GBBO Ch. 7

AN: Because Chapter Six had been so delayed, and thanks to some speedy beta work by michaelfmx, I decided to post this chapter now. To forestall any reviews complaining about spelling, in this chapter I decided to use the British spelling of "flavour" rather than the American "flavor" as a nod to the inspiration for the story. There is another nod to the Great British Bake Off within the chapter, which will be easy to spot for those of you who watch the show. My thanks to all who have read this story. More thanks go out to those who have taken a moment or two to review it. And, the most thanks go to Michael for his work improving the story.


Round 4: Sarah's POV

For their lunch break before Sunday afternoon's round, Sarah and Zondra picked a vegetarian restaurant a couple of blocks away from the hotel. Before leaving, they had looked around for a bit for Carina, but when they couldn't spot her they proceeded to head out for lunch. While they both would have enjoyed taking the time for a leisurely meal, they knew that they had to be back in just a short time and focused in for the last round of the day. With the pool of bakers shrinking, the margin for error had shrunk as well. It wasn't likely that any of the remaining contestants would present something as awful as the Jeffster hot sub or the horrible cake from Shaw. Barker may have cut some corners, but his bruschetta still tasted decent. It was possible that he learned from his past mistake.

Rather than rehash the painful end to their friendship back in college, the two women kept the conversation light after exchanging contact information. Mostly, they bashed on the horrible bakes they had seen through the first day and a half of the competition. Zondra couldn't help but notice how Sarah perked up a little every single time that Chuck's name came up in conversation. She was all but certain that Sarah didn't even realize how she became more animated when thinking or talking about him.

With the still fresh memory of how Sarah had withdrawn after the good-natured teasing from Zondra and Carina the day before, Zondra decided that it was not the opportune moment to point out how Chuck reacted the exact same way when he talked about Sarah. That he was fascinated with Sarah was likely the worst kept secret of the competition, from everyone except for the two people most directly involved. Zondra decided that the best way that she could help these kids would be to gather some intel on and for each. Discretely.

As they were getting back to the main entrance to Maison 23, Sarah spotted Chuck walking up the sidewalk with Carina by his side. More surprising than the unlikely duo was the heated glare that Carina was directing at Chuck, and the fear emanating from Chuck. There's definitely a story there, Sarah realized. But at least she isn't flirting with Chuck. Or is that why she's so angry? Did Chuck shoot Carina down? Sarah was fairly sure that no man in history had ever rejected Carina. But, she thought with a trace of pride, if there was a guy who would do it, it would be Chuck Bartowski.

Once back in the Great Room to get ready for the start of the Sunday afternoon session, Sarah discretely watched Chuck pull his nerdy apron over his head, watching as it momentarily got caught in his curly mop. At least Sarah had thought that she was being discrete. A fake cough from Zondra accompanied by a raised eyebrow let Sarah know that her attention to Chuck had been noticed.

Before Zondra could do or say anything to embarrass Sarah, Big Mike called everyone's attention to the front of the room. "Ok, folks. I'm not going to lie. I've been looking forward to this particular round since before the competition began. And with the quality bakers we've got in this group, that anticipation has been building with each round. I present you with," Big Mike paused dramatically, "Cookies! We need twenty-four identical cookies. The type of cookies will be up to you. However, icing or other designs will earn you bonus points. You've only got ninety minutes, so watch your time closely. Begin."

Sarah let out a quiet laugh, fully believing Big Mike when he said that he had been looking forward to this particular round for some time. She privately hoped that she was one of the bakers that had stoked his level of anticipation. Plus, she loved baking (and eating) cookies. It was a definite guilty pleasure of hers.

Sarah shot a quick glance over at Chuck, curious to see how he was reacting to the news that they would be making cookies this afternoon. Given his creativity in the kitchen, she couldn't wait to see what he was going to come up with. Sarah realized with a start that she was more motivated to impress Chuck with her bake than she was to win the round-and she really wanted to win the round in order to put Carina and Zondra in their proper places.

