#bryce langston is the love of my LIFE

[20thjanuarys]

i just wanna be living in a tiny house thats parked on a farm, tending to my sheep and cuddling my doggies

[eeraygun]

Top 246 Sonic Releases of 2020

001. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart On Fire Immediately 002. Splash Pattern - Sentinel 003. Pontiac Streator - Triz 004. gayphextwin & Pépe - gayphextwin / Pépe EP 005. Various Artists - SLINK Volume 1 006. Echium - Disruptions of Form 007. Henry Greenleaf - Caught 008. Sega Bodega - Reestablishing Connection 009. Summer Walker - Life on Earth 010. Charli XCX - how i'm feeling now 011. Various Artists - Physically Sick 3 012. Autechre - Sign 013. Off The Meds - Off The Meds 014. Brent Faiyaz - Fuck The World 015. Luis Pestana - Rosa Pano 016. Reinartz - Ravecoil 017. pent - - 018. Mark Leckey - In This Lingering Twilight Sparkle 019. Various Artists - Sharpen, Moving 020. Vanessa Worm - Vanessa 77 021. Aho Ssan - Simulacrum 022. Lyra Pramuk - Fountain 023. PJ Harvey - Dry Demos 024. Felicia Atkinson - Echo 025. Arca - KiCK i 026. Space Afrika - hybtwibt 027. Ambien Baby - Mindkiss 028. The Gasman - Voyage 029. Inigo Kennedy - Arcadian Falls 030. Raft of Trash - Likeness on the Edge of Town 031. OL - Wildlife Processing 032. Fyu-Jon - Furrow 033. Desire Marea - Desire 034. Octo Octa - Love Hypnosis Vol. 1 035. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher 036. Jesse Osborne-Lanthier - Left My Brain @ Can Paixano (La Xampanyeria) OST 037. Various Artists - She's More Wild 038. Various Artists - Days Of Future Past [White Material] 039. Foul Play - Origins 040. Late Night Approach - The Naus Investigation 041. Amazondotcom & Siete Catorce - Vague Currency 042. Davis Galvin - Ntih / Icia 043. Patiño - Actually Laughing Out Loud 044. Various Artists - 2nd Anniversary Compilation [All Centre] 045. St-Antoine, Feu - L'eau Par La Soif 046. Xozgk - skllpt 047. Various Artists - The Sun is Setting on the World 048. DJ Python - Mas Amable 049. Peter Van Hoesen - Chapter for the Agnostic 050. Tracing Xircles - Air Lock 051. Ben & Jerry - Formant Fry 052. still house plants - Fast Edit 053. D-Leria - Still Standing 054. Florian T M Zeisig - Coatcheck 055. Hanne Lippard - Work 056. Shedbug & Rudolf C - Honey Mushrooms II 057. Carl Stone - Stolen Car 058. Ruth Anderson - Here 059. Sid Quirk - Ginnel Talk 060. Various Artists - Fluo I [Kindergarten Records] 061. Pump Media Unlimited - Change 062. VC-118A - Crunch / Plonk 063. Beatriz Ferreyra - Echos+ 064. Bearer - Precincts 065. PARSA - PAƬCHƜȜRKZ 1 066. Holly Childs & Gediminas Žygus - Hydrangea 067. Cosmin TRG - Remote 068. Obsequies - Carcass 069. Jake Muir - the hum of your veiled voice 070. No Moon - Set Phasers to Stun 071. Olli Aarni - Mustikoita ja kissankelloja 072. E-Unity - Duo Road EP 073. Benedek - Mr. Goods 074. Extinction Room - Extinction Stories 075. Hodge - Shadows In Blue 076. Various Artists - Tiny Planet Vol. 2 077. Floco Floco - On m'a dit 078. Breather - Ceremonies Of Aporia 079. Unknown Mobile - Leafy Edits Vol. 2 080. Wetman & Sword of Thorns - Apt E Vol 2 081. Borderlandstate_ the Best Kisser in L.A. - Hello Mainframe 082. Kiera Mulhern - De ossibus 20 083. Mads Kjeldgaard - Hold Time 084. Тпсб - Whities 031 EP 085. Network Glass - Twitch 086. a2a - A2A¹ EP 087. Wata Igarashi - Traveling 088. Joey G II - Pub Talk 089. Atom™ - <3 090. Valentina Magaletti & Marlene Ribeiro - Due Matte 091. Ewan Jansen - Island Diary 092. HOOVER1 - HOOVER1-4 093. Nazar - Guerrilla 094. Paradise Cinema - Paradise Cinema 095. Daisies - Daisies in the Studio with DJ Rap Class 096. Alloy Sea - Petrichor 097. Flørist - Intermedia 1 EP 098. Nandele - FF 099. Pro.tone - Zero Day Attack 100. Michael J. Blood - Introducing Michael J Blood 101. Various Artists - RV Trax, Vol. 5 102. DJ Plead - Going for It EP 103. Strategy - The Babbling Brook 104. Various Artists - surf000 105. Deft - Burna 106. Various Artists - WorldWideWindow 107. Lucy Liyou - Welfare 108. O-Wells - Ebecs 109. Special Request - Spectral Frequency EP 110. Anunaku - Stargate 111. Scott Young - Ket City 112. Various Artists - Stir Crazy Vol.1 113. Syz - Bunzunkunzun 114. Oozy Zoo - Sabertooth 115. Vanessa Amara - Poses 116. Carl Finlow - Apparatus 117. Al Wootton - Snake Dance EP 118. Oi Les Ox - Crooner qui coule sous les clous 119. aircode - Effortless 120. Tristan Arp - Slip 121. Andrea - Ritorno 122. Russell Ellington Langston Butler - Emotional Bangers Only 123. The Lone Flanger - The Photon's Path 124. SHelley Parker & Peder Mannerfelt - Decouple ]( Series 125. Esplendor Geometrica - Cinética 126. Casey MQ - babycasey 127. Gacha Bakradze - Western Arrogance 128. Fatherhood - Big Boy 129. Blawan - Make A Goose 130. Roza Terenzi, Roza - Modern Bliss 131. AceMo - SYSTEM OVERRIDE 132. Meitei - Kofū 133. Penelope Trappes - Eel Drip 134. Adult Fantasies - Towers of Silence 135. Plush Managements Inc. - Magic Plush 136. Further Reductions - array 137. Ben Bondy & Exael - Aphelion Lash 138. Pugilist - Blue Planet EP 139. Dylan Henner - The Invention of the Human 140. Cindy - I'm Cindy 141. Ulla - Tumbling Towards a Wall 142. EMMA DJ - PZSÅRIASISZSZ TAPE 143. BufoBufo - Potholing 144. Model Home - Live 5-12-20 145. Low Budget Aliens - Junk DNA 146. Paranoid London - PLEDITS#2 147. Emra Grid - A System A Platform A Voiid 148. J. Albert - Pre Formal Audio 149. Dawl - Break It Down 150. Oall Hates - Tranceporter 151. Mystic Letter K - Cosmic Clearance [MLK4, 2020] 152. Coco Bryce - Lost City Archives Vol 2 153. Hagan - Waves 154. Various Artists - ON+ON+ON 155. INVT - EXTREMA 156. C Powers - Redirections Vol. 1 157. Significant Other - Club Aura 158. Client_03 - Thought disposal 159. Ghost Phone - LOCKDOWN BODY EDITS 160. Two Shell - N35 161. Rhyw - Loom High 162. EAMS - Demode 163. Various Artists - Woozy001 164. Society Of Silence – Réalisme Viscéral 165. HVL - Alignment 166. Alan Johnson - Material World 167. Matthew D Gantt - Diagnostics 168. DJ Detox - RM12009 169. Critical Amnesia - Critical Amnesia 170. Neinzer - Whities 025 EP 171. Despina & Ma Sha Ru - Polychronia 172. Divide - Computer Music 173. URA - Blue [NAFF008, 2020] 174. Forest Drive West - Terminus EP 175. Glacci - Alzarin _ Lavvender Rush 176. Fergus Sweetland - Fergus Sweetland 177. Various Artists - C12 - Social Distancing 1.1 178. A-Sim - The Puppet Master 179. Chlär - Power to the Soul 180. Will Hofbauer - Where Did All The Hay Go 181. Protect-U - In Harmony Of An Interior World 182. Instinct & 0113 - Instinct 11 183. Ribbon Stage - My Favorite Shrine 184. Zenker Brothers - Mad System 185. 2Lanes - Baby's Born To Fish... - Impish Desires 186. Nebulo - Parallaxes 187. Martyn Bootyspoon - Lickety Split 188. Erik Griswold - All's Grist That Comes To The Mill 189. Alex Falk - Movefast 190. DJ SWISHA & Kanyon - Club Simulator EP 191. Happa - Ls14 Battler _ 36Th Chamberlain (Remixes) 192. Svreca - FRUE 193. Anz - Loos In Twos (NRG) 194. James King - rinsed - installed 195. Catartsis & Ōtone - Mechanical Gesture 196. Daniel J. Gregory - Life Is A Bin 197. Desert Sound Colony - Pulled Through The Wormhole EP 198. Floral Resources - TS00000? 199. Alex R - Last Attempt 200. Notzing - The Abuse Of Hypnosis In Dance Environments 201. Brain Rays & Quiet - Butter [SR081A, 2020] 202. Benjamin Damage - Deep Space Transit 203. BROSHUDA - Contemplative Figuration 204. Various Artists - Radiant Love IWD Comp 205. Paradise 3001 - Low Sun Archives 206. 011668 & S280F - Os 207. Kubota, Kazuma - Mind 208. HATENA - HANDZ 209. Leonce - Seconds & Fifths EP 210. Furtive - Sympathies IV 211. French II - Time / Tracker 212. qwizzz - slag ep 213. Gag Reflex - The Fae 214. Luca Lozano & Mr. Ho - Homeboys 215. CONCEPTUAL - Introspective Research 216. Xyla - Ways 217. Minor Science - Second Language 218. Fana - Karantina 219. Current Obsession - XXX 220. K. Frimpong & Super Complex Sounds - Ahyewa 221. Ali Berger - The Stew 222. Sleep D - Smoke Haze 223. Nick León - MAZE 224. DJ Delish - Khadijah Vol. 6 225. Sputnik One - Kerosene 226. OOBE - SFTCR 2 227. Burrell Connection - Breaks That Strung the Camel Back 228. Wayne Phoenix - Soaring Wayne Phoenix Story The Earth 229. D.Dan - Mutant Future 230. Distance Dancer - Distance Dancer 231. Nikki Nair - Number One Slugger 232. Vinicius Honorio - Metamorphosis 233. Tracey - Microdancer EP 234. Ntu - Perfect Blue 235. Bliss Inc. - Hacking The Planet 236. JLTZ - Tools From Another Mother 237. Omnipony - GHOST1 238. WTCHCRFT - ACID EP vol. 2 239. Mike - Weight Of The World 240. Hypnaton - Hypnaton 241. Granary 12 - High 1987 242. Elisa Bee - Orbit EP 243. Stones Taro - Pump EP 244. Alexis - Refractions 245. Ntel - The Dilution Effect 246. X.WILSON - YUK

