Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, and thank GOD, as if I owned it, I probably never would have grown to like Morgan as much as I have, haha.

A/N: Okay, so many of you know that in the past, I've HATED Morgan Grimes. He was one of my least favorite characters the first two seasons. Hell, in my first serial fic, I killed him off, and was happy about it. But this season, I feel like he's really come to play for keeps, and I've appreciated him a lot more. Also, many of you know that my love of "Chuck" as a series had been waning for awhile now. Well, I absolutely LOVED Chuck vs. The Beard, and it's made me want to write again! This was just something that popped into my head after watching the episode, and I hope it brings you some joy. All I ask is that you please review and let me know what you think. Thanks! **SPOILERS FOR CHUCK VS. THE BEARD**

Morgan vs. The Apology

Sarah sat behind the counter at the Orange Orange, flipping through the pages of some gossip magazine a customer had left behind earlier. Not that it was that interesting to her, but she could try to be girly from time to time. It was her right to do so. And she was bored, after all, so why not read up on the latest happenings of the rich and dopey?

The bell on the door chimed, bringing Sarah pulling Sarah from her reading. Just a year ago, she would have known it was Chuck coming to visit her at her cover job, but since, well, everything that had happened between them, Chuck never seemed to come over unless it was for the mission. She missed just hanging out with him. Not that she'd ever tell him that.

No, it wasn't Chuck that walked through the doors to the yogurt shop this time. It was, instead, his little bearded friend, Morgan.

There was a time when Sarah despised Morgan. He represented everything that she thought Chuck needed to leave behind. He represented the failed, menial life that Chuck was so much better than.

But then the Smooth Lau/Triad mission happened, and she learned more about the history of the Chuck/Morgan bromance (okay, seriously, no more gossip mags), and begrudgingly developed a small sense of respect for the "bearded troll", as Casey liked to call him.

And after that, there was the Prague incident, Chuck's failure in spy school, his decline into nothingness, the reformation of Team Bartowski, and all the things that went with it, and during that time, Morgan had been there for Chuck. As much as he could be there for Chuck, anyway. That made Sarah respect him even more, because despite what she told Chuck, she very much still cared about him. She still wanted what was best for him, even if she'd resigned herself to the fact that she probably wasn't in that "best for" plan.

Then finally, almost a week ago, when the Ring infiltrated the Buy More, Morgan stumbled on Castle, and in turn, learned everything there was to learn about Chuck's secret life.

In a way, that was a terrible thing. While Sarah knew that Morgan would gladly die to protect his best friend and his secrets, it really shouldn't even come to that. Morgan Grimes was certainly not a spy, and he didn't deserve to get dragged into all the crap that the spy life included. He certainly didn't deserve to die.

But on the other hand, Sarah knew how big a relief it was to Chuck to not have to lie to his little buddy anymore. The spy life had more than taken its toll on Chuck, and lying to friends and family was the worst part for the human Intersect. So in that, Sarah couldn't be too disappointed that Morgan was in the know. Even if she kind of wished that Chuck still felt like he could come to her with his problems, she was willing to concede that she just wasn't that person in his life anymore, as long as it meant he had someone.

"Hey, Morgan," she greeted. "What can I get for you? The usual?"

"No, Sarah, I mean, wait. Should I still call you Sarah, or should I call you Agent Walker?" he asked, clearly still confused by some of what he'd learned.

Sarah rolled her eyes as she tossed her magazine onto the counter. "It's Sarah, Morgan. No one calls me Agent Walker except my superiors. And Casey, sometimes."

"Good," Morgan said. "Good, because it would just feel too weird changing how I think of you after all this time." He paused. "Not that I haven't changed how I think of you, because I have. It's just, you're still 'Sarah' to me, you know?"

She did know. She still felt like "Sarah", too. "That's fine, Morgan. I'm still the same person. Now you just know for a fact that I could kick your ass if I needed to," she added playfully, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, well, I never really doubted that," Morgan said under his breath.

"So what brings you by?" Sarah asked, hoping to get the conversation back on track. Just because she liked Morgan more than she used to didn't mean she was any more comfortable in regular social settings with him, and she wanted this to be over as quickly as possible.

"Well, I had something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?" Sarah asked, her ears perking up with curiosity.

"Yeah, actually, it's something I feel like I need to apologize for," he clarified.

"Apologize? Why would you need to apologize?"

"Okay, see, when Chuck and I thought we were going to die, he kind of told me everything about the past two years. And I mean everything."

"Morgan," Sarah said warningly. "Despite what you know, and despite the fact that I supported the idea to keep you out of witsec, it doesn't mean it's safe to go around talking about our other life."

"No, no," Morgan said hastily. "It's not about spy stuff. Well, not totally about spy stuff."

"Then what's it about?" Sarah asked.

"Well, when Chuck was telling the story of his spy life, he talked about his relationship with you."

