A/N: It's been four chapters since Chuck got back to Stanford and our two love birds began their reunion. You might be wondering if our little fledglings are ever going to leave their love nest. Well, maybe not leave it entirely but maybe take a short excursion or two before flying back to the safety (and sensuality) of their private roost. The chapter title could be a huge hint. Let's see if it is.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck and I make no money from writing this story about Chuck.


Chapter 50 – Shut Up and Dance

Wednesday August 21

"Three days. It's been three days!" Ellie exclaimed into her cellphone, disbelieving. "Well, four days, I guess, since Chuck got up here on Sunday," she swiftly amended.

"I know," Carina replied with a snort, rolling her eyes, even though the other women couldn't see. Maybe because the other woman couldn't see. "I was there."

"And you still haven't gotten a call from Sarah?" the med student wondered.

"No. Has Chuck called you yet?"

"Nope." Before Ellie could say more, Carina interrupted her.

"I admit that I sent her a text, though," the redhead offered.

"Did she respond?" Ellie asked, sounding a little put out at not being the first person to have fresh news.

"Yeah, it took a long time though," Carina responded with an amused lilt in her voice.

"What'd she say?"

"All her text said was, 'Leave me alone. I'm busy'," she deadpanned.

"Oh, God," Ellie giggled.

"Busy getting busy, the little minx. Dancing the 'horizontal hula' with her nerd, no doubt," Carina continued, giggling herself.

"Carina! That's my brother you're talking about!"

"Yeah, so? That's my friend we're talking about," the former Songbird retorted.

"That's true. She's my friend too, you know," the brunette countered peevishly.

"And he's my friend, as well," Carina readily admitted. "But if you ever tell him that, I'll deny it," she quickly added.

"My lips are sealed," the older woman promised, shaking her head at the younger woman's quirks. "I just can't get over it. The two of them …"

"Humping like two bunnies?" the CAT smirked. "Riding the 'baloney pony'? Giddyap -"

"Eww! Carina! My God, that's gross," Ellie interrupted, laughing again in spite of herself. She was pretty upfront about sex, but not as much as her friend. No one she had ever met was as 'sex forward' as Carina Miller. It was difficult to behave around the redhead.

"What? Don't tell me you weren't working on getting them together all last year, just like we were."

"No, no. You're right, Carina. But still …"

"But still, nothing. They finally got over their issues enough to have sex like they've both been dying to do for months. Good for them."

It was the third phone call in as many days between the two women. The first took place earlier that week, on Monday, hard on the heels of Ellie's conversation with her mother. Where she learned that her brother was back in Palo Alto from Massachusetts. And had been for almost twenty-four hours at that point.

"I can't believe that my mom didn't tell me until Monday that Sarah had convinced Chuck to come back early," Ellie pouted, grumbling anew. "You didn't warn me either," she added, accusingly.

"Hey! I told you, before that I thought you already knew," Carina replied defensively. "Otherwise, I'd have let you know as soon as Sarah left our apartment Sunday afternoon."

"I'm so jealous that I didn't get to see their initial reunion," Ellie whined, having made the same statement during each of their previous calls. She'd had to settle for Carina's overblown and lurid retelling. Multiple times.

"Sorry you missed out. It was quite a show. The way they were practically mauling each other," Carina sniffed, amused. "It was almost enough to offend my delicate sensibilities."

"Yeah, right! Delicate sensibilities," the brunette scoffed, chuckling.

"C'mon. I said 'almost,' didn't I?" Her redheaded friend laughed.

Ellie sobered. "Still … it is sorta weird, though, that we haven't heard anything at all from them yet. I hope they're all right," she murmured pensively.

"It's not weird at all," Carina disagreed. "They're fine. Busy having fun. And about damn time, too, if you ask me. Hell, by this point, I bet they're setting up a trapeze or building a jungle gym in the bedroom." She chortled and the other woman joined her. "'Course, it's also possible that they're dead. That they sexed each other to death," she added once their laughter died down.

"Carina!" Ellie gasped once again, half serious and half amused.

"We go busting in there and find them wrapped in each other's arms, dead as doornails. Two 'corpus delicti' frozen 'in flagrante delicto.'"

"That doesn't mean what you think it means," the med student scolded.

"Oh, I know," the auburn-haired student snorted dismissively. "I just like saying stuff in Latin. It sounds sophisticated and naughty all at the same time," she said proudly.

"Everything you say sounds naughty," Ellie observed, laughing again.

"Why, thank you, Ellie!" Carina chirped. "That's just about the nicest thing that you've ever said to me," she crowed before joining her friend in riotous laughter.


Oblivious to the outside world, well honestly, oblivious to everything besides each other, Chuck and Sarah were sprawled out on their bed, still breathing hard and grinning.

Sarah sniffed in amusement. That website Chuck had found was certainly educational. They'd spent the last few days looking over the different entries, laughing at some of the names they saw and marveling at the challenge several of them presented.

"You definitely have to be in shape to try some of this stuff," Chuck had observed at one point.

"No kidding," she'd agreed, shaking her head before adding, "Flexible too. Not to mention acrobatic. I can't believe that they actually include a degree of difficulty." They'd both giggled.

"Makes sense, though," he'd replied. "One of us losing our balance or slipping and falling could be pretty bad. Especially since we'd be … ah … um …"

"Connected?" she'd finished for him, the color rising on her face.

"Yeah, that." His cheeks had reddened too.

Some of what they saw definitely caused them to blush even though it was fun clicking through the site's entries. And it was certainly taking them longer to peruse the pages than either had expected, probably because they were using one of Chuck's laptops while they were naked in bed together. Meaning, the two of them got sidetracked from time to time during their reading, not that either of them minded. Far from it.

It hadn't taken them very long to agree to be careful and take things slowly, putting off trying too many new things too quickly. No need to rush, after all. Just enjoy themselves. They had all the time and privacy they needed to explore their new-found level of intimacy. Although they did allow for a few exceptions. Natural curiosity led them to attempt some of the variations on what they were already enjoying. There were enough of those to keep them busy and happily learning for quite a long while. One of the new ones they saw that intrigued them enough to try out had them sitting with their arms and legs wrapped around each other. They especially relished the sensual closeness that it afforded them.

When they weren't actively making love, they were indulging in the second definition Chuck had told her all those months ago, courtship with all that entailed. Simply being together. Talking and laughing, sharing stories. Holding hands. Kissing. And snuggling.

"Naked snuggling," Sarah jokingly reminded him with a cheeky grin.

"I got it," Chuck acknowledged, snorting in amusement. "Yes, naked snuggling."

"Are you complaining?" she countered.

"Nope, not me," he responded. "I could get used to this."

"From my perspective, you already have." When he shrugged noncommittally, they both giggled like little kids.

Just lying in bed, touching one another, was amazing. Both of them seeking constant physical contact. Even when the touches weren't directly sexual, it still felt undeniably erotic. And very intimate. Sarah had never experienced anything even remotely like it and she knew for certain Chuck hadn't either. She felt so exposed and vulnerable while, at the same time just the opposite, safe and protected. Desired. But above all else, loved. It almost overwhelmed her every time she looked into Chuck's eyes. What she saw there took her breath away and reinforced for her that he felt the same way as she did.

Sarah loved Chuck with all her heart, her whole self, as she had for months and months. He was hers. Her Chuck. But, now, she wanted him just as much. Love and desire, intertwined. All the time. The aching need she felt for him ebbed and flowed but never left her entirely. He'd agreed that he was the same when she brought it up during one of their many conversations.

Sex hadn't changed their feelings, but it did seem to spice up their every interaction. The looks they gave each other. The lingering touches when they passed close by one another on the rare occasions they left the bed. Their shared knowledge and experiences had added a heady note to everything. Was she going crazy or did food taste better now? She was coming to better comprehend the behavior of young couples in all those romance novels she'd read and the romantic comedies she'd watched since she was a young girl. Real couples she'd seen in public over the years too. Reading and watching were one thing, experiencing it firsthand was another.

She had never spent much time thinking about her physical existence, beyond the obvious. She was female. First a girl, now grown into a woman. Being a woman came with certain realities. She'd known about them as long as she could remember. From talks with her mom. Reading those books about puberty. Learning about maturing then actually going through it. Hair in new places that needed to be dealt with. Breasts. Her monthly cycle. Biology classes had taught her the evolutionary reasons for all of it as well. She understood some women had difficulties. How some women railed about the realities of being female. Her mother had instilled in her a hardheaded practicality, so she didn't complain. She didn't think there was any point. 'This is what you are and this is how things work,' her mom had told her on multiple occasions.

She hadn't thought too much about boys back then, either. She'd been too young. Given that she was a prodigy, she hadn't had all that many romantic encounters with the male of the species before her senior year in high school. They hadn't shown much interest and neither had she. Eventually, she'd developed enough physically that boys' interest level increased, but she managed to deflect most of their attempts to garner her attention, except for some parties and a handful of unremarkable dates. That is until the spring of her senior year arrived along with prom season. Handsy Hank and all that came with it.