[davidcarner]

Pump Up the Jam Ch 3, Don’t You Forget About Me

A/N: I've always loved music, and there have been some great fics centered around music. Let me tell you about a couple. The first is A Matter of Trust by MySongStory. It's a series of one-shots, and it's really good. (Full disclosure I've been helping the author a tiny bit with the newest chapter) The second, and one of my all time favorites is Permutations by uplink2. Chuck is a DJ at Stanford and Sarah is a student. It is so good. Okay, on to my fic, and I mean you guys are just seem to be enjoying this one… Dillwg, this Bryce is for you. I give you Pump Up the Jam Ch 3, Don't You Forget About Me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, and we all know deep down Sarah will never forget about Chuck. (yes, persnickety mood today)

Chuck stood there looking at his old friend, nay, nemesis. His mind began to process what he was seeing, and it wasn't good. Bryce wasn't the physical specimen he used to be. Oh, sure, he still had his good looks, but something terrible had happened to him. He still had his good hair, and the eye patch did something in a Nick Fury kinda way. But something awful happened to the right side of his body.

"Actually scratch that drink, why don't we go to my place and I get you one, because you may need it."

Chuck studied Bryce. "How do I know you won't get me on some deserted highway and kick me out of the car?"

"Good one, Chuck." Bryce took a look down at himself and then back at Chuck. There was a self-depreciating smile on his face. "If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty sure you can kick my ass right now."

"What happened to you?"

"Long story, and part of why I'm here, hat in hand, needing your help. Chuck, you're my only hope."

Chuck stared at Bryce. "Dude, you are no Leia."

"Really, even if I did the buns in my hair?" Bryce glanced at his right hand, there was scaring there as well. "Yeah, I'd look like shit in a bikini."

Chuck couldn't help but laugh. "You promise this is legit?"

"Chuck, it's so legit. And, not only that, I made a mistake back then, back at Stanford. It was a terrible mistake, one that will haunt me until the day I die, but let me tell you why I did it before you kick my ass." Chuck nodded and started toward the door. "Wait." Chuck turned toward him. "Dude, I'm sorry. I am so sorry. I screwed up your life then, and I'm so glad you overcame it."

"Apology accepted." Bryce stared at Chuck. Chuck shrugged. "You're right, I overcame it, you seem sincere and you say you're going to tell me everything, what else can I do?" Bryce opened his arms for a hug. "You're pushing it." Bryce laughed.

"I know you, Chuck, your saying you forgive me because you feel bad." Chuck started to say something but Bryce held up his hand. "Dude, I know you. Now, let me show you the rest of what's going on, you may want to retract the apology by the time I'm done." Chuck was confused but followed Bryce. The two walked out to his SUV. They climbed in and took off. Chuck noticed it was modified. Bryce didn't use the gas or break on the floor, everything was by hand. There were special modified leavers for it. He did see that the pedals were still in the vehicle. "It's so anyone can drive it." Chuck looked up at him. "Come on, the first time anyone sees it they have questions, and we both know you have all sorts of questions about everything."

"Are you in pain?"

Bryce looked over at him. "You're the second person who's ever asked me that." He shook his head. "No, I'm not. Thank you."

"Who was the first?"

Bryce grinned. "My ex-girlfriend."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I ended it." Bryce shook his head. "She wasn't the one for me, and she was only with me at the end because…I need to explain a lot." Chuck nodded. Bryce pressed some buttons. "We can't be over heard now." Chuck gave him a look and Bryce grinned. "So, after 9/11 all the government clandestine agencies came together to try and stop anything like that from ever happening again. It was called, Project OMAHA. To save a lot of time, all the data was to "Intersect" into one place, and a program would be there, the Intersect, to combine it and look for possibilities."

Chuck gave a low whistle. "That's got to be some impressive computing power."

"It doesn't exist in the man made world," Bryce replied, smirking.

Chuck thought for a minute and then turned toward Bryce, his mouth opened. "That's straight out of science fiction." Bryce shrugged. "You can't be serious. Bryce, you can't use a brain as an operating system." Bryce shrugged again, and Chuck thought for a minute. "What does that have to do with you?"

"Chuck, I'm a Special Agent for the CIA and I have my own team." Chuck's mouth dropped again. "You were to be a possible recipient for that computer program."

Chuck studied Bryce and then his mind leapt to a conclusion. "Wait…Professor Flemming's class?"

"That's why they wanted you," Bryce replied, with a sad grin. "Your mind plus your ability to see subliminal images…they were gonna try and make you CIA." Bryce took a deep breath. "Dude, I was scared it would change who you were, change who you are, and I couldn't let them do that to you, but I did it wrong, and I know I did. I've hated myself ever since."

Chuck started to move his hand but stopped. "I was gonna pat your right shoulder or something but I didn't want to hurt you, you know if…you know what, I'm gonna shut up now." Chuck studied him for a minute. "Figures, you always were the James Bond type."

Bryce laughed. They pulled in front of the shut down Weinerlicious in the Buy More Plaza. "Miss it?"

"Like a wart," Chuck quipped. "So, what are we doing here?"

Bryce pointed toward the Orange Orange. "That's a store front for our base. Come on. I've got stuff to show you, and more to explain." They got out of the SUV and headed into the store. Bryce walked to the back, typed something into the keypad and then put his palm down to have it scanned. "You help us, you can have your palm print in here too."

Chuck was grinning hard. "Really?"

Bryce laughed. "God, I've missed you, Chuck. This job sucks the life out of me some days, but having you here just for a minute reminds me of why I do it." They went downstairs and lights started coming on. Chuck was staring at everything. "Hey, tour later, we only have so much time." Chuck nodded. Bryce took a deep breath. "I wouldn't come to you now, but there are two ways this is going to happen, with or without you. I can't do to you what happened at Stanford again, so I'm gonna tell you everything, but this is happening, and I know you, you can help us."

"What can I do, Bryce, you already pretty much said I'd be a lousy spy."

"No, Chuck, you'd be a great spy. It wouldn't be by the book, but you'd get it done. What I was worried about is it would take something away from you, but I'm here to protect you, and I have friends." Bryce hit a button and some pictures went on the screen. "Now, let me know when your lost, because this is a lot." Chuck nodded.

Bryce clicked the button. "This is Langston Graham, director of the CIA. He's the one that wanted you in the CIA. I didn't trust him and the more I found on him the more I began to question what he was doing." Bryce hit another slide. "Answer, he was about to sell the Intersect to Alexi Volkoff, International Arms Dealer. I followed the money, and all the clues, and it led me to find out some very suspicious stuff about the Director. He recruited people into the CIA illegally, a fact I found out from my….one of my friends."

"Your ex?" Chuck asked softly. Bryce shook his head, grinning. "I'm sorry, I did it again."

"Nope," Bryce said looking up and smiling at his friend. "You are Chuck, and you sense these kinds of things. Yeah, she's my ex. She wasn't in love with me. We were…convenient, and she deserved better, you know. Anyway, she is a part of my team, known as the CAT Squad. The Clandestine Attack Team."

"Wait, what, that's stupid!"

Bryce grinned at him. "Someone in DC thought the CAT name would be cute. Anyway, I went after the Intersect to make sure Graham couldn't get it, but he was already there. We were betrayed by one of the team members. A fight began, and I destroyed it. Graham died in the process, the Intersect is gone, and I'm…" he gestured to his body with his left hand. "I was pretty messed up for a while, but while I was laying in that hospital bed, it became evident that Alexi Volkoff thought I had the Intersect. I still had use to the CIA and the new Director promoted me to Special Agent. I can't go in the field but I lead the remaining CAT Squad."

"What about your ex?"

Bryce grinned. "She's a great person Chuck, but it isn't there. There's no love. We're attracted to each other, we understand this life, but she wants so much more, and I'm not the one to help her get there. After the accident, there was no way she'd break up with me. So, I did with her. It's funny, her teammates keep saying its a bad breakup because she's talking more and more about a life after the CIA. They think it's because of the breakup and she wants off the team, it's because she wants a real life. She's great at this, but…."

Chuck gently laid his hand on his buddy's left shoulder. "So, are you open to a bro hug?" Bryce caught him in the best bear hug he could give him, but it was obvious strength was lacking on one side. Bryce clapped him on the back when they released. "Okay, so what's all this have to do with me?"

Bryce turned and flicked the monitor. Chuck stared at it. "Bryce, why do you have a picture of Hartley Winterbottom on the screen." Bryce didn't say anything. "Bryce, why is the owner of the club I manage on your screen?" Bryce didn't say anything. "Bryce," Chuck said softly. "That is Hartley, right?"

"Chuck, meet Alexi Volkoff."

Chuck stared at the screen and then back to Bryce and then back to the screen.

"Shit."

