F/N1 from AC: We have arrived at the chapter that references this story's titular transition for Sarah and Carina. It is a relatively short but key chapter. Continued thanks to Captainrick944 for his editing efforts to enhance this story.

I don't own Chuck.

Chuck and Sarah vs the Makeover

CHAPTER 10: The Makeover

April 28, 2004

Monday night: Day 1 of the Los Angeles Mission

After dinner, Devon announced that he was headed to bed. He had an early surgery, so he needed to get to sleep.

"Chuck, can you take care of the wrappers and bags? And go ahead and take out the trash?" Ellie asked. Excitedly, she turned to Sarah and Carina while still talking to Chuck, "My friends and I are going to be in the bathroom. It's makeover time!"

Carina joined Ellie in her excitement. Sarah was slightly more leery but still allowed herself to be directed to the bathroom.

Ellie closed the door and began her explanation. "I figured we need to change your appearances as a disguise, just in case someone comes snooping around. Changing hairstyles is fairly easy and can create a dramatic difference."

Ellie looked at each of them, making sure she had their attention. "So, with your permission, I would like to cut and dye your hair."

Carina eagerly nodded. "Sure, that sounds like fun. I've been wanting to change up my look. At least a little bit."

Sarah was more hesitant. Huh? Change my hair? I've been cutting it this way since high school. I've never had anyone else cut it. I know it doesn't look very good, but that is the point. I didn't want to look cute. I have a helmet head and bangs to hide behind, and they have kept the creepy men away. But Ellie is right. This would change my look quite a bit. It makes sense to change my looks as a disguise as we hide from those bad guys. She then looked at the door, thinking about who was in the living room. And maybe Carina is right that there are some good guys out there. Perhaps I don't want to chase all of them away.

Ellie wasn't surprised by Carina's eagerness or Sarah's reticence. She gave Sarah time to consider the plan.

"Yeah. Go ahead and do what you think is best," Sarah finally decided. "I don't know anything about hairstyles, so do whatever you think will change my look. Make me look different." In a softer voice, she added. "Make me look nice."

Ellie smiled and started unbagging the supplies she had purchased at the drugstore. "I thought we would slightly change Sarah's shade from its natural, dark blond to a honey blond, and Carina has a red undertone to her hair that I thought we could bring out." Carina nodded her head enthusiastically at the offer. "And, just for fun and not wanting to be left out, I'm going to put some highlights in my hair."

Carina clapped her hands in happiness. "This is so neat. So nice of you. I didn't have anyone back home who could help me with this. My mom frowned upon hair coloring, but I think it could be okay, sometimes."

"Well, for you, we just need to trim your split ends and put conditioner in your hair. Thin hair like yours needs some help with fullness and body," Ellie explained to Carina.

"And, as for you, Sarah, you too are in desperate need of conditioner, and we need to clean up your hairstyle. The helmet must go!" She teased, trying to keep the mood light and happy.

Sarah blushed, then grinned at the teasing. This is what I always wanted. I want to have some friends to goof around with and make jokes with. "Well, it looks like you are the boss around here, so how can I turn down this opportunity to work with greatness," she teased back. They all enjoyed a good laugh together.

As she started trimming Sarah's hair, Ellie began explaining things and giving them advice.

"I'm not here to judge anyone about their style. If you don't want to wear makeup, don't. If you want to wear makeup, do so. Don't let others make you feel obligated or embarrassed. I don't want you to feel like you have to do things my way."

"But what if we want to do it your way?" Carina interjected. "I mean, you are smart, you are a doctor, your boyfriend is a doctor, you get along with your brother, and you look so pretty. Maybe I want a life more like yours."

Ellie stopped what she was doing and put her hand on her chest. "That is so sweet. Thank you for the compliments." Then she laughed. "Of course, you haven't seen the messy parts of my life, so don't think I am perfect." With a more serious mien, she looked at Carina and said, "And I don't want to interfere with your religion and any restrictions it has. You said that it was important to you. Your family and the way you were raised."

Carina offered an explanation that sounded like it had been bouncing around in her head for some time: "It is, and they are important to me. But I want to experience more of the world, and I need to understand the different ways people see things and how they lead their lives."

Ellie wholeheartedly laughed. "Well, you have come to the right place. In L.A., you can probably see every different lifestyle there is." She returned to working on Sarah's hair. "But seriously, some religions are very much about modesty, and any kind of dressing up could be considered immodest. Anything that draws attention to you, especially male attention, must be avoided. Contrast that with Hollywood, which is all about attention, glamor, and sexiness. There is a broad range of options on the spectrum, and you need to decide where you are comfortable."

She finished trimming Sarah's hair and encouraged them to look it over. Ellie had taken away the sharp edges of the helmet, smoothing them into more of a shag cut that encircled her face and neck. She also trimmed her bangs into a curtain style, blending them into the surrounding hair. It softened Sarah's look dramatically.

"Wow!" Sarah gasped. "That's me?" she questioned.

Carina was open-mouthed in amazement herself.

