"Anything"

Author's note: The lyrics within are from the song "Anything", by Third Day. Yes, they're a Christian band, and yes, the object of the song was originally God… but the lyrics can, very interestingly, be quite easily adapted to fit the purposes of the great and mighty Charah. Now, as far as which perspective it's being sung from – Chuck or Sarah – I think that's open to interpretation.

I can't do anything, I can't do anything without you,
But you can do everything, you can do everything you want.

The courtyard outside Casa Bartowski was quiet – almost too quiet.

It was a little weird. Ellie was staying with her maid of honor tonight – almost like a pre-wedding slumber party. Devon was staying at the hotel with his parents. Steve Bartowski had made excuses, saying he had a hotel room already – when the reality was that he would be in the DARPA lab at Los Angeles Air Force Base, working into the wee hours of the morning on the Intersect.

The Intersect. It was strange for Chuck to think of those words without thinking of his own brain. But it was true. His dad had done something to either remove the Intersect or turn it off – he wasn't quite sure which. Either way, though, he hadn't flashed on anything in over twenty-four hours, and given what he had seen at the DARPA lab, he was quite certain that he should have had the Intersect been working.

That meant that John Casey had considered himself free to get absolutely trashed at the rehearsal dinner. He was, fortunately, a quiet drunk, and had not made an ass of himself. Granted, he had given Ellie what seemed to be a very protective bear hug and then done the same to Devon, but aside from that, he had simply been the 100-proof version of Lieutenant Colonel John Casey.

Casey was now sleeping it off, a fact that was evidenced every time a rumbling snore drifted out of his window into the courtyard. Chuck and Sarah had both laughed at the first snore, but it had now just become part of the background noise.

Chuck and Sarah themselves had both been sitting by the fountain in the courtyard for nearly four hours. It was just after three o'clock in the morning, and though they both should have been asleep – what with Ellie and Devon's wedding now being less than twelve hours away – neither of them had been particularly inclined to leave the other's immediate vicinity after making sure Casey got to bed.

They had sat there and talked about nothing in particular for the first three hours or so. Then, when it seemed that there was simply nothing further to talk about – no more stories of mayhem at the Buy More, no more heavily edited tales of CIA field operations – Sarah had cuddled up against Chuck, resting her head on his shoulder, and breathing what sounded suspiciously like a contented sigh.

Chuck, however, hadn't been content with just that, and so, with his recently confirmed knowledge that Sarah felt EXACTLY how he had always hoped she did, he gently scooped her up into his lap, which allowed her to leave her head on his shoulder, and allowed him to sit there and hold her in his embrace for as long as he felt like.

As far as Chuck was concerned, he would've held onto her forever.

I just can't believe, I can't believe that you would love me,
After everything, after everything I've done.

But after about half an hour, Sarah finally said something that mattered in the here and now. "You know what happens next, don't you?" she whispered, a note of sadness in her voice.

Chuck sighed. "I have a pretty good idea, yeah," he replied. "After the wedding tomorrow, you have a couple days to get things packed and cleaned up. Then, you have to go back to Washington, and they'll send you off on your new assignment."

"Yeah," Sarah said, keeping her voice at a whisper to make sure it didn't break. "That's pretty much the long and short of it."

"Well…" Chuck paused. It was the last thing he wanted, but… "It is your job. That's what you do." He turned his head to look Sarah in the eyes. "Any idea where they'll send you?"

Sarah nodded. "Given my experience with Fulcrum this last year and a half, they'll probably send me deep to combat what's left of them, like Bryce does. In fact, there's a good chance they'll send me to work with Bryce."

"Oh, great," Chuck snorted, raising an eyebrow. "That's EXACTLY what I wanted to hear."

A hint of a smile broke through the sadness that had etched itself on Sarah's face. "Chuck Bartowski, is that jealousy I hear?" she asked, a gentle tone of mockery in her voice.

"Nah," Chuck replied with a shrug and a grin. "Bryce isn't that great. He doesn't have that much on me. I could take him." He paused. "Well, maybe if I had a tranq gun. And the 82nd Airborne backing me up."

Sarah's smile turned into a grin. "I think you could get by with the tranq gun. After all, you took Casey down with one."

