AN1 Reviews are low. Drop me a line, please. I pledge not to abandon this story (at least not with the current level of feedback, which as I said, is low). Give me a little something back in return :)
I understand that most Chuck readers are not interested in this fiction. It's a military story, written in the Queen's English, set in the United Kingdom, and most Chuck readers are from the United States. With all of that said, I know I won't pull outstanding numbers for this fiction. This is why it's important for those who do like the story to remain vocal about it with me.
Who Dares Wins
Chapter Twenty-Six: Lockdown: Part Five: Distress & Comfort
Monday, 5th November, 2007
"I need to nip home to see the kids and take me vitamins before we start training, fellas," Big Dan joked—about the vitamins at least—to the full complement of Red Team stood in the hallway of their on-base accommodations.
"Sure, fella, 'your vitamins', sure," John Murray said back while waving a finger at Big Dan accusingly, which earned chuckles from the unit.
"What else could he be doing?" Chuck mused, glancing around Red Team. "She's already throwing slippers at his head, so I highly doubt he'll sweet-talk her into anything else right now. Unless he has someone on the side and is sneaking off for that."
The chuckles among the crack-unit transcended to greater heights.
"Or it could be BDSM. Maybe he likes slippers thrown at him. You never know," Sarah teased, holding back her laughter.
Full-blown laughter now erupted among the team.
"Nice one, Sarah," Chuck said, grinning at her as he attempted to stop laughing.
Sarah shone a quick smile at Chuck.
"Yeah, that was a good one," Cole added in.
"It was," Big Dan agreed. "But it sounds like Sarah has some vast experience in it herself. Is there something you're not telling us, Sarah?"
Smiling at Big Dan, she said, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."
"It's alright. We'll ask Chuck about it instead," John Murray retorted, which extended the humour amongst the team.
"Fuck off!" Chuck shouted, grinning at the Scot.
"Who does the slipper throwing between them, though? Is it Chuck? Or Sarah?" Jamie teased.
Chuck and Sarah shot Jamie immediate glares while the rest of Red Team continued to lightheartedly chuckle.
"I'll come with you to your place if you want, Dan?" Bryce suggested once the warm spirits calmed. "You'll need someone with you anyway."
Big Dan nodded, and he raised his thumb towards Bryce in appreciation.
"It sounds like Speedy Gonzales wants some BDSM from Big Dan's missus too," Jamie joked, snorting.
Most of Red Team snorted just like Jamie to hold back their latest burst of laughter, but they were unsuccessful.
Bryce, however, shook his head and remained in a composed state. "Nah, the only slippers I want to be thrown is slippers thrown at that prick Kyle's head for his behaviour towards one of us. It was too far what they did today."
The team stopped laughing as they treated Bryce's comments seriously.
"You and me both," Chuck said, glancing at Bryce. "I know Sarah wants him, but I want that prick too. His conduct towards Sarah was unacceptable."
Red Team nodded at the remarks.
"Can't we just scrap the match, fellas, and meet them outside? That's the beasting they deserve for what they did to Sarah," Bryce suggested.
The unit entered consideration of Bryce's proposal.
"Don't worry. It will probably get called off anyway because things will undoubtedly kick-off," Chuck said.
Red Team nodded.
"Yeah. It always does. And you're sure in the mood for fighting a lot right now, fella," Big Dan said, frowning at Bryce.
Glancing around the team, Bryce said, "That was a one-time thing between us. It won't happen again. I was just pissed off with you all getting on my back and rubbing my face in it about Chuck and Sarah."
"Maybe we went a bit too far with that, Bryce," Jamie suggested.
Cole, John, Chris and Big Dan nodded in concession.
"Besides, if the match gets called off, then we can't win the bet. And I want to walk right up to that prick, look him in the eye, and take his money from him," Sarah said with conviction.
"Then let's make sure it happens because it's you who they targeted anyway," Chuck said.
Red Team nodded with a newfound level of conviction.
"So, does anyone else need an escort off base before training?" Chris asked, changing the topic.
"What about you, fella?" John Murray asked his team leader.
Chris winced and waved his hand in protest. "I'm safer on the base than near my wife right now," he declared.
Laughter erupted among the whole team.
"Shit!" Chuck exclaimed suddenly after a few seconds, and he stopped laughing.
Red Team ceased from laughing to glance at Chuck to query his outburst.
"What's wrong?" Sarah asked, meeting Chuck's gaze.
Grimacing, Chuck said with concern, "Ellie. She is coming over today. I completely forgot because I lost sense of time with everything that's gone on today."