Ellie stroked Sarah's hair in a motherly fashion. "It's one version of you. When you start trying different hairstyles and makeup, you will discover that there are many versions of you. And you get to pick which one you want to be."

"It's the same idea with clothes." She continued her mentoring as she started dyeing Sarah's hair. "For the most part, clothes are a costume. My scrubs tell people I am in medicine. I throw on a white lab coat and stethoscope and am recognized as a doctor. Police wear uniforms, business people wear suits, and what we wear allows us to be identified as we work together. But even out of a uniform, what we wear influences how people respond to us. When I am a speaker at a conference, I wear brighter colors. I want to draw the eye and project energy." Ellie then grinned and added, in a sexy voice. "And when I am alone with Devon, there are things I will wear to draw his eye."

Sarah and Carina giggled and blushed at that comment.

"I embrace the various clothes I wear because I know they all represent different parts of me," Ellie continued in a more serious tone. "I am sure I could find studies that thoroughly explain it, but I just know that right or wrong, men prefer an hourglass figure, and women like a V-shaped torso on a man. Fashion will lean into that." Ellie shrugged her shoulders. "It's just the way things are."

She moved on from Sarah to Carina, continuing the makeovers as she gave her impromptu mini-seminar on society and appearance. "It's the same with makeup. The Egyptians were using eyeliner thousands of years ago. We still do today. There is something about it that is appealing to people. So, I use that rather than fighting it. I mean, just like we prefer to be around people who smell good and avoid people who smell bad, we prefer to be around people who look put together rather than people who look disheveled. I have found that things go better when I take care of myself. You know, good hygiene, taking care of my hair, dressing with an eye towards fashion. I don't need to understand all the whys; I just know that dressing up and looking your best helps you succeed."

Carina shared, with some embarrassment, "My mother always said that makeup made you look like a harlot, and women only wore it to entice men."

Ellie's eyes went wide, but she took a moment and slowly blew out a breath, "Yeah, that's a pretty extreme opinion, but she is allowed to have one. However, the more important opinion is yours."

Ellie became impassioned, "There are people who think that a woman wearing anything other than a sack over her head is too arousing for men to handle. Where is the line? Showing an ankle? Showing a knee? Wearing a bathing suit? Well, how about realizing it's not my problem to worry about what could turn a man on. Because it could be anything. Some men are turned on by women in scrubs. So what? Am I supposed to wear a Burka to work?"

Carina and Sarah were surprised at her outburst because they had not seen her that worked up before. What she said made sense to them, and they nodded along when she spoke.

Carina considered Ellie's words. I guess that is true. What am I supposed to do? Hide myself in a box until my parents provide me someone to marry? I want to see the world. I want to participate in the world. Ellie looks nice with her makeup. She doesn't look like a harlot. She just looks pretty. There can't be any harm in me looking pretty. More guys may look, but doesn't that also give me more chances to find the good ones?

Sarah considered Ellie's words, too, but with more internal resistance. This just seems so alien to me. Maybe Dad would have eventually tried to use my looks for a con, but in my youth, he never commented about them. It was always about hiding. Hiding in the motel room. Trying to hide, walking to the store. Hiding behind my clothes and a scruffy exterior. This is so crazy. Now in order to hide, I am coming out of hiding? And she says I can look however I want. But how do I want to look? Does that include makeup? Does that include dressing up? And, how uncomfortable am I going to feel, having people notice me?

Ellie calmed herself and finished her thought. "But really, I do it for me. I like knowing that I can look attractive. It boosts my mood. And if it makes Devon hot and bothered, that is a bonus. So, these changes can be temporary."

She turned to Carina, "I am not here to get you to go against your religion." She turned to Sarah, "If makeup doesn't interest you, it's cool. I have friends who also don't wear makeup. But, if you are interested and just never had the chance to try it out, I am more than happy to show you what it's all about and how it works."

Carina quickly replied, "Yes, please." Sarah was a little more reserved but agreed with a, "Yeah. Sure." After all, the whole point of this makeover was to change their looks to help hide them for the week. With everyone in agreement, they turned their attention to finishing up the hair dyeing, each thinking about and enjoying their developing sisterhood.

Carina squealed in excitement when she saw her now auburn hair, while Sarah stared in silence at the honey-colored hair that seemed to caress her face rather than encase it. Ellie got a little choked up watching their reaction.

Ellie smiled at them and caught their eyes. "Alright. Are you ready to face the world?" They all laughed at that, knowing nobody was out there. Well, except Chuck, and Sarah found herself wondering what he would think of her new look.

So it was with some trepidation that Sarah joined the others in the living room, only to find Chuck already asleep, curled up on the couch. Ellie covered him with a sheet. Then she went into his room and retrieved clothes for him to wear tomorrow, which she put in the bathroom. They bid each other goodnight and retired to their bedrooms.

Ellie was glad to snuggle into Devon's side and soon was asleep.

Carina and Sarah were a bit more excited and talked about their new looks, but soon, exhaustion overtook them, and they were quickly asleep.

F/N2 from AC: Our two ladies now look much closer to how they looked in canon. Hopefully you are enjoying the role of Ellie as their impromptu life coach.