A/N: Hello again! I really have no excuse for disappearing for so long from the Chuck fan fiction scene, but real life got in the way. Otherwise, this first chapter would have been ready a lot earlier. That said, I hope to keep you supplied with regular updates and also catch up on my reading, as I've inevitably fallen behind. All in all, it's good to be back!
Like always, I make no profit from this. It's all for fun. This disclaimer applies to this and all subsequent chapters. Since the copyright issue is now covered… enjoy!

Chuck vs Hollywood

A blond woman in a black bikini and a sarong was relaxing on a recliner on the pool deck of a cruise ship reading a magazine. Occasionally, she would glance at the kiddy pool and go back to reading her magazine once satisfied that her charge was safe.

"Katie!" A little blond girl, no older than six, ran from the pool to the recliners.

"Hey sweetie, did you enjoy your swim?"

"I did. It was fun. I also played ball with some other kids."

"I know, I saw you," Katie replied, wrapping the girl in a towel and carefully drying her. "Would you like a drink?"

"Yes, thank you. I'm thirsty."

Katie flagged down a passing waiter.

"What can I get you, ma'am?"

"I'd like a Margarita for me and a Shirley Temple for the young lady here," she replied, nodding towards the recliner the girl had just claimed.

"Right away, ma'am."

When the waiter was gone, the little girl pushed her sunglasses up and turned to look at Katie. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, you can ask me anything you want."

"Do you like my daddy?"

The question did not take Katie entirely by surprise. In fact, she'd been expecting it sooner or later. "I do like your daddy."

"Good. He likes you too, you know."

"I know," she confirmed. The waiter arrived with their drinks and they stopped talking just long enough to take a sip.

"Are you going to ask him out on a date?"

Katie smiled. "I would, but I have a feeling he'll ask me out first, as soon as the ship docks. He'll be waiting for us."

"Cool! I love my mommy, but since she and daddy are not together any more, he needs a nice girl to date… And I want you to be that girl."

"I will, sweetie. Now, how about another swim after we finish our drinks?"

"Sure!"

"And… CUT," another voice said. "Great job everyone, that's a wrap. Sarah, Annie, you were fantastic."

The woman and the girl high-fived and then relaxed, continuing to sip their drinks. "It was nice working with you, Annie," Sarah said.

"I enjoyed it very much, too. You are a great actress, Sarah. I want to be just as good when I grow up."

"You will, sweetheart. Trust me."

The director approached them. "OK, now that we're through shooting, the footage will go straight to editing. Sarah, I'll call your agent to arrange for the interview and comments for the extra features to go into the DVD. There's no need to rush things, so we can do this at our leisure."

"Works for me," Sarah said and smiled as Annie slurped the last of her Shirley Temple and ran to her mom, who was waiting nearby. Sarah finished her Margarita, which in fact contained no alcohol, and got up, heading for the section of the cruise ship that had been turned into dressing rooms for the filming. There, she changed into street clothes, said her goodbyes to the film crew and her fellow actors and made her way to the dock where her Porsche Boxster was parked. She was grateful for having finished early. Her parents were expecting her for dinner.

Meanwhile, in another part of LA, a tall, curly haired man was relaxing in his office, playing Call of Duty on his computer. Objectively, he deserved it, for he had just finished writing the complex code for a new computer program for the company he was working for. The picture of tranquility – as tranquil as it can be with gunfire and explosions reverberating from the speakers – was shattered when another man burst into the office.

"Dude! We did it! Do you hear me? We did it!"

"Morgan! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"What? No! But I have the awesomest of awesome good news! You are the first one besides me who gets to know. Not even Mr. and Mrs. B have been told yet. So, Chuck, are you ready?"

Chuck waited for his heartbeat to slow down to its normal rate. Then he sighed resignedly. "What have you got for me, O Bearded One?"

"Just that we got an official and most lucrative offer."

"An offer for what exactly, Morgan?"

The short man's smile became even wider. "We got an offer for… drum roll… Warrior Angels! They want to make it into a movie! We're talking big bucks here, Chuck. It's gonna be bigger than Doom and Resident Evil!"

"WOW!"

"My sentiments exactly," Morgan agreed. "The game was a runaway hit from day one, but then again you know all about that. And now Hollywood wants to immortalize it on the silver screen. Think about the good publicity for Orion Computers, not to mention the tons of money we'll get for it."