"I can come with you, Chuck, if you want?" Cole suggested.
Chuck was about to nod, but he stopped when Sarah spoke instead. "No, it's ok. I'll go with him."
"Are you sure?" Cole asked.
Sarah nodded. "Yes. Go and see Sophie," she said as she turned her attention to Chuck, and they shared a prolonged gaze.
"Ok. I'll go with Cole then," Jamie said.
Cole nodded towards Jamie, and he extended his hand out towards him. "Thanks, mate," he said.
Jamie nodded, and he shook Cole's hand.
"Right, I'm off to the canteen with John then. Let's meet back here in two hours?" Chris suggested.
Chuck and Sarah broke their gaze from each other, and they nodded with the rest of the team, and Red Team soon went their separate ways...
Chuck and Sarah entered Chuck's car, and they closed the doors after them.
"Sarah, thank you for coming with me. I appreciate it a lot," Chuck said, turning to face Sarah.
Shifting herself to look at him, she smiled. "Chuck, it's ok. You have done me more favours than I can count already. It was about time I returned a favour to you," she laughed.
He shared the laughter with her as he sported her an affectionate grin. "Thanks. But I don't give to receive. I've helped you, and I will continue to help you because I want to, not because I want anything back from you."
Sarah nodded. "I know that you don't help me for that reason. You're the most friendly and approachable person I've ever met. I really mean that, Chuck."
"That's quite the assertion and a lot to live up to," he said, grinning.
"I'm sure you'll manage. Besides, it's the truth," she declared, holding her adoring gaze at him.
"If you say so," he said, keeping his grin. "But in other news, this is the first time we've been alone since Saturday night. I wanted to give you some space without being an extra burden onto you after what happened."
"Chuck, you're no burden on me. I won't change who I am nor what I want from life because forty people whistle at me. If anything, the behaviour they have shown towards me has only hardened my stance to not change a thing about me," she paused briefly as they held their gaze, and he paid close attention to what she was saying. "But I don't think we should be getting close to each other while in the presence of our team again like we did on Thursday night. That's what caused all of this. We allowed them to hold leverage over us, and it caused a rift in our team because of what we did. That can't happen again."
Nodding, he said, "Ok. You're right. So no more flirting or getting touchy in the presence of our team. I can agree to that, but it will be hard."
"Why will it be?" she asked as a smirk escaped from her because she already knew the answer due to the way he was looking at her, which was a smitten gaze.
"Because I can't keep my hands, nor eyes, off you, Sarah," he declared as he stared into her eyes.
A radiant smile encompassed her features, and she held his intimate stare until she broke it to look around their immediate proximity.
With her observation complete, she looked down at his hand, and she moved to connect their hands together, and she returned her glance to his face.
He beamed her a loving gaze, and she smiled right back at him.
They detached their hands after a few seconds, and Chuck said, "Let's head out then."
Sarah nodded as they fastened their seatbelts, and they departed the base.
A short while later
Chuck pulled his car to a stop outside his home. Ellie's car was not present, which gave Chuck high confidence that his sister had not yet arrived.
Departing his car, he walked up to the door of his home, with Sarah following closely behind.
Arriving at the door, he motioned Sarah towards his sidearm, and Sarah nodded.
Opening the door to his home, he drew out his Sig Sauer and entered inside.
Now inside his property, the teammates went room to room throughout Chuck's home in silence, with nothing more than hand signals shared between them.
Completing the sweep of Chuck's home, they resumed conversation once more. "It feels a long time ago since we were here last," Chuck said.
Nodding, Sarah said, "Yeah. It does."
"So, um, I never asked you earlier how you were dealing with the squadron finding out about us. So, how are you dealing with it?" Chuck asked, returning his weapon to its holster.
"Not too well," Sarah admitted, breaking her gaze with him to look at the floor.
"I'm sorry," he said, smiling consolingly.
Sarah returned her gaze to look at him. "It's not your fault."
"Nevertheless, I'm sorry anyway. You don't deserve to have your personal life discussed and debated all over the base," he said.
Sarah nodded. "And neither do you."
Chuck sighed in despondence. "I would never dream of meddling in any of their personal lives. I'm sure many of their lives are much more chaotic and in disarray than ours. But it's not my business to know, and it sure as hell isn't their business to know what goes on between you and me either."
Sarah nodded. "You're right. It's not their business to know what goes on between you and me. So let's make sure that it stays that way and that we conduct our personal lives, with each other at least, privately from now on, because the squadron can't be trusted."