Sarah hadn't even started to mix any ingredients for her cookie dough when Big Mike appeared in front of her, looking like a kid in a candy store and rubbing his hands together in anticipation. I guess I am one of the bakers he was just talking about, as I'm his first visit even though I'm near the back of the room.

"So, Ms. Walker…" Big Mike began, sporting his trademark smile.

"Sarah. Please," she interjected.

If anything, Big Mike's grin grew even wider. "Sarah it is. I realize that in the last round, you were…handicapped shall we say? But that limitation is gone now…and probably gone for good sooner or later." He affectionately rubbed his belly. "Cookies and I are old friends. Will I be making a new cookie friend today?"

Sarah's smile was unforced. Big Mike's gregarious personality made it easy to like him. Plus, it helped her and the other competitors be at ease while discussing their bakes with him. That likely played a huge role in why he was chosen to host the competition. "Well, Mr…Big Mike," Sarah amended at the admonishing look from the judge, "I've got a chocolate chip recipe that I've been tweaking for years and years. Hopefully, you will enjoy it."

Giving her a teasing look, Big Mike replied, "Please tell me that you aren't using cookie dough out of some tube or tub."

Sarah pretended to look offended for a moment before laughing, "You mean adding some more chocolate chips to premade dough doesn't qualify as homemade cookies?" She paused for a beat before continuing, "No, this is a family recipe that I've been tinkering with. Hopefully it will taste a little better than the store bought pre-made cookies."

Big Mike scoffed, "Hopefully? Please. I have no doubt that it'll taste far better than store bought. The question is: will they be better than the chocolate chip cookies over at Porto's Bakery & Café?"

Sarah stood in stunned silence for a moment. Porto's was considered by many to be the best bakery for cookies in Burbank, if not all of LA. Did Big Mike really think that she was so good that she could top them? Could she? Or were his expectations too high? Big Mike smiled as he saw the look of determination settle onto Sarah's face. Porto's chocolate chip cookies were little pieces of heaven, but he was confident that Sarah Walker could top them. "Good luck, Sarah. I know that you're going to do great."

As Big Mike headed over to Zondra's station to chat with her, Sarah perused her recipe to try to think of any way to make it perfect. "Damn," she muttered as inspiration struck. The problem with this particular inspiration was that she didn't have the ingredient on hand. Butter, yes. Sugar, yes. Brown sugar, yes. Baking soda, yes. AP flour, yes. Molasses, yes. Chocolate, yes. Maple syrup, no. Why couldn't inspiration have struck last night while I was at home?

Sarah glared at her ingredients as if it was their fault when she heard a voice that was already so familiar to her. "What's wrong?" The concern shone through in Chuck's question. She turned her head to see him with a worried expression. It's not his bake, so why does he look worried?

"Nothing's wrong," Sarah quickly reassured Chuck. "It's just that Big Mike has set the bar pretty high for me."

Chuck's concern shifted to a look of humor. "Please, if there is anyone in this room who can clear a high standard bar, it's you. And we both know it."

Sarah blushed at the conviction in Chuck's voice. Big Mike having confidence in her skills was flattering. But Chuck's confidence in her abilities gave her more confidence in herself. And that felt pretty damned good. "Thank you for that, Chuck. But I'm pretty sure that you are just as capable as me at besting Big Mike's expectations."

Chuck flushed at her praise, quickly looking down at his feet instead of the steady eye-contact that he had kept when he was concerned for her. Sarah decided that it was almost disgustingly cute on him. But his next comment interrupted her musings on all things Chuck. "So why were you upset? Just because Big Mike stated the obvious?"

Sarah once again blushed at the inherent assuredness in Chuck's tone that Sarah would exceed the judges' expectations. "No. I wasn't upset about what Big Mike said. It's just that I was thinking about the recipe that I'm going to use, and I suddenly thought of a way to make it a little bit better."

Chuck looked confused. "Why would that make you upset? Is it going to mess with your bake time? Are you worried because you haven't done a test run?"

