A/N: We're nearing the end of the first "episode". I hope you are enjoying my take on a Sarah and Chuck Private Eye tale.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

Now

The door opened to Castle Security, and Chuck looked up to see who it was. "Carina!" Chuck greeted her. "Coffee?"

"My God, are you trying to get into my pants?" Carina asked, walking over to Chuck and kissing him on the cheek. "Would that solve the problem?"

"What problem?" Chuck asked, pouring her a cup of coffee and prepping it the way she liked.

"The Lou Incident," she reminded him, taking the coffee from him and sipping it.

"Don't want to talk about it," Chuck blurted out.

"Listen, in a way by not talking about it, you would be talking about it," Carina told him. Chuck gave her a look. Carina looked over to Sarah's office. Sarah had exited to leaning against the door frame, her arms crossed, listening to the two of them. "Help me out here, Blondie."

"That makes no sense whatsoever," Sarah told Chuck, making Carina frown. "She just wants you over Lou, because you being upset makes her sad."

"That is a bald-face lie," Carina said, making both Chuck and Sarah laugh. "All I was doing was being nice. I was trying to help him forget all about Lou with a night with me… maybe two… okay, three or more, and he'd forget his name."

"But that's exactly what Lou did to me," Chuck told Carina. Carina closed her eyes, wincing. "I mean, not with sex, but… I don't want to talk about it."

"Chuck," Sarah said, almost pleading. "Lou did you damn dirty."

"She dated me so she could go to her ex-boyfriends club to get some damn meat for her sub shop, and no one question it, because she was there with me. On a date," Chuck reminded Sarah. "She used me. She literally dated me for a cover."

"And you've never used someone on a date?" Carina asked. Sarah and Chuck both gave her a look. "You know what, I heard it as soon as I said it."

"Listen, I don't want to talk about it," Chuck said again.

"Yet you just did," Carina pointed out, making Chuck sigh. "I get it, Curls, you want someone to want you for you."

"Yeah, I do. Is that so awful?" Chuck asked. "And before you answer, apparently the answer is yes."

"Okay. I'm gonna say this once, and if you ever tell a soul I said this, I will remove every hair from your body with tweezers." Chuck's eyes went wide, as Carina glanced at his crotch, and then at his face. "And yes, I do mean there." Chuck swallowed. "Good, I see we understand each other." Carina looked at Sarah. "Do you want to say this?"

"No, because he'll believe that it's just me trying to make him feel better," Sarah told her.

"Fine," Carina replied. "You intimidate the shit out of women, Curls. You are kind, you are sweet, you think of them as people. You are the kind of guy that you say forever to and have three point six kids, and no I have no idea how the point six works."

"This is damn near poetic," Sarah said.

"Shut it," Carina barked, making Sarah laugh. "You scare women, and you're choosy. You don't go after just any piece of ass."

"It's like listening to an epic," Sarah continued. Carina glared at her. "Sorry, please continue."

"Being around you… it made me realize what I had with John… it wasn't enough," Carina continued.

"Oh, shit, she called him John," Sarah said softly, now invested.

"You care, you care so fucking hard that you scare women, and you make them believe they can have the world," Carina continued.

"I'm sorry," Chuck told her. "I had no idea I caused problems between you and Casey. I just thought… well, I had no idea why you two broke up."

"I broke up with him because he couldn't commit," Carina told them.

"Wait, Casey couldn't commit? To you?" Chuck asked, incredulously.

"Yeah, he couldn't," Carina replied. "It was him, not me." Chuck studied her for a second, opened his arms, and moved to her. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Hugging you," Chuck told her.

"Oh," Carina said, letting him. "Oh."

"You know you keep teasing him," Sarah began, grinning as she watched the two. "But it sounds like a few nights with Chuck would ruin you forever."

"Spoiler alert, he's already ruined me with how he treats me," Carina told Sarah.

"Do I need to come back?" Casey's voice interrupted. The three turned to see John at the door. They hadn't heard him come in.

"Hey, Casey," Chuck began. "Listen-"

"Save it, moron," Casey said, cutting him off. "I know she's just trying to make me jealous."

"That is not how I'd make you jealous," Carina told Casey. She spun Chuck, grabbed his face, dipped him, and kissed him. Sarah's eyes widened, watching the sight in front of her. Carina brought the two of them back to a standing position and released Chuck. "That's how I'd do it… IfI was trying to make you jealous."

"All you did was blow the nerd's mind," Casey replied. "Or maybe something else." Chuck glared at Casey, who shrugged. "So, can we get on with this?"

"Get on with what?" Chuck asked, blinking. "Again, being used," Chuck said softly to Carina.

"Yeah, but it's me, so what did you expect?" she replied with a shrug. "So, I've been following a story," she said in a normal voice to everyone. She paused. "How technical should I get?"