Bryce had grabbed Chuck a water and they were sitting at the conference table. Chuck was positive by this point it was an elaborate hoax Bryce had pulled off.

"Don't believe me, do you?" Bryce asked. Chuck shook his head.

"I've known Hartley for years, he's no weapons dealer." Bryce gave a shrug. "So what did you mean we're doing this one way or another earlier?"

Bryce nodded. "You aren't going to like this."

"As compared to the rest of this?"

"Point." Bryce pushed a file towards Chuck. Chuck opened the file.

"These women were in the club last night."

"That's right, Chuck, meet Carina Miller, DEA, Zondra Rizzo, CIA, and Sarah Walker, CIA." Bryce quit talking because Chuck was staring at Sarah's picture. "She's amazing," he said softly.

Chuck jerked his head up. "Uh, yeah…I mean, I met them last night and uh…"

"Zondra and Carina both said you were smitten with Sarah."

"Bryce…"

Bryce held up his hand. "That's my ex." Chuck paled. "Dude, trust me, it's fine. I get it, she's amazing."

"I wouldn't.."

"Chuck, I have no say in it, but she's a CIA agent."

Chuck thought for a second. "I thought you said she wanted out."

Bryce picked up his bottle to take a drink, smirking. "She does, but she wants to take down Volkoff first. Besides, why do you care…aren't you seeing someone?"

Chuck's eyebrows went up. "Who?"

"Kayla."

Chuck had taken a drink of water just as Bryce answered and nearly spit it out. "Oh, that's funny. She's the biggest screw up I've ever met, and that's saying something considering I worked at the Buy More."

Bryce sat up, interested. "Okay, I'm confused, because Agent Walker overheard you saying, 'My ass is yours."

Chuck grinned. "Kayla gets a finders fee off of me. She gets 5% of the net profits off of the club."

Bryce grinned. "Huh, how interesting. You do know she's trouble, right?"

Chuck nodded and leaned forward. "Why was Agent Walker overhearing what I was saying?" Bryce grinned, leaned back and took a drink of his water.

"She was supposed to approach you, but this is better. I need the CAT Squad in the club, as employees."

Chuck thought. "I can find jobs for two, but the third…I really don't know."

"I have an idea," Bryce said with a grin Chuck recognized. This was gonna be bad. "So to be clear you're not seeing anyone?" Chuck shook his head no. "I think Agent Walker should be your cover girlfriend."

Chuck was positive he was being punked.

A/N: So a totally different take on Bryce but one I really like. I hope you do. More insanity to come. Please, reviews are like food, they are so good…take care, see you next time.

DC

[abdicatedarchive]

bachelor party || the boys

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: summer’s home // summer 2021.

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: charlie, marshall, cody, nathaniel, ross.

𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒: none.

𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒: charlie’s bachelor party! the guys all get together for a fun night out, but not before nathaniel can grill cody about dating his sister.

Charlie went to go and pick up Cody for the big night, "No moping and texting Bella all night. Have fun with me and the boys. Let me see your fake" said Charlie as they left the car to head to Marshall's. Cody handed it over, "No phone moping. But I think I deserve at least one drunk call" he said as he committed to the bit. Honestly, Bella would not want to hear from him intoxicated. Cody should probably warn her that Charlie will insist on saying hello at some point during the party. That was gonna be fun. He could see the disaster now. Charlie looked over the fake and handed it back in approval, "it's not like we're out of town anyways. I'm sure that it will work. People love us" said Charlie confidently. He had never had any problem getting in anywhere as an underaged person. "People love you" Cody corrected, and he knew it was true. Everybody loved Charlie, Cody was just a footnote of the Summers experience. "At least look like you're having fun" said Charlie as he knocked on the door, "you'll be drunk before you know it" he added with an exhale. Being out with his little brother was a new experience, but he didn't want to miss it. Cody would be his friend, like his actual friend, in a few years. It was just going to take a little bit of growing and time. Charlie was sure of it.

Marshall opened the door with two shots in his hand and a big smile on his face. Charlie was the first friend in the group to get married, and honestly, it didn't seem like him or Katie were going to be married anytime soon... So he wanted to make sure everyone had a great night. Charlie had been particularly stressed with all the wedding planning, but now that everything was set, all that needed to be done was to have a fun time. "My boys!" Marshall passed the shot glasses to both Charlie and Cody, "Just to start the night off on a high note. Oh, Katie told me that Daniel and Milly are gonna be hopping around. Not sure when we'll see them, but we don't have to pick them up. So that'll just leave Ross and Nate." He then patted Cody on the shoulder, holding in a laugh. "You tell him about Nate?" he asked Charlie before looking back at Cody. "Dude's probably got a whole ass interview waiting for you."

Charlie laughed, "you know if you told young me I was popular in high school and college, and then you told me how many people were coming to my bachelor party. I don't think I'd believe the first thing". He was very happy keeping things small, in fact he had asked Marshall to. A lot of his friends were girls, but at the end of the day Charlie and Alice shared the majority of their friends. They would be at the wedding, but for now it was nice to be with just the boys. "Oh shit dude, I meant to tell you I invited Nathaniel Langston even though it's small" said Charlie. He had mentioned to Cody that not a lot of people were invited period, but he had forgotten that one of those select few was his girlfriend's brother. "He's a peach. I'm sure he's not going to interview you. You've seen him since he talked to me, Alice, and Katie about you ... right?" Charlie asked innocently as he poured some drinks.

Cody had not heard one of the people who was witnessing him underage drink tonight was Bella's uptight much older brother. Now he couldn't get wasted. This was upsetting. This was the only family bachelor party he was ever going to go to unless he was invited to Claire, Channing, or Courtney's husbands thing. And that was different. Tonight was the night he could get shitty litty no questions asked. Cody already knew he had to be moderately sober at the wedding itself. "Dude, I haven't seen Nathaniel since the dinner. What the hell did the three of you tell him? Tryna get me in the dog house with her family?" said Cody as he took a sip, "I guess I'll be on my best behavior".

"Quality over quantity, my friend. No need for any extras." Marshall said with a smile. They didn't need to be apart of some big group to have a good time, they were the fun. Maybe that's why people loved them so much, they were just a joy to be around. "Nah he'll definitely interview you." He was just trying to mess with Cody a bit. That whole relationship was really out of the blue, but he wasn't judging. Marshall didn't know what was actually said when Charlie, Alice, and Katie were with Nathaniel, but it probably wasn't too bad. No one was actually out to sabotage Cody's relationship, but then again, Nathaniel didn't seem like the type to really get a joke. "I'm sure everything will be fine," he grabbed a glass and took a sip, "and if anything happens, Ross will mediate. It's what he does best."

"My ears are burning" said Ross with a laugh as he walked into the room, hearing people talking about him. "It's been a minute guys" he said as he gave Charlie and then Marshall a hug. Ross had been living his best life, dating Julie, working at the school. Even Bryce had been on his best behavior recently. Life was going really well for him because no one had a hand in making it worse. "Lane and Nor sent pastries" he said as he put the goodies down on the counter. "Cody, Savannah and Sloane wanted me to tell you that they're going to college in the fall and to dump Bella. I do not recommend it" said Ross, laughing as he took a drink from the counter. It was nice to be back with everyone from high school.

Nathaniel wasn't intending on being the last one to arrive, it was so unlike him, but he got caught up in a lot of work. He made sure to not let it ruin his mood though, this night was about Charlie and he wanted to make sure he had a fun time. He had been to quite a few of his pals' bachelor parties, and the more he went, the more self conscious he became. Nate was only 29, there was no age limit on getting married, but sometimes it would get to him. But for the sake of Charlie, he would not sulk around. He walked into the house with a polite smile on his face, "Sorry, I hope I didn't have you all waiting too long." Nathaniel shook everyone's hands and gave Cody any extra nod of the head. He was still a bit suspicious of that one, especially after what Katie said. Katherine Hastings was no liar. "Congrats again." he told Charlie with a smile.

"Girls after my own heart. I'll definitely have to hit the gym tomorrow. Gotta look slim for the dress" Charlie joked, even though he and Alice would definitely be working off the hangover tomorrow at the gym. It was their typical routine. Charlie picked up an eclair and drank more of his drink. Once Nathaniel was there, Charlie could see the anxiety wash over Cody's face. He must be really concerned about saying the right things. Maybe Cody was actually legit about this one. But it was his bachelor party, so Charlie didn't want to meddle too much. The boys were all here, and life was good. It was going to be a great night, "Thanks man. I'm glad you're here. Office wasn't too bad with me taking off early today?" said Charlie, he always felt guilty for taking time off but it was final details with Katie day. She'd shown up to the office to get him, and he'd let them know two weeks in advance. He was just a really hard worker, overworked himself even. It was all about showing Bryce up at the end of the day.

Nathaniel shook his head, "Not at all, I had made sure to put a reminder that you were leaving early. I appreciate the notice in advance, by the way." Nathaniel liked to make sure everything was in order, he had always been like that. Spontaneous decisions were not frequent for him. "You've been doing great, no need to worry about anything." he added with a friendly smile. Playing favorites wasn't exactly something Nathaniel did often, but he did really like Charlie, though there wasn't much to compare. The only source of competition for Charlie was Bryce, and well ... Nate quickly understood why people in town didn't like him very much. "But enough about work, this is your night. We're here to have a good time." He then turned to Cody, keeping the smile on his face, "I'm glad you're here too. I've been meaning to reach out. Get to know each other better, you know?"

Cody was naturally really nervous around Nathaniel, but he didn't show it. This was the time to be confident. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Bella and I have been meaning to do more with you guys" said Cody, lying because why not. He was sure they would do more stuff with the families soon. Now that school was out, it was a necessity. They had their trip next week, "she's coming out to the lake house with us really soon" Cody added, "there'll be plenty of time for her to work on her art. Get to know my parents. Things are getting pretty serious". Cody needed to sell that he wasn't some sort of romantic jackass like his reputation showed. Nathaniel probably didn't listen to gossip, but then again everyone in town did. It made it hard to do anything in Hastings.