Sarah laughed, feeling much lighter already. "A test run? A? Normally I would do ten test bakes before I would let anyone else taste anything. No, it's just that I realized that a little maple syrup would have made the cookies taste even better. But I didn't bring any, and there isn't any in the supplies in the back of the room." She shook her head. "It's ok. The cookies taste pretty good as is, if I do say so myself."

Chuck gave that nose crinkling grin that made Sarah melt a little each time. "You remind me of my sister, Ellie. I'm sure that these cookies of yours are better than just pretty good." He then darted back to his bag stashed inside his baking station. He quickly returned holding a small clear vial that held some liquid so dark brown that it was almost black. "This should do the trick," Chuck said confidently as he handed the vial over to her.

Sarah had used a lot of maple syrup over the years. This didn't look like any maple syrup that she had seen before. Usually the syrup ranged from a golden, so light that it was totally transparent, to a rich amber. This looked closer to espresso than syrup. "What is this?" She gingerly held the vial, confident that Chuck was helping her, but lost as to just what the help was.

Chuck whipped his head from side to side as if he was confiding a national secret. "It's some Grade C maple syrup from a farm in Vermont. Commercial grade stuff. You wouldn't want to put it on pancakes or waffles because the maple flavour is so strong. But it's used in baking, beer, that kind of thing. The great part of it is that the flavour is so intense that you don't need much syrup. So, it doesn't mess with the wet/dry ingredient ratio even when adding a lot of taste." Chuck gave her a beaming smile that, once again, drove thoughts of the competition from her mind.

Sarah carefully removed the stopper from the top of the vial. Before she even got the vial near her nose, Sarah could smell the rich, delicious maple aroma. Chuck was right. It was the perfect solution for her recipe tweak. Without conscious thought, she leaned over and placed a kiss on Chuck's cheek. As shocked as she was at her own action, Chuck was even more surprised. He stood there with his jaw hanging open and a stunned expression. Sarah let out a light laugh as she playfully tapped his cheek. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. The clock is ticking. We both need to get back to baking."

Sarah took a discrete step back to her station, realizing that she and Chuck might very well lose the round by default if they wound up so lost in each other that they didn't have enough time left to bake any cookies. "Thank you, Chuck. You saved the day. Yet again. You must be some kind of superhero."

Chuck struck a strongman pose. "The Baker. Out to defeat all culinary supervillains."

Sarah tried to smother her giggle with her hand. "Ok, I get it that you're a nerd. A giant nerd even. But that right there, that was some next level nerdiness."

Chuck winced and turned back to his station. "I'm teasing," Sarah explained, instantly feeling bad for hurting Chuck's feelings. Remember, Sarah, you are not funny. "Mostly," she added just to mess with him. She sent him a huge smile to take any sting out of her words. "Thanks again Chuck. We'd better get to baking so that Carina and Zondra don't beat us again. I'm not sure that I could survive the humiliation."

"Hey! I heard that, Blondie," Zondra good naturedly snapped from her station. "Just for that I'm going to kick your ass. Oops, sorry. I meant kick your ass AGAIN."

Sarah tried to send a hard look Zondra's way, but she was still practically giddy from her talk with Chuck. She took another sniff of the maple syrup, reveling in the rich scent. It was absolutely perfect for what she wanted. She shook her head as she thought about Chuck. Not only had he heard her epithet, he proactively worked to find out what was wrong, and then was able to come up with the perfect solution. Yet he asked for nothing in return. Hell, I'd never even heard of Grade C maple syrup, much less thought to bring some to the bake off.

As Sarah began to mix up the dough, she had another burst of inspiration. A quick check of the supplies on hand for the competition showed that she had what she needed in order to really pull off a coup. If she had the time. That was the factor that she could never lose sight of in the competition. She would need the time to cook a double batch of cookies, and have lots of time for cooling. Sarah set to double up the size of her dough.

In order to bake twice the number of chocolate chip cookies, Sarah had to put two half sheet pans in the oven at a time. While this meant twice the number of cookies baking at any given moment, it also meant that there was a slightly longer bake time. Which then reduced the amount of time left for cooling, as well as for her final stage of preparation.