"That's true, I did!" Chuck exclaimed, laughing at the thought. "Took three shots, but he went down eventually."

"Well, there you go," Sarah teased him. "But, Chuck…"

She paused for a moment, looking into Chuck's deep brown eyes. "Yeah?" he asked, as he watched a spark turn into an ember in Sarah's ice blue eyes.

"Bryce Larkin has absolutely nothing on you," she whispered.

And as Chuck watched, the ember turned into a full-blown blaze. Sarah reached a hand behind Chuck's head, and pulled him to her, kissing him in a way so unlike any kiss they had ever before shared – even the ones two mornings before – that it took his breath away.

And I want to love you, love you more than life itself,
And I want to hold you, even though you can't be held,
Because you're so much more than everything I've ever known,
Anything… anything.

After a moment, Chuck pulled away from Sarah. She opened her eyes and looked at him, an unspoken question present in the pools of cobalt.

"I want to show you something," Chuck said quietly, as he gently moved Sarah off of his lap. He stood and extended a hand. "Come on."

Curious, Sarah took his hand and stood, following him out of the courtyard. When he reached the parking lot, he turned right, away from the Crown Vic, away from the Herder, away from Sarah's Porsche. "Take a look," Chuck said, a grin on his face.

Sarah looked across the parking lot at the vehicle that sat on the far side. "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say that looks distinctly like a Dodge Challenger that we abandoned in Barstow yesterday," she replied, a note of amusement in her voice.

"Well, imagine that," Chuck replied, setting off toward the old Dodge. "You really ARE a good spy, aren't you?"

Sarah gently punched Chuck in the arm. "And you're a dork, Chuck," she said.

"Nerd," Chuck automatically corrected her. "Really, after all this time…"

"King of the Nerds, more like," Sarah laughed.

"And I will take that as a compliment," Chuck said. "In the meantime… how about we go for a drive?"

Sarah stopped, pulling on Chuck's arm so that he turned to look at her. "Chuck, we can't," she said quietly. "That car belongs to the CIA motor pool in downtown Los Angeles. We have to give it back."

"Yeah, no we don't," Chuck replied, the full blown grin reappearing on his face. "See, I had the Auto Club tow it back down here and replace the windshield after we got back to town this… uh, yesterday morning."

"And?" Sarah asked, narrowing her eyes. "That doesn't change its possession."

Chuck shrugged. "And, six years ago, I had about three thousand dollars worth of financial aid grants sitting in a CD. Stanford didn't make me give it back, but I didn't really want to spend it at the time. So… it just sat there for the last six years, gaining interest."

Sarah looked at Chuck in disbelief. "How much?"

"Oh, that's the great part," Chuck replied. "It just so happens that the amount in that CD was exactly the same amount as the price that Casey negotiated with the government to purchase the Challenger."

He slid a hand into his left pocket, and came back out with a key bearing the old Chrysler pentagon logo on it. "And I figure, as a token of my gratitude for saving my life over and over for the last year and a half…"

I'd give anything, I would give anything to hold you
I want to live for you, for you alone I want to live.

Sarah looked at Chuck in astonishment as he held the key out between them. "What… Chuck… you can't be serious."

Chuck raised an eyebrow. "Well, if you DON'T want it, you could always keep the Porsche…"

"No, Chuck, that's not it," Sarah replied, shaking her head. "It's just that… why?"

"Why not?" Chuck replied, a muted version of the heart-stealing Bartowski smile crossing his face. "Everything you've done for me, I wanted to do something for you."

"But, Chuck," Sarah protested, "this goes so far beyond anything I've ever –"

"Does it?" Chuck interrupted her. "Sarah, when you came into my life, I was going nowhere. You opened my eyes to a much bigger world of possibilities. You showed me that there's more to life than the Buy More and video games. You showed me that there's a whole world of people who, dangerous though their lives may be, are trying to make this world a better place. You showed me that I was, to borrow a phrase, meant to live for so much more."

He shook his head. "You made me appreciate the things I take for granted. My sister, Morgan… Devon…" Chuck looked back up at Sarah, his eyes locking on hers. "The people I love."

"Chuck," Sarah breathed, her voice catching as she did so. "I…"

That's when Sarah's voice failed her, and she reached out to Chuck, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest. "I love you, Sarah," he said quietly, just loud enough for his voice to reach her ears.