"We're on different schedules most of the time, which is pretty unfortunate. Veronica is usually with Eleanor, and Fiona is such a mystery. She'll go off to who knows where from time to time." Nathaniel said, followed by a small chuckle. "But we come together more during the summer, probably because Founders Day is so close. Our parents like us all to be together when they host their events. So I'm sure we'll see each other more." Nathaniel wanted to make sure Cody had good intentions with this relationship. Bella was devastated after her breakup with Landon. She had pretty much shut down and stopped talking to everyone. He didn't want to see her like that again. "Is that what you want?" he asked, referring to Cody's comment about things getting serious. "Casual relationships are always fine, it's just being on the same page with one another is what matters most."

Cody was holding on strong. If he could get out of this he would, but here they were. Committing to the bit. "Yeah, it's what I want with her. She's different. Good for me. I'd like to think I'm good for her too" said Cody kindly with a shrug, "I don't express much, so this is a lot for me". Cody wanted him to back off about everything, the less focus there was on Cody and Bella the better the lie would look. Put a microscope up to it and everything would fall apart, "but she's got me opening up for sure. Slow and steady though" he assured.

Nathaniel listened with a friendly smile on his face, "Well that's very nice. I'm happy for you both." Though everything seemed fine so far, Nate was aware that Cody wouldn't say something dumb in front of him either. He was literally Bella's brother after all. But there was no reason to push any further, if this was someone that his sister was serious about, he wanted to develop some kind of relationship with him. Be optimistic until Cody gave a reason not to be, that was the plan. "I'm sorry if I'm being too pushy, especially right now of all times." he let out a laugh. Sometimes Nathaniel didn't know when to just have a good time. He really needed to loosen up. "I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot more of you anyways, so there's more than enough time to get to know each other. But tonight is about Charlie." he said as he patted Charlie's back.

Cody shook his head when Nathaniel said he was being too pushy. For Cody, he absolutely was. But towards the guy his youngest sister was dating? Absolutely called for. Cody got it. "Not at all" he lied. "We will definitely be around" Cody said, knowing that was the crux of their agreement. "Tonight is all about Charlie" he repeated. It was important to keep the focus off of him, and he was going to be good tonight just to appease Nathaniel. They had a great night, all of them. Eventually meeting up with Alice and her girls. Cody felt almost normal hanging out with his brother and his friends. //END

[davidcarner]

Reassigned Ch 3, Ballerina

A/N: *peeks around protective barrier* Is it safe? My beta reader threatened to get on a plane, and come find me after that last chapter…I apologize for the fluffhanger (whoever the guest was that left that, give yourself a pat on the back, that was awesome!) (And btw I love all the reviewers, but some of you guest ones have had some great ones, so thank you!) So now what? Now Chuck is Chuck, that's what…I give you Reassigned, Ch. 3, Ballerina

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, and my wife told me those pregnancy hormones can do the weirdest things to people.

She knew it was coming, but she didn't think it would be this soon. This sucked so bad, but she had to. She took a deep breath and faced the inevitable. She took another sip of the coffee and made a face. She really wasn't sure why she was even drinking it now that it was decaffeinated. She poured it down the drain and felt like it was a symbol of her life the past twelve hours.

She huffed out a breath, and looked around the dark apartment. She had barely slept a wink last night, and she had no idea what to say to her neighbors. Would they even want her around, would they even want to see her? Should she move? Could she move? Was it a step in the right direction in life that she even cared what they thought? She was about to enter a phase of self-pity she didn't know existed when she heard something. The door was being unlocked. Someone was breaking into her place. She grinned, an evil grin. Some burglar had picked the wrong apartment to break into. The lights were all off inside, and she saw the form enter, with the daylight behind the form, all hunched over, trying not to make a noise. He carried a bag. Oh, he was going to get it, and she was going to enjoy this. He cautiously set his bag on the table, as she pounced. She wasn't worried about the baby, she protected herself in the attack. This was going to be quick and painless…well for her. For him…at least a separated shoulder.

"AHHHH!" he yelled as she tackled him, and she thought she knew that voice, though not quite that high up on the vocal registry.

"Chuck?" she said, trying to untangle herself from him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he blurted out. "I know you said you wanted to be alone, but I also was supposed to bring you chocolate croissants for breakfast, and I wasn't sure who not to listen to, Sarah Walker ex-CIA agent, or Sarah Walker, pregnant woman, but now I realized you are actually Sarah Walker still a pregnant ninja."

"Breathe, Chuck," she said. "Are you okay?" She had forgotten she had given him a key last night before everything went sideways. He said he wasn't sure leaving food outside her door was a good idea, so she gave him a key to her apartment so he could leave the food. She thought it would be a good idea, giving the key to a neighbor she trusted, and she trusted Chuck. Chuck had offered her a key to his place and she smirked that she didn't need one if she really needed to get in. The look on Chuck's face was priceless.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to…I was going to say frighten you, but it's obvious I didn't," he said, in a voice that she couldn't really describe. How did she think he would be after she had pushed him away last night?

"It's fine, I'm sorry, I haven't slept," she began.

"You should get some sleep, the baby," he began, putting his hands on her shoulders. He saw the raised eyebrow and the amused smile and realized he was probably overstepping his bounds. She silently berated herself. All he was trying to do was help. "You know what, I'm gonna go," he said, and turned to go, when he felt her hand grab his. He looked down at it. "I'm sorry, Sarah, this is none of my business."

"Now what happened to helping me?" she asked, scared she knew the answer. Scared that because he knew the baby was Bryce's he wouldn't want anything to do with her. Scared because old habits had taken over the night before she had pushed him away. All she wanted to do was pull him close, but his body language didn't suggest that was what he wanted.

"I'm pretty sure you don't need anyone's help," he said softly. It wasn't a shot, it was what he realized after last night. She shook her head.

"Chuck, there are a lot of things, I can do on my own, but this, I could use any and all help from those I trust," she said. He stared at her, and then gently squeezed her hand. There was a look on his face she couldn't decipher.

"Get some rest, I have to go in, unless there's something here you need me to do," he said. She shook her head. "Get some sleep, we can talk later."

"Chuck," she began.

"Sarah, I have really got to get to work, I promise, we will talk," he said. She nodded as she watched him leave. She looked up at the ceiling. Bryce, what the hell have you done?

-ooooo-

"Late night with your lady friend?" Morgan asked, Chuck, who was staring at nothing. Chuck gave him a look and didn't say anything. "Oh, I get it, you are a gentleman who tells nothing, and I respect that, unless of course you want to tell, and then I will gladly listen to everything!"

"Morgan, not now, Buddy," Chuck said softly.

"Hey, Chuck, what's wrong?" Morgan asked.

"Nothing, everything, it's just my life needs to change," Chuck began.

"Okay, what has Yuko Ono done?" Morgan asked. "She's been here a few days and suddenly you want to leave this?" he said, arms spread wide. Chuck looked out, saw Jeff trying to leer at some soccer moms, Anna chewing gum, looking bored, all while a customer attempted to talk to her, and Lester placing strategic mirrors on the ground for when women walked over them he could see up their skirts.

"Yes, I do," Chuck said. "There's more to life than this."

"Chuck, you got hurt out there," Morgan said. Chuck stared at him. He knew Morgan meant well, but it was time to grow.

"Morgan, I lived out there," Chuck replied. Morgan stared at him, shook his head, and walked away, leaving Chuck alone. He was left to his thoughts, which immediately went back to last night.

No sooner than Sarah had told him she knew Bryce, and Chuck figured out Bryce was the father, Sarah was on the phone to someone in Washington, DC. Sarah told Chuck she needed him NOT to open the email, and to shut down and unhook the computer. He took the computer over to Sarah's where the two of them stayed until a team arrived to secure the computer. Ellie showed up to ask what happened, and Sarah told her everything, which surprised Chuck, but given his and Sarah's talk earlier that day, maybe it shouldn't have. Ellie gave Sarah a hug but the look Ellie shared with Chuck said they needed to talk. Ellie left, the cleanup crew came and went, and Chuck found himself in front of a TV he had installed himself, talking to the Director of the CIA. At one point, Chuck was almost positive he was about to be thrown into a deep, dark hole, and then Sarah saved him.

"Sir, I have been around Chuck and his family. There has been no attempted contact by Bryce, and I see no reason to believe Chuck is involved with this," Sarah said. Chuck gave her a grateful smile.

"If you'd just ask Bryce he'd tell you I have nothing to do with this," Chuck added, needing to say something, anything.

"We can't," Langston said, and then silently cursed himself. Sarah straightened, what had he done. "He's dead." Sarah felt a part of her go numb. She was done with him, so why would this matter to her? It did though, and Chuck sensed it. He turned to Sarah who waved him off as if to say she was fine, but how could she be fine? Chuck hated Bryce and he wasn't fine. That was the father of her child they were talking about being dead. "Mr. Bartowski, for the next few days, I need you to check in with Agent…Miss Walker," he said. The words were another gut punch to Sarah, reminding her, her days of being a field agent were over. This was a lot, too much, she nodded, but she found herself withdrawing, like the days of old.

"Okay," Chuck said. Langston disconnected the call. Chuck turned to her. "So I guess you're CIA," he said. Sarah nodded, distracted. "Sarah," he began.

"Chuck, I need some time," she said. Chuck nodded, turned, and walked out the door. She wanted to chase after him. To have him hold her. Bryce's death shouldn't have affected her, but it did. He didn't know any of this though, all he knew was she didn't want him around when she lost someone, and maybe they weren't as close as he thought they were.

"Everyone processes loss differently," he muttered to himself back in the present, as he watched the Buy More employees do what they did best, avoid work.

-ooooo-

Sarah checked the caller ID and prepared herself. "Walker, secure," she answered.

"Miss Walker, for the time being I'd like you to keep a constant watch on Bartowski," Graham said.