Sending out a blessing to whoever it was that had thought to use silicone for baking, Sarah was able to quickly move the first batch of baked cookies from the Silpats to the cooling rack, and then quickly wipe down the Silpats and cover them for a second time in cookie dough. The second dozen cookies went in to the oven as Sarah began using a spare cookie sheet to fan the first batch of cookies as they sat on the cooling rack.

Sarah ran back to the supply area for the competition and pulled a tub of vanilla ice cream out of the freezer, also stopping to snagging an ice cream scoop on her way back to her station. She scooped a generous dollop of the ice cream onto six of the cookies, before using the remaining six cookies to top off the ice cream sandwiches. She then poured a bag of mini chocolate chips into a bowl and rolled the edge of the ice cream in the chocolate to add a ring of mini chocolate chips on the outside of the ice cream sandwich. She had just put the tray of the first six cookie sandwiches into a nearby freezer when her timer went off for the second batch of cookies.

As Sarah turned from the freezer to dash back to her station, she saw Chuck standing by her station plugging a small electric fan into a socket while aiming the fan at her cooling rack. She was going to be tight on time, and this glorious man was about to save her for the second time this round. By the time she made it to her station, he had already returned to his own. Typical Chuck, she thought, not waiting around for thanks. Just doing what he thought was the right thing to do.

Sarah blushed a vibrant red as she started to think about some of the things that would feel right to do to Chuck Bartowski. She perked up as she watched him pull his cookies from the oven and put them onto the cooling rack. With all of the smells coming from the various ovens in the Great Room, she couldn't pick out just what the scent was that came from Chuck's cookies. But there was an unusual smell in the air that made Sarah's mouth water. And she was certain that it was coming from Chuck's station.

She let out a quiet laugh as Chuck quickly set up another small fan, this time to cool his own cookies. Are there any toys that this guy doesn't have? Hmm, probably not. As Chuck was preparing a piping bag of icing, the timer for Sarah's second batch of chocolate chip cookies went off. Sarah's desire to watch Chuck in action warred with her desire to make sure that her bake was the best it possibly could be. This second desire was heightened by her wish to make the best possible cookie because of Chuck's addition of the special maple syrup. If she made her best ever cookies, it would be because of an assist from Chuck. That made these cookies incredibly important to Sarah.

Once Sarah had cooled the second batch of cookies and applied the scoop of ice cream and chocolate chips, she repeated the process of rolling the outer edge of ice cream in mini chocolate chips before she placed the second tray of ice cream cookie sandwiches into the freezer. Sarah just happened to have a couple of extra chocolate chip cookies left over after the twelve ice cream cookie sandwiches were made. Oops. I wonder how that happened? Sarah grinned as she bit into her newly improved cookie.

"Oh, my god. That is sooo good." Sarah's eyes shot wide open. Please, please tell me that I only said…er, moaned that in my head. She looked over at Chuck, who was standing there slack jawed, unaware of the icing slowly dripping from his piping bag onto his distinctive footwear. I guess not.

"Damn, Sarah," Zondra cackled. Ok, so definitely not in my head, Sarah thought as yet another blush covered her cheeks. "First it was Curls and his chocolate croissant. Now your own cookies? You got some kind of food fetish going on over there?" Sarah's eyes boggled as she saw Chuck gulping. Can this get any more embarrassing?

As if Sarah had forgotten the old adage of 'be careful what you wish for', Carina promptly reminded her, "She's a very kinky girl. The kind you won't take home to mother." Carina spun to look back from Sarah to Chuck, wiggling her eyebrows. Yes, it could get more embarrassing. And it just did.

Mortified at what Chuck must think of her, Sarah peeked out of the corner of her eye to see how he was reacting. She was shocked to see him grin at Carina, then get back to icing his cookies. Except that he was now humming Rick James to himself as he danced while icing the cookies. Is it just me, or is Chuck getting used to Carina's outrageous behavior? But she's no longer teasing him. And he doesn't seem to be flirting with her. What has changed since yesterday morning when she was torturing the poor guy? Why was she so upset with him after lunch, yet is joking around with him now?

