It's a Wonderful Cover Life (Chuck Fan Fiction)

Chapter 2

5. Good Intentions and Complications

Chuck grumbled under his breath as he logged in another one of Lester's invoices. He didn't know why he was doing the redhead a favor by keeping Lester out of her way, sending him on an outcall that came in ten minutes before. From what he'd seen so far, she wasn't even all that nice. Perhaps, he thought, he was doing his colleague a favor. Either way, he was stuck doing Lester's busy work.

"The road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions," he said to himself as he snuck another peek at the double green doors. He entertained the idea of asking Sarah on a date, figuring that the worst that could happen was that she might decline. No harm, no foul.

The doors suddenly opened and Chuck's heart nearly stopped, but it was only Jeff, and by the looks of it the guy had just woken up from a nap. Then again, with Jeff it was hard to tell. The only time the perpetually hung-over nerd showed any signs of awareness regarding anything not laced with alcohol was when he –

"Oh, crap." Chuck's eyes snapped back to the computer screen. He hadn't even thought about that. What if he asked Sarah out and she filed a harassment complaint? Could she even do that? He squinted, trying to remember what exactly Jenkins from HQ had said the last time he'd attended the compulsory annual seminar, but came up empty.

His shoulders slumped as he leant back in his chair. It was probably for the best, he told himself. His life was complicated enough. And, as if on cue, the universe concurred.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

Chuck jumped up at the sound of his daughter's voice and rounded the desk when he saw her barreling towards him. He hunched down to catch her and only then did he notice the tears running down her cheeks.

"What's wrong, Boo?" he asked gently. All he got in response was little arms wrapped around his neck as she sobbed against his shoulder. He rubbed soothing circles across her back and she buried deeper into him.

Ellie, who'd been hot on her heels, mainly thanks to the trainers she wore with her scrubs, had stopped just short of them. Chuck lifted a questioning gaze to his sister and she raised her hands in defeat.

"She wouldn't tell me either," Ellie said. "I'm sorry to bug you at work, Chuck, but she's been crying since I picked her up from ballet class. I've tried everything."

Like him, Ellie hated to see Maggie upset, even though she still had a pretty short attention span and they knew that whatever the incident was, it would soon be forgotten.

"It's okay, sis," he replied. He got to his feet with his daughter in his arms and glanced at his watch. "My shift ends soon, so she can stay here with me."

"Are you sure?" Ellie asked. "Wouldn't Big Mike mind?"

"He's a little pre-occupied at the moment," Chuck said. "So don't worry about it. Go home, take a nice long bath and we'll see you in a bit."