"Constant, sir?" she asked.

"Walker, for the next week, unless he's in the bathroom, I want you watching him," Graham said. "I don't know if anyone else is looking for him, I don't know if Larkin had a partner. I don't know if someone is after Bartowski, but I want you to protect him."

"Sir, Chuck is a social butterfly, he'll never stay home for a week," Sarah said.

"That's actually not a problem," Graham said. "If he's out and about, we can draw out anyone that is following him, you could contact a team at the substation to counteract any trail team that might be on him. Again, we don't know if anyone is after him, but to draw them out is the best option, otherwise…."

"He might have to go away for a while," Sarah said, sighing.

"Correct," Graham said.

"Then I need to go get him, Sir," she said.

"Where is he?" Graham asked.

"He's at work, Sir," Sarah replied.

"I'll make sure he's assigned to you for the next week, and if we see a need for longer, I will take care of it," he said, and hung up. Sarah rushed out the door.

-ooooo-

Sarah walked into the Buy More, already hearing Big Mike yelling. Sarah saw Chuck sitting at the Nerd Herd desk, writing, drawing, or doodling something. He looked down. That first day in the courtyard he had been down but not like right now. She needed to fix this. She was telling herself she needed to fix this so he would trust her since she needed to be around him this week. What she really needed to do was fix this because he was a good guy, and a friend. Anything more than that she didn't dare think or assume. She wasn't even sure if he would be interested in anything more. She was going to fix this. If she was going to have a real life, it was time she started making real life decisions.

Chuck looked up from his writing. He was thinking about what he could do with his life, considering he had no degree, got kicked out of college for something he didn't do, and had basically been exiled to the Buy More for the last five years. He had been jotting ideas, and he had the structure of one. He could start his own computer consulting firm. He could start out as in repair and IT Security, with the intent to move it to the field of Computer System Analyst and IT Security. His worry though, how long would it take him to get it up and running and to become profitable. He'd have to keep working at the Buy More to make this work. Why did he suddenly care? Because maybe for the first time, in a long time, since Stanford, he felt like there was hope. He saw her, she looked tired, really tired. He stood up as she came toward him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern on his face.

"Yeah, why?" she replied. He started to ask, and he seemed to be holding his tongue. "Chuck, it's okay, talk to me."

"You just look really tired, and you know," he said, softly.

"I'm pregnant," she said in a normal voice. "It's going to show at some point, and I don't really care what the Buy More thinks." He smiled at her. He started to say something when he was cut off.

"Excuse me, I filmed my daughter's dance recital," a frantic father said. "My wife couldn't attend and I was going to set the camera up for her to watch it, but I can't find the recital anywhere."

"Oh boy," Chuck muttered. "I'm gonna need a second," Chuck said to Sarah. She grinned and nodded. "May I see the camera?" The father handed it to him and he looked at it. "Sir, where's the tape?"

"It's digital," the father explained. Morgan had walked by and was hearing what was going on.

"Morgan," Chuck said.

"The wall?" Morgan asked.

"The wall," Chuck said, grinning. They quickly set up and got the girl in place. Chuck bent down to talk to her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I always stand in the back," she explained. "It's because my dance teacher said I'm too tall." Chuck grinned, and Sarah watched, intrigued.

"You want to know something," he said in a low voice to her. "Real ballerinas are tall."

Sarah felt something in her she didn't recognize. If she didn't have her orders to watch him, she probably would have run, but she had them, and she wanted a real life. A real life included real people, but was Chuck Bartowski real? Did he seriously have a plan set up for when every father who was supposed to be recording something messed up? If he was this way to a little girl he didn't know, how would he be around his own children? His own children. The words punched her in the stomach. This was Bryce's child….his enemy, if Chuck Bartowski had an enemy. Knowing him it wouldn't be an enemy, but something infinitely more nerdy, like Nemesis. She realized he was right beside her, watching the ballerina. Her spy self said to be quiet, let this go, but Sarah Walker the person, she wanted more, and it started by opening herself up.

"You're good with kids," she said softly.

"I'm a kid at heart, they relate well to me," he said, grinning. "Who knows, that could be your daughter one day."

"Mine and Bryce's," she said softly. Chuck looked at her for a moment, studied her.

"You think I don't want to help because it's Bryce's?" he asked. She stared straight ahead, not daring to answer, watching the ballerina. "Two things, Sarah. One, that baby now doesn't even have a living father. Two, that baby didn't ask to come into this world and hasn't done anything to anyone. I figure as long as the baby is loved, it's got a chance, but if the baby is treated a certain way because of who his father is, well, the baby doesn't have a chance, and that's just wrong." She continued to stare straight ahead, but her hand grabbed his and squeezed it. "I gotta make sure we have two other copies being made, dad's can screw some things up," he said grinning, and then paused. "We're okay, right?" She looked at him. We? She nodded. We. She could work with that.

-ooooo-

"So for the next seven days," Chuck began.

"Minimum seven, could be more," she said.

"I'm to be with you?" he asked. "In the same apartment?" She nodded. "In the same room?" She nodded again. His face got pale. "Uh, every room?" Sarah laughed.

"No, Chuck, you get to go to the little boys room by yourself," Sarah said. Chuck still looked concerned. "What is wrong now?"

"Uh, sleeping," he said.

"I like to with my eyes closed," she said. Chuck stared at her a second and grinned. "I have a large bed that should easily fit us, and I don't hog the covers."

"Uh, Ellie," Chuck said.

"I don't really think there's room for Ellie," Sarah replied. Chuck gave her a flat look. "Chuck we're two grown adults."

"Sarah, you don't understand," Chuck said.

"I will talk to Ellie, tell her it's for your safety, and there's probably nothing to worry about. It's just a precautionary measure," Sarah said. Chuck put his head in his hands. "It can't be that bad."

"I'm going to need clothes," he muttered.

"You live next door, I'll carry the bag if it's too heavy," she said. He looked at her and shook his head.

"You aren't prepared for this," Chuck said.

"Chuck I'm a trained CIA agent," she replied. "I'm ready." Chuck just nodded and grinned.

"I'm going to enjoy this," he said, as he stood up, and headed toward his apartment, Sarah following him. Two hours later, with his bag packed he reentered Sarah's apartment.

"You were right," she said, somewhat in shellshock. "I wasn't ready."

"I don't think the baby's ears are formed yet, so the squeal didn't hurt them," Chuck said. Sarah glared at him. "Hey, I tried to warn you." She went and plopped on her couch.

"I don't understand," she said.

"Oh, you don't?" he asked. "You do know, you're kinda a catch, right?" She rolled her eyes. "Sarah, she's crazy about you, and if she could get the two of us hooked up…." Chuck trailed off, chuckling and taking a drink of water from the bottle.

"Hooked up?" Sarah said, grinning. Chuck choked on the water.

"Sorry," he said, trying to clean up the water he spit up. "I didn't mean..well…you know…."

"Sex," Sarah said. "It's okay, Chuck I'm aware of it."

"That's probably good, given you're pregnant," he said. Chuck was worried he had said too much but she burst out laughing. "What I'm saying is if we were dating, Ellie might squeal on a daily basis. Someone finally getting me out of my funk, plus it was you." Chuck grinned.

"You know you're a bit of a catch yourself," she said. Chuck started to say something, but stopped. "What?" He shook his head.

"I need a shower if that's okay," he said.

"Yeah, towels are in the hall closet," she said. He nodded, got up and went to the bathroom. She heard the shower turn on, and went to the bedroom and changed. After she did, she turned down the covers and sat down on the bed. He came into the bed room and stopped, looking at her.

"I'm sorry," he said. "For five years, I've been blaming Bryce Larkin for a lot of things, but I've been wrong. There are things he did, and those things at Stanford are on him, but everything else, that's on me, and it may take me a bit to get rid of those thoughts, so if you can be patient with me, I'm going to do my best to quit blaming anyone else for my problems." She smiled at him.

"Bryce was a real ass," Sarah said. Chuck laughed out loud.

"Yeah, he was," Chuck said. "But, he was, at one time, my best friend, a good guy, and charming as can be."

"Yes, he was," Sarah agreed. "But he began to worry about himself more than anyone else. He put himself first."

"Did he know?" Chuck asked. "About the baby?"

"No," Sarah said. "Even if he did, there was no more us. I doubt he would have even wanted to have parental rights." She bounced a shoulder. "I hate how this happened, but I don't think he would ever have had anything to do with his child."

"Does that bother you?" Chuck asked. Sarah thought for a minute.

"I think it bothers me more that he will never get the chance to know his child," she admitted. She patted the bed beside herself. Chuck sat down.

"Ellie is so hoping something is happening over here," Chuck said.

"Something is happening over here," she said, grinning. "I got a friend I can trust, and I don't know if I could ever say that before." Chuck took her hand. "You trust me, Chuck?" Chuck grinned at her.

"Yes, Sarah, I do," he said.

-ooooo-

Chuck woke, having one of the best night's sleep he had ever had. He felt warm and cozy, especially on his left side. He turned his head in that direction and saw two sleepy eyes studying him. "Well, obviously the pregnancy has made me snuggle happy," she said. Chuck started to respond, but changed his mind.

"Obviously," he replied. "And I'm always looking to help out."

"You are good like that," she agreed. "So let's just say it's the baby's fault."

"Yep, absolutely, it's all the baby's fault," Chuck said, rolling his eyes. Sarah stared at him. "I mean, yes, it's the baby fault who's ….how far along?" Chuck asked.

"Eight weeks," Sarah said. "I found out really early because of the blood tests." Chuck nodded. "Hey, Chuck, I don't know Burbank real well, how about you show me around town."

"Sure," Chuck replied. "What would you like to do?" Sarah shrugged.

"I don't know," she said. "I wouldn't mind going to dinner, dancing, that kind of thing." Chuck looked at her. Her head was on his shoulder, and she was looking down at her hair. She was fiddling with the end of it.

"Sarah, are you asking me out?" he said. She looked at him and bounced a shoulder.