"Can it you two," Sarah finally responded to both Zondra and Carina, although without any animosity. "If you knew how good this cookie tasted, you would be to focused on your own bakes to try to keep from embarrassing yourselves in front of the judges, instead of trying to embarrass me. Besides, it wouldn't taste this good if it wasn't for Chuck's secret ingredient." Sarah's eyes bulged out. Crap, crap, crap. I didn't just say it that way!

Zondra's jaw dropped open in shock. "Um, while a part of me is tempted to say that I'll have what she's having, I think that I'll leave Chuck's 'secret ingredient' to you, thanks." Carina merely nodded her agreement, as she smiled so broadly that you would think that Christmas just came early.

"I'm just going to stop talking while I'm behind," Sarah murmured. She bit into the cookie again, this time working to keep from moaning aloud at how good the chocolate chip cookie tasted with the hit of maple flavour. Regular maple syrup wouldn't have worked anywhere near as well as the Grade C that Chuck gave me. Sarah secretly smiled to herself, enjoying how well she and Chuck worked to make such a great cookie. If only he had been my teammate during the sweet/savory round. The things we could have done…BAKED…the things we could have baked together.

Sarah's thoughts drifted away from the competition to wonder about what baking with Chuck would be like. Frustrating when he refused to follow directions? Amazing when his outside the box thinking saved the day? Could his love of creativity inspire her to deviate from the rigid structure with which she not only baked, but also lived her life?

Her daydreaming was cut short by the judges returning to the stage. Rather than thinking about cooking with Chuck, Sarah focused intently on the judges. Her chocolate chip cookies had always been amazing. With Chuck's maple syrup, she had managed to take them to a whole other level. What would the judges think about using them in ice cream sandwiches? Technically speaking, it wasn't exactly what the judges had asked for. Sarah wanted to win. She especially wanted Carina and Zondra to know that she was the star baker out of the three.

Big Mike strode towards the microphone to address the assembled bakers. "Folks, we've had four outstanding rounds for the start of the Great Burbank Bake Off. Simply outstanding." He smiled out over the assembled competitors. "I am serious when I tell you that this year has featured some of the best bakes we've seen since the Burbank Bake Off began. And we're only halfway through this competition." Big Mike shook his head as he looked around the room. "In past years, any single one of you would have been good enough to win the whole thing. But this year, the skill level is off of the charts, so unfortunately, we will be saying good-bye to one of you today. But you've all done a damned fine job this weekend people. You should all be proud of what you've produced." The judges and the audience watching the competition all applauded the bakers, most of whom wished that Big Mike would just get on with announcing who the star baker would be. As well as telling them who was to be sent home.

Sarah rested her forearms against her station as she sat on her stool, waiting for Big Mike to make the announcement. She knew that she wouldn't be the one heading home. She had spent years working on that chocolate chip recipe. The extra flavour from the maple syrup took a bake that was damned near perfect and put it over the top. The knowledge that she was sure to go on removed the fear factor from Big Mike's announcement. While she was hopeful to reclaim the star baker title, she was finally able to relax for the first time since Saturday morning.

Sarah knew that she could have coasted through the first four rounds. The competitors already eliminated were so far beneath her, competitively speaking, that she could have just put forward mediocre bakes. Do just enough to pass through to the next round. But that wasn't who she was, and it never had been. Sarah wanted to win. She wanted Carina, Zondra and the other competitors to know that she was the one to beat if they wanted to win. She wanted them to fear her skills.

Except for Chuck. She didn't want Chuck to fear her. She wanted him to respect her abilities, to be impressed by her talent. She wanted his approval so badly that it was almost a need. That thought should have spooked her. Sarah Walker didn't need anyone. She had always been happier operating solo. Until this weekend. Chuck's approval had now become synonymous with success. If he was impressed, that meant that she had won, no matter how the judges ruled.