Stanford was a different story altogether. She took care of herself and tried to look nice, for its own sake, not in an overt attempt to attract anyone. Boys definitely paid attention anyway. She was more aware of them too. But she was still cautious, especially after the fiasco with Hank. And driven after what had happened to Jack. She had gone on a few dates during her undergrad years. Experienced some 'good night' kisses. Had a couple of short-lived relationships. Her rigid focus on her schoolwork caused them to wither after a couple of weeks and before things had progressed beyond holding hands and kissing.

Then Chuck burst into her life. Literally.

He took her completely by surprise. Unlike any guy she'd ever met, he'd broken through or bypassed her protective walls, her practiced indifference, in no time flat. Almost instantly, if she was being totally honest. And he did it all unknowingly. Being his sweet, sheltered self. So innocent and trusting. Not just with her but with all the Songbirds. Friendly and clueless. So endearingly clueless. For the first time in her life, she became acutely aware of her femaleness, her femininity. How she as a girl related to a boy. To Chuck. How what she said and how she said it affected him. What she did and how she did it. And how what she didn't say and what she didn't do affected him too. And how all his reactions affected her in return. The things he said and the things he did. And why all of it now mattered to her. Even before they became 'lab partners' (a small smile graced her lips at the memory) and began to slooowly explore the physical aspect of their developing relationship, taking the first steps on the path that led them to this bed and each other's arms.

She had become aware that everything about her affected him. The clothes she wore or, thinking about her trick with the tee-shirt, didn't wear. Another smile. The shampoo and body wash she used. Her perfume. Her touch, amorous or not. The way she looked at him. How she moved. Her thoughts and opinions on things they discussed. Just … everything. It seemed a little crazy to her, so different from what she'd known previously, until she realized that she was hyper aware of all those things about him as well.

Her mother had told her something once, when boys first began to take an interest in her in high school and she started tentatively dating. They had been talking about love and sex and relationships.

Emma, ever pragmatic, had told her, "If you're in a real relationship (her mom didn't think too much of having 'flings,' as she called them), sooner or later you'll learn a lot about the boy you're dating. Personal things, private things. Stuff that makes him vulnerable, that he doesn't tell most other people. Or anyone, frankly. But he'll tell you or allow you to see them when he trusts you enough to open up to let you really get to know him. I'm not talking about him being physically vulnerable. And I'm not necessarily talking about being vulnerable in a sexual way, either. Although it could be and often is," she'd hurriedly added. "Whatever it is, you'll know it when it happens. When he lets you in like that. The stuff you learn gives you the ability, the power, to hurt him. To embarrass or shame him publicly. And you'll have to decide whether you keep his secrets or not."

"Some girls use that knowledge, their power, to manipulate the boy they're dating so they get whatever they want. Sooner or later those relationships run into trouble and they usually don't last. At least the ones I know about. On the other hand, girls who care about their boyfriends want to protect them. Keep what they know private. They want to guard his vulnerabilities. Like how boys want to protect their girlfriends in their own masculine way when they share private things about themselves. If you don't want to protect him or if you don't care much either way, that's probably a pretty good sign that he isn't the guy for you. And if he doesn't want to do those things for you, there's no question that he's not the guy for you either!"

"Is that what you did, Mom?" she'd asked.

"Before I met your dad, yes," her mom had answered. "I did exactly that. Always be fair and honest with yourself and with the boys you date. Never mean or spiteful. If a relationship gets like that, then it's time to stop dating them. It's what my momma had taught me and her mother, your pra babcia (great grandmother), taught her."

"What about when you met Dad?" Sarah had wanted to know.

"Oh him," Emma had snorted, her face wistful. "That handsome scoundrel swept me right off my feet. He was so charming and looked so good in his midshipman uniform. That smile of his." She'd shaken her head at the memory. "I had no chance. None. I jumped in over my head without a second thought and never looked back," her mother had laughed. "And, if you're really lucky, baby girl, you'll meet a wonderful guy like your dad was for me and the same thing will happen to you."

Sarah knew that it had. The same was true for Chuck. Even though neither of them realized it at the time, they had both been in over their heads from the start. What pleased her even more was the fact that Chuck had trusted her from the very beginning and never told her lies. She'd never thought, for even one second, about hurting him or controlling him. Not really. Not even when she'd been hurt and angry when she confronted him about his secrets back last fall. And, as frustrating as realizing that he'd been keeping things from her, she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if he'd walked out the door of Helman Hall she would have run after him. She was too far gone to let him go, even then. Her emotions got the better of her, at first, causing her to treat him too harshly, but her overriding impulse was to help him, protect him, if she could. To love him with everything she had in her. That thought was uppermost in her mind, even in the midst of her upset.

Suddenly, she shivered, causing her to look up at her boyfriend's face with a warm smile. His hands were gently skimming down her back again.

Sarah hummed, enjoying the touch of Chuck's fingers lightly caressing her skin, even though what he was doing had pulled her out of her contemplative thoughts. Her own fingers were busy playing with the hair she found on his chest. How long have I been doing that? It wasn't nearly as luxurious as the curls that covered his head. But she couldn't reach those comfortably from her current position draped over his right side, so his chest hair would have to do for the time being.

The problem she had was, she'd discovered that her boyfriend was very sensitive to her touch. More than she'd previously known. So much so, that many places her fingers wandered elicited involuntary verbal or physical reactions from him. Sometimes both. Like the spot along one of his ribs, below his pectoral muscle, that she was currently stroking. When she touched there, she got a tiny whimper and a twitch.

"Sorry," Sarah apologized.

"No, you're not," he pouted, amused.

"You're right, I'm not," she admitted, smirking. "But it's your fault too, you know."

"How is it my fault?" He looked at her in confusion.

"Your body is a bit like a minefield," she explained, tucking her hair behind her ear to keep it out of her face and demonstrating. "Touch here. Nothing." Moving her fingers to another place on his torso, she went on, "But touch here aaaand … Boom!" She caressed the new spot, causing Chuck to softly whine and shimmy a bit. "See?"

"I'm aware," he replied drily. "I am the one being … uh … triggered, after all."

Sarah snorted. "How am I supposed to know where it's safe to touch you and where I'll cause you to … um … react?" She giggled, turning her head to kiss his shoulder.

"Don't ask me," Chuck shrugged. When he noticed her doubtful expression, he clarified, "No one's ever touched me like you do, Sarah." A blush slowly rose up his neck until it reached the tops of his ears.

"Ah, a 'course. Sorry," she responded, grimacing internally. This is you and Chuck, not the CATS and their escapades. "We're both stumbling forward, learning as we go, aren't we?"

"We are. Trial and error," he agreed. "But that's OK. No need to be sorry. It's just us here, you and me."

"If you say anything about the scientific method, I'm going to smack you," she pretended to grumble.

"I would never," he protested.

"You would too, Mr. Science. You did," she insisted, continuing the charade.

"No, I was talking about conducting a peer review, not the scientific method," he corrected. "And I don't recall you complaining at the time. In fact, you were pretty enthu—." His voice cut out because Sarah leaned up and kissed that spot where his jaw met his ear, causing him to whimper.

Pleased with herself, she glanced down his body.

Looking back at his face, she corrected her previous comment. "I was wrong before. You're not a minefield."

"No?" he asked, his voice breaking. She silently giggled.

"No. It's more like you're that Operation game. Except when I touch or kiss certain spots, it's not your nose that lights up …" Her voice trailed off, dripping with innuendo.

"Oh my God," he blushed, closing his eyes and groaning in amused embarrassment. A groan that transformed into a moan when she reached for him once more.


"So, whaddya want to watch next?" Chuck asked, lazily flinging out the arm not holding her and gesturing to the TV.

They'd spent most of the morning in bed with Sarah having a good time trying to work out which places on his body most closely matched the Operation game playing pieces. He had to hand it to her, his girlfriend had a very creative imagination. And a naughty one. Very naughty. As the morning moseyed along toward noon, they finally had to admit that they needed to take a break and eat some food to quell their hunger pangs.

A sensual joint shower, they hadn't showered separately since that first one on Sunday, was followed by a light lunch. Their meals were now typically accompanied by music, either from Chuck's playlist or from Sarah's. After they finished eating and cleaned up the kitchen, they'd spent some time dancing.

Sarah had mentioned that she wanted to take him out dancing at some point in the not-too-distant future. She hoped she could show him and his new skills off to their friends at some point, but she wasn't sure how to go about accomplishing that, fearful that he'd refuse, feeling intimidated. She devoted about an hour putting him through the paces until he called a halt for a much-needed water break.

"I need to work on my cardio," Chuck said when he'd gotten his breath back enough to speak without panting softly; his newest coach did not mess around when it came to her passion for working on their dance moves together. He had to admit that it was paying off, he was getting better. They were casually leaning against the kitchen island while they slowly sipped their water.

"Your cardio is fine as far as I can tell," Sarah retorted, turning her head slightly so she could see his face more clearly.