"I'm just saying we have to be together for me to watch you, we're friends, and you keep offering to help me," she said. "I mean, what would it hurt? I can pay if that's the problem."

"Nah, I'll pay, since I'm assuming the US government is paying Buy More for me," he said.

"Chuck, if it's a problem," she began.

"No, it's not, it sounds like fun, it's just," he trailed off.

"Not been on a date in a while?" she asked. He shook his head no. "Me either," she admitted. Chuck gave her a look. "You do know being on a date is not a prerequisite for sex?" He couldn't help but laugh. "The last date that wasn't me trying to seduce a mark was…"

"That long huh?" he asked. She smiled at him. "So, seduce?"

"Sometimes when info was needed, I would get a guy to take me out, and either get the information, or knock him out," she said. "I never have slept with mark."

"I wasn't implying," he began.

"I know, it's just," she sighed, and grinned. "You're inquisitive, Chuck, and sometimes you assume the worst."

"Sometimes?" he asked. "I would like to think it's the majority of the time." She laughed into his shoulder. "Can I be honest?" She nodded. "This is kinda nice, not having to worry about work."

"I do have to work," she said.

"No, I mean getting up and going in. Instead, I'm getting to have a conversation with someone whose company I enjoy," he said.

"Eh, you aight," she said. Chuck laughed.

"I need more than the Buy More, Sarah," he said. She looked at him.

"Tell you what, I've got a business degree, why don't you let me try and help you and we'll see if we can't get you out of the Buy More," she said.

"CIA gives out degrees?" he asked. She smirked at him.

"Harvard," she said. Chuck did a slow turn to look at her. She bounced a shoulder, and continued to smirk. She looked him in the eye. "What happened at Stanford?"

"All I know is I aced a test, Bryce framed me, and I got bounced," he said.

"You do know the CIA sometimes recruits from college campuses?" she asked. Chuck stared at her for a moment.

"Would getting kicked out of college get me off of the CIA's radar?" he asked. She nodded. "Guess I'll never know." She snuggled against him. "So the next six mornings?"

"Probably going to be snuggling just like this," she said.

"Guess you're in trouble after that," he said. Sarah smiled.

"Chuck, if I, excuse me, the baby, wants to snuggle bad enough, I can pop the Morgan door, slip into your bed, and be snuggled in seconds and there is nothing you can do," she said. Chuck grinned.

"Nothing, huh?" he asked.

"Nope, nothing," she replied.

"Well, since it's for the baby," he said. She snuggled into him.

"You're a good one, Chuck," she said. She had no idea what excuse she'd use after the baby, but maybe by then….She looked up at him. He looked so content. She wanted a real life, maybe, just maybe she had found it.

A/N: So true story, as I'm writing this, Yvonne is on Conan telling about how her husband made her nauseous, and it was a pregnancy hormone thing…I'm serious… Til next time…hope you enjoyed it! Reviews and PMs are always welcomed!

DC

[davidcarner]

Chuck vs Truffaut Industries Ch 2, Complicated

A/N: So, most of you like it, some of you are a little irritated at Sarah (some of you all are flat mad). So, let's see what we can do about that. Backstory time. Sit back, get in your car, head up the 5 to Stanford, find your Arvil Lavigne CD (you know you had it), and put on Complicated. (you might need tissues) Ch 2, Complicated

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, but I'm hoping someone makes a movie soon.

Stanford, August 2002

"Are you and Jill coming to the party tonight?" Bryce asked.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Chuck replied. "I've got class, Buddy, see you later."

Bryce headed back across the quad when he was stopped by a man in a dark suit and sunglasses.

"Bryce Larkin," Langston Graham said. Bryce stopped short.

"Sir, what are you doing here?" Bryce asked.

"This is too important to trust to anyone else," Graham said. "I have an assignment for you."

"Sir, I have class," Bryce said, wanting to do his job, but knowing he couldn't get behind in his classwork. Graham smiled.

"The assignment is on campus," Graham said. "We have reason to believe that Fulcrum has infiltrated parts of the CIA and is already recruiting. We fear that one of your classmates may be an agent."

"Who?"

"Jill Roberts," Graham said, watching the color drain from Bryce's face.

"That's nuts, Sir," Bryce said. "All due respect," he added quickly. Graham nodded.

"Let's be sure," he said, handing him small electronic devices. "Plant these bugs in her purse, phone, residence, wherever you can. Let's be safe rather than sorry." Bryce nodded. "Bryce, above all else, keep Chuck Bartowski safe."

"Chuck, sir?" Bryce asked. "Why would he be in trouble?"

"I don't know that he is, but when we recruited you we also checked out Chuck," Graham explained. "We don't need him going through any more tragedy." Bryce nodded. "I don't want to keep you, Son, but you have to know this is the highest priority."

"I understand, Sir," Bryce said. Graham nodded and Bryce left. He watched him walk away, and pulled out a cell phone.

"Orion, it's done," Graham said. "You'll be surveilling as well? Fine, just get me my Intersect."

Three weeks later

"I can't believe it," Chuck said, taking a swig of another beer. "We got through the summer, that's what I was worried about. I mean I get it, I'm a nerd," he paused and his brows furrowed. "She's a nerd too, but a brainy nerd, you know?" he said, turning to Bryce. "I mean she's kinda outta my league, she's so smart," Chuck said, dreamily. "But to tell me she was doing half the football team, that's just harsh."

"Hypersexuality is such an unknown in the world of medicine," Bryce said, nursing his second beer. Bryce had lost count of how many Chuck had drank. The bug had found Jill was indeed a part of Fulcrum, and in an interesting twist, Graham agreed to keep Jill out of a hole if she would break up with Chuck. He said it had to be something that gave him no chance of ever wanting her back. Bryce wasn't sure her telling Chuck that she was having sex with half of the football team was necessary, but it had done the trick.

"I mean how does she even know some of those guys?" he asked, blowing air out of his cheeks.

"I have no idea, Buddy," Bryce said. He loved Chuck like a brother, but this was the third night of this, and it was enough. Bryce's phone rang. "I gotta take this man." Chuck grinned.

"AHHHH," Chuck said, grinning sloppily. "I know, is it Heather Jenkins, no, I know, Rebecca Stephens." He sat up quickly. "I know, I know, it's Suzie Pfephercorn."

"I don't know Suzie Pfephercorn, Chuck," Bryce said. Chuck thought a second, and then turned back to the bar.

"Yeah, you wouldn't," Chuck admitted. "She went to my high school. She had pretty eyes."

"Eyes, Chuck," Bryce said chuckling. "You can speak freely here," he said, as he patted Chuck's back standing up.

"Thanks, Buddy," Chuck said. "She had the greenest eyes," he said, his glossing over thinking back. "It was like looking into a field of grass in the spring after the rain." Bryce shook his head at his friend, grinning.

"Never change, Buddy, never change," he said walking outside. He called back the number. "Larkin, secure."

"Graham, secure," Graham answered.

"Please for the love of God, Sir, get me out of here," Bryce begged.

"That bad," Graham asked.

"Worse," Bryce answered.

"Hang on tonight, and I'll get my best agent there to watch him over the weekend," Graham answered. "I need you to take out that cell, Larkin, they may be targeting Bartowski."

"Understood, sir," Bryce answered. "Do I need to hand him off?"

"Negative, Bryce," Graham answered. "Leave tomorrow like planned. I have other eyes on him, but I need my best on him. She'll take care of him." Bryce was uncomfortable.

"Sir, no disrespect, but with everything Chuck's been through," Bryce began.

"Larkin, she's not going to seduce him," Graham answered. "She's good enough she doesn't have to do that."

"Thank you, sir," Bryce said. He heard a dial tone. He sighed and walked back in, and Chuck was still talking about Suzie's green eyes."

Simi Valley

Sarah stood in front of her mother's house, and just stared at it. How hard was it to walk up and ring a doorbell, or knock on a door….or better yet, hop in her Porsche and drive off? She sighed, walked up to door and rang the doorbell. The door opened.

"Sa-" Emma began. "What do I call you?"

"It's probably best to call me Sarah," she answered. Emma nodded and pulled her into a hug.

"Come in," Emma said, after they broke the hug. Sarah came in and joined her mom at the kitchen table. "So, what's your mission?"

"No, mission, Mom," Sarah answered, shaking her head. "I'm here for the football game, and to see you."

"Football?" Emma asked grinning. Sarah sighed.

"I mean I do like it, but…Harvard's not that great," she said, sighing. "I've been gone on the weekends for so many CAT Squad missions that I need to do something with the student body." She was silent for a second. "I could use the time to study," she grumbled under her breath.

"How is real school going?"

"Good, I'm going to graduate on time, maybe even early," she said grinning. Emma returned the grin, and then it left. "Mom, please don't," she said softly.

"What did he ever do for you?" Emma spit out. Sarah sighed.

"I have a deal with Graham," Sarah said. "He lets dad out on parole after five years, he clears his name after ten."

"Sweetie, your father doesn't deserve what you're doing for him," Emma said.

"He's my dad," Sarah said softly, tears in her eyes.

"I know, Sweetie, I know," she said, putting her arm around her. "I just hate this."

"I'm getting a college education, dad gets out, and you're okay," Sarah said. "I made the best with the hand I was dealt." Emma held her daughter close, and just looked up at the ceiling.

"I hate this," Emma said softly. Sarah gave a laugh.

"There's days I do too," she admitted. Her phone rang, she groaned, and rolled her eyes. "I've got to take this." Emma nodded, let her go, and Sarah walked to her room.

"Walker, secure," Sarah said.

"I need you to go to Stanford," Graham said.

"I'm going for the game Saturday," she said.

"I need you to go now," Graham said. "We have a high priority target. He's a civilian and he may be in danger, I need you to get close to him and keep him in your sight for the next several days."

"Sir," Sarah began, bile rising in her mouth.

"Sarah, I'm not suggesting what you're worried about," Graham said. "You know me better."

