Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers. I don't own Knotts or the Cinnabon.
A/N: I haven't updated this in a while. I threw this together quite quickly, so don't expect anything amazing. I had to use Knott's as I was there for Knott's Scar Farm. Fun stuff. I also love Cinnabon's cinnamon rolls. THEY'RE SO GOOD. Here's Chapter 6 for you guys.
Chuck vs. the Scarlet Ibis
Chapter 6
Echo Park, California
Casa Bartowski
10:00 AM
February 02, 2008
Opening her sleepy eyes, she catches sight of curly brown hair, and memories of last night attack her mind. A smile finds its way to her face and she looks at his peaceful face. It's so serene and untainted, so unlike the looks he gets when he tells her his past deeds.
"Stop staring at me," a muffled and quite sleepy voice says.
"What, I can't stare?"
"Haven't you heard that staring is rude?"
"Are you calling me rude now Chuck?" she says as her hand begins to pinch his upper arm.
"No, OW, no Sarah, OW, I'm just saying that the act of staring is rude, not you," he says, trying to appease her while dealing with the pain in his arm.
"Are you sure that's what you meant?" she questions, seriousness in her voice as she squeezes a bit harder.
"Yes, Sarah, yes. You can let go now! AHHHHHHHHHHHH," he ends with a scream.
Finally letting go, a satisfied smile finds its way to her face. She watches him sit up and begin to rub his arm where she had just pinched it.
"You've stared down big, burly Russian men, but you can't deal with your girlfriend?"
"Well, granted my girlfriend is a trained CIA Agent, I suppose not," he says, voice a little more alert, stifling a yawn.
"The last time I checked, aren't you a trained CIA Agent as well?"
"Well, I can't very well use my guns and knives on my girlfriend," he says, a snort following quickly.
All she can do is laugh and sit up, leaving his still unmoving form on the bed. She walks into the bathroom to take a shower and freshen up from the rigorous activities of the day and night before. After brushing her teeth, she steps into the shower and revels in the warmth of the water. The slide of the glass door opens, revealing a very naked Chuck.
"Can I join you?" he says, smirk on his face.
Rolling her eyes, she pulls him into the shower, his hand reaching to close the shower door.
***
2 Minutes Later…
In the master bedroom, a sleepy Ellie opens her eyes to the sunlight washing down on her brown hair. Rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes, she sits up, remembering that Devon is on shift at the hospital. Finally getting around to standing up, she slips on a robe and makes her way to the bathroom. Still too sleepy to register the sounds coming from the bathroom, she stifles a yawn and turns the doorknob of the door. Stepping inside, she walks over to the sink and looks into the mirror and sees…
In her own Bartowski fashion, she immediately claps her hand over her eyes and runs out the door, screaming, "I DID NOT WANT TO SEE THAT."
All Chuck and Sarah can do is stare at each other, stunned expressions written all over their faces.
"Trust me when I say, turnabout is fair play."
All Sarah can do is raise an eyebrow in intrigue at his statement. Feeling lips on her neck, she lets out a moan, continuing their little jaunt in the shower.
***
15 minutes later...
Chuck and Sarah enter the living room, finding a slightly, okay more than slightly, mortified Ellie sitting on the barstool, eyes totally in the distance. Hands shaking, she slowly moves the spoon from the bowl of cereal to her mouth, milk shaking off the sides of her spoon. Maneuvering their way around Ellie, they move into the kitchen, Sarah carrying a confused look on her face, while Chuck's face is full of amusement.
Finally reaching the kitten, Sarah finally confronts him, "Okay, what is so amusing about Ellie finding us in the middle of showering?"
"Well, a little while back, I caught Devon and Ellie in the same compromising position. So, I find it kind of amusing. That's what I meant when I said turnabout is fairplay."
A simple, "Oh," escapes her mouth.
"So yeah, you see how this is kind of fun for me."
"I see your point."
"Yeah."
Finally getting around to open the pantry, without turning around he asks, "What do you want for breakfast? Pancakes?"
She only nods, and then his next statement surprises her.
"Chocolate chips?"
