A/N: Y'all…I swore this was posted. So…here's what happened. In the last few months my dad had four surgeries in one day. My father-in-law was in ICU with sepsis. I kinda took in a homeless girl that my daughter knows. Oh, did I mention physical therapy multiple times a week over a torn abductor in my leg? Me writing became the FURTHEREST thing from my mind. I could do quick chapters like the western I did, but anything else….nope. I'm sorry. Life has lifed all over me. To be upfront. Nothing else is written on this fic. I'm currently working on a fic that is about 1k words per chapter to try and get back in the swing of things. I love this fic, I will return to it, promise. Pinky promise. Thanks for sticking with me. This is the end of the episode, Take my Husband, Please.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

"Okay, before the wedding, Casey got tied up with the Eyes Out Killer again," Sarah began, as Chuck nodded along. "Dan talked to you about Yuri."

"Which according to Dan, he was wrong, even though his friend thought something was off," Chuck reminded her.

"They're up to something," Sarah said. "I just know they are."

"It's your Sarah-sense," Chuck said, and then frowned. "No, that can't be it, because you'd have to have been bitten by a radioactive Sarah."

"I'm not even gonna fight you on this one, buddy," Sarah mused, shaking her head.

"Can we talk about the elephant in the room?" Chuck asked. "Claudia." Sarah made a face. It had bothered them both how sure Robert had been that Claudia was still working, or having an affair, or…both. "Her husband is missing. Do we have to go back to our client, and question her?"

"Have you got a better idea?" Sarah asked. "I'm sorry, Chuck. I don't like it any more than you do, but… we have to follow whatever information we have. Like you following this money trail on Robert."

"It's a lot of money," Chuck said, nodding as he drew out the word lot.. "And I hope you don't think I was blaming you about having to question her. I get it. It's just… icky."

"Very icky," Sarah agreed, as the two pulled up to Claudia's home. They opened the doors and got out. "Very icky indeed."

}o{

The three sat in Claudia's living room. Chuck was fidgety, trying to figure out the best way to ask her about what they were told. "Mr. Bartowski," she began.

"Please, it's Chuck," Chuck insisted.

"Whatever it is you've learned, I need to know," Claudia told him. Sarah and Chuck shared a look.

"It's not so much what we've learned," Chuck began. "It's more what we were told by Mr. Cline."

Anger spread across her face, as she stood quickly. "What bullshit did he say about me this time? How I slept with him for money? I did not! Yes, he offered me a serious amount of money." She paced back and forth. "Have you ever seen Pretty Woman? You know that scene where the guy from Seinfeld makes a pass at Julia Roberts? That's what it was like." Chuck's face tightened in anger. "That look on your face is exactly how I felt."

"I am so sorry to have brought up what he said," Chuck began.

"No, please, do not apologize," she told him. "What else did he say?"

"He believed that you were having numerous affairs, and that's why your husband left," Chuck told her.

She snorted, shaking her head. "He wishes I was," Claudia said. "He is so mad about his life. How his wife keeps insisting their children attend private school. How she doesn't work at all, but spends out of this world."

"Does she come from money?" Chuck asked.

"Not that I know of," Claudia told them. Chuck gave Sarah a look. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't want to speculate," Chuck said gently. "One last question, and we'll leave you alone. Do you know of any way for your husband to send emails without his thumbprint?"

"No," Claudia said, shaking her head. "In fact, the whole thing was Stewart's idea, for added security."

"Oh?" Sarah asked.

"The project Stewart was working on was going to make the company a lot of money," Claudia told them. "If it were to be stolen and sold on the black market…." She shook her head.

"Thank you for your time," Chuck said, standing and taking her hand in his. "We're going to get to the bottom of this."

"Mr. Bartowski, I appreciate your belief that you can-"

"Claudia," he said, cutting her off, gently. "We will."

"If he says we will, then we will," Sarah told Claudia. She thanked them both, and Chuck and Sarah left the house. "Well, oh great promiser of the impossible, where is he?"

"Why do you think I know?" Chuck asked.

"Because you do," Sarah said with a shrug.

"I mean I don't know," Chuck told her. "Butttttt, I have an idea."

}o{

"Chuck," Sarah said softly. He looked over at her. "If you want to spend time with me, there are other ways to do it other than just sitting here in the front seat of your car."

"I mean we haven't just been sitting in the front seat of the car," Chuck replied.

"Well, you have… I was under Robert's car," Sarah said.