"I know, Sir, it just sounded…yes, Sir, I understand," Sarah said.

"I'll text you the substation address there and the code of the day, they'll have your dossier ready," Graham said. "Sarah, this is a good guy. He is a citizen that's had a terrible hand dealt to him in life, and he needs your protection, that's why I'm sending you, you're my best."

"I'll protect him, Sir," she replied. With that, the call ended. Sarah walked back into the kitchen. "I've got to go." Sarah saw her mom's face. "I'm going to go protect a civilian, it should be little danger." Emma hugged her.

"If you let him rot, no one would blame you," she said.

"I would," Sarah said softly. Emma hugged her tighter.

"You're a better daughter than he ever was a father," Emma said. Sarah laughed as she pulled away.

"Mom, that we can agree on," she said. They said their goodbyes, she climbed into her car, and off she went to Stanford.

The next morning

Chuck was sitting on a bench just looking over the campus. It was Thursday. There would be a lot of parties tonight, and tomorrow night, and Saturday after the game. His plan was to partake of all the free alcohol he could. His brain and stomach wasn't agreeing with that idea right now. He was watching the blonde walk across the quad. She had a map and she had crossed it twice already. It was possible she was lost. He was going to say something to her the next time she passed, but he hadn't seen her again, so he didn't worry about it. He gave a deep, contemplative sigh.

"I mean I passed by twice, you could have said something," the voice came behind him. "Are all you Stanford guys jerks?"

"I'm sorry," Chuck said, never turning his head. "I've been nursing this amazing hangover all morning, and I'm processing on about one quarter speed." She came around him, and plopped on the bench, she studied him for a minute. She sniffed the air, and Chuck laughed.

"Nope, no vomit, and I showered," Chuck said.

"You still smell of alcohol," she said.

"Probably three straight days of drinking," he said. She raised an eyebrow. There was silence for a moment.

"Now see, you can't do that," she said. He turned slowly towards her and lifted his sunglasses, a curious expression on his face. She grinned at him, and Chuck forgot about why he had been drinking. There sitting in front of him was a real life angel. He thought Suzie whatsherface had amazing eyes, they were nothing compared to the girl in front of him. They were blue…a stormy blue, like they would change with her mood, and the grin….he could get lost there forever.

"Chuck Bartowski," he said, offering his hand. She raised an eyebrow. "My parents were sadists." She laughed and shook his hand. Chuck was really wondering why he had been drinking. This amazing woman was laughing at his joke. He just stared at those eyes…and then he realized he might be seen as creepy. "Sorry," he said, as he quit staring into her eyes. "Hung over, not processing."

"I think that's the first time I've ever had my eyes stared at," she said, a smirk on her face. Chuck shrugged.

"What can I say, they're a gateway into the soul," he said. She studied him for a minute.

"Jenny Burton," she said. "I'm supposed to be here with a bunch of friends from Harvard to see the game, and they ditched me." Chuck looked shocked. "Vegas," she said with a grin. Chuck nodded. "So I have no idea where I'm going. Any chance you could show me around?" He looked at her in surprise. "You intrigue me, Chuck Bartowski, and you can finally tell me why you've been drinking for three days."

"My ex-girlfriend was banging half of the football team," Chuck said. Sarah didn't know how to respond. "I'm not sure why just half," he said, and glanced over at Sarah. She couldn't help herself, a fit of laughter burst out of her.

"I mean she only did half the job," Sarah said, giggling.

"Right?" Chuck replied. "She's probably not worth the drinking."

"Probably?"

"She's not," Chuck said, nodding. Sarah stood up and offered him her arm.

"Take me to breakfast," she said. "You could probably use some food that's not liquid form." Chuck stood and took her arm.

"You're exactly right," he said.

}o{

Sarah was trying to not fall out of the chair laughing.

"So, wait," she said, trying not to snort. "You actually call him, Awesome."

"Oh, yeah, everything he does is awesome. Climbing mountains, jumping out of planes, flossing," Chuck said, as Sarah fought off another fit of giggles. "Wait until you meet him." Chuck realized he was assuming a lot. Sarah just smiled. "So what about your closet and skeletons?"

"I am relatively free," she said.

"That's good, I have so much baggage I need my own personal baggage handler," he said.

"Maybe I could be your baggage handler," she said. Sarah kept her face neutral but inside, she was losing it. What was she doing? She was part of the CAT squad, this was a just a civilian, true, a civilian that life had taken a dump on, but a civilian. He wasn't being suave, or trying to get in her pants, and she was caving from honesty? Was she cut out for the CIA life? Chuck was grinning at her.

"You would be the most attractive baggage handler I've ever seen," Chuck said.

"Thank you," she said.

"Don't let it go to your head," he said, grinning. "Have you seen some of them?" She threw a napkin at him, grinning. "Seriously, you have the perfect life?"

"My dad," she said shrugging. Chuck nodded. "I mean nothing as bad as you, your sister raised you."

"But," Chuck said. Sarah grinned, nodded, and thought why not? She'll never see him again after this weekend.

"My dad and I have problems, and it's caused problems between me and my mom," she said. Chuck looked at her. "What?"

"We both know that's not the full story, but that's okay," he said, his smile on full blast. "I've got to earn that story." She leaned forward resting her chin on the back of her hand.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" she asked.

"By showing you every guy at Stanford isn't a jerk," he said. She grinned at him, and then her smile fell. "What's wrong?"

"Well, my friends and I all had hotel rooms booked, but now…" she said, shrugging.

"You trust me?" he asked. "I know you barely know me, but my roommate is gone for the weekend, and if you can handle me being in the same room with you, you can have his bed," he said. She began to smile. "Before you do, he's a bit of a player, so maybe we should find some different sheets." She laughed out loud.

}o{

For the next two days, the two were inseparable. Sarah retrieved her bag from her beat up car provided by the CIA substation. They went to the party Thursday night, Chuck didn't drink, and he and Sarah talked all night. They dozed off in Chuck's bed, on top of the covers, fully clothed, watching a movie, Thursday night. Chuck skipped classes again Friday (he was going to have to kill himself the next few weeks making up all he had blown off) and he and Sarah hung out all day. Friday night was the big fraternity party, and Sarah constantly had someone give her a fresh drink. All the guys were so thankful that someone had pulled Chuck out of his funk. They all were calling her Chuck's girl, and she was playing along, teasing him, and loving every time she caught a blush on his cheeks. She was feeling all the effects of the alcohol, Chuck, and his friends encouraging her, that when she made her way to their room that night, she didn't have it in her to deny herself.

"Jenny, what are you doing?" Chuck asked.

"I'm going to show that idiot ex-girlfriend of yours how stupid she was for cheating on you," Sarah said, slightly swaying, trying to line up his lips for another kiss. How did this nerd kiss so well? Chuck took a deep breath.

"Jenny, you're drunk and we can't do this," Chuck said.

"Why not?" she asked. "I know how, and if you don't know I can teach you," she said, waggling her eyebrows.

"Jenny, not like this," Chuck said, hating his moral code. "Not like this."

"You're right, I've got too many clothes on," she said, grinning. Chuck blew out a breath.

"Okay, let's try this, you go over there, wait for me under the covers," Chuck said. "I'm going to go brush my teeth and I'll be right back." Sarah smiled.

"That's the spirit," she said, patting his cheek. "Hurry back," she said, stumbling into the bed. Her shirt was flying off, as Chuck sprinted out the door. He shut the door and turned and saw one of his fraternity brothers smiling at him and shaking his head.

"She's drunk, wants to, and you won't," he said. Chuck nodded. "Dude, if you ever want to date my sister, I'm cool with it." Chuck laughed softly.

"For the record, I hate myself," Chuck said. His fraternity brother laughed, patted him on the arm, and headed downstairs. Chuck wondered how long he should wait, when he heard a sound coming from his room. He grinned and opened the door, and there was Jenny Burton, snoring. She had one leg sticking out from under the covers. He stared at it, and then jerked his eyes away, refusing to follow it to its eventual end. He walked over, and managed to get the leg in bed without seeing anything. He walked over to his bed, thought about changing clothes, but decided against it, just in case. He crawled into bed, and went to sleep.

}o{

Chuck woke up, hearing Sarah tossing and turning. Sunlight was starting to pour into the window. Sarah suddenly sat up with the blanket held tightly against her.

"Oh, God," she said, looking under the sheet. She turned and looked over at him. "Chuck," she said, her face frantic.

"For the record, that's the first time you uttered that phrase in this room today," Chuck said, shaking his head no. She took a second to process what he was saying, and then the giggles began. They turned into full fledge laughter from both of them.

"Funny," she said. Chuck shrugged. "About last night," she began.

"Please don't apologize," Chuck said. She looked at him. "You have pulled me out of the biggest funk in the world, and I should have watched out for you better last night, my frat brothers…they were hoping I'd…you know." She grinned at him.

"Thank you for being a gentleman," she said, grinning shyly. Chuck nodded.

"I need to take a shower…a cold one," he said.

"Was that necessary?" she asked.

"You offered to teach me last night," Chuck said. Sarah hid her face in her hand. "Jenny, it was fine, it happens, but I need to be totally honest with you, if you weren't drunk last night…" Sarah stared at him, and then she winked. "And Bob's your uncle!" he yelled shutting the door, Sarah laughed.

}o{

They had spent the day around campus, holding hands, and Sarah found herself finding ways to wrap Chuck's arm around her where she could. She was falling for him, and she knew she couldn't, she shouldn't. She was. During the game she found Chuck's arms around her from behind, and after it was over they walked to the frat house. The party was in full swing, but they ignored it and went upstairs. She shut the door, and locked it. Chuck looked at her nervously.

"Jill, was an idiot," she said, grinning.