Looking up, she notices him staring at her with the goofy smile that extends to his eyes.
She replies with a subdued, "Yes," looking back in wonderment at how he knew she likes chocolate chips in her pancakes.
Finally turning his head to look back into the pantry, she allows herself to steal a glance at Ellie, who still looks lost. Deciding that the continued silence from Ellie is not a very good sign, she decides to go have a chat with her.
Taking a seat next to Ellie at the counter, she sits there for a minute, seeing if Ellie is going to react to it. To no avail, Ellie continues to move her spoon in a robotic fashion from bowl to mouth.
Sighing, she finally gets down to business, "Ellie, are you okay?"
The spoon comes to a stop right outside her mouth. She slowly turns her head, sweat dripping profusely from her temple, and when she finally faces Sarah, the look on her face is pure terror.
"I think I'm scarred for life."
"Errr…"
A gruff laugh is heard from across the courtyard, from the approximate location of one John Casey's apartment. All three heads turn to the noise, two of them in embarrassment, the other in intrigue, although still disturbed.
Turning back to the matter at hand, Sarah says, "Ellie, maybe you should take the day off…and relax. Try to forget what you saw this…morning."
"NO. NO NO NO NO NO. Doing nothing will not erase it from my mind. Gotta work. GOTTA WORK!"
Standing up abruptly, she quickly makes a turn, hightailing it to her room to go call in that she is coming in.
"Wow that was quite a reaction."
Turning around, she finds Chuck, two hot plates of pancakes held in both his hands. Setting them down on the countertop, he takes a seat next to her, the one just occupied by Ellie.
"Well, that went over well."
"Yeah, I hope she forgets."
"I doubt it. It took me forever to scrub that image from my brain the time I saw them in the shower together. Eww... that brought back those painful memories," he says, shuddering as the memories run rampant in his head.
"Good thing I didn't see them huh…."
"You're lucky you didn't."
Finally settling down enough to eat, Sarah cuts herself a piece and pops it in her mouth, moving it this way and that. Reveling in the pleasure of the taste that is attacking her synapses, she quickly cuts herself another piece, then another, and another.
Watching Sarah speed her way through the pancakes, he cannot help but find it funny. An inadvertent chuckle comes out, hands flying to his mouth as if trying to push the sounds of the laugh back in his mouth. Sarah's head darts towards the origin of the sound, the one and only, Chuck. Chuck closes his eyes, expecting a short burst of pain, but instead, he feels that burst of pain, but it continues on for a long while. Finally opening his eyes, he looks over to his left, finding his skin being pulled and squished by two of Sarah's fingers.
"What's so funny, Chuck?" she says, seriousness written all over her voice.
"Nuh. Nuh. Nothing Sarah. Nothing's funny," he says through the pain assaulting his brain.
"Are you sure? That laugh didn't sound like nothing," she says, pushing her fingers together with a little more force.
"OW, OW, OW, oh dear lord, stop this pain," he moans, and Sarah taking pity on him, finally lets go.
"Okay Chuck, make sure that the little fiasco there doesn't happen again Chuck."
"I'll make sure it doesn't," he says, massaging his arm to try and soothe the pain in his arm.
"I think you pinched me in the same spot this morning."
"Don't make me do it a third time," she retorts quickly, sending him a glance that tells him to close his mouth as it opens to take a shot back.
Quickly closing his mouth, he turns back to finish his breakfast, neither talking, but taking in the feeling of being a normal couple, bickering and talking over small little things. Sarah hadn't felt like this in ages, not even with Bryce.
Midway through breakfast, Ellie shoots past them at high speeds, trying to get out of the apartment where new and disturbing memories were created. They can hear her shoes click against the gravel, three times a second. Hearing the car engine ignite, she pulls straight out of the parking lot as fast as she can, the screech that is heard a testimony. They both let out a laugh and continue their breakfast.
Finally finish their breakfast, they both stumble over to the couch, not sure what to do until they have to start surveillance. Chuck lies back on the couch, Sarah lying on top of him, her ear pressed against his chest, his arms wrapped across her back. Just being in Chuck's arms is ten times better than any physical release. Well, maybe except if that physical release was with Chuck. She shudders at the thoughts that elicit a cocked eyebrow from Chuck. She looks up and smile sheepishly and puts her head back down on his chest.