"I told you I'd do it," Chuck protested.

"Listen, one of us has had training sneaking, and the other… the other sometimes has trouble walking," Sarah continued.

"I mean, I haven't tripped in months," Chuck insisted.

"Our honeymoon," Sarah reminded him.

"You shoved me onto my back."

"I did?" Sarah asked innocently.

"You know damn well you did," Chuck replied, making her giggle. "Ah-ha!"

"Oh boy, you ah-ha-ed," Sarah said sitting up and looking at his computer. "What did you find?"

"I think I know where Stewart is, but we're probably going to need help getting in," Chuck told her. Sarah gave him a look. "Listen, it's probably a secure building." Sarah just continued to give him the same flat look, as she put the car in drive and took off.

}o{

"So let me get this straight: he hacked the smart car, found out where all he had gone by GPS, and checked out those locations?" Carina asked over the speaker.

"Yes," Chuck answered. "He's made several visits to a server farm, and those places are typically empty of other people."

"Why in the hell would this dude kidnap Stewart?" Carina asked.

"Stewart probably figured out that Bob was taking money to pay for his kids' tuition at the private school, and his wife's ridiculous amount of spending," Chuck said with a shrug. "It's kinda the tale as old as time."

"Don't forget if Bob can sell what Stewart was working on," Sarah added. "After the sale, Bob could kill Stewart, make it look like Stewart went rogue to get money, and move onto a new life. Instead, he got double crossed and killed."

"Who's Bob?" Carina asked.

"Oh, his name is Robert, some blowhard in upper management," Sarah told Carina. "But he hates being called Bob, and he made a pass at our client. And Chuck and I hate him."

"Chuck doesn't hate anyone," Carina argued.

"Oh, I hate Bob," Chuck said. "He completely disrespected Claudia and her marriage."

"I stand corrected," Carina said. "So, why do you need me?"

"Chuck thinks that we might need help breaking into the server farm," Sarah told her. Carina laughed, and Sarah gave Chuck an amused look.

}o{

"Crap," Sarah said, stopping in front of a door with a number pad on it. "We used to have a card that we could attach to that to get in, but after we left our former jobs…"

"It will take me a bit to hack it," Chuck said. Sarah nodded, listening to Carina's voice in the earpiece.

"Wait, Carina has an idea," Sarah told her. "Yeah, keypad is above the door handle." She looked over at Chuck, and then back at the door. "Uh-huh." She nodded. "Yeah." She listened a second. "I mean… it's worth a shot." She turned to Chuck. "Any alarm with that door?"

"Not that I can see," Chuck told her.

"Okay, got it," Sarah said. She turned to Chuck. "You might want to stand back," Sarah told Chuck. Chuck took a few steps back. Sarah looked at the door, raised her foot, and kicked the door right above the keypad. The door swung open.

"All that, just to kick it?" Chuck said.

"What can I say, we do it with flair," Sarah told him.

"I'm aware," Chuck said, going inside. He was quickly jerked backwards. "Sorry, but you do, and I'm not complaining."

"Bye, Carnia," Sarah said, shutting off her phone. "I am aware that you are aware that I do… It, with flair." Chuck grinned at her, and then the grin went away as she pulled out her gun. "But, I go first."

"Because your name is on the door first?" Chuck asked.

"No, don't be ridiculous. Because I have a gun, and training," Sarah told him. "And while I have trained you… well…"

"I'm not you," Chuck finished for her. "Which, let's be honest, would make things kinda awkward if you were both of us, 'cause-" he stopped speaking as she stepped up and kissed him.

"I know you're about to spiral-flirt," Sarah began, as she stepped away.

"Spiral-flirt?" Chuck mouthed.

"But, we need to save Stewart," Sarah told him as she stepped inside. Chuck started to follow her when she reappeared in the door frame. "Watch your back," she said, and then disappeared back inside.

Chuck followed her, as quietly as possible. They made their way through the building and came to a large room that was locked. Sarah put away her gun, pulled out a pick, and went to work on the lock. The door sprang open, and she quietly entered. "Stewart?" she said, at the man who was typing on a computer.

The man put his hands in the air. "Listen, I'm hurrying," the man said. He looked haggard, like he hadn't had any rest, and was anxious. "You weren't supposed to be here for another hour, and I told Robert it would take me at least another day to finish the project."

"Your wife, Claudia, hired us to find you," Chuck said gently.

"Oh thank God!" Stewart said, nearly collapsing in relief.