"Agreed," Chuck said, nodding. "I promise you that I won't reveal a single thing concerning what we do together to anyone. I've not told Cole nor even my sister, nor Sophie, who has already asked if there was something between us."
Sarah gulped air. "Did she?" she asked nervously.
He nodded. "Yeah. But don't worry, she quickly dropped it, and she promised that she would never ask again until I am ready to tell her. And that's what I like about her."
"Cole met a good one," Sarah stated.
"Yeah," he said, glancing into her eyes. "And so did I."
Immediate happiness erupted and shone throughout her features. "Me too."
They paused as they burnt a powerful gaze until they came back down to earth when Chuck broke the moment and said, "I should call Ellie."
Sarah nodded.
Chuck took his phone from out of his jeans. Skimming through the onscreen phonebook, he hit call over his sister, and he placed the device up to his ear and waited for the call to connect.
Ellie answered after a few seconds. "Hi, Chuck."
"Hi, El. I'm sorry I haven't called you today. I've been busy. Have you left yet?" Chuck got straight to the point.
"Yes, Chuck, I'm driving right now actually, and I'm almost there," Ellie declared.
Chuck grimaced, and his gaze hit the floor. "Ellie, I'm sorry to do this right now, especially with what you have just said to me. But it's a bad idea. Trust me, I would not be saying this to you right now if it was not extremely important," he said as his gut sank because he was looking forward to spending time with his sister after a year of not seeing her.
Sarah donned Chuck a sorrowed smile that showed no teeth.
"Chuck, you've been in the SAS long enough for me to not question you when you say something like that. But can I ask what it's about at least?"
Chuck sighed. "Ellie, I can't tell you over the phone," he admitted.
Ellie paused briefly, and Chuck waited patiently for his sister to continue on.
"Well, Chuck, I'm only twenty minutes away, so I guess I would like to at least see you, even if briefly if that's ok?"
Chuck checked his watch, and he entered contemplation before he said, "Ok. I'll tell you about it when you arrive..."
Chuck and Sarah were paused in wait when Chuck observed his sister's car arrive in view.
Chuck promptly departed his home to greet his sister, and Sarah followed closely behind.
Ellie departed her vehicle after a few seconds, and the brother and sister hastily moved to embrace after not seeing each other for so long.
Now embracing, Ellie began to squeeze Chuck, and Chuck grinned because he had missed this more than he could ever begin to explain.
"Hi, little brother," Ellie said in the embrace.
"Hi, Ellie. God, I've missed you," he declared.
They pulled back from each other, and a loving smile encompassed Ellie's face.
"I've missed you too, Chuck," she said, and she moved her hand to affectionately stroke his cheek.
Chuck held his loving grin towards his sister, who soon broke her gaze from him for the first time, and she fixed her glance behind him.
Chuck turned to face Sarah, who Ellie was looking at. She was stood close by the siblings.
"Ellie, I would like you to meet a special friend of mine. This is Sarah," Chuck said, changing his glance between both women, who each meant a great deal to him.
Ellie walked towards Sarah, who attempted to offer her hand, but Ellie moved in to hug Sarah, which took Sarah by surprise a little.
Sarah shared a glance with Chuck while in the embrace with Ellie, and he grinned at her.
"Hi, Sarah," Ellie said.
"Hi, Ellie. It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you," Sarah said.
Ellie smiled at her. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, Sarah, 'cause Chuck has told me nothing about you."
"We have only known each other for a month," Sarah admitted.
Ellie turned to face Chuck. "I have to say, Chuck, I'm disappointed in you. You didn't tell me you had a new girlfriend when we spoke a few days ago."
Chuck and Sarah immediately turned awkward, and they each began to mumble incoherent words briefly as they attempted to protest Ellie's declaration of Sarah being Chuck's girlfriend.
"Um, Ellie, nope, it's nothing like that!" Chuck quickly protested once he was able to speak coherently again.
Ellie narrowed her eyes at her brother.
"Yeah, we're teammates," Sarah reinforced Chuck's comments, suddenly feeling very nervous.
Ellie turned to meet Sarah's glance again, and when she did, Sarah motioned to her concealed carry strapped to her jeans.
Ellie darted her glance to Sarah's waist, and her eyes narrowed once more, but for a different reason.
"You're not routinely armed when off-duty. I've not seen you nor your friends armed before, Chuck," Ellie said, glancing back at Chuck.
Chuck nodded. "There's a potential active threat against us," he informed her.
"God, Chuck!" Ellie said as she gasped, and she flung a hand to her mouth in shock. She then noted for the first time Chuck's sidearm, which was positioned in a similar location to Sarah's.