Before Chuck could reply, his desk phone rang. He gave his friend an apologetic smile and answered the call, putting it on speaker. "Chuck Bartowski."

"Come to my office ASAP."

"Right away, Dad." He turned back to Morgan. "Do you think they know?"

"No way. I gave explicit instructions to keep it under wraps until I was done telling you."

"If he doesn't know about the movie offer, then why does he want to see us both?"

"Let's go find out."

Stephen Bartowski's spacious office was just two doors down the hallway from Chuck's. "You wanted to see us, Dad?" Chuck asked after knocking and getting permission to enter.

"Yes, Charles, I wanted to talk to you two."

"We're listening." Chuck and Morgan automatically sat down.

"Mary, would you like to do the honors?" Stephen asked his wife.

"Certainly," she replied with a bright smile. "As you both know, our firm supplies high tech equipment and editing software to the film industry. It's a new venture for the company, but I feel justified in saying that we'll soon see movies made with the help of our products nominated for Academy Awards in the Best Visual Effects category."

"Sure, Mom, we are well aware of the facts. Can you cut to the chase though? I just finished the program I was writing and I want to send it for testing."

"You did? Well done."

"Aces, Charles, you're Aces," his father added.

"Anyway, your father and I were invited to attend the premiere of a movie where our products were used quite extensively. The problem is… we won't be in town that day. This is where you come in. You'll represent Orion Computers in our place. You're both highly placed in the company, so you're the perfect substitutes."

"OK," Chuck agreed. "Which movie are we talking about?"

"Steel Furies," Stephen replied.

Chuck let out a long low whistle. "Steel Furies? The World War Two epic that makes Red Tails pale in comparison, if the trailers are any indication?"

"The one and only," Stephen nodded.

"It's got nominations written all over it," Morgan said. "If anything, the Best Visual Effects award will be ours. Well, not ours per se, but it will be given to the movie."

Chuck's mind was already tuned to practical matters. "When is the premiere?"

"It's on Friday."

"Do you think there is room in the PR budget for a couple of tuxes, Mom?"

"I don't think it'll be a problem, Chuck. I suggest you and Morgan take the rest of the day off and go order your tuxedos."

"Okie-dokie. Come on, little buddy."

Once outside the office, Chuck could barely contain his enthusiasm. "Man, I was counting the days until the movie hit the theaters."

"The fact that not one but two of your favorite actresses, at least one of whom is on your freebie five list, play leading roles has something to do with it, I suppose."

"Can you blame me? Those two are hot, not to mention extremely talented and… real." The two got in the executive elevator and pushed the button for the lobby.

"I guess we'll meet them at the premiere. Who knows, maybe you'll charm them into giving you an autograph."

"You think?" Chuck asked and Morgan shrugged in reply. "We have a problem."

"Define problem, Chuck."

"We got the rest of the day off to go shopping, sure, but do you know where we are supposed to go and order the tuxes?"

"Don't ask me, I never had a need for a tux until now."

"Yeah, me neither. We can always ask Dad."

"Call him already, dude."

"Hang on." He pulled a brand new smartphone from a pocket and hit speed dial. "Hey Dad, it's me. I know it may sound stupid, but…" His father cut him off and he listened, his eyes widening in amazement. "How did you know what I was about to ask you? Never mind, there's no need to answer the question. Thanks for the info. Morgan and I are heading right there now." He turned to Morgan. "He'll send the address straight to the nav systems of our cars."

"We'll take mine," Morgan declared. "By the way, Ellie called while you were locked in the shop. She wants your help about something."

"Again? I think two doctors should have been able to figure out how to work their own home electronics by now."

"I'm just the messenger, man. No need to shoot me. Besides, she'll be tempting you with dinner and, let me tell you, it sounded delicious over the phone."

"Typical Ellie," he muttered, but the tone of his voice belied his words. He loved his sister's cooking and he was getting kind of bored nuking TV dinners in the microwave or taking his meals at the Orion cafeteria. He longed for something home cooked.

They left the tailor's having gotten an assurance that their tuxedos would be ready by Thursday afternoon. And then they drove to Echo Park, where Chuck lived. In fact, his apartment was right next door from his sister's. Her boyfriend, cardiologist and extreme sports buff Dr. Devon Woodcomb MD, greeted them in the courtyard.