"But, who did you think was coming?" Chuck asked.

"The buyers that Robert set up," Stewart told them.

"So, you're not done with the project yet?" Chuck asked.

"Oh, I am. I was just trying to find a way to buy time," Stewart told them. "I… I didn't want to have to give over these plans, but I'm not sure what else I can do."

"Okay, how are they getting these plans?" Chuck asked. Stewart held up a flash drive. "Fine, download the plans, give that flash drive to Sarah, and wipe it from the hard drive."

"That will take some time," Stewart said.

"Don't worry," Sarah said. "I'll make sure no one gets close to you."

"Sarah, you're not going to like this," Chuck said. Sarah turned to him frowning. "Please don't make me sleep on the couch tonight." The frown deepened. "I think we need me to be the magnet." The frown was gone, and a new look was on her face. "Totally sleeping on the couch tonight," he muttered.

}o{

"Hey, how the hell are you out of your room?" the man asked as he walked into the server farm, seeing Chuck.

Chuck just shrugged. "I'm good," Chuck told them.

The man looked at his buddy, and both pulled out a weapon, aiming them at Chuck's head. Chuck raised his hands. "What's stopping us from killing you and taking the plans right now?"

"You know the passcode to get into the system?" Chuck asked. The men exchanged a look. "Didn't think so. I haven't downloaded it yet. I wanted to make sure I gave the plans to the right people. I just want to go home and see my wife."

"How do you know we're the right people?" the first man asked.

"Because this is when you tell me who you're working for," Chuck said. The two men exchanged another look. "Listen, Robert told me to make sure I got the right guys. He told me it would ensure my safety."

"He did, did he?" the lead guy said. A smirk appeared on his face. "Well, we work for Volkoff."

"Okay," Chuck said, nodding. "Any chance you put those guns away, so you don't accidentally shoot me in the back as we're going to server room?" The men gave him a look. "Fine," Chuck said, turning. "We'll go, and I'll download the plans. Then I can go home?"

"Yeah," the first guy said, smirking where Chuck couldn't see him. Chuck led them down the hallway to the room. He hoped to God this worked, because if these two killed him, Sarah was going to be so pissed at him.

Sarah watched Chuck walk through the door. She was off to the side, hidden. As the two goons walked past her, she snuck behind the one on the right. She brought her gun down, hitting him in the head with the handle of the gun. There was a grunt, and the man began to collapse. She shot her hand out at the one to her left, pushing his right hand down and away with her left. Swinging with her right hand, she hit the guy in the head with the gun, knocking him down. Sarah shoved the gun in the back of her pants, straddling the second dazed man, and punched him in the face. He fell back, unconscious.

"I hope you got out all of your anger about me being the magnet out on him," Chuck said. Sarah gave him a look. "Well, it's good to have hope," he muttered.

}o{

A little while later, after the cops and the EMTs had shown up, Casey pulled Chuck and Sarah aside. "We're arresting Robert right now," Casey told them. "And we're getting Claudia down here." The three looked over to Stewart, who was being checked out by the EMTs. "They don't think anything's wrong with him, but they want to take him to the hospital for observation."

"Can you spare anyone for protection duty?" Chuck asked. Casey gave him a perplexed look. "My wife isn't really happy with me about being the choice about being the magnet."

Casey chuckled. "You decided to marry her, numb-nuts," Casey said as he walked away, chuckling.

"You don't need any protection," Sarah told him. "I won't do anything to you." He turned to her, and saw the look on her face.

"Anything?" Chuck asked.

"Any. Thing," she responded.

Chuck started to respond when Claudia came in. Stewart saw her and the two embraced like two people at the end of a romance movie. "He, on the other hand, might need protection," Chuck said softly to Sarah. She snorted, whacked him on the chest, and the two walked away, leaving the couple to reunite.

}o{

"How upset was he?" Dan asked. The group, sans Chuck and Sarah, were meeting at Dan's house. "Or was Roark even aware of the perpetrators claiming to be Volkoff's men?"

"Oh, he was aware," Zondra told them. "Apparently he's been sending out these different groups using Volkoff's name, cause… who's gonna tell him not to?"

"So, we're pretty sure Roark is behind everything?" Casey asked.

"Yes," Carina said, pulling out a thick folder. "I've been going through everything, including those biomarkers… it's bad."

"We're gonna have to tell them, aren't we?" Ellie asked.

"Are we sure they don't already know?" Carina countered.