Between the fatigue from the competition, and the self-realization of how much Chuck's opinion mattered, Sarah let out an audible sigh as she relaxed her weight down onto her forearms. When Sarah saw Chuck's head whip in her direction, she realized that her sigh had been louder than she had thought. She was pleased to see that her guess was correct when she saw the concern etched on his face as he looked to see if she was ok. For a guy who's actions she could never anticipate, his emotions were an open book. He cared about the people who he was competing against. A little voice in her head said that she hoped that he cared more for her than anyone else in the room. She flashed him a quick smile, and saw him relax upon realizing that she was ok.

"First up," Big Mike continued, causing Sarah and Chuck to break their eye contact and look his way, "unfortunately, one of you won't be invited back next Saturday to compete in Round Five. Now, in Rounds One through Three, the debate for the judges was which dish was the worst of the worst. But those clowns have all left. For this round, the question was: which was the least best. We've got to say goodbye to the quietest cat in the competition." Big Mike turned, regret clearly showing on his face, "Hannah, your peanut butter cookies were good. But, unfortunately, good just wasn't good enough. The problem is that you were competing against great this round. Ya did good Hannah, but it just wasn't enough to get through this round."

Sarah saw the young woman hunch over slightly, although she couldn't be sure if it was from disappointment at being eliminated or discomfort at being the center of attention. She gently nodded her head before looking back up at Big Mike to hear who had won the round. Sarah's heart would have gone out to her, if it hadn't been for that wink at Chuck during the last round. The other eliminated competitors had immediately fled the field of battle, but this quiet, unassuming young woman stuck around. She had just better not stick around Chuck.

Big Mike slowly exhaled. "I never enjoy that part. Especially in these later rounds when everyone is so skilled. Everyone remaining will be rejoining us next weekend when the competition resumes. But, now for the best part of the afternoon-the star baker for round four. The judges agree that there were three cookies that really stood out from the rest. Well, most of us agree," Big Mike paused to glare at Langston Graham, the most sullen of the competition judges, who glared right back at Big Mike, "that there were four outstanding bakes. But someone apparently doesn't like the taste of pumpkin." Big Mike grumbled for a moment, as though not enjoying the flavour of pumpkin was a personal affront.

"But we all agreed that three of the cookies stood out. Anna Wu made a near perfect anise biscotti. Biscotti is a tricky bake in the best of circumstances, but to use anise as the flavouring was a bold choice. Too little and the flavour fades into the background. A touch too much, and the anise is overwhelming. But Ms. Wu walked that fine line for an outstanding bake."

Sarah and the other competitors joined together in applauding, while the judges all nodded at Anna in approval. Once the applause died down, Big Mike resumed, "Next there was one of the star bakers from last round, Zondra Rizzo. Ms. Rizzo prepared a chocolate macadamia nut cookie that was moist and chewy, while still packed full of flavour. An equally outstanding bake."

Sarah clapped along with everyone else. She was thrilled for Zondra, her once and future friend. But she was also disappointed for Chuck. She suspected that his bake must have been the pumpkin flavoured cookies that Big Mike had mentioned. Sarah felt anger towards Langston Graham flare in her chest. An outstanding bake should be an outstanding bake, even if one of the ingredients isn't a personal favorite flavour. Bastard.

"Last," Big Mike called out, "but certainly not least, our first star baker Ms. Sarah Walker. Your chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches were a work of art. The browned butter creating a nutty flavour without any nuts, the richness of the molasses, the decadent dark chocolate chunks, all were world class. But that maple flavour…inspired. The flavour profiles just flowed from one taste to the next, each perfectly complimenting the previous taste. Wow. Just wow." Big Mike shook his head in wonder. "And then to turn it into chocolate chip crusted ice cream sandwiches? That is just brilliant."

Big Mike thrust his arm towards Sarah. "Ladies and gentlemen, the star baker for Round Four: Sarah Walker." Big Mike joined the competitors and audience in clapping for Sarah, as he made his way off of the stage and towards her to shake her hand. The Hollywood Handshake as it had come to be known when Big Mike thought a bake was extraordinary. Sarah was thrilled with the win, and for receiving the Hollywood Handshake. But she also wondered how much of the win and the handshake was due to Chuck's syrup. This win of hers was part Chuck's win as well.