A niggling feeling makes its way to her mind. She wonders where Chuck learned to cook. The curiosity in her takes the better of her and she just has to voice her question.
"Chuck?"
"Yes, Sarah?"
"Where'd you learn to cook?"
"What? It's not hard to make pancakes," he says, totally deadpan.
"Well, those were the best pancakes I've ever eaten."
"Why, a compliment? From Sarah?" he says, fake astonishment all over his voice.
"Remember what I said about a third time?" she warns, voice turning downright dangerous.
He baits her on and says, "Well, I just followed the instructions on the box."
"Oh, you're impossible," she says, her hand reaching over to his left arm again.
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Just stop pinching me," he says, acquiescing to her demands.
"Good boy."
"Damn it lady," he says under his breath, not quite low enough as Sarah is still able to catch it.
"What?"
"Nothing!" he says, voice an octave higher than before.
"Anyways, I learned to cook as a necessity for a mission. They had me learn how to cook in a week. Surprisingly though, I found it fun and quite easy. Anyways, I'm babbling. On with the story!"
Sarah can only raise her eyebrows in intrigue as he tells another story from his past.
***
Bern, Switzerland
Mansion of the Dinner
5:30 PM
Octotober 18, 2005
Maneuvering his way around the kitchen, he darts from one point to another, doing preparation on all the ingredients to be used in the evening's meal. Deftly slicing through the last bit of cabbage, he rinses and cleans off all the cutting boards, getting plates and dishes ready to be moved, and checks on the all the cooking instruments.
Noting everything in tip top condition, he pulls out his phone, taking one last look at his mission objective. One short line:
Kill all six men.
Four simple words have so much power. Those words control what he does and on occasion, how he does it. It dictates so much of his life, a better part of two years now. Shaking his head to remove the thoughts, he focuses just getting through the next phase of his mission.
***
Bern, Switzerland
Mansion of the Dinner
6:00 PM
Octotober 18, 2005
People begin to enter, all of them very dignified, but all of them tied to funding terrorist factions. Making his way through the kitchen, he fires up the ovens and the stove tops. Making sure everything is in place, he begins tossing things into the pan, shaking and moving the pan. Flipping the vegetables inside the pan, he pours in some wine, causing red flames to ignite from the food. After figuring that the food is finished, he spoons it into the plate, tossing it into the plate racks for the waiters to take out.
Ibis figures that he'll put poison in the food. The only problem being is the other chefs are around looking at him. Figuring it best to just continue until he has a chance, he begins to work on the next dish.
Dinner soon comes to an end, with only dessert left to serve. Maneuvering his way around the kitchen, he approaches the chef in charge of cooking dinner. Accidentally bumping into him, he causes the chef to turn around, allowing Ibis to slip the poison into the food. His work finished, he makes his apology and quickly retreats to his station where he begins clean up. In a couple hours, all six men will be dead, and his task complete.
After all his guests leave, the owner of the mansion stands up and heads to his study. Ibis sheds his chef persona and slips into Agent mode. Moving lithe movements around the home, he quickly locates the man's studies, finding that the man had already fallen asleep.
"Thank God for the poison."
A side-effect was the inducement of sleep in a very short time within consumption. Maneuvering his way around the study, he picks up papers and accesses the man's computers. Plugging in a jump drive, he siphons the information from the computer to the drive. Pulling out the drive, he inserts another, this time a hijacker virus that'll upload all the information on his computer to CIA databases. His secondary task finished, he quickly moves out of the study, checking the pulse of the sleeping man. Feeling his fluttering and weak pulse, he can tell it is near the end for his victims. Making his way out of the room, he descends the stairs, and exits through the back, nobody the wiser. Stripping off the balaclava, he shakes out his hair and makes a light jog to the car he has stowed in the back. Hopping in, he flips open his phone and does the usual, calls in the complete mission and then leaves for the airport.
