Sarah Vs. Charles Carmichael

Author's Note: This is my first venture in Chuck fan fiction. The title is hardly original, I apologize for that. I thought I'd give it a try and see where this leads me. This won't really be a long story. I've actually been working on it for a while and was unsure if I wanted to post it. It's one of those scenarios where it's swimming in your head and it won't go away until you jot it down. If anything, this one can actually end as a one-shot.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.

Chapter 1: Introduction

"So who exactly are we meeting?" Sarah asked.

"Once in a while, they pair me up with this particular person because they say, and I quote, it promotes inter-agency cooperation." Carina explained with air quotes. "But frankly, he's the only CIA agent I can bare working with. Present company excluded, of course."

"Of course." Sarah smirked. "Anyone I know?"

"Carmichael." Carina replied. "He's sickeningly sweet and polite. It gives me cavities."

Sarah stopped short. "Carmichael? This wouldn't happen to be Charles Carmichael, is it?"

Carina smiled with a grin. "The very same. You know him?"

Sarah shook her head. "Only by reputation… and rumors."

"He's a bit unorthodox, which suits me just fine by the way. Gets along with everybody. And I do mean everybody. It's a blessing and a curse."

Sarah tilted her head, not understanding.

"Boyish grin. Funny. Crazy smart." Carina listed Agent Carmichael's traits with each lift of a finger. "Deceptively attractive and boy, he's got a great bedside manner."

Sarah looked both amused and unconvinced. "You sound suspiciously in love."

"Please!" Carina scoffed offhandedly. "Going on three years and he's still not taking the bait."

Sarah's eyebrows raised a fraction. Carina didn't sleep with every attractive man she meets, but when she does set her eyes on one, it was assuredly a done deal. "Three years, huh? Okay, now I'm impressed."

"Tease me now but just you wait."

"Is he gay?"

"I wish." Carina looked downright disappointed at her failed attempts at seducing her mild-mannered and occasionally shy partner. "My ego wouldn't be so bruised if he was."

Sarah chuckled.

"Five minutes." Carina warned. "Five minutes with him Walker, you'd fall for him too."

"I highly doubt it."

Suddenly, Carina's faced changed from playful to joy as she saw the man of the hour. "Speak of the devil—"

"Or angel." Sarah cut in.

Carina ignored her. "Well there's his adorable tall self now." She didn't point to his location, simply opting to sprint right pass her.

Sarah was unsure what to make of Carina's relationship with this Agent. Instead of judging though, she turned to see her DEA friend make her way across the street and uncharacteristically launch herself at a tall dark-haired man. He spun her 360 degrees, giving Sarah a glimpse of his face and took a moment to assess.

He had a kind face.

The kind of face assets and marks would believe anything they were told. Open and welcoming. Physically, he was definitely tall and lean, with a swimmers build. He was dressed casually in a light blue dress shirt, three buttons left open creating a v-neck style. He wore his shirt tucked in beneath black trousers. His dark head of hair a little bit longer (with slight curls no less) than the short trimmed or cropped hair that most of her male peers prefer. Completing the ensemble were shoes she'd never seen a grown man in their profession wear.

Converse? She believed they were called.

Furthermore, she was uncertain what to expect so naturally, she hadn't been prepared when the elusive Agent Charles Carmichael released Carina and spotted her walking slowly halfway through the street with a disarming smile adorned on his face. With it, carrying a look of genuineness that she didn't come across often in their line of work.

As a spy, cynicism, caution and an unhealthy dose of paranoia was the norm. Agents trained in the field that more often than not, work alone, do not trust anyone. Completing the mission was paramount from anything and everything else. It was all about survival. And if they did trust, it was never very easily. It's a difficult life and only habitable for a chosen few.

Before she knew it, Carina practically dragged Agent Carmichael to meet her the rest of the way.

"Less than a minute, Walker." Carina said smugly, catching Sarah's reaction. "I massively underestimated him."

Sarah glared at her but said nothing.

Meanwhile, Chuck stared at both women looking obviously confused by the quick one-sided exchange. Reminding himself that Ellie raised a gentleman, he pushed back the awkwardness and held his right hand, introducing himself.

"Hi. I'm Chuck."

Chuck? Sarah thought oddly.

Sarah shook his hand politely. "Sarah. I didn't realize parents still named their kids Chuck."

Instead of looking embarrassed, he laughed, the opposite reaction that Sarah expected.

"My parents were sadists. But Carina here was kind enough to make me one of her own in the meantime."

Carina beamed. "You better believe it."

Sarah tried to shake the smile that threatened to escape her face but it was futile. Carina really wasn't kidding. In her world, she'd known charmers. They inhabited their sphere, and they come in droves. Good people or bad people. Some more than others. Charles, or as he preferred, Chuck, came off possibly as a rarity. Someone who didn't work to charm others, but does, in fact come across as charming. The latter group was normally oblivious to their affect on people. She can sort of understand why Carina doesn't mind his company.

"Oh, before we forget Sarah, let Chuck take a look at your phone." Carina turned to Chuck. "She's always breaking it."

Sarah's eyes narrowed. "It's no problem. I can stop by someplace to get it fixed."

"I don't mind." Chuck said. "Let me take a look."

Sarah handed her phone to him reluctantly, causing Chuck to laugh once more. "Don't worry, I'm only looking at the hardware. Your secrets are safe from me." He smiled before leading them to an empty table in front of a cafe along the side of the street. He sat down and popped open the back of her cell phone. "Ah, the Intelicell." Chuck noticed. "Yeah, this model actually has a little screw that pops loose in the back here." Sarah didn't even see how a mini screwdriver suddenly appeared out of thin air held assuredly in his hand. "Just go ahead and give it a couple of quick turns, and it's good as new."

He hands it back to her, fixed and ready. It actually made her feel like an idiot, which did not happen often… or ever.

"Thank you." Sarah said, annoyingly flabbergasted. Her training though kept her from revealing it.

"No problem."

Carina was getting bored now. "You done playing the Guyver now?" She spoke impatiently.

Chuck sighed. "It's MacGyver, Carina."

"Same thing."

"No, it's really not. What's the point of TV marathons if you're not paying attention."

Sarah felt the need to side with Carina and even wondered how Chuck even convinced her often volatile and unpredictable friend to a marathon that didn't involve physical strenuous exercise.

"I don't really know what either of them are."

Beyond the nightly news and CNN, watching for pure entertainment was few and far between. Her upbringing as a con man's daughter and then becoming a CIA operative left little room to immerse herself in the world of popular culture and the seemingly endless amount of shows that populate the airwaves.

At the same time, Chuck's eyes widened, looking aghast. It was like he found the Dead Sea Scroll and didn't much like what it revealed.

"You ladies are missing out."

It was hard to believe that this man is a government trained operative. Rumored to have one of the highest mission success rates in the Agency that also involved minimal-to-surprisingly-low casualty reports. Agent Charles Carmichael up until this point, at least to Sarah, was a ghost. His name was banded about but no one she knew had really met the man in person. If they had, they probably hadn't realized who he was. He comes off like a person though. Normal. Not at all hardened by the life they led.

The revelation was shocking.

And to Sarah's own shocked surprise, she found him interesting.

Compelling.

An Enigma.

With devastating realization, Charles Carmichael was possibly turning out to be way out of her league.

To possibly be continued...