"Oh?" Sarah asked, growing more intrigued by the conversation by the moment.

"Yeah, and he didn't tell me that day, but later that night, I kind of pressed him for more information about you two. See, I couldn't believe that you two were so close for two years, and you never, you know…"

"We never what?" Sarah asked.

"You know, had sex," Morgan said, blushing slightly.

"That's true," Sarah said, a bit wistfully. "We were never together that way."

"See, that's the thing. When I pressed him to tell me more about that, he told me about something that happened."

"What that happened?" Sarah asked.

"A certain motel, in Barstow…"

"Yeah, that," Sarah said deflating at the memory.

It had been almost a year since that fateful day in that dingy motel room. As the morning light began to shine into the room, she found herself wrapped in Chuck's arms. Somehow, they'd found each other in their sleep, and it was the best sleep she remembered having, maybe ever. Then there was the hand holding, followed by the frenzied kissing, followed by Chuck going to get protection, followed by…let down.

"He told you about that, did he?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, he did. And the thing is, I feel like I'm partially responsible for, well, er, the frustration you guys had to endure," Morgan explained.

"How so?" Sarah asked.

"Well, Chuck didn't tell you this at the time, but he wasn't completely unprepared. Well, at least, he didn't think he was unprepared," the Buy More assistant manager said vaguely.

"I'm still not following," Sarah said.

"See, Chuck was under the impression that he had a condom in his wallet. And he did have a condom in his wallet. At least, he had one until about a week before that little incident," Morgan said sheepishly.

"What happened to his condom, Morgan?"

"Well, you know, that was back when I was with Anna, and she could be quite insatiable…"

"Morgan…"

"Well, there was one day, she wanted to go for a little nooner in the break room. The only problem was, I was out of condoms, and she didn't have any. So…"

"So what, Morgan?" Sarah asked, though she was starting to get the gist of the story.

"Well, see, Chuck can sometimes be a little, well, oblivious to his surroundings. Which, may I say, doesn't seem like a good trait for a spy."

"Spit it out, Morgan," Sarah grumbled.

"So, it was pretty easy to lift Chuck's wallet, and I did. And I borrowed the condom he had in there, because, you know, I figured he'd be able to swing by the store and pick up some more before he saw you. Because, you know, that's back when I thought you two were sleeping together."

"You stole his only condom?"

"Pretty much," Morgan said, not taking his eyes off the floor.

"I hadn't gotten laid in two years at that point, and my dry spell continued because you decided to steal from your best friend?" Sarah seethed.

"And that's why I came to apologize."

Sarah took a moment to calm herself. Not being with Chuck that morning, well, it was almost painful to think back on. All their time together, all the stolen glances, and missed opportunities, and they all were coming out in the moment of catharsis, only to have it derailed by Morgan?! That didn't seem fair. Still, she couldn't get mad at Morgan for that. Okay, she could. And she did. But that was in the past. Water under the bridge.

"Well, I guess it's probably best that it happened that way. Maybe if we'd slept together, it would have been harder when we, well, you know the story," Sarah said, trying to keep her voice calm.

"No!" Morgan nearly shouted. "That's not what you're supposed to say! You're supposed to be pissed off with me. You're supposed to yell at me!"

Oh, but she felt like doing just that. But still, she felt like there was some truth to her words. Being intimate with Chuck in that way would have made their inevitable split even harder.

"I don't want to yell at you, Morgan," she half lied. "I just, it's true. Chuck and I weren't meant to be, and anything that would have happened between us would have made that even harder."

"But you are meant to be!" Morgan protested. "Do you know what made Chuck flash? Do you know when he was able to work again? Did he tell you that?"

"What?" Sarah asked.

"You," he said. "He admitted to me that he was still, and had always been in love with you, and that 'fixed' him."

"He," Sarah swallowed. "He said he was in love with me?"

"He did. And if you can't see that, then honestly, your spy skills might need some work, Agent Walker."

Sarah didn't know what to say. How, after everything she'd put him through, and after everything he'd put her through, could he still love her? But still…

"It's too late, Morgan," she said sadly. "We, well, we had our chance, and it didn't work out."

"See, the thing is, I've known all along that my best friend loves you, Sarah. But that's not the only thing I know. I know you care about him just as much. I can see it when you look at him. And don't try to deny it, because it just makes you look ridiculous."

"I, uh –"

"Sarah, just," Morgan paused, collecting himself. "Just don't give up on my friend, alright? I'm not saying it has to be today, or even tomorrow, but sometime, when you're ready, you should give him another chance. Because he deserves it." Morgan paused again, making sure to make eye contact with the blonde. "And so do you."

And that was all Morgan said, as he turned on his heel and exited the shop, leaving Sarah to her thoughts.

A/N: Look forward to your feedback, and you guys are awesome. Peace.