"Well, it's been more than a week since I've worked out seriously and I can definitely tell," he insisted.

"Maybe," she said doubtfully. "Or maybe you're just using different muscles. Like this one," she teased, reaching over toward him.

"Stoooop," Chuck chuckled, grabbing her wandering hand. "You're incorrigible," he added with feigned annoyance.

"Oooo. I like being incorrigible. As long as it's with you," his girlfriend replied brightly, grinning with her tongue between her teeth. She batted her eyes for added effect.

"Sarah." Chuck tried to sound stern, but he didn't think he succeeded.

"Chuck," she replied, attempting to look innocent. Not very convincingly, in his opinion. Even when she tucked some errant hair behind her ear and looked at him through her lashes. He snorted out a one note laugh and shook his head at his girlfriend.

"Can we just hang out for a while?" he asked. He knew he sounded like he was pleading a little.

"Oh. I like that idea," she agreed. "Let's let it all hang out." She smirked, reaching for the hem of her favorite tee-shirt, one of his. Chuck snorted again and grabbed her wrist, dragging her further into the family room before letting go.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," he admonished her. She shrugged indifferently. "Why don't we watch some movies? I've got a bunch of them saved that we can stream. Old ones. New ones. Just paw through them for a while. You should find something you'd like to watch."

"I'd rather paw over you," she responded with an exaggerated pout and flexed her fingers like claws. Chuck blushed and laughed, shaking his head in amused exasperation.

"Boy, y'all really have a one-track mind, don't you?" he said, after regaining a bit of his composure.

"I fail to see the problem," she shrugged, blinking, the very image of guileless confusion. He couldn't help but laugh at her antics. His obvious delight had her giggling in return.

They'd jokingly sparred back and forth for a little while before opting to lounge on their famous sectional with its even more famous ottoman and watch a few movies. Spending some time to enjoy just being with each other, something both of them had missed terribly over the summer. Sarah had selected You've Got Mail. She was surprised that he had romantic comedies in his collection and was curious to see how he would react to them watching one of them together. Much to her amazement, he'd been enthusiastic and they'd watched the whole movie snuggled in each other's arms. She was already looking forward to more 'homebound movie dates,' as Chuck had christened them, in the future.

Right now, though, he was asking her to make another selection.

She clicked through the choices for a while before stopping on one of the older ones. "What about this one?"

Chuck looked at the TV. "Oh, wow. The OG Clash of the Titans from 1981?" he smiled in surprise. "That's a good one. Some pretty famous actors were in it too. Old school special effects. In fact, it's the last movie that Ray Harryhausen, the master of stop motion animation, worked on. It's not one that I would have expected you to pick. How do you know about it?"

"They showed it to us back in middle school in Language Arts class when we did a unit on Greek and Roman mythology. I haven't seen it since. I don't remember too much about it, except thinking it was kind of cheesy. Cheesy, but still entertaining," she replied.

"Yeah, it is kind of cheesy by today's standards, very cheesy, in fact, but back before all of the computer-generated stuff, it was kind of state of the art," he grinned. "This should be fun." Returning his grin, Sarah clicked the remote and started the movie.

As the movie played, Sarah reflected on their conversation in the kitchen. Even though she'd pretended to not comprehend what Chuck meant when he had talked about 'just hanging out,' she understood it completely and readily acknowledged that she felt the same way. Honestly, she reveled in just being with him in the same space without any other pending demands disturbing them and interrupting their happiness. Making love was a bonus. A delicious new bonus.

Every second had been amazing since Chuck had gotten back. They had both stopped what they were doing from time to time to bask in the joy that enveloped them. In fact, there had even been instances when they'd been making love when they would pause to glance to where their bodies were joined before looking back to stare wide-eyed at each other. Their faces filled with love and desire for one another even as their gazes were leavened with some lingering surprise at this new facet of their relationship. The more Sarah was with Chuck, the more she wanted to be with him, whether they were making love or not.

Her feelings settled her in a way she had never known before meeting him. Sharing her life with someone else. With Chuck. Humming contentedly, she breathed in his familiar masculine scent as she snuggled closer to him and refocused her attention on the movie.

Chuck's mind was wandering. He was definitely present in the moment and watching TV. Watching it with Sarah, blissfully holding her in his arms. But still, his brain was constantly restless, never able to focus on just one thing. His girlfriend being the lone exception to that rule. She was paying attention to the movie for the time being, instead of him, and that left his mind free to ponder a number of different things.

While he was enjoying the film with Sarah, a part of his mind was also occupied with deciding if it was too soon for him to check on the progress they were making on the (his) new research building. That thought led to him begin formulating a plan on the most logical way to move his equipment out of storage to set up his research projects as quickly and efficiently as possible. He would need to get all of that completed before he could begin to interview and hire his team of research assistants. And that would require input and guidance from his advisors. Never-the-less, the desire to get back to work was slowly, but steadily, growing within him daily.

He was also wrestling with the pressing need he felt to return to the east coast so he could complete his unfinished research. When to make the trip and how long he estimated it would take to conclude his (happily) interrupted work. It would have to happen before school began in earnest and his fall baseball practices commenced.

Would Sarah want to go with him? He thought that she probably would, but would she have time before her classes started? Belatedly, he realized that he didn't even know when her classes were scheduled to begin. He'd been so focused on his own work that he'd not bothered to check the class calendar for the new school year. Was it when the medical school got going, like for Devon and Ellie, or some other date? He'd have to ask her. And, if she did go with him, what would she do while his head was buried in old records at Valley Forge and, later, roaming through the National Archives in Washington?

It was not lost on him that, even when he was mulling over the various demands on his time, Sarah was never far from the forefront of his thoughts. His lips quirked into a half smile and he shook his head at himself. This is your life now, bud. Better get used to it. He was. He absolutely was, but he was still coming to terms with how much his life had changed compared to the same time last year. His sniff of amusement caught his girlfriend's attention.

"What was funny about that scene?" Sarah asked, waving at the screen. "Did I miss something?" She twisted her head to the side enough so she could see his face over her shoulder while still keeping her main focus on the TV screen.

"No. No, nothing funny. I was just thinking about some things," he replied with a one shoulder shrug.

"Oh, you and your thinkin' stuff," she teased, twisting her lips to the side and shaking her head in mock disapproval.

Chuck didn't rise to the bait. Pursing his lips, he nodded toward the TV. "We should get back to watching the show."

"You'll tell me after it's over." Even though she spoke gently, it wasn't a question.

He sniffed and blinked, nodding again. "I'll tell you after it's over."


The movie was over. Perseus, the hero, was victorious. He'd defeated the monsters and saved Andromeda. They were married and lived happily ever after. Even the gods were pleased. Sarah's recollection had been accurate. It was a cheesy movie, but it was also a lot of fun to watch. Especially while wrapped in the arms of her own real-life "hero." He even had curly hair like Harry Hamlin did when he played Perseus. She also had a pretty good idea why Chuck liked the movie enough to include it in his collection. Slipping out of his arms, she sat up and so she could face him without craning her neck.

"Why do I get the impression that the mechanical owl is a big part of your interest in this particular movie," she said knowingly, grinning all the while.

Chuck sat up as well, shrugging in practiced nonchalance as he did so. "It is true that Bubo did intrigue me when I was little," he freely admitted.

"I think it did more than intrigue you," she teased, poking his arm playfully.

"OK, fine," he grumbled at being caught out. "Yes, the owl was, and is, the biggest reason I like the movie." When he didn't look at her, she giggled in realization.

"You tried to make one, didn't you?" she prodded. "You tried to make your own mechanical owl that would fly. Actually fly. For real."

Chuck frowned and his shoulders slumped. "And I would have succeeded too, if only I could have come up with an alloy that would have allowed me to make the metal skin as thin and light as possible," he complained. "As it was, with the metals known at the time, I would have needed to give it a huge wingspan to have any hope of getting it off the ground. That, and a powerful but lightweight engine to flap the wings enough to generate sufficient lift, and an efficient battery capable of running it all." He widened his eyes comically at all the challenges he'd faced, causing Sarah to giggle. "I was this close …" He held up his hand with his thumb and forefinger nearly touching, looking even more downcast. "I even got Dad interested in trying to help. Kind of a father/son thing."

"But …?" She asked, grinning broadly.

"But Mom put her foot down. She was tired of all the mess in my part of the house and the chemical smells that were worse than normal. And that was that. No more mechanical owl project. No Bubo for me," he answered sullenly.

"Poor baby," she jokingly consoled him, kissing him lightly on the lips. His comment had her wondering what weird sorts of chemical smells had been 'normal'? She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Even though I think you're just teasing me, I haven't given up entirely …," he continued when the kiss ended.

"Of course you haven't," she replied straight-faced.

"With all of the discoveries of new materials and smaller, more powerful, batteries in recent years, it's only a matter of time until I get all of the issues worked out," he nodded confidently, his eyes gleaming.

"Absolutely. I mean, who doesn't need their own mechanical owl?" Sarah asked rhetorically. "Think of how useful it would be to have one flying around the house." She was biting her lips to hold in her laughter.