"Yeah?" he asked. She closed the distance between them quickly and attacked his lips. This was what she wanted to do. A part of her hated herself. They had no chance at a future, and she wanted one. She wanted a life where she could meet Chuck Bartowski, date him, fall in love, marry him, and have 2.5 kids and a white house, red door, and a white picket fence. She hated her dad so much right now, and she loved this man in front of her. A little girl today had lost her balance, fallen, and spilled her drink. After Chuck made sure she was okay, and they found her parents, he had gotten her another one. She hated her dad so much.

"Chuck, I'm not drunk tonight," Sarah said.

"I'm not either," Chuck replied, grinning, she returned the grin.

}o{

It was around 4 when she heard her text go off. She unwrapped herself from Chuck and gave him a long look. What had happened last night…magical. She hated what had to happen next. She got her phone, saw that the threat had been neutralized, and she could come home. She had thought about how this would happen for a long time, and while she hated it, it had to happen. She got dressed, wrote a note, kissed Chuck softly on his head, ran her fingers through his curls, and then said the words she needed to say.

"I love you, Chuck Bartowksi," she said softly. She grabbed her bag, slipped out the door, and headed to the CIA substation.

When Chuck woke in the morning, he knew she was gone, he could feel it. Part of him ached. Ached like he never had before. He saw the note, and picked it up.

Chuck,

I hate leaving, but what I hate more is not letting you know how to contact me. Jill is an idiot, never forget that. Never forget that you are loved. I will always carry a piece of you with me. I know one guy at Stanford who is definitely not a jerk.

Love,

Jenny Burton

Chuck held the letter next to him. He carefully folded it and put it in his wallet.

"I love you too, Jenny," he said.

}o{

2 week later, Stanford

"Bryce, I'm in," Chuck said, happy as could be. He was going to find her.

"All right, Buddy, I knew you could do it," he said. Bryce had a feeling he knew what had happened. Some poor CIA agent came into Chuck's life, and had got turned upside down. She hadn't been prepared for the heartwarming that this nerd possessed. Chuck's fingers stopped typing. "Found her?" he asked with a smile.

"Jenny Burton doesn't exist," Chuck said dejectedly. "There is no Jenny Burton at Harvard," he said, turning to Bryce. "Why would she lie about her name?"

}o{

6 week later, Langley

"Walker, good to see you," Graham said. "Have a seat."

"I'm pregnant, sir," Sarah said.

"How did this happen?" Graham asked. Sarah was in no mood.

"Well, when a woman and a man-" she saw the look on his face and stopped. I blame Chuck for that. I wonder if his kid is messing with my mind. Part of her smiled at that thought. "My assignment at Stanford."

"Sarah, that was a great sacrifice," Graham said, struggling to keep his emotions.

"Sir, it was my choice," she said. "I want to keep this baby."

"And the father?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I don't know," she said softly.

"Why don't you give it a week and then we'll talk, but as for now, you are an analyst." She nodded and left. Graham picked up the phone and made a call. "Orion, you should know, the agent I sent to watch your son, they…she's pregnant." He listened for a minute, and his mouth fell open. "You don't know that she's like your wife! You've never met her." He sighed and blew out a breath. "I understand Orion, he'll not be told, but I better have that intersect soon, or I'll call him personally. Do you understand? Goodbye." Graham hung up his phone, sat there a second, stood up quickly, and with an arm knocked everything off his desk in a rage. He sat back down with his head in his hands. "They don't deserve this."

}o{

A week later

"Sarah, have you decided about Bartowksi?" Graham asked. She shook her head. "Sarah, he's a civilian. You didn't tell him your name, you're a CIA agent, and your family's past, do you think he'd want to be a part of that?" She shook her head, tears coming out of her eyes. "I think deep down you know." She nodded.

"I won't tell Chuck," she said. She left a few minutes later. Graham pulled out a flask.

"Of all the things I've done in this job, this feels like the worst," he said.

}o{

One year later

Sarah stormed into Graham's office.

"What the hell!?" she screamed. "He got expelled from Stanford!?"

"Sarah, calm down," Graham said.

"Calm down!? I have that man's child, who he can't know about and you want me to be calm because one of your agents got him expelled!?"

"How do you know about this anyway?" he asked his eyes narrowing. Sarah realized she was caught.

"He's my child's father, I can't not know," she said. Graham's face softened.

"Sarah," he said softly. She was near tears.

"She lives an hour from his sister's apartment," she said, crying. "I only get to see Molly a little each month, he could be there with her."

"You know it's not for the best," Graham said, sick to his stomach.

"I know," she said. "I made a deal with you, one I will honor." Graham nodded.

"He's already out," Graham said. Sarah looked up at him. "We had a deal, I honored it. Now, it's time for you to go to the Farm and finish your training.

"What about the CAT squad?" she asked.

"Without you, it wasn't the same," he said. She nodded and left.

}o{

One year later. Ice Cream shop, New York City

"I'll have a scoop of Butter Pecan," the man said.

"And two scoops of Rocky Road in a cup," Sarah said, behind him. He turned around and grinned at her. He turned back to the cashier.

"You heard my darlin'. Two scoops," he said. They went and sat. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, Dad," Sarah said.

"It's Jack Burton today," Jack replied, winking.

"Ahh, playing the hits," she said, grinning.

"Talk," he said, watching her. She gave him a look. "What? I still know all your tells." Sarah sighed and told him about the deal she made with Graham, Chuck, and the baby.

"And, now, in two months or so, they're going to give me a red test. I have to kill someone, Dad, someone very dangerous, but someone," she said. Tears were in her eyes.

"Sarah, you're not a murderer," Jack said. "That's not you. Cons, protecting people, all the rest, is fine, but killing someone, bad guy or not, that's not you." She smiled and he laid his hand on hers. "You know this, so why come ask me?"

"Because a girl needs her dad," she said. "Even when he is a bad one." She grinned, but he looked at her seriously.

"Then why haven't you told that schnook?" Jack asked. "Because we both know he'd be a better one than I am." Sarah put her hand to her mouth. "Darlin' tell him. I don't think he's gonna care."

"But she's sixteen months old," Sarah said.

"Better late than never."

}o{

The next day, Langley

"Sarah, what can I do for you?" Graham asked, knowing what was coming.

"I can't pass the red test," Sarah said. "Too much has changed in my life."

"I know," Graham said. "And I know why you stayed on. I should have done away with our deal then."

"So, what do we do?" Sarah asked, terrified.

"Stay away from Bartowski for the next four years and your father's record is expunged." Sarah's eyes bugged out of her head. "There's still some heat on him," Graham said. "Stay away for four years, your father stays out of prison." Sarah nodded. "We'll finish all the paperwork tomorrow." Sarah got up and left. Graham picked up his phone.

"Orion, I've gotten what you wanted, but this is sick," Graham said. "You are purposely breaking up another family. Why don't you give them a chance instead of projecting your problems onto them? Fine! Just get me my damn Intersect!"

}o{

A few weeks later, Simi Valley, Christmas

"Look at you, holding your girl," Emma said to Sarah. "Sarah, your dad wouldn't want this." Sarah had tears in her eyes.

"Look, in four years I'll go see him and explain all of it," she said. "Then we'll see."

"Sarah," her mom began. Sarah shook her head.

"There's no chance of an us," she said softly. "I've already messed it up too bad."

"Is he seeing anyone?" Emma asked. Sarah shook her head. "How do you know?" Sarah wouldn't look at her, as she looked away sheepishly. "Have you wondered why?" Sarah didn't want to, but she grinned.

"He's very into his career right now," Sarah answered.

"Didn't you say he worked at the Buy More for $11 an hour?" Emma asked.

"He's working on other stuff," Sarah said. Emma shook her head.

"Dada," Molly said, pointing at the picture of Sarah and Chuck from that weekend.

"He is," Sarah said. "One day, baby, one day."

}o{

Four months later, Echo Park

She slowly opened the Morgan door. She had done this a half a dozen times the last six months. She should just tell him, and damn the consequences. She walked quietly right beside him.

"Jenny," he mumbled, a grin on his face. She felt things move in her. She softly stroked his hair, leaned down, and kissed his head.

"I love you, Chuck. Nothing's changed," she said softly and went to the window. "I'll be back in a few weeks," and with that she left.

}o{

Three months later

"And you're telling me the CIA is telling them if my granddaughter doesn't meet her father, I keep the deal?" Jack asked. Emma nodded. "Screw that."

"Gwanpa," Molly said.

"Do you want to see Dada?" Jack asked Molly.

"See Dada!" Molly yelled, and clapped.

"Jack, are you sure?" Jack reached over and put his hand on Emma's.

"Emma, I've screwed this family up enough, isn't it time I make things right?" Emma smiled at him.

"You were always a schnook, but you're my schnook," Emma said. "And I think I have just the idea."

}o{

This morning

"Ray, Emma Truffaut here. Yes, I know you're coming in, but my IT guy was looking at it, and he says it's a big deal. We're on a time crunch, and I was told about a Chuck Bartowski that is supposed to be the best, do you think there is any way you could get him? Really. Of course I need that for the building. Absolutely we can purchase that. Thanks. Oh, and Ray, don't let Chuck know we asked for him. Thanks." Emma smiled as she hung up and looked at Molly.

"It's time we straighten this mess out, sweetie."

}o{

Now

“I guess you did know where he was all along,” Emma said.  Sarah gave her a sad smile as she brushed his hair with her hand.

“Yeah,” she admitted.  “And I know that you did this on purpose.”  Emma just grinned.

“She trusts him,” Emma said.

“Dada hurt his head?” Molly asked, coming over to brush his hair like Sarah was.

“He’s okay baby,” Sarah said.

“Dada come home?” Molly asked.  Tears were in Sarah’s eyes as she looked up at Emma.

“Perhaps I didn’t think this out,” Emma said.

“Dada wake up,” Molly said, and leaned down to kiss his cheek.  Chuck opened his eyes and looked at Molly and then Sarah. “Dada!”  Chuck looked at Sarah.

“99.2%?” he asked.  Sarah shrugged.  Chuck looked at Molly then to Sarah.

“I think we need to talk,” Sarah said.

A/N: Still mad at Sarah? Until next time.

DC