As the competitors came to congratulate Sarah on another star baker win, she spotted Big Mike head towards Chuck to talk with him before everyone left for the week. For a big guy, he can hustle when he needs to, Sarah noted with a grin. Sarah still felt disappointed that Chuck wasn't included in the top three finalists. She had smelled his black and white cookies, and was hoping to get one to sample. They weren't chocolate croissants, but they still looked delicious. She had to smother a laugh as Big Mike clapped Chuck on the back of his shoulders so hard that Chuck stumbled forward.

Suddenly, Sarah's eyes were drawn to Zondra, who had caught Sarah looking at Chuck even when she was surrounded by well-wishers. Zondra shot her a smirk, then, with a wink, headed over to steal one of the extra cookies that Chuck had made. Zondra wrapped it up in a paper towel and put in on the edge of Sarah's baking station.

Sarah smothered a laugh at Zondra's antics, although privately she was thrilled that she would get a chance to sample the cookie. Only Chuck would come up with the idea of a pumpkin flavoured, black and white cookie. But before she tried his cookie, Sarah needed to talk with Chuck. She saw him glancing over at the group assembled by her station as he cleaned up his things to get ready to leave. Although Sarah was nearly certain that Chuck wouldn't leave without talking with her, she found that she wasn't willing to take that chance.

Before she could step away from the congratulations without seeming overly rude, Sarah spotted the PBS camerawoman ditch her gear to go talk to Chuck. Again. Without even checking with Chuck, the woman snatched one of the cookies off the cooling rack and bit into it with an exaggerated moan. Was it really exaggerated? After all, Chuck's croissants made me moan like that. Twice. Maybe the cookies are just that good. Or, maybe she's trying to get in Chuck's pants…er, apron.

Sarah clenched her jaw as the woman got way up into Chuck's personal space. Damn it. She's a beautiful woman. Maybe she's Chuck's type. Maybe he's just being nice with me, and it's her whom he really likes. Maybe I'm just losing my damned mind…just like she's going to lose her damned hand if she rubs it up and down his arm like that one more time. Sarah was startled by the sound of breaking wood, only to realize that the wooden spoon that she had been holding in her hands was now ruined. She let out a huff of air that she didn't realize she'd been holding when Chuck quickly stepped back away from the woman. But Sarah's relief quickly turned to confusion as Chuck cut a quick glance towards Carina. A more than mildly terrified glance towards Carina. Just what in the hell happened between those two at lunch?

Judging by the disappointed expression on the camerawoman's face, Chuck had likely just excused himself to leave. The way he quickly bent down to gather up his messenger bag and supplies seemed to confirm that he was on his way out. Sarah decided to act quickly before Chuck cleared out his things and left the hotel.

After one last hurried handshake and a murmur of thanks, Sarah dashed across the aisle to catch Chuck before he left. At the thought that this would be the last time that she would see him for six days, Sarah felt her chest constrict. In two short days, she had become accustomed to looking a few feet away and seeing those expressive eyes, that goofy smile. In the past, any time that she had slipped up and thought about the betrayal (by Amy, although guilt washed over Sarah as she thought about wrongly blaming Zondra for all of those years), she would have retreated from society for days on end. But with Chuck's help, she had not only put the discovery of Amy's deceit behind her, but also started to repair her friendship with someone who had once been one of her closest friends. It was thanks to Chuck's infectious optimism and good nature that she hadn't become sullen and withdrawn for the past two days.

Since that awful party in college, Sarah had been on her own. She didn't have friends at work. Between worrying whether the person was trying to get close to her because her father owned the company, and her reputation for zero tolerance with mistakes, Sarah had developed a reputation as an ice queen. Or rather, The Ice Queen. But in the space of thirty or so hours, she had started to repair her friendship with Zondra and renewed her odd competitive rivalry/friendship with Carina Miller.

