percent believe there is a bigfoot?" Sarah asked.
"Do I believe?" Chuck asked. "I don't know, Sarah." He gestured to the notebook, and she handed it to him. He flipped a few pages, found what he was looking for, and turned it back where she could see it. "There are so many stories from indigenous people all over the globe of these creatures. They had no contact with each other, so how are some of these stories so similar?"
"That is why I don't think you're crazy," Sarah told him. "You've seen evidence of these stories, you understand something doesn't make sense, and you're curious about it. I'm sure there are scientific explanations, but right now… not everything can be explained with science."
"And that's what I want, to use science," Chuck told her. "I want to prove this one way or another, through science."
"Then I'm in," Sarah told him.
}o{
The camera focuses on Sarah in the interview chair.
"Dear God, was I ever in," she said to the camera. "I had no idea how far in I was."
}o{
He sat there quietly, thinking. Sarah watched him, and couldn't help but chuckle. "Are you thinking about how you'll be very… close, with me over two weeks?" He looked up at her, surprise clearly on his face. "Listen, Chuck... maybe I'm wrong, but you seem like the kind of person that thinks of others, and the situations they might be put in."
"I just…" he trailed off. "This isn't like camping for a few days, where there are some showers nearby."
"It's not," Sarah agreed. "I promise you, I've been in situations much worse than this. Usually, gunfire was involved."
"God, I hope there is no gunfire," Chuck muttered.
"Yeah, if Bigfoots have guns," Sarah began, and trailed off, watching his face. He began to laugh.
"I'm not sure what's funnier, a Bigfoot with a gun, or Bigfoots," Chuck told her.
Sarah grinned. "We will have a shelter built, one a two person, one a one person, and if Casey snores, well… that's the cross you'll have to bear."
}o{
The camera cuts to Sarah in the interview chair. She is shaking her head, staring at someone behind the camera.
"I just want to know one thing," she said to whoever was behind the camera. "Did you do it on purpose?"
"What, sleep in the one person structure?" the gruff voice answered. "Yeah. I didn't want to be in the same structure as him, and he couldn't be alone." Sarah shook her head and began to giggle.
}o{
"What do you say, Chuck? Wanna go Bigfoot hunting with me?" Chuck stared at her for a second. She slid a piece of paper across to him. "Also, because of you going to extra lengths to keep this story out of the press, these are the things the US Government has been authorized to loan you for your excursion."
"How?" Chuck asked, looking at the paper, his eyes trying to bulge out of his head.
"Well, by letting an NSA person on this excursion, and allowing him to get eyes on some of the occurrences that are going on in Alaska…" Sarah trailed off.
"The NSA think that Bigfoot is real?" Chuck asked.
"The NSA thinks that weird shit has been going on in that area for a long time," Sarah said.
"Is weird shit a government term?" Chuck asked.
"Mmm-hmm," Sarah hummed, grinning.
"Enjoying those mojitos, are you?"
"So much," Sarah said.
"Okay, let's get you home, and tomorrow, we can talk more about this," Chuck told her. He saw the pout on her face. "What?"
"Or, we could just keep talking," Sarah told him. "You know, I like you, Chuck. Most people I go on missions with, I have to prepare myself for…"
"Unwanted advances?" Chuck offered. Sarah nodded. Chuck was quiet for a moment. "You don't have to answer, but do you get a lot of This could be our last night on earth-"
"Oh, God," Sarah said. "So many times!" She rolled her eyes. "It's so damn tiresome. Like, there's no spark here. There's no romance here. There's no need, on my end at least, for this guy, but yet…" She shook her head.
"I promise you, I won't be that guy," Chuck told her.
"I know you won't," Sarah told him.
}o{
The camera cuts to Sarah scratching the back of her neck, wincing just a little.
"Interesting," came the amused, gruff voice from behind the camera. Sarah just shook her head, but couldn't stop the smile growing on her face.
A/N: Huh….wonder where this is going.
Next time:
"I get it," Casey began. "I totally get it. Years ago, tribes in that land saw things they couldn't understand. I'm not saying they didn't see something, but as things get passed from generation to generation, the owners of that land heard those same stories." Casey trailed off. "Listen, there ain't no damn Bigfoot. But you know what is in Alaska? Commies."
…..uh…Casey….you know what, let's just all find out together next time. Hope you enjoyed it, reviews are lovely, thank you for reading.