Chuck narrowed his eyes and gave her a flat look. "Now, I know you're teasing me," he pursed his lips and pouted. "I'm sort of offended at y'all's lack of faith."

"You've got it wrong, Mr. Science," she responded with a chuckle. "I think you absolutely will build your mechanical Bubo sooner or later. I'm just not sure what you'll do with it once you have it."

"I'll …," he began in a confident tone that trailed off when he couldn't readily come up with a good example for her. "… um … Well, I don't know what I'll do with it. I was always more focused on the building part and not the using part," he shrugged and scratched behind his ear, then continued while Sarah tried, and failed, to rein in her giggles, "but I'll have something figured out by the time I get it finished. Whenever that is. You wait and see."

"I'm sure you will, baby. I trust you and that big brain of yours," she smiled as she crawled into his lap and straddled him, allowing her full weight to rest on his thighs. Draping her arms around his shoulders, she began running her fingers through his hair. She'd been dying to do that while the movie had been playing. Her smile grew when she saw his eyes flutter. "In the meantime, while you're working on the problem of metals that are lighter than air and super-powered batteries, I've got some thoughts of how we might be able to energize your creativity."

"Hmmm? And what might that be?" he asked, sounding a bit dazed.

Instead of answering, she reluctantly stopped playing with his curls long enough to pull her tee-shirt up and off her body proving it was her sole item of attire. When she grabbed the hem of his tee-shirt, Chuck's eyes popped open.

"Don't you want to continue this upstairs?" he asked, surprised and curious. His voice was muffled while his girlfriend worked to disrobe him. As soon as his head came free from the shirt, she tossed it over her shoulder.

"Mmm. Nope," Sarah replied quickly with a small shake of her head. "I don't think so. Here is just fine."

"But … What about …" Now, Chuck was definitely confused.

"I took care of it already," she said, answering her boyfriend's unfinished thought. When his eyebrow arched in question, she went on, gesturing to the side. "Check the drawer in the end table."

Chuck's arms were long enough to reach the drawer she'd indicated from where they were sitting on the couch. When he opened it, he found a supply of foil packets. "When did they get here?" he asked, impressed with her ability to plan ahead even as his cheeks and ears began to turn red.

"Yesterday, when we came down to fix dinner. Just in case."

"In case of what?" he wanted to know, certain that he was missing something. There was just so much new information to try and process. His naked girlfriend leaning against him and squirming in his lap wasn't making it any easier to think.

"In case we don't want to wait to go upstairs," she answered, stating the obvious. To her, at least. I'm done with waiting.

"Wait …?" Sarah slipped her hands inside the waistband of his boxers and Chuck's brain just gave up. He had no idea what he had been trying to say any more.

"I don't want to wait, baby. I want you. Right here. Right now," she replied, practically whimpering with desire when she finally pulled his boxers down and freed them from his long legs. At long last, with her boyfriend as naked as she was, she settled in his lap again and wrapped her arms around him tightly before pressing a hot open-mouthed kiss to his lips.

Sarah got what she wanted. Right there and right then. His promise to tell her what he'd been thinking about during the movie was temporarily forgotten.


Thursday August 22

Chuck stood beside Sarah while she fought with her purse, trying to fish out her key. After some more gentle coaxing, he'd agreed to go dancing with her on the upcoming Friday evening. They were back at the CATS' apartment, having donned similar attire of jeans and tee-shirts. She'd claimed that she hadn't intended to go dancing when she'd packed her case before coming over to Chuck's (their) house on Sunday and insisted that it was imperative for her to wear "proper dancing shoes and a proper outfit in which to dance." He had no idea what that even meant. He just had clothes and shoes, both casual and dress. He hadn't danced often, but when he had, he danced in whatever he was wearing at the time. His baseball uniform and gear were a separate thing and probably not very well suited for dancing, as far as he knew. Special clothes meant for dancing was an entirely alien concept to him. Sarah had shaken her head and given him a mildly pitying look when he'd made that admission earlier.

"You have a lot to learn about girls, Chuck," she'd informed him, stating the obvious.

"Oh, I know. I've figured that much out, at least," he'd agreed, grinning crookedly. She couldn't stop herself from giggling then kissing him lightly on the lips.

And so, there they were, in search of the aforementioned "proper" dancing attire, even though she was more than a little worried about the reception that awaited them inside.

Sarah finally found the key she'd been searching for and unlocked the door. Stepping into the apartment, she was met by her two roommates, who each wore wide anticipatory grins. Grins that dimmed somewhat when Chuck entered the room in her wake.

"Well, look what the CAT dragged in," Zondra quipped, her smile brightening again.

Carina's eyes danced in delight. "That was pretty good there, Z."

"It was, wasn't it?" The brunette looked suitably smug.

"Not really," Sarah mumbled under her breath. Neither of her friends paid any attention.

"It was indeed," the redhead agreed, nodding. She held up her hand. "Gimme five!" The two friends slapped palms, both studiously ignoring the look Sarah was giving them. Carina turned her full attention to the new arrivals. "What brings you back here, Blondie? Did you break him already? I'm sorry, but here at the 'Love Shack' all sales are final. You must have us confused with the 'Boink Boutique' down the street. They rent by the hour. You could always try there if you're not satisfied." She smirked as she cut her eyes toward Chuck.

"Knock it off, Red. I'm warning you," the increasingly irritated blonde growled.

"The 'Boink Boutique'?" Chuck questioned. He had no idea what they were talking about. He was getting better, but still wasn't well versed in college slang, particularly all the stuff Carina talked about.

"Yeah, it's trashy. Run by a bunch of sorority girls, if I'm not mistaken," Carina replied with a hefty dose of snark.

"Enough!" Sarah yelled, balling up her fists. Her face was flushed red from a mixture of embarrassment and anger. When she took a step toward her friend, she felt a hand on her arm. Gentle, but firm.

"Don't mind her, sweetums. She's just trying to tease you," her boyfriend said comfortingly. He might not fully comprehend what Carina was saying, but he could easily tell that it was upsetting Sarah. And he knew the redhead didn't like it when they used babytalk.

She looked at him in surprise. He'd looked confused a minute ago, but now his face was covered in an overly sappy smile. If she hadn't noticed his eyes dancing, she'd have been taken in by his act. As it was, she took a breath to bring herself under control and nodded.

"You're right, snookums. It doesn't matter anyway," she shrugged.

"You two are disgusting," Carina complained, shaking her head and frowning.

"We are, aren't we?" Sarah retorted. Looking lovingly back at Chuck, she continued, "I'll just pop upstairs and get what I came for and we'll get going. OK, baby-kins?"

"That'll be great, sugarplum. I'll be waiting." He inclined his head in agreement with her.

"I'll be right back, boobear," Sarah cooed, as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

"Blecch," the older woman made a face and groaned.

Zondra hadn't spoken since her initial teasing comment, she'd been too busy biting her tongue to keep from laughing at the other women's antics, but when Sarah headed toward the stairs, she elbowed Carina and the duo followed her.

"We're coming too," the brunette announced.

"Suit yourself," Sarah responded flatly as her foot hit the first step and she quickly began to climb. Right before she passed out of sight, she glanced back at Chuck. Seeing her looking at him, he twisted his lips to the side and shrugged one shoulder in an unspoken 'what can you do?' sort of way. She shook her head and shrugged, as well, in a silent 'not much' reply.

By the time the two roommates reached her room, Sarah had already decided that she was going to go for a sultry look that, she hoped, would blow Chuck's mind. Her aim was to keep him so focused on her that he wouldn't be able to worry about whether or not his dancing skills were up to public viewing. She knew he was fine but still didn't want him to feel ill at ease around other people. To that end, she was digging through her closet. A pair of high-heeled boots and her black skinny jeans were already haphazardly thrown on the bed behind her.

The older women shared a look of surprise. They could hear their friend muttering to herself from the depths of her closet.

"So, what's up, Blondie?" Carina asked as she surveyed the clothing carelessly strewn on the bed. "What's with the clothes? Are you planning on running away or something? If so, those boots aren't really the best option for going on the lam, you know." She was genuinely perplexed by the younger woman's actions.

"Ha. Not funny, Red," Sarah replied, her voice muffled by the clothing surrounding her. "I'm not running away. Far from it, in fact."

"Then what, Sarah? Come on. Spill," Zondra requested. "What's going on with you? Why're you back here and rummaging in your closet instead of cuddling with Curls over at his place?"

Sighing in frustration at her indecision over her outfit, Sarah pulled her head back and turned to face her friends. "I've been working on Chuck –"

"I just bet you have," Carina smirked, her eyebrows dancing.

Sarah gave them a pleading look and held her arms out in supplication. "C'mon guys! Don't. Please, don't. Don't tease me. Don't tease Chuck either. Please, don't make fun of us," she begged. "Chuck isn't just some random guy I hooked up with for a few days. I love him. He's my everything." When her eyes started tearing up and her face began to crumble, the older women felt terrible. Taken aback by her emotional outburst, her friends immediately changed their attitude.