"Chuckster, about time you got here, dude. Ellie's freaking out big time in there."

"What's the problem this time?" Chuck asked resignedly.

"We were about to leave for work, so I left my laptop in the study, connected to the charger, while having the wireless file sharing feature active and transferring some stuff to Ellie's computer. By the time we got back home, both computers were on the blink. We have important files from work in there, bro."

"Sounds like you tried to transfer files in a format not supported by the sharing software and it crashed trying to figure out what to do, or maybe something happened to the connections. I'll take a look just to be sure."

The first thing the three men noticed while entering the apartment was the heavenly smell coming from the kitchen. "Evidently, freak outs do not have any effect on Ellie's prowess in the kitchen," Morgan commented.

"It's a means of stress release for her, cooking," Chuck clarified.

"Ah, finally, little brother, you're here." Ellie ran from the kitchen and gave him a big hug. "I hope you can untangle the mess Devon and I made."

"You can relax, sis. The master is in. Where are your laptops?"

"Right where we left them, in the study," Ellie replied.

"OK. Morgan, help them set the table. I'll see what I can do about their computers."

"So, Morgan, how did your day go?" Ellie asked.

"It was fantastic. Chuck finished a new program and it's now being proof tested."

"Awesome," Devon said approvingly.

"We also got to order a tux each."

Ellie eyed him suspiciously. "Chuck was never into tuxedos. What changed?"

"Nothing much… we'll just be filling in for Mr. and Mrs. B at a movie premiere on Friday. That's right, folks, we'll walk the red carpet."

"You'll need dates. Both of you. This is a big event. I'll see which ones of my friends are available on Friday."

"It's not that big a deal, El. We're just going as Orion Computers' representatives and that's how we'll be introduced. It's just good business."

Before Ellie had a chance to reply, Chuck's voice could be heard from the study. "GOT IT!" He rejoined them with a big smile on his face. "Problem solved," he announced smugly.

"What went wrong?" Devon asked.

"You screwed up the file sharing protocols, Captain. In simple terms, you left the file share program open on your desktop computer as well, but you gave it the same identification code as your laptop, so Ellie's computer was confused by getting signals from two sources with the same name, while your computers thought that they were getting signals from themselves. The glitch was due to the outdated version of the software you are using. I updated it, so everything runs smoothly now."

"That was fast, bro."

"For me, it was nothing. Now, I'm starving."

"Take a seat, little brother," Ellie said. "And prepare for your taste buds to be sent to gourmet heaven."

-o-

"So, how did it go, Angel?"

Sarah sipped her pre-dinner cocktail and smiled at her father. "It was the last day of filming. We wrapped it up quickly enough. Let me tell you, the director's idea of shooting the penultimate scene last worked very well. What about you, Dad, how was your day?"

"Nothing much," he replied. "But I was approached with a proposal to appear in a special about popular shows from the eighties and nineties."

"Really? Are you going to?"

"Yes, since it doesn't conflict with my schedule. Other than that, I went shopping for groceries and also read the script for a guest role in a show."

"Jack, come over here and give me a hand with the burgers," his wife called.

"I'll be right there, honey." He turned to his daughter. "Come. You might want to see this."

"See what, Dad?" Sarah allowed him to pull her off the couch and out to the back yard.

"Ta-da!"

"You bought a grill?"

"It's not just a grill, darling. It's the Beast Master 2000."

"You know how I like my burgers," she said.

"Medium rare with extra pickles, I know. You took after me in many respects, this included," her dad said as they approached the grill. Her mom had brought the hot dogs, burgers and other stuff from the kitchen.

"Fire her up, Jack," she said. "As for you, Sarah, I want to hear everything about your week. You've been so busy with this movie, I've barely seen you."

"Well, they are doing the final editing as we speak. Oh, and my agent called. The premiere for the other movie I was in is on Friday. I got invitations for both of you."

"Now you're talking," Jack said happily. "It's been a while since I last took Emma to the movies. Make sure to clear your schedule, honey."

"I wouldn't miss my little girl's movie for the world."