She nodded against his chest, and then, summoning her minuscule knowledge of the nerd world, replied, "I know." In spite of her sudden lack of verbal skills, a tiny giggle escaped her lips as she did her best Han Solo impression.

Chuck pulled away, an amused look on his face. "So THAT's how it's gonna be, huh," he said. "Well, in that case, I guess we better freeze you in carbonite and ship you off to Casey the Hutt."

"Oh, God!" Sarah exclaimed, relieved that Chuck's attention was briefly diverted. "A fate worse than death!"

With a roll of his eyes, Chuck shook his head and laughed. "Didn't I suggest going for a drive?"

When I see your face, I would do anything to know you,
You gave everything, you gave all you have to give.

Half an hour later, Chuck pulled the Challenger to a stop on the side of the Angeles Crest Highway. He had driven about three miles north of La Cañada Flintridge, and was about to show Sarah something that would blow her mind.

"Why are we stopping here, Chuck?" she asked, a note of confusion in her voice. "There's nothing around here."

Chuck smiled. "Just… get out of the car, Sarah. You'll see."

Sarah frowned, but did as Chuck said. Still… "I don't see anything, Chuck."

"Turn around."

Sarah turned around, and then… "Oh, wow."

Los Angeles lay before them, lit up like the world's biggest Christmas tree. Sarah could see the top of the Library Tower, lit up with purple and gold lights for as long as the Lakers were in the playoffs. Far off on the right, she could see the lights of the Santa Monica Pier, with the blackness of the Pacific Ocean stretching beyond. As she turned further to the right, the lights disappeared going over the Hollywood Hills, and then reappeared, the San Fernando Valley extending before her like a glowing cone, tapering off into Simi Valley.

"Chuck, this is beautiful," Sarah said softly. "Thank you so much for bringing me up here."

Chuck shrugged. "Eh, it's alright," he replied, smiling and walking around the car toward Sarah.

Sarah looked at Chuck in disbelief. "What do you mean, 'it's alright'?" she asked. "This is one of the more amazing things I've ever seen, and I've seen some pretty amazing things in my life!"

"Well, okay," Chuck said. "I will admit that it's beautiful. But, when I look at it, and then I look at you… well, let's just say that Los Angeles kind of pales in comparison."

And with that, the last remaining defenses around Sarah's heart melted. "Oh, Chuck," she breathed. He reached out and gathered her in his arms, pulling her close against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his back, listening to his heart beat next to her ear. "I love you," she whispered.

Chuck grinned. "I know."

Sarah laughed quietly. "We make quite the odd couple, don't we?"

"Nothing wrong with that," Chuck replied, squeezing her gently.

Sarah fell silent, allowing her eyes to close as Chuck held her. This felt so right, like nothing she'd ever felt before. "I don't want to leave," she whispered.

Chuck nodded. "I know," he said again, but this time, the tone of his voice was completely different.

Sarah pulled away from Chuck and looked up at his face. "What are we gonna do, Chuck?" she asked, tears beginning to pool in her eyes.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Chuck replied with a smile. "Until then, we should make the most of the time we've got."

And I want to love you, love you more than life itself,
And I want to hold you, even though you can't be held,
Because you're so much more than everything I've ever known,
Anything… anything.

Just after eight o'clock in the morning, Devon Woodcomb pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex. He noticed with a grin that Sarah's car was still parked there, next to the Dodge Challenger that Chuck had driven home in earlier the day before.

Very quietly, he let himself into the apartment. He was here to get his tuxedo, and then be gone again. He didn't want to take the risk of seeing Ellie before the wedding. Superstition or no, he wanted the first time he saw her that day to be when she came walking down the aisle toward him.

As he walked into the apartment, Devon noted with amusement the various articles of clothing strewn like so much detritus across the living room. Two pairs of shoes by the door, a belt and a tie on the couch, a button up shirt across the breakfast bar, Chuck's suit pants by the bathroom…

Of course, the final piece of evidence was Sarah's dress from the night before, pooled like a blue puddle right outside of Chuck's bedroom. "Ah, young love," Devon whispered with a grin. "Awesome, Chuck."