"I'm sorry, Sarah. I was just playing around. I didn't mean anything by it," Carina apologized, pulling her into a hug.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too," Zondra added, patting her friend's back. "Chuck's a sweet guy and you two are great together."

"She's right," the redhead agreed, leaning back from the hug and catching Sarah's eye. "It really is disgusting how perfect you are for each other." That last comment elicited a small chuckle from the younger woman. Sniffing, she wiped her eyes as a smile began to grow on her face.

"We are. We really are." A bigger chuckle.

"So, tell us what's up with you tossing your clothes around your room?" Carina threw her arm out, gesturing at Sarah's bed.

"As I was trying to tell you," Sarah looked at them pointedly. "I've been working on Chuck since he got back to town. And I was finally able to convince him to go dancing with me. So, I'm here looking for a dancing outfit. I didn't pack anything like that when I left on Sunday."

"Dancing?" Carina and Zondra asked simultaneously, both dumbfounded at what they were hearing.

"Uh huh," the blonde nodded, her lips pressed together and her eyes wide.

"When?" Carina asked with growing excitement.

"Where?" Zondra asked at almost the same time.

"Friday. Tomorrow night," Sarah answered. "The where is Johnny's Hideaway. Where else? They play a mix of music from oldies to contemporary and there's always a decent number of people. With so many people around, Chuck might not feel as self-conscious as he might in a less crowded place. There's a pretty good chance they'll play songs that he's heard before too. At least, I hope so. We've been practicing in the family room at the house, but dancing in public is a whole different story. That's why I'm trying to come up with an outfit to wear that'll keep him distracted enough so he doesn't get nervous in the first place."

"Oh, is that all?" the auburn-haired grad student scoffed. "You've got a good start with those jeans and boots," she thrust her arm out and gently brushed it against Sarah's chest, pushing her back. "Step aside, kid, and let the master work." She moved to stand in the closet door and started running her fingers over the hanging clothes.

Caught off-guard, Sarah did step back automatically. By the time she'd gotten over her surprise and was about to protest about Carina's cheek, her friend had pulled out two hangers. With a satisfied grin, Red turned to her and held up her selections, a black silk top that featured a vaguely Japanese bamboo and palm frond motif and a matching black silk bolero shrug with three quarter length sleeves. Sarah remembered the day she found the shrug at the Blue Bin Vintage shop in downtown Palo Alto during her junior year two springs ago.

"With your blonde hair, this'll look great on you, Sarah. Really knock ol' Chuckles socks off," Carina grinned triumphantly. "You've worn this before to go dancing, so I don't need to tell you what to do with your hair or make-up or jewelry, do I?"

"No, I've got that covered. Thank you very much," Sarah groused. Then her shoulders eased and her prickly demeanor diminished. "But you're right, Red. That really does look good on me. Just the right amount of sultry that I was searching for. Thanks."

"You're welcome," her friend replied, more than a little smug.

While Carina was gloating, Sarah took the time to search her jewelry box on her dresser for the accessories she preferred to go with that outfit, hair sticks and earrings. She also picked up a couple of items from her makeup collection.

It was at that moment when Carina threw a potential monkey wrench into the works when she spoke up again. "You can pay us back by not getting mad at us when we show up at Johnny's tomorrow."

Sarah turned to her, looking horrified. "No! You can't! I don't want you teasing Chuck and ruining everything I've been working on. Trying to encourage him to come dancing with me. Not worrying or being embarrassed. I don't need you two wrecking his self-confidence. C'mon, Red. Please," she pleaded.

"We'll behave," Carina insisted. When the other woman gave her a dubious look, she repeated her pledge. "We'll behave. I promise. We just want to come dancing too. It's been a while for us. Hasn't it, Z?"

"Uh huh. It sure has," Zondra confirmed. "We'll be on our best behavior, Sar." She held up three fingers. "Scouts honor."

"I don't know …," Sarah responded uncertainly, chewing on her lower lip.

"What if I called Ellie and asked her and Devon to come along, would you believe us then?" Carina offered. "She'll knock our blocks off if we give Chuckles any shit. You know that."

"Yeeaah, you've got that right, Red," the blonde agreed. Unless she joins in on the teasing, that is. After thinking it over for another minute, she grudgingly relented. "OK, you can come." She held up her hand to stop her friends' celebration. "But only if Ellie and Devon come too. Agreed?" I guess I can risk it. Can't I?

"Agreed," the two roommates nodded their heads enthusiastically. Neither one felt the need to bring Sarah up to speed about the med student's current state of mind. After all the phone calls between Chuck's sister and Carina over the past few days, they knew she would literally jump at the chance to see the happy couple with her own two eyes.

"Call Alex, as well. See if she and Morgan can come," Sarah requested. "We think Morgan might still be at home in LA, but don't know for sure. Chuck hasn't taken the time to call him yet."

"Something tells me I know why," the redhead smirked again.

"Stop," Sarah retorted as she frowned and shook her head at her friend's insinuation, unable to stop a blush from growing on her cheeks.

"That's the last of it, I promise," Carina said, doing her best to keep a straight face.

"It better be," she warned before taking a deep breath and noisily sighing. All she wanted to do right then was to gather up her clothes and return to the comfort of Chuck's arms. And, when they got back to their house, spend some time not dancing in the family room. With that in mind, Sarah moved toward the bed, intent on picking up those things before taking the hangers from Carina.

Zondra beat her to it, though, folding her jeans over one arm and grabbing hold of her boots with the other as she smiled and shook her head when Sarah reached for them. Carina did likewise when she turned to look in the redhead's direction.

"Fine," she signed in resignation, "But no tricks. I'm not kidding."

Nodding, Carina saluted and waved toward the bedroom door. "Lead on, MacDuff."

Sarah twisted her lips to the side with a snort and shook her head in resignation at her friends injecting themselves into her task. She was still shaking it as she led the three of them out of her room and down the stairs.

"Find what you were looking for, baby-kins?" Chuck asked brightly as soon as he caught sight of his girlfriend on the stairs.

"I did, sweetie. Thanks for asking," she replied, just as brightly.

"I'm glad, honeybun," he grinned. Sarah could clearly see that his eyes were dancing. He certainly enjoyed pushing Carina's buttons. She could honestly admit to herself that she did too. And her friend didn't disappoint.

"Cut it out before I super-glue your mouths closed," the elder CAT growled.

"Don't you dare!" she said, warningly. "I quite like his mouth," she added with a distinct purr in her voice.

Chuck's expression didn't change so she knew he didn't catch her not-so-hidden innuendo. The strangled snorts she heard from her friends behind her told her that they definitely did. That probably stirred up a hornets' nest of questions that she had no intention of answering. Let 'em stew on that!

"Anything else? Or are you ready to go?" He looked at her questioningly.

"Nope, I'm good. I got everything I need," she answered, looping her free arm around his bicep. "Let's get going."

"OK. Can I carry any of that stuff for you," he asked, looking over at Carina and Zondra.

"Nah. We're happy to bring it out to your car for ya," Carina demurred.

"Fine by me," Chuck said, pulling out his car keys and turning away. "C'mon then."

He stepped over to the apartment's door and opened it. Sarah slid her fingers down his arm until she found his hand. Lacing her fingers with his, she gave his hand an affectionate squeeze. Then the two of them led the way to Chuck's car. Once he had the car unlocked, he got in behind the wheel while the three women arranged Sarah's clothes in the back seat.

"See you later, Sar," Zondra said when Sarah opened the passenger door and got in.

"Yeah, later," the blonde replied.

"Bye, Chuckles," Carina leaned down and smiled at him through the open door, her hand coming up in a short wave.

"Bye," he grinned, waving back at her.

Chuck started the car and put it in gear. The two women standing in the parking lot saw the couple reach over and hold hands before they were even out of the parking lot.

"They're hopeless," Carina couldn't help laughing.

"Completely," her friend agreed, laughing too.


Friday August 23

"How do I look, sweetie?" Sarah asked as she exited the master bathroom where she'd been occupied putting the finishing touches on her hair and makeup. She was wearing the outfit she'd selected (with Carina's help) the day before. Her hair was styled in a French roll updo and she'd slid the hair sticks she'd brought back from her apartment into the rolled hair at the back of her head. The other accessories she'd retrieved, her lattice basket gold earrings, were dangling from her ears and shining as they caught the light. She kept her makeup light apart for the smokey eye shadow and dark mascara she used to complete the sultry look she was going for.

Chuck's eyes widened as he took in her appearance. In a couple of slow blinks, his gaze traveled from her face down to the soles of her boots and back up again. She was smiling a smile that, if he had known how to describe it, he would have called it predatory. His mind completely blanked out, but his body still reacted, so he was able to feel the sudden heat rising from his collar.

From Sarah's point of view, his face seemed to melt into a mix of awe and desire. Unconsciously, he raised his hand to his mouth and bit down on the knuckle of his index finger. When she heard his soft whimper, she suddenly felt like she was standing in front of an open furnace going full blast. And her boyfriend still hadn't said anything. Score!