Echo Park, California
Casa Bartowski
11:30 AM
February 02, 2008
"You went undercover as a chef?"
"If you couldn't tell from the story, then yes, I went undercover as a chef," he answers, voice mocking her question.
"Well, you're going to have to cook me dinner one day."
Smirking, he says, "I'll do my best."
Falling into another comfortable silence, they continue to hold each other in their embraces, neither wanting to lose contact with the other.
The door emits a loud creak as it swings open, revealing a slightly disheveled Devon. Blonde hair skewed to the side, shoulders hunched forwards with arms hanging limply at his side. Letting loose a big sigh of relief, they watch him gingerly make his way into the living room and plop down straight on the couch.
Chuck lets out a tentative, "Devon," which is answered with a low drone of, "Uhhhhh,"
Straightening themselves out from their compromising position, much to the disappointment of both parties, they both look at Devon who has his eyes closed and hands glued to his forehead.
"You okay bro?" Chuck asks concern clear in his voice.
"Yeah, Chuckster. A bit tired. Oh and what's with Ellie. I saw her run into work today and I know she has the day off today. What gives?" he questions while looking back and forth at his soon-to-be-brother-in-law and his girlfriend.
Red finds its way up both of their faces, turning them into red cherries, any more red making them too bright to look at.
Gathering up is nerves, he turns to Devon and he quickly says, "She caught us in the shower."
The moment the words hit his ears, Devon sits right up and starts laughing his head off. Forgetting his weary status, he stands up, takes one long stride over to Chuck, and claps him on the back, reminiscent of the time he came home. He grits his teeth and thinks, 'I've only been up an hour and a half, STOP THIS PAIN.'
Much to the chagrin of Chuck and Sarah, he doesn't stop there.
"Good work Chuck. Knew you could it."
If possible, both turn even more red, turning them into big bright balloons that just want to sail away from embarrassment.
Still laughing and clearly relieved of his state of weariness, he moves to the bathroom to clean up all the gunk and blood off of him from working all night.
"Well, I think I'm thoroughly embarrassed for today."
"Yeah, I think that's quite enough."
To only make things worse, gruff laughter is heard, again, from the courtyard.
Sighing, Chuck turns to Sarah, "Well, you wanna go do something fun?"
"Anything is better than this."
Chuck's eyes light up as the gears in his brain start turning. Looking in his warm brown eyes, she can tell what he is thinking.
Rolling her eyes, she shoots down the idea quickly, "No, we're not going to go play video games. I meant, let's go do something that includes our whole body, not just our hands and eyes."
"Well, if we're not going to play video games, it looks like we're going to have to go to plan B," he sounds out, his eyes with a mischievous glint to them.
"What is this, plan B?" Sarah questions, eyebrows arching.
"You'll see."
***
Buena Park, California
Knott's Berry Farm
1:20 PM
February 02, 2008
"What is Knott's Berry Farm?" Sarah ask, confusion written all over the place.
All he can do is swivel his head in her direction, drop his jaws, and open his eyes wide in amazement. All Sarah can do is look back, eyes apologetic and chuckle uncomfortably.
Finally schooling his face, he manages to squeak out, "Oh Sarah, we have to change that."
Pushing her into the theme park, she scans the front of it, noting all the children, parents, food stands, and other stands offering t-shirts, cups, and various other items. Looking to her left, she sees what looks like an old railroad and a second later, a cart drops by, hands in the air, screams carried down to her by the wind. Turning around, she find Chucks jogging up to her, map in hand to help navigate through the gigantic theme park.
Putting his arm around her back, he guides her into the heart of the theme park. When they approach the first rollercoaster, the Jaguar, Sarah looks up and feels kind of apprehensive.
Chuck looks at her from the corner of his eye and notices her hesitation. Nudging her to catch her attention, he leans into her ear and whispers, "Don't worry, Sarah. Remember why we're here. It's fun and it's only us. Nobody else but you and me. I'll hold your hand the whole ride and I'll never let go. Trust me Sarah, it'll be fun."
Turning him a gaze of wonderment, she is still in awe at how he can appease her so well. His smile is so reassuring that she can't help but smile back and take his hand in hers, and eagerly pulls him forward to the front of the line.