"We don't, but we're hoping they're too busy having fun with their honeymoon – and post-honeymoon – bliss," Zondra admitted.

The room was quiet, as it was becoming obvious to everyone they were going to have to bring in Chuck and Sarah. No one was happy about it.

}o{

Chuck looked up from the couch as she walked to the bedroom. "You aren't serious about me-" the bedroom door slammed, stopping him from talking. "Guess I am sleeping here tonight."

He laid down on the couch, and couldn't help but think about the past few weeks, a huge smile coming to his face. He heard the bedroom door open softly. He grinned. He knew good and well if she didn't want him to hear that door, he wouldn't. It took a minute – he was sure she was sneaking – until he felt the blanket get thrown over him, and then, quick as a cat, she was underneath said blanket and snuggled up against him.

"Boy, you sure do know how to punish a guy," Chuck muttered.

"Shh," Sarah said. "You have lost your speaking privileges." He moved forward and kissed her gently, her arms seemed to automatically wrap around his neck and pull him in closer. He gently pulled away.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done that, you know having lost my privileges and all," Chuck said.

"I said you lost your speaking privileges, not my mouth privileges," Sarah reminded him.

"God, you get randy now that your married," Chuck said, grinning at her. "Are you really angry with me?"

"No," Sarah said, shaking her head. "But I need that bunch thinking I am, so that they don't know that we know that they're keeping something from us."

"We don't… know," Chuck reminded her.

"Oh, but we do, because I have a spy in their midst," Sarah said.

"Sarah!" Chuck said, sitting up.

"And your sister is a member of the group," Sarah continued.

"Okay, tell me everything," Chuck said, making her giggle.

She got up, walked over to her bag, and pulled out a folder. Bringing it over, she handed it to him. "Cliff Notes version."

He took it and began to read. "Oh, I know who our spy is," he said, never looking up, ingesting the info as quickly as he could. "I must say the handwriting is impeccable."

"I figured you would," Sarah said. He got to the end and looked up at her. "I'm guessing you get why they're keeping it from us."

"I mean, I get why they are me. But you? No," Chuck told her. "Sarah, you're the best detective we have."

"No, I'm not," Sarah said, shaking her head. "What you don't realize, is that I'm no longer the best… we are." She smiled. "The two of us, working together, are absolutely the best, and they are trying to protect us."

"Except for one," Chuck said, waggling the folder in his hand.

"No, she is. She just thinks the best way to protect us is to keep us informed," Sarah pointed out.

"So, what do we do?" Chuck asked.

Sarah was silent for a moment, and when she spoke, her voice was low. "Before… us…" She took a breath. "Before us, I'd have gotten mad, and I probably would have gone off half-cocked, to prove to them they need me. Now… now, I know what they're doing." She looked him right in the eye. "We encourage them. "We remind them of why we do this job. We," she gestured back and forth between them, "we remind them of love, we remind them about caring about people, we remind them of connections. And frankly we give them hope."

"Jesus… you know if I wasn't married to you, I'd probably propose right now," Chuck muttered.

"Well, you are married to me, and as I told you, I plan on continue to marrying the shit out of you," Sarah reminded him.

"Again, I don't think that's how it works. But since I like the concept, I'm gonna keep my mouth shut," Chuck replied.

"No, you won't," Sarah said.

"I won't," Chuck admitted, nodding. "Before that beautiful… was that a soliloquy?"

"Eh," she said with a shrug. "More like the damn truth."

"Again, isn't that a soliloquy?" Chuck asked.

"Is that the part of this conversation you want to get bogged down on?"

"It's not that I want to," Chuck told her. He clamped his mouth shut, making her giggle. "What do we do?" he asked.

"We go forward," Sarah said. "We go forward, we do what we do, and if we hit a point where we find things that we don't like or can't deal with, we'll pull them in."

"We could tell them," Chuck said. She gave him a look, and he threw up his hands. "I mean, we have no reason not to."

"What, you don't want to do this… just with me?" Sarah asked.

"Why do I think you're implying that this is more than solving a case?" Chuck asked. Sarah shrugged, stood, and walked past him. He listened, and the door to the bedroom didn't close.

"You coming to bed or not?" she called out.

He hurried down the hallway to the bedroom.

A/N: Have you seen Sneakers? The scene with the door with Sarah and Carina came from that movie. I'm sure I didn't do it as well as Robert Redford and Sidney Poitier did, but yeah, that was a homage to them. Come on back next time for the beginning of our new episode, Can't Stop Loving you.