"Chuck? Are you OK?" she asked, her teeth clamping down on the inside of her cheek to keep from giggling at his reaction. When he shook himself, literally, she couldn't prevent a small nasally giggle from escaping.

"Wa—Wow! Sarah! You… You look amazing!" he stumbled, swallowing thickly. "I … um … yeah." He ran his hand down his shirt in an effort to regain control of himself.

"What?" Sarah asked in a low voice and looked up at him through her lashes. She knew that she was going a bit over the top and laying it on pretty thick. For his benefit. And hers.

His face changed again to a look of confused pleading, like a student in school desperately searching for the correct answer to a teacher's question. Then he shook his head and said in resignation, "I have no idea. My brain is currently offline for emergency repairs." She giggled and shrugged. Could he be any more adorable?

"Tell you what, Computer Guy. How 'bout we go dancing for a while?" she suggested. "Maybe all of that twisting and gyrating we'll be doing will shake loose whatever you're got stuck in your head."

"Y'all's concern for my mental wellbeing is so very touching," Chuck amusingly grumbled.

"It is, isn't it?" Sarah teased right back. He snorted and shook his head as she reached out and took his hand. Stepping up to him, she pressed a very warm kiss to his lips.

"OK, maybe you do care, after all." He bobbed his head from side-to-side with a crooked grin.

Sarah just laughed loudly and squeezed his hand as they headed down the stairs toward the garage. After a few steps, his laughter joined hers. They held hands for the entire trip.


Johnny's Hideaway had been a fixture in downtown Mountain View since the late 1970's. The building, itself, seemed kind of odd to Chuck, though. Sarah answered his unspoken question when she told him that she'd heard it had originally been constructed as the first part of an intended strip shopping center, except the builder ran into some unknown financial difficulties and the rest of the center was never finished. According to her, that's when a guy by the name of John Skidmore swooped in with an offer to take the entire property off the builder's hands. It was an offer the cash-strapped contractor couldn't refuse. So, after some interior renovations and the addition of an outdoor deck, Johnny's Hideaway opened for business. And it had been going gangbusters ever since.

A sizable bar took up most of the large alcove off to the left side of the main room. There was a scattering of small round standup tables with high chairs situated near each end of the bar and arranged around the perimeter of the main room. A good number of square four person tables were spread out a couple of feet in front of the bar so they didn't obstruct anyone's view. The remaining space was taken up entirely by a large wooden dance floor beneath a mirrored ceiling and accompanying disco ball for when they were showcasing songs from that era. The club's walls were festooned with a mixture of vintage beer and wine advertisements made of neon or older weathered tin and framed photographs of celebrities who'd visited Johnny's or performed there over the years. Branching off from the main room were several side rooms of different sizes which could be kept open to expand the main space or closed off for smaller private functions. Each side room had its own scattering of tables with decorations and memorabilia relating to the name over the room's entryway, like Frank Sinatra or the Beatles. Chuck noticed that all the rooms were open onto the main one on this particular night and they were filling up with happy patrons.

Playing music from the 50's to the 80's and all the way through to the current day, the club had attracted a varied and eclectic crowd from the very beginning. Chuck saw people close in age to his parents and even a few as old as his grandparents happily dancing side-by-side with … well people like him and Sarah. The best part of it, from his perspective, was the fact that no one was paying any attention to him. Or what he would be doing. They didn't seem to care as long as other people's gyrations didn't interfere with their own cavorting. That suited him just fine.

"We came here quite a lot over the years when we were undergrads," Sarah told him when they first arrived. "It was a great place for us to let our hair down and blow off some steam. Relieve the pressures that came from having to deal with everything at Stanford and the Songbirds' stuff on top of that."

"Is it always like this?" he asked, meaning the crowd of people.

"Pretty much," she nodded. "Sometimes there's slightly less people here but on other nights it's even more packed than it is tonight. And it's not always more crowded on the weekends, either. It can get nutty in here on a random weeknight too. No rhyme or reason for it that we could ever figure out."

"You never mentioned coming here to me last year," he casually observed.

"I didn't?" she questioned. Chuck shook his head and she shrugged. "Oh, we did, though. For sure. Especially back last fall when we were still getting adjusted to being seniors and being responsible for the Songbirds practices and performances as well as all the stuff with the girls," she replied.

"But not so much after that?"

"No, not really," Sarah shrugged again.

"Why not? I thought you loved to dance?" he asked, concerned. He thought he knew the reason and it was because of him.

"I do, but I quickly decided that I loved spending time with you more," she admitted.

"I'm sor-," he began.

"Stop, before you even start," she held up her hand, admonishing him with a tiny frown. "You didn't keep me from doing anything that I wanted to do. School and our singing competitions ate up an increasing amount of time as last year went on. You already know that. The final push to graduation took up even more. And when I wasn't busy with all of that, I wanted to spend my time with you. So, I did," she smiled. Her smile grew after she leaned in and kissed him.

"I can live with that," he shrugged, relieved.

"Good thing," she giggled. He grinned and gave her a kiss of his own. When he pulled back, she continued, "We did come here a couple of times during the summer with Ellie and Alex while you and Morgan were gone. Girls' night out stuff. It was fun but not as much fun as having you here with me tonight."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," he deadpanned, giggling when she lightly slapped his arm.

"Speaking of the girls," Sarah began tentatively before continuing, "there's a chance that they'll show up tonight."

"Here?" he asked, incredulous. She nodded. "Wh- Why?"

"Because they like to dance, silly."

"Sarah …," he frowned.

"I didn't want them to come, but I couldn't exactly prevent them from coming, either," she confessed. "How could I?" When she saw the look on his face, she quickly went on. "I did demand that they ask Devon and Ellie to come too. If they show up without them, they're in deep trouble."

"Devon and Ellie?" He questioned, his voice going up and octave.

Sarah nodded. "MmHm. I figured her being here might help curb Carina and Z's tendency to give you shit." She squeezed his hand and patted his chest comfortingly. "Please, don't be upset, baby."

"I'm not upset," he replied. When she looked at him dubiously, he amended his statement. "I'm not upset. More like worried, that's all."

"You have nothing to worry about, Chuck," she insisted. "You dance just fine. Even for this place. You'll fit right in, I promise. Besides, they might not even come tonight." She looked into his eyes. "But, if they do and it still bothers you, we can leave and come back another time. I care more about you than I do about dancing. You have to believe that."

"I know you do, Sarah," he smiled at her affectionately. Then he sighed. "I also know how much you like to dance, so I'm OK. I'm here to dance with my amazing girlfriend and I'm gonna do just that. If the peanut gallery shows up, they'll see that for themselves."

She was blinking back sudden tears as she leaned in to kiss him. "Thank you, baby."

They were lucky to snag one of the shorter four person tables near the far end of the bar from the entrance before they were all claimed by other people. One of the staff gave them a 'reserved' sign for them to print a name and slide it into the holder in the middle of the table. That way they could go dance without someone stealing their spot.

"They try to take good care of their patrons," Sarah observed. "It's one of the reasons we like coming here along with the great atmosphere."

On top of everything else, she reported that the food that the club served was actually pretty good. He fully intended to find out for himself, but that would have to wait until later. Because it didn't take his girlfriend very long to start trying to entice him out onto the dance floor.

The DJ called out that the next set was going to be 50's songs which aligned perfectly with his lessons and practicing over the summer. Chuck was surprised to realize that he was actually looking forward to dancing with his beautiful date. So, when she started tugging on his hand and pulling him toward the dance floor, he put his fears aside and went along willingly, chuckling at her eagerness. He even recognized the song that was currently playing.

It turned out that Chuck knew all the songs they played during the set. He and Sarah jitterbugged, lindy hopped, and shagged, having a great time. They even did the Twist a couple of times since it became popular as the 50's gave way to the 1960's. Sarah's eyes gleamed with happiness and her bubbly laughter had Chuck totally entranced the entire time they danced. Her obvious delight soon had him smiling and laughing too.

I'm so glad I took those lessons. Seeing Sarah like this absolutely makes the time it took all worthwhile.

They were still laughing breathlessly when they made their way back to their table for a break after the 50's set ended and the mirror ball lit up signaling a round of disco music.

"That was so much fun," Sarah gushed. "You were wonderful, Chuck!"

"Yeah, I only stepped on your toes twice this time around," he comically groused. She stuck out her lower lip in a mock pout at his self-deprecation.

"That's true, but in your defense, both times were because people bumped into you and threw off your rhythm. You make a pretty big target, sweetie," she teased.

"Can't help it. Like Popeye said, 'I am what I am'," he admitted, smiling when she giggled. "As long as you're having a good time, I don't care if I get jostled now and then."

"I did, baby. Thank you," she cooed, giving him a kiss on the cheek just as they arrived at their table.

A voice called out to them, "I didn't think we would ever find you. It's really busy tonight!"