"Speaking of her career, listen to this." He took a clipping of a newspaper article from a pocket and read aloud. "Coming hard on the heels of The Golden Scorpion, Steel Furies confirms Sarah Walker's standing as one of the leading thinking man's action heroines of this generation. She has shown a unique talent of adapting to the requirements of every role, bringing life to the characters she plays in a way that allows the audience to actually feel like they are right there with her."

"Hmm, this was very kind of whoever wrote it, but I don't exactly like being labeled just an action movie actress."

"I don't see why you're complaining, Sarah," Emma mused. "You are getting well paid for your work."

"Yeah, but I want to be in more kinds of films, maybe even in a television show some day."

"Leave it to Sarah to find something to complain about, even though everything's just fine," a new feminine voice said from behind them. It was Sarah's older sister Carina. "Come here, little sis." Sarah found herself pulled into a hug. "With both of us so busy lately, I barely had a chance to see you. And I missed you a lot."

"I missed you too, Carina. I missed you all."

"You girls can talk all you want later. Right now go help your mother with the potato salad and the other stuff. Shoo!"

"Yes Daddy," Sarah and Carina chorused.

-o-

"Everything was fantastic, Ellie. Like always," Chuck said, getting up to help Devon with the dishes.

"Morgan told me about your day and the movie premiere you are going to attend."

"He left out the best part."

"I wanted her to hear it from you, man," Morgan told his best friend.

"Well, tell me," Ellie insisted.

"Fine. We got an offer for a game of mine. It's going to be made into a movie!"

Ellie squealed in joy. Devon clapped Chuck on the back enthusiastically. "That's awesome, bro!"

"Which we still forgot to tell Mom and Dad about," Chuck remembered, wincing from the pain caused by Devon's overenthusiastic back clap.

"Speaking of which, I also left out the best part," Morgan interjected.

"How could you do that, buddy?" Chuck feigned being hurt.

"You'll feel better once I tell you. The production company is so eager to get the rights to turning the game into a movie, that they are willing to give us full oversight and veto power over virtually every aspect of the production. Everything will have to be approved by us: the screenplay, the director, even the leading actors, and of course the special effects."

Chuck smiled. His game wasn't going to end up like House of the Dead. "I believe we can come to an agreement with the producer, once we get the green light from upstairs."

"Naturally," Morgan deadpanned. "As for Mr. and Mrs. B, you can call them once we finish this heavenly dessert."

"Good point."

"Still… it can wait until tomorrow. After all, there's always the night's entertainment, especially since Ellie and the Captain have the day off tomorrow."

"And the entertainment is…"

"The Golden Scorpion," Morgan said, beaming. "I got it brand new on BluRay, in all its high definition glory." He swallowed the last of his cheesecake, got up and brandished the box before going to set up the player.

"Didn't you two see this one at the cinema?" Ellie asked.

"Sis, The Golden Scorpion is one of the finest heist movies ever made."

"I still remember that scene on the bridge when the prison van transporting Rebecca Franco was rammed by…"

"Spoiler alert," Chuck interrupted.

"Right. Well, you'll see what we're talking about."

"OK, dudes, put it on."

"Roger that, Captain," Morgan said, gave him a mock salute and went back to prepping the player. "Chuck, get the popcorn ready."

"I'll get right on it. Ellie, Devon, just make yourselves comfortable. The movie will start in a few minutes. Oh, and tell me what you'd like to drink."

"Grape soda for me, pal," Morgan called.

"In other words, the usual," Chuck laughed. "I brought some over and put it in the fridge."

-o-

"Chuck, I hate to admit it, but you were right. This was a great movie," Ellie said, a little grudgingly, as the end credits began to roll on the TV screen.

"Uh-huh," Chuck said.

"We could use an actress like Sarah Walker in Warrior Angels. She could play the female lead," Morgan piped up.

Chuck thought about it and he started liking the idea more with every passing second. Sarah Walker could make a difference in the movie: not only was she beautiful but a very talented actress as well. There was only one potential fly in the ointment though. "Little buddy, I hate to be the one to dampen your enthusiasm, but inasmuch as I would love to see her in our movie, she may not be available."

Morgan was undaunted. "Well, it won't hurt to ask, right? I'll call the producer first thing in the morning and ask him to look into booking her for the movie. And if all goes well, you may talk to her about it on Friday, in person."

"We'll see. Now, let's help with the dishes and then we can go to my place and play a little Call of Duty."