"What is it about?" Sarah asked.

Carina thought for a second. "Some designer steroids," Carina replied.

"I don't need the medicalese," Chuck told her. "Unless it's pertinent information."

"Okay," Carina said with a nod. She turned back to everyone. "There have been a few overdoses the past few months, that have resulted in death. The main thing the deceased have in common is their gym memberships."

"The deceased all live in different jurisdictions, so no one put it together," Casey said. He looked over at Carina. "Except her, she's good."

Carina stared at him for a second, then turned back to Chuck and Sarah. The two shared a look, neither saying a word. "I went and talked to the man in charge of the gyms, but before I did, I found out that we both knew someone." Carina looked over at Casey. Chuck wasn't sure what he would call the look on Carina's face, but it sure wasn't infatuation.

Casey cleared his throat. "Henry, an old battle buddy of mine, owns three gyms in California. He's beside himself. He had no idea about these deaths."

"After I talked to Henry," Carina picked up, "and came to realize he knew nothing about what was going on, I told him to go talk to John."

"After talking to Henry, I called Carina and we decided the best way to handle it was to see if you two would work the case," Casey told them. "Henry is willing to pay your fee, because he's worried about his gym's reputation. He's not stupid, he knows that some people use, and he's done all he can to stop it, but people using dangerous, designer steroids…" Casey trailed off and shook his head. "He doesn't need that crap. He needs to know if it's a member, or an employee."

"That's gonna be tough with three gyms," Chuck admitted, looking over at Sarah.

"In two of the deaths, the members belonged to the local gym," Carina said, handing Chuck and Sarah a file. They began to thumb through it, both pointing out different things to the other as they thumbed through it. "You two are like the Bobbsy Twins."

Casey chuckled. "More Nancy Drew, since Walker pulls the weight." Sarah looked up at Casey. "Youare the actual PI." Sarah grinned, turned, and went into her office. She came back moments later with a manila envelope. "Oh, what fresh hell… They gave him a PI license?"

"No," Sarah replied. "Chuck earned his PI license." Chuck looked at the envelope. "You earned this," she told him softly.

Chuck took it from her. He opened it, pulled out the certificate, and stared at it. "We got this for you," Carina told him. He looked over, to find Carina holding a frame. "We thought you could put it up in your office."

"I never… I…" He trailed off, at a loss for words. Sarah stepped over and hugged him.

"Annnd, that's too many lady feelings," Casey groused. "Henry is ready to talk to you whenever." With that, Casey left.

"You know, he does seem to commit to leaving whenever things get a bit emotional," Chuck said. Carina gave him a look. "I'm sorry, that was too soon."

"No, it was just right, and you hit the nail on the head," Carina told him.

"Casey wants to give it another shot," Sarah told him, walking over to the conference table. Chuck and Carina joined her.

"Oooo," Chuck said, as he sat down, looking at Carina as she rolled her eyes. "He's gotta earn your love, right?"

"Let's talk about the case," Carina said, deflecting. "So, I talked to Jeff, who did some research. He found the connection between the three bodies-"

"Jeff," Chuck interrupted. "You mean Jeffery Barnes, former Buy More employee?"

"He's been coroner for a while now," Carina pointed out. "He really should have gotten his medical degree."

"Listen, I'm all for people rehabilitating themselves, but if Jeff were to have his medical degree, he might use it on real people. And that would be a whole other can of worms," Chuck pointed out.

"He doesn't live in his van anymore, and the exhaust is fixed," Sarah reminded him.

"You never met him before…" Chuck began trailing off, a horrified look on his face. "It was… just…"

"Okay, I give," Sarah said, throwing up her hands. "So, he made the connection."

"Yeah, all three had sudden cardiac death," Carina began.

"At least they didn't feel anything," Chuck muttered.

"They were also all older," Carina added.

"Targeted?" Chuck asked. Sarah gave him a proud look. "How old?"

"Sixty-five and older, and we found all of them had money transfered into their accounts," Carina continued. She took the file, flipped to a page, turned it around and pointed to the page. "All three had transfers of ten thousand dollars from an app called Pay App."

"Was that usual?" Chuck asked.

"For each victim, it was the only transfer from that app. The best we can tell, none of the victims had much of a clue how to use it." Carina face was creased in a frown as she talked. "I've talked to two of the families of the deceased. Both were on fixed income, were considered tech-deficient if not tech-illiterate, and the family had no idea they even had a gym membership."

"Did Henry have any idea about how that might happen?" Sarah inquired.

"It appears that each of them had a year membership that they paid for in cash," Carina explained. "I can't go into the gyms; I've poked around too much all ready."

"I wonder how they were even targeted?" Chuck asked, looking at Sarah.