Chuck started in surprise and his eyes widened. They both turned toward the sound of the familiar voice.

"C- Carina! Y'all came?" Chuck stumbled as the redhead walked up to them with a suntanned blond man he'd never seen before in tow.

"It's not just us, Chuckles. We've brought along some friends!" Carina chirped, smiling broadly.

Looking past the first pair, Chuck spotted Zondra leading a dark-haired guy. Bringing up the rear were none other than Devon and Ellie.

"Zondra! Ellie! Captain Awesome!" he announced a little too loudly, his eyes getting wider with each person he saw. "All y'all are here too?" He could feel Sarah squeezing his arm in reassurance. Turning at the pressure on his arm, he looked at her, his expression filled with worry despite their earlier conversation. "Well, poop."

Sarah grinned at his comment. "I should have mentioned before that I didn't really have much of a choice. When we went to get my clothes yesterday, they both pestered me and wouldn't stop until I told them why I was there and what I was doing."

"Yup, we did, Curls. Gave her the regular third-degree," Zondra confirmed. "You guys going dancing sounded like too much fun, so we wanted to come along too. The CATS have had some great times in this place." Chuck looked at her dubiously.

"Apparently, they actually listened to me when I demanded that they invite Ellie and Devon to find out if they could come as well," Sarah gestured at Chuck's sister. "Evidently, they could."

"I missed you, baby brother. What can I say? Getting a chance to go dancing is just a bonus," Ellie explained contritely, stepping in to give him a tight hug. After a moment, he returned her hug tentatively, still feeling a bit uncertain. "You didn't call me when you got back in town," she chidingly whispered in his ear.

"I had other things on my mind," he admitted sheepishly.

"I figured. Other people too," his sister replied drily, soft enough that only he could hear.

"Don't make fun. Please, don't," he pleaded.

"I'm not. I won't," she insisted. "I'm too happy for you, for you both, to tease you. Especially after the talk we had last spring. So, welcome back, Chuck. Truly." She tightened her arms around him. "Speaking of minds, how's your brain? Any issues?"

"No. Thankfully," Chuck replied with a heartfelt sigh.

"That's great! That makes me even happier!" Ellie gave him another squeeze and kissed him on the cheek before stepping back from their hug.

Devon stepped up and offered his own bone-crushing hug. "Welcome home, bro." He kissed Chuck on the cheek too before stepping back with a laugh.

Chuck wiped his hand across his cheek and gave his sister's boyfriend an amused frown. "Thanks, Captain, I think. It's good to be back." He turned to the other newcomers and stuck out his hand. "We've not met. I'm Chuck Bartowski, Sarah's boyfriend." He pointed at Ellie. "And her brother."

The blond guy with Carina stepped in first, shaking Chuck's outstretched hand. "Hi, I'm Wade Harrison, Carina's date."

"Nice to meet you, Wade," Chuck replied. He glanced at Carina, but refrained from asking any of the questions he had on his mind. The redhead was about to say something when the other man closed in, his own hand reaching out.

"Mark Reilly. I'm Zondra's 'plus one' this evening. Nice to meet you, Chuck," he grinned. The two men shook hands. "I saw you pitch a few times last year. You're pretty good." Chuck's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Nice to meet you too, Mark, and thank you. Are you a Stanford student?" he asked.

"Was. Graduated a year ago. Dual major in electrical and mechanical engineering," Mark replied. "Now I work for Apple down in Cupertino doing hardware engineering. As for Stanford baseball, I live not too far from here and still go back up to Palo Alto to watch sports when I get the chance. I've always enjoyed college sports more than the professional versions," he smiled. "Glad to see that you've recovered from your injury. You gonna be back out there next spring?"

"Thank you again. I'm doing a lot better," Chuck nodded. "And, yes, I do plan on being back on the bump tossing the pill next season. Gotta make up for lost time, ya know?" he shrugged and grinned.

"I do," the other man agreed.

"Enough, you two," Zondra scolded them. "Lay off the baseball lingo too, Chuck. It's annoying. How can we eavesdrop if we can't understand what you're saying?" she rebuked him teasingly. Chuck blushed as he bowed his head and acquiesced to her demand.

"She's kidding, sweetie. Z really doesn't mean it," Sarah whispered soothingly, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Oh, I know that by now," he acknowledged. "She should just be glad Mark and I didn't start talking shop about working for Apple and nerding out over engineering."

"I'm certainly glad you didn't," she retorted with a snort. Chuck giggled at the disgusted look on her face. She turned to her roommates. "So, no Alex and Morgan?"

"Nope. He's still down in LA and she's down there visiting him at the moment. Sorry," Zondra answered regretfully.

"That's too bad. Oh well, you tried," Sarah shrugged.

"Enough blabbing," Carina interrupted with a frown. "We didn't come here to kvetch; we came here to dance. So, let's go! Time to boogie!"

"It hasn't been 'time to boogie' since John Travolta wore polyester pants and still had hair," Ellie snarked.

"Pfft!" Carina blew a raspberry over her shoulder at the med student in response drawing laughter from others in the group.

The four couples headed for the dance floor with Chuck and Sarah bringing up the rear. Instinctively, she knew that he was concerned about looking bad in front of the others.

"We'll find our own little corner to dance in, sweetie," she squeezed his hand comfortingly. "Just remember that you're dancing with me, not any of them. And I happen to think you dance just fine. OK?"

Chuck smiled and nodded, grateful for her keen perception. "OK. And I'll be sure to keep my focus firmly on you."

"As you should," she replied emphatically, making him chuckle.

They stepped on the dance floor right when the music changed to a set of 90's songs. More contemporary songs meant more contemporary dances. Chuck wasn't as well versed as Sarah in that musical period forcing him to follow her lead on the faster dances. Slow dancing was another matter and they molded together easily, dancing nearly flawlessly when those songs came on. They stayed out on the floor through the entire set and the next, a throwback 60's set. Even though they were having a wonderful time, after spending two full sets dancing, they agreed that they should take a little break to get something to drink and, maybe, something to eat, as well. With that in mind, they made their way back toward their friends, their fingers intertwined. When they finally finished weaving their way through the crowd and arrived at their table, they were greeted by astonished looks from the three women and Devon. Mark and Wade, being newcomers, stood eyeing the others curiously.

"Chuck! My goodness!" Ellie exclaimed with a surprised grin.

"Chuckster, busting out the moves! Awesome!" Devon added his opinion to his girlfriend's.

"What gives? Since when have you been able to dance, Chuckles?" Carina questioned loudly. "From what Sarah revealed about the baseball banquet last spring, you were pretty rough around the edges on the dance floor. What happened? We figured you and Blondie have been dancing nonstop since you got back, just not standing up," the redhead paused before going on. "At least not very often." She looked amused and confused at the same time. She pointedly ignored the glare coming from her blonde roommate.

"You look like you've been getting some dancing lessons from our girl here, Curls," Zondra chimed in, talking over everyone else.

"Uh …," Chuck began, trying to make sense of who was saying what. He reached up and scratched behind his ear to buy some time for him to formulate his response. Luckily, Sarah stepped in to provide him some cover.

"Funny you should mention that, Z," she interjected.

"Funny how?" the brunette wanted to know.

"Funny, because that's exactly what he did," Sarah replied happily. Seeing the confused expressions on her friends' faces, she quickly added, "Lessons. Chuck took dancing lessons while he was up in Massachusetts." She beamed at her boyfriend.

"Good grief," Carina snorted in amused disgust.

"When did you have time to do that, Chuck?" Ellie wondered.

Chuck finally found his voice. "In the morning right before lunch," he explained. Continuing on, he provided additional details. "I'd get up early for the daily conditioning workout then have breakfast. We had free time after that until we were supposed to report to the field either for practice or game prep or to catch the team bus for away games. Some guys just hung out. Others had part-time jobs. Me? I took dancing lessons down the road in Hyannis. It's not all that far from South Yarmouth where I was staying. Not a big deal."

"Not a big deal, he says," Carina shook her head at his cluelessness. Zondra just grinned at Chuck being Chuck.

"Woah, woah, woah," Devon held up his hand. "Let me get this straight. You …," he pointed at Chuck, "you took dancing lessons on top of practicing and playing baseball? And writing all those blankity-blank letters. And the daily phone calls? Is that what you're saying?" He was incredulous.

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying."

"How often did you have lessons?" his sister's boyfriend wondered out loud, afraid of what the answer would be.

"Every weekday for a couple of hours before lunch, the whole time I was on the Cape," Chuck admitted. "An hour for dance lessons and practicing the steps followed by another hour for instructions on how to give foot massages."

"Foot massages too?" Ellie squeaked, her gleeful awe at her brother evident on her face.

"Uh huh, that's right. Foot massages," Sarah grinned smugly. "And he's really, really good. My baby's got the best hands," she added with seeming innocence.

Ellie sputtered with laughter. So did Zondra.

"Oh, fuck off!" Carina grumbled in mock consternation. "You two are nauseating."