"If you say so Chuck."
And boy did he say so. She found it fun flying through the air, the wind blowing through her hair causing it to fly this way and that. Her hands fly through the air, and she laughs as her body whips through the air. Her other hand is held down by Chuck. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see him looking at her instead of focusing on the ride.
"Why are you looking at me the whole time on the ride?"
"Eh, I don't find the ride as interesting."
Crimson finds its way to her face, and the only way she can express her happiness is through a wet kiss on the lips that elicit mothers to clap their hands over their eyes and give the couple the evil-eye. Ignoring their snooty looks, they continue their lip lock for a little over, say, five minutes.
Finally breaking for air, they stop in front of the log ride. Standing in line, they slowly trudge their way to the front and to their log seats. As they move through the cave, they listen to the sounds of the cave.
Just before the final drop, he puts his lips next to her ear, causing Sarah to shudder.
"Sarah, turn around in ten seconds."
At that exact moment, they plunge down towards the bottom of the ride. Still keeping her wits about her, she turns around at the time he tells her. What surprises her though is that he kisses her and she hears a click as if a camera had just taken a picture.
Exiting the ride, Chuck drags Sarah over to the booth where they keep the pictures of the final plunge. Pulling up there picture, he allows Sarah to take a look at them. Both of them had their eyes closed as their lips moved together.
"Wow."
"Yeah, you want a few mementos?" he says, smile, already knowing what her answer is going to be.
Nodding her head while still looking at the pictures, he sets them to print out a pair of regular size photos and a key chain size picture for his key ring.
Holding onto the picture for dear life, Sarah embeds the picture into her mind, burning it into her brain forever.
"You hungry?" he says, his stomach telling his brain he is.
"Nope, I'm happy with what I have now," she says quickly, truly happy with the picture.
Her stomach had other ideas though. It lets out a rumble as she finishes the statement, causing her to look up embarrassed and red in the face. A knowing smile flies onto his face and he guides her into the restaurants right next to the log ride.
Bellies finally full, they exit the restaurants, only to find Chuck's phone ringing. Groaning, he reaches into his pocket and sees the image of one John Casey. Pushing the screen to connect him to Casey, he holds the phone to his ear.
"What is it Casey?"
"We're starting surveillance in a couple of hours. Now If you're finished, get your asses back to Burbank!"
"Jeez Casey, no need to yell, I heard you clearly. Alright, Sarah and I will be back in two hours at most. See you there Casey."
Disconnecting the phone, he turns to Sarah, a disappointed look on his face.
"Well, it looks like we have to cut this short. I'm sorry Sarah."
"No need to be sorry Chuck, it's not your fault. Besides, you've given me one of the best days of my life, a picture to remember it, and the man that made it all real."
Wrapping him in a hug, they stand there for a couple minutes, arms intertwined and bodies in contact. Both sigh in content, neither wanting to let go.
"Sarah, we have to go."
With a huff, she lets go, allowing him to lead her out of the park. Before leaving though, she pulls him into the Cinnabon outside.
After getting their rolls, they hop into his car, and drive off towards Burbank, another memory locked inside their minds forever.
***
Los Angeles, California
The Docks
11:00 PM
February 02, 2008
"This is boring."
"Definitely."
"Ditto."
Grunt.
"It doesn't seem right either. Where are they? They should be getting ready for the plutonium. What are they doing?" Chuck sounds out, intrigue lacing his voice.
'I don't know Chuck, but it's our mission so keep to it."
"Yes, dear," he says, smiling.
"Oh dear God, blow my brains out now," grunts Casey, agonized by their bouts of lovemaking.
All Chuck and Sarah do is laugh and Casey just grunts.
Neither notice the dark, brooding man in the back.
He leans down, neither of the three in front noticing his actions. He speaks into his wristwatch, letting loose a single line.
"Commence Operation Triple Threat."
"Yes, sir."
A/N: There is Chapter 6 for you guys. I'll be updating this a lot quicker now as I have finished my other fic. Hope you enjoyed. R&R.