"That, I might know," Carina told them. "It appears that the gym gives a free week to prospective clients to try out the gym. All three victims did have their free week at the local gym."

"Sounds like an employee," Chuck said, nodding. "But why?"

"That's the question we all are wondering," Carina admitted. "None of the victims had any money to speak of. No inheritance. No real enemies. Aside from taking the same designer steroid, none of the victims ever showed any interest in building muscle or strength. There are no records of ordering protein powders or anything else that you see on TV."

"I guess we need to go see Henry," Chuck said. Carina nodded and started to rise. "I'd assume you'd like to know what we find out, for a story?"

"You know it," Carina said, winking at him. "You sure I can't help you get over Lou?"

"You already have, Carina," Chuck told her. Carina looked at Sarah, and grinned.

"Look at this photograph!" Carina sang loudly, off-key.

"Why did you tell her?" Chuck asked Sarah. Sarah couldn't answer, she was too busy laughing riotously.

}o{

A few hours later found Chuck dressed as a gym employee, feeling very uncomfortable. He was trailing another gym employee, Brad, who was Chuck's mentor for the day. Henry apologized to Chuck, but they were short a masseuse for the day, and Henry really felt that Brad was hiding something from everyone.

Of course, Chuck had found out all of this after he and Sarah had split up. She had gone to begin her "free week" membership. She was to be a potential client, and Chuck an employee. He was quite sure she would do better as an employee than him, but Henry had disagreed. "So," Brad told him, "each member is different. Some want a real massage, some just want to be touched-"

"I'm sorry, what?" Chuck asked.

"Listen… some of our members… they haven't had a man touch them in a while," Brad began.

"Oh, God," Chuck replied, beginning to worry.

"No, not sexually," Brad assured him. "Just…" Brad looked around, and Chuck was surprised to see sympathy on his face. "Some of the older ladies… they've not had anyone touch them like that in a while."

"I see," Chuck replied, still not sure what he was going to do if he had to give a massage.

"And if you can, say nice things to them. You know, make 'em feel good," Brad continued. Chuck studied Brad. He had no idea what Henry would think Brad was hiding. Maybe that he was compassionate, which seemed to be a plus in Brad's job. "Damn it," Brad muttered, his phone making a noise. "I gotta take care of this. We've got someone on the way. Just make sure and step out, while they change and get on the table."

"Wait, you want me to give a massage to someone?" Chuck asked.

"You were hired to do so," Brad pointed out.

"On day one, with no one else here to watch me?" Chuck asked, trying to figure out what in the hell to do.

"Listen, I get it," Brad said, putting his hand on Chuck's shoulder to comfort him. "You're used to your own clientele. But this will be fine. I promise."

"Okay," Chuck said, nodding. Brad headed for the door and smiled as he opened it.

"Hi," Chuck heard from outside the door. He knew that voice. Please, God… no. Please… no. "I really need a massage."

"Well, our newest employee is in there, and he has been getting rave reviews," Brad told her. He stepped through and Chuck swallowed, seeing his friend, partner, and the woman he was head over heels in love with, step through the door. "This is Chuck."

Sarah turned to Chuck and smiled. Chuck had worked with her long enough to know what was hidden behind that smile. "Hi, I'm Sarah," she said, reaching out her hand. Chuck shook it.

"I'll leave you two alone," Brad said, and shut the door.

"What the hell?" Sarah hissed, her eyes wide. "What are you doing?"

"Henry put me with Brad, they are short a masseuse today," Chuck explained. "What are you doing?" he asked as she reached for her shirt.

"I need to get on that table, and you massage me," Sarah told him. She couldn't help but chuckle as he fled to the adjoining room. "Okay, so find anything yet?"

"Nothing," Chuck admitted. "Henry thought that Brad was hiding something, and while I thought Henry was crazy, Brad did just have to leave to take care of something after he received a text."

"Well, while it's not something, it's not nothing," Sarah said. Chuck stood there, trying to not think about Sarah taking her clothes off on the other side of the partition. "Okay, I need you to cover me with the towel." Chuck stepped out, thinking about what she said and quickly stepped back behind the partition.

"Sarah! You're naked!"

"That's usually how this works," Sarah told him.

"There's a robe you should have on, I just saw… I'm not gonna say."

Chuck heard a sigh, and shuffling on the other side. "Fine, it's just my ass. You've basically seen it when I've worn a bathing suit. I'm covered now."

Chuck stuck his head around, his eyes covered with his hand, and gingerly moved his fingers to peek with one eye. He gave a sigh of relief, and walked over to her. Chuck pulled the robe down to just above her buttocks. He stood there, trying to figure out what to do until Brad came back.

"Okay, now it feels creepy, you just staring at me," Sarah chided.

"I'm not gawking you, I'm just waiting."

"For what?" Sarah asked, beginning to look back at him.