"Nauseating?" Chuck questioned. "I thought we were disgusting. Now I'm confused." He twisted his lips to the side and scratched his head.

"We were disgusting yesterday, sweetie," Sarah explained, fighting to hold back her grin when she saw the look in her boyfriend's eyes. "According to Red, today, we're nauseating."

"It's a lot to keep straight," he shrugged, keeping up his act. "I'll need to make a schedule. Maybe create an app for my phone." Turning to the older CAT, he continued. "I'm sorry, Carina. If I had known we were scheduled to make you nauseous today, I would have brought some antacid for you to take." He bit his lip to keep from laughing.

"Don't you start with that nonsense. Not tonight," Carina warned, wagging her finger at him. Most of the others were now laughing at their combined antics. Poor Mark and Wade still had no idea what was going on.

"I'll try and do better," Chuck couldn't avoid laughing now.

"Yeah, you do that," Carina pretended to glare at them both. "One thing is for sure, though. You two are annoying every day. Mark that down in your 'schedule.' Or put it in your app. Whatever." She waved her hand dismissively and started to laugh. "Jerks … you frickin' idiots."

Zondra finally turned to her date and Carina's. "It's a long story. We'll fill you in later." The two men nodded, finally grinning.

"I can't believe you broke the 'bro code,' dude." Devon was shaking his head at Chuck.

"Bro code? What 'bro code'?"

"The code that says bros don't make other bros look bad in front of their girlfriends," the med student patiently explained.

"How would I know about that? I never had a girlfriend before. Besides, I didn't do it to make anyone else look bad, I did it to make Sarah happy," he held his hands out and shrugged.

"And you did, sweetie. Thank you," Sarah said. She was smiling so hard her facial muscles were beginning to hurt.

"Carina's right. You are annoying," Devon laughed.

"See? I told ya," Carina nodded in Devon's direction, gesturing to everyone else in the group.

"What's the problem, Devon?" Ellie asked, patting his arm. "You're a great dancer."

"It's the principle of the thing," he insisted. His response got everyone laughing all over again. As the laughter started to die down, Sarah picked up the menu standing on the table next to their reserved sign.

"I don't know about anyone else, but I could use something to drink and some noshes," she declared, looking over the menu. Chuck peered over her shoulder to see what was available. The others all voiced similar desires.

After looking over the offerings, they passed the menu around the table to give everyone a chance to make their choices. Once everyone was ready, Sarah signaled to one of Johnny's roving staff so they could place their orders. As soon as that task was accomplished, she excused herself to visit the ladies' room. When her roommates got up to follow her, Ellie spoke up.

"Ladies! Sarah's a big girl. I'm sure she can find the way to the restroom by herself," she chidingly reminded them. Both women sat back down pouting to the quiet chuckles of the others at the table.

Sarah mouthed 'thank you' to Ellie before continuing on her way. There would be no game of twenty questions tonight.

By the time she got back, the drinks had arrived. Beer for the guys, wine for the girls, and club soda with lime for her and Chuck. They sipped their drinks and chatted until the food arrived. While they'd been waiting, the table next to theirs opened up. After a look from Ellie, Carina and Zondra claimed it for themselves and their dates. It made eating a lot more comfortable for everyone. Chuck and Sarah had both opted for cheeseburgers with everything and, at Sarah's insistence, tater tots in place of French fries.

"Trust me, Chuck. They are fabulous. Johnny's sells a ton of them. Tots might even be their number one item on the menu," she'd told him when they had placed their order.

As soon as he ate his first tot, he had to give his girlfriend credit. "These things are very good, sweetie," he announced. "Just the right amount of crunchy on the outside while still being soft on the inside. The dipping sauce that comes with them isn't bad either. All in all, a perfect accompaniment to my burger," he readily admitted, leaning in to give her a slightly crispy kiss on the cheek despite her protests.

"Thanks. You're a pretty good accompaniment for my burger too," she laughed, wiping the crumbs he'd left behind from her cheek.

"Uh ohs," came from a few of the people at their two tables.

Chuck just shrugged. "Uh oh nuthin'. I'll take it," he grinned.

"Jeez, you too are annoying," Ellie laughed.

"Another convert!" Carina crowed from the other table to general teasing laughter from the others.

Making a point to ignore everything else, Chuck and Sarah enjoyed eating their food, smiling at one another the entire time.

The remnants of their meal hadn't been cleared away for very long when Sarah led Chuck back onto the dance floor. They danced through set after set, it didn't matter what type of music was playing. They especially enjoyed the special set entirely composed of slow dances from across the various musical eras.

While they were back at their table for another break and a drink, the DJ's announced the start of a set featuring current popular music for the first time that evening. Sarah's eyes lit up and she squealed, grabbing Chuck's hand in the process. It was time for her to fry all her boyfriend's circuits.

"Let's go, baby. There are bound to be some songs in this set that I can really move to," she declared, heading back toward the dance floor.

And move she did. Chuck was off kilter from the moment they joined the other dancers. No matter what he did, he couldn't hope to equal her moves. Keeping her eyes locked on his, she slinked around him, pressing against his back and, before he could react, she'd dance around to his front and press herself against him there. If she wasn't doing that, she was running her hands all over his body as she swung her hips to the beat. And, when she got tired of that, she would loop her arms around his neck and gyrate her entire body to the music.

He'd never felt more awkward with her on the dance floor, not even at the baseball banquet. Or more turned on. Whatever Sarah was doing, it wasn't dancing. At least it wasn't anything like the dancing he'd learned from Ilsa and Alexi or the dancing they'd been doing since he got back from Massachusetts or even the dancing they'd been doing earlier that night. All he knew was he felt lumbering and uncoordinated in comparison. And very aroused. His pulse was racing as he watched her. He could swear that he actually felt his heartbeat in his teeth. Was that even possible?

"You're going to kill me; you know that right?" She grinned and shrugged as she danced. That made him laugh. "You need to stop." He shook his finger at her scoldingly.

"Stop what?" She asked, slowing her movements slightly, feigning confusion.

Chuck gestured at her and waved his hand up and down. "This. All this."

"You just gestured at all of me. What are you talking about? Stop what?" She wasn't sure what words he was searching for, but she knew perfectly well what he meant.

"Your Sarah-ness," he responded, pointing at her again.

"My Sarah-ness?" She struggled to suppress a grin.

"Yes, your Sarah-ness. All your Sarah-ness. Y'all gotta stop." He looked at her pointedly.

"What does that even mean?" In truth, she understood completely but she was having too much fun to let him off the hook just yet. "Why do I 'gotta stop'?"

"Because," he pouted.

"Because why?" she asked seductively as she moved even closer to him. "Tell me, baby." she breathed in his ear. This time she heard him gulp audibly.

"Because, you make me not want to dance anymore. I want to … um … well …"

"Well … what?" she wondered aloud, her voice husky. When she reached out and caressed his chest, he jumped. She bit down hard on her lip to contain her delight. I've got you now!

"Ahem … Um … I shouldn't mention it in public," he responded weakly, almost giving in. "It would be ungentlemanly of me to tell you what I was about to say." Sarah leaned back and gave in to her laughter.

"Well, I should hope so," she chirped. Chuck's eyes went wide then narrowed as she continued. "Tell you what, Mr. Bartowski. How 'bout we get out of here? Then, when we get home, you tell me all about whatever ungentlemanly thing or things you're worried about. OK?" She reached out and took his hand. Closing the distance to him, she pressed a sizzling kiss to his lips.

"Now, I know you're trying to kill me," he complained, unable to keep from grinning.

Laughing anew, Sarah tugged on his hand and led him back to their table to snag her purse. She waved to the other couples still out on the dance floor when they passed them on their way toward the exit. Neither of them saw the knowing smiles their friends shared, nor them shaking their heads in amusement.

"C'mon, Chuck. It's time to release the Kraken!" she growled as soon as they got outside, nearly making him stumble in her haste.

Chuck wasn't entirely sure how that statement related to the way Sarah had just been dancing, but he knew that he was about to find out.


A/N2: Chapter title comes from the song by Walk the Moon. After the events of the summer, there just had to be a chapter where Sarah shows off Chuck's new dancing skills.

A/N3: Come on. Once I brought up the OG Clash of the Titans movie, you had to expect that I'd use that line before the chapter was over.

A/N4: There are several clubs that feature dancing in Mountain View, but Johnny's Hideaway is my own creation. I borrowed the name from a real place I've been to at some point in my life.

A/N5: My thanks to WillieGarvin for his invaluable help in creating this chapter. Not exactly steps across a dance floor, but words on the page. It's sort of the same thing, right?

A/N6: Thank you for reading. Please drop me a PM or leave a review. Let me know what you think. For those of you who have left reviews or PMs previously, thank you. I appreciate each and every one of them. Thank you to everyone who's followed or favorited this story, too. Your support means a lot to me.

A/N7: If you enjoy Chuck fan fiction here on the fanfic site, go over to Facebook and join the Chuck Fanfiction group that's there. You'll find nice folks who share your interest in our favorite spy couple. You are not alone.