"Yeah, it's pretty serious," Chuck admitted. "Let's go inside. I'll tell you more."
Ellie nodded, and the three of them turned, and they entered Chuck's house together.
Now inside, they walked into Chuck's kitchen.
"On Saturday, Cole found a tracker on his vehicle," Chuck continued the discussion.
Ellie gasped once more. "Is he ok?"
Chuck nodded. "Yeah, he's fine. As soon as he found it, he reported it in. We've been locked on base ever since."
"So why are you here now, Chuck? Is it safe enough for you to be?" Ellie asked with newfound concern.
"That's why we're armed," Chuck admitted. "And we technically shouldn't be outside of the base unless we really need to be."
"I feel bad now that I came, Chuck," Ellie said in shame, rotating her gaze between the teammates.
"Ellie, we've already come out for much less, I can assure you," Sarah said with a smile.
Chuck nodded, suppressing laughter.
"I won't stay long. I just really needed to see you, Chuck," Ellie said, smiling at him.
"Me too," he said, returning her loving gaze.
"So, tell me more about this threat to you and your friends," Ellie said.
Chuck nodded…
O-x-O-x-O-x-O
A short while later
"Well, Ellie, I really wish you could stay, but I'm concerned about leaving you in danger in my home with the potential threat looming over us, plus I wouldn't be able to stay here with you anyway, and it would be just short visits," Chuck admitted, and he couldn't even bring himself to smile. He was feeling despondent and in low spirits right now because this is the first time he had seen her in a year, and her visit had now been cut short by several days, and he had only got to spend thirty minutes with her.
Ellie waved off Chuck's words with her hand. "I wouldn't want to put you in danger anyway, little brother. If you've been told to stay on the base for your safety until it's cleared, then it's what I want of you anyway."
"I don't. I hate being stuck on there," Chuck laughed.
Sarah shared the laughter with him. "Me too."
"It's for your own safety, both of yours," Ellie said, glancing between Chuck and Sarah.
"It could also turn out to be journalists up to no good," Chuck said.
"You don't know that, Chuck," Ellie cautioned.
"If it does turn out to be journalists, I will not be happy because I only just found my own place," Sarah declared.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Sarah," Ellie said sincerely.
"Thank you," she replied.
"From a personal perspective, I would be thrilled if it turned out to be just that because then none of you would be in danger," Ellie declared.
Chuck and Sarah considered Ellie's words before they nodded. She did have a point.
"That's a great point, actually, El, 'cause it's fun being the hunter, but I don't particularly enjoy being the hunted," Chuck admitted.
Sarah nodded.
"Well, Chuck, I would prefer you to be neither, and you know that, we've had the conversation enough. But it's your life, so I have no choice but to respect your desires," Ellie said.
A vibrant smile lit up Sarah's face. "You sound like my own sister, but especially my mum," Sarah declared.
Ellie giggled sweetly. "Trust me, Sarah, my mum repeats the same things that I do. It sure sounds like they would get on very well together."
Sarah nodded. "Yeah, it does."
Ellie paused briefly, and she glanced between Chuck and Sarah. "You both look really close and friendly with each other too."
"Oh, trust me, Ellie, we're just putting on an act for your benefit," Chuck joked.
Sarah suppressed laughter as she gazed at Chuck with a sparkle in her eye.
"I strongly doubt that," Ellie said as she continued to rotate her glance between them both.
Sarah broke her gaze from Chuck to look at Ellie.
Ellie was continuing her inquisitive glance between her brother and Sarah, and Sarah quickly stopped looking at Ellie in embarrassment as if she were a kid caught looking at her high school crush. Sarah was very good at reading people, and she knew that Ellie knew that there was something more than had been declared between her and Chuck.
Ellie soon abandoned her curiosity, and she turned her full attention to Chuck. "I should probably leave now. I've kept you both long enough, and I'm mindful of your safety until this threat is over."
Chuck nodded in acceptance. "We have to get back anyway. We have training."
Sarah nodded. "Yeah, but it was lovely to meet you, Ellie."
Ellie broke out with a smile that could rival the best of her brother's. "Sarah, the honour is all mine. I have tremendous respect for everyone who has served in your regiment. And actually, the whole army. I may not like my brother in harm's way, but I am more proud of him than I can ever tell him."
"Ellie, your work is just as important. You save lives. We are all very proud of you too. Before I joined the SAS, I was a medic. So trust me, I know," Sarah said, gazing fondly at Chuck's sister.