"Nyuh uh," Chuck said, making her roll her eyes, but settle back down on the table. "We don't need any clothing accidents. This really isn't fair to you."

"So, you've seen my bare back," Sarah began.

"Sarah, you know what I mean." He heard her chuckle. "What?"

"You," she said simply. "There's no one I trust more than you, and you're just being… you." Chuck didn't know how to answer that. "Okay, my massage."

"Uh," Chuck replied.

"Listen, I wasn't kidding. I need a massage. Now get some oil on those hands and let's go," Sarah told him.

"I have no idea how to give a massage," Chuck admitted.

"You use your fingers for that keyboard all the time, just pretend I'm your keyboard," Sarah told him.

"That sounds dirty," Chuck muttered, hearing her giggle. He found some warm oil, put it on his hands, and stared at the back of her shoulder. He had seen her rub it there many times after a long day. He gently laid his hands on her.

"I'm not porcelain," she told him.

"Just remember, if this hurts you or something, I didn't do it on purpose," Chuck told her. She chuckled. "I'm serious! I don't need you Kung Fu-ing me."

"Chuck, I'm not gonna… uhhhhhh," she groaned, as he began to work on the knot in her shoulder. "Jesus," she breathed. "Harder." Chuck stopped, a little taken aback. "Harder, Chuck." He blew out a breath, shrugged, and went to work. "Oh my God," she muttered. Chuck watched her press her face into the hole at the head of the table. "Yes," she moaned, and then a guttural noise came from her, immediately after a popping sound issued from her shoulder.

"You okay?" Chuck asked.

"Lou is a goddamn idiot," Sarah muttered.

"I'm sorry?"

"She picked some special meats over this?" Sarah asked. "If women knew you could do this…" she trailed off. "Okay, my lower back."

"Sarah," Chuck began.

"Please, Chuck." He had experience dreams where she had said that. They were highly inappropriate dreams, but still. He swallowed, and gently went to the spot where he thought she was having issues.

"Oh my God!" She groaned, as Brad walked back into the room.

"Damn, bro," Brad said laughing. "And here I was worried you didn't know what the hell you're doing." Chuck couldn't say anything and still concentrate on massaging Sarah. "So, is it safe to say you are satisfied, ma'am?"

"Yes," Sarah replied, sounding exhausted. "You don't understand, I screwed up my shoulder in an accident years ago, and this is the first time it's felt right in over three years."

Chuck had a good idea which accident she was talking about. The fight with Zondra. The fight. "Well, we aim to please," Brad told her. "I have to take care of some things," Brad said to Chuck. "I'm going to make a phone call or two, and Peter will be here in half an hour. He'll take over massages, and then they want you to work the weight room with Stephanie."

"Will do," Chuck told him.

"Can Chuck finish my massage?" Sarah asked in a groan.

"Absolutely, he's all yours," Brad said as he shut the door, leaving the two of them alone. Chuck pushed into the knot next to her spine, and he thought Sarah was speaking in Klingon.

"How the holy hell are you single, Chuck?" Sarah asked. "Whatever, their loss. You're mine for the next half hour." Chuck grinned and went to work. What she didn't know was that he was hers for as long as she'd have him.

}o{

After the massage had ended and Chuck came back into the room, Sarah told him she was going home for a nap. She looked exhausted and, dare Chuck say… satiated? When Peter relieved him in the massage room, he'd moved to the weight room with Stephanie. Finally home, he went directly to the bathroom to shower. He was exhausted. He had moved a lot of weights, wiped down machines, and had a pretty good workout.

He had, however, learned nothing.

He had finished his shower when he realized, he hadn't brought any clothes with him into the bathroom. He wrapped a towel around himself, opened the door and paused. She was there. "Sarah?"

He heard her move off the couch and come down the hallway. Sarah took one look at him in the towel, and made a motion for him to turn around. Chuck gave her a questioning look, and she raised an eyebrow at him. He then did as she instructed, and when he did, she smiled at him. "Now, we're even."

"No, we both know you owe me for that massage," Chuck blurted out. He couldn't believe he had said that out loud. She grinned at him, chuckled, and turning, headed back to the living room.

Chuck stood there, wondering how in the hell they were going to get through this case. Well, he knew he could get through the case, but how would he get through it with her? Realizing he was still standing there in a towel, he rushed to his bedroom.

A/N: …..I mean….yeah…I know.

Next time:

"What are you doing?"

"I need to take your clothes off Sarah," he told her.

"Are we about to make love?" She watched his eyes flutter, and realized this was not, in fact, a dream. "Sorry," she said shaking her head. "Friday night and all, thought it was a dream."

"Excuse me?" Chuck asked.

Oh, did we finally get to the part I featured in the first part of this episode? *Sips tea*