Ellie suppressed laughter as she held her loving gaze towards Sarah. "Wow. I never knew. I can't wait to get to know you more," she declared.
"That is if I haven't bumped her off before you can," Chuck teased with a loving grin of his own.
Sarah shook her head, holding her warm gaze. "This is what I put up with all of the time."
Ellie moved to swat her brother's arm.
He frowned at her.
"That's no way to treat a girl," Ellie chastised him.
"You should see how she treats me," Chuck protested.
"He's lying," Sarah joked, laughing.
"I believe you, Sarah," Ellie said, smiling.
Chuck shook his head, and he closed his eyes. "I give up. No one will ever take my side."
"Maybe you should be nice to me, and then nobody would have to," Sarah said, smiling from ear to ear.
"Yeah. Maybe I should," Chuck agreed, returning her warm gaze.
Ellie watched the exchange between them with a keen interest and a loving smile. For everything between her brother and the extremely attractive woman was not as was declared…
A few minutes later
"Well, goodbye, little brother," Ellie said as she moved to hug Chuck.
"Bye, El," Chuck said inside the embrace.
They pulled apart slightly, but remained in close proximity.
"Don't leave it so long before we next see each other. Ok?" she asked.
Chuck nodded. "I won't. I'll come and see you as soon as I can, I promise."
Ellie nodded, still gazing extremely affectionately towards him.
Ellie then turned her attention towards Sarah. "I hope to see you again soon too," she said, and she moved into Sarah's proximity as they embraced.
"Me too," Sarah said.
The women pulled apart from each other.
"Well, goodbye then. And please, stay safe, not just both of you, but all of your friends," Ellie said to them both.
Chuck and Sarah nodded.
"Bye, Sis, I'll call you when you get home," Chuck said.
Ellie nodded.
"Bye, Ellie," Sarah said.
"Bye, Sarah," Ellie replied.
The teammates waved Ellie off as she entered her car, and she soon departed the street.
Sarah entered Chuck's car with him. Closing the door after her, she turned to face Chuck.
His head was stooped, and he was gazing at the steering wheel in a despondent frame of mind, undoubtedly due to having to send his sister packing back home so soon after she had arrived to stay with him for several days.
In the month that Sarah had known Chuck, he had told her a lot about his sister. Being older than him, naturally, he had spoken of how she always took care of him and got him out of trouble both at school, of which they attended the same one, and if he had done something wrong to upset his parents. The bond they shared together was a powerful one, and Chuck had revealed that they idolized and cherished every moment they spent together, which had now been cut short because of his work.
Sarah could see that Chuck was hurting a lot right now. And if the truth was told, so was she. Because this is the first time since they met that he had been upset in her presence. Her growing intimate feelings towards him frankly could not bear to see him in distress.
Swallowing to hold back her emotions caused from seeing him upset, Sarah moved her hand to rub the back of his neck. "I'm sorry," she said softly.
He forced a smile, which was not one of his best ones, and he turned to face her.
His repositioning brought her hand closer to his face, and she began to brush her thumb down his cheek as they locked their gaze into each other's eyes.
Sarah continued her soft strokes down his cheek, and she soon lowered her gaze for the briefest of moments towards his lips before they edged towards each other, and they connected their lips together.
Now kissing him, Sarah closed her eyes, and she allowed her mouth to convey those growing feelings towards him rather than via how she looked at him.
They continued to kiss until they ran out of air, and they separated their lips from each other.
Sarah opened her eyes, and she began to look through her lashes at him, neither of them blinking, as they remained within intimate proximity to each other.
"You're so beautiful," he declared, his tone soft but his words speaking in a thousand decibels to her.
Sarah swallowed air as she received his compliment, and with many lumps formed in her throat, because of their intimate activity and because of his words, which truly made her feel beautiful, she said, "Thank you. You are too."
A titanic grin erupted on his face.
She could only do nothing but smile right back at him.
Her gaze soon lowered to his lips once more, and she moved back in to kiss him, her thumb still gently caressing his soft, perfect face.
Their tongues began to dance in a passionate encounter, and they continued to convey their building desire each passing day towards one another until they reluctantly parted for air.
The teammates and lovers gazed at each other in calming silence as they fought to regulate their breathing from their intimate activities with each other.
"We should head back. I don't want to, but it's not safe for us," he said after a few seconds, his tone raspy from their expressed intimacy.
With her own tone hoarse, she said, "Yeah..."
AN2 This was the perfect place to end the chapter. I considered doing the training part for the match as the ending to this chapter, but this was the best ending possible. I'm sure you will understand/have seen why.
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