And then there was Chuck. While Sarah could count the number of friends that she had on one hand, and have fingers left over, she was certain that the only people that Chuck wasn't friends with yet were the people who he hadn't met. She and Chuck were now friends. Baking had been a guilty pleasure for her, something that she kept to herself. When Burton Industries held a pot luck luncheon, Sarah would often lie and claim that she had bought whatever dish that she brought in.

She was never sure why she didn't share her love of baking. It was just something that she kept to herself. She had thought that she would be largely anonymous in the competition. Her drive to prove herself was what had made her enter the competition. But she had just won the round, become the first baker to win star baker twice, so why wasn't she excited? The victory felt empty.

"Chuck," Sarah called out as she approached his table. His head snapped up, his signature beaming smile already in place. She felt better the moment that she saw it. She felt even better than that when she saw him put his things back down on the table so that he could talk to her. With a greeting from him like that, Sarah didn't even bother to check and see if she was getting the stink eye from that camerawoman. She likewise didn't bother to see what Carina's reaction was. But, Sarah made a mental note to find out from her just what happened over the lunch break.

"Sarah," Chuck said, clearly thrilled to see her, "congrats on the win. Those cookies looked and smelled amazing!" She hadn't expected him to try to stake a claim to part of the victory, even though he had contributed the secret ingredient. And she wasn't disappointed. Sarah was pretty sure already that disappointment and Chuck Bartowski weren't words that often went together.

Sarah fought down a blush. Since when do I blush? Since you met Chuck Bartowski, that's when. "Speaking of cookies that look and smell amazing," Sarah began, "a…uh, little birdie may have left this on my station for me to try." Sarah pulled her hand out from behind her back to reveal one of Chuck's pumpkin flavoured black and white cookies.

Chuck tilted his head back to chuckle. "I thought that I was losing my mind. Not that that is such a rare occurrence." He shot her his crooked grin, which she realized had just as big of an impact on her as did his signature beaming smile. "I was sure that I had made eight extra. But I could only find seven when I was cleaning up."

"Well," Sarah responded playfully, "you're not getting this one back. After all, I need to see whether that chocolate croissant was just a lucky bake." She caught herself off guard when she stuck out her tongue at him. "Aaand, maybe I really wanted to try these cookies. That too."

Chuck's eyes warmed over at her flirting. "Try away. I'd love to hear what you think. What I could do differently. What I could do better."

Sarah sucked in her breath. "Chuck, I'm not one who should be judging your baking. I'm just a competitor, not a judge." She was flattered that he thought so highly of her skills, but didn't like him thinking that she was better than him.

Chuck gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm not looking for you to judge me, Sarah. It's just that I would like to hear what you think. What works well, what could be improved. You may not be a judge, but you're really, really good at baking. I'd just like to get your take on what could have been done differently."

"So…I can…," Sarah said with a grin while nodding her head sideways towards the cookie in her hand. Chuck gave a quick nod of his head. She bit into the cookie, feeling almost guilty for ruining the perfect symmetry of the cookie. The cookie itself had been a perfect circle, with the black icing and white icing piped in perfect yin-yang circles, rather than the traditional even halves. The attention to detail alone should have qualified the cookie as a finalist for star baker.

Then the flavour hit her. Wow. Just wow. So many flavours in such a small package. Big Mike is right, Chuck is really special when it comes to mixing and matching flavours. No wonder he was so confident that his syrup would work so well with my cookies.

Speaking of his syrup, "Um, that reminds me. I need to thank you again for that amazing maple syrup. Part of my win belongs to you." Sarah meant what she said. And she could guess what Chuck's response would be. She wasn't wrong.

Chuck was shaking his head before she had even finished speaking. "No. I just happened to have the syrup on hand. You were the one who made the magic. Not me. That win was all you. You deserved it." His conviction was complete. He didn't believe that he deserved any of the credit. He was wrong.

Sarah gave a demure smile. "We'll have to agree to disagree. I'm afraid that you won't be able to convince me that this win doesn't come with an asterisk. This was a Walker-Bartowski win in my book." Chuck smiled so hard that Sarah was certain that it had to hurt. Not that there was anything wrong with that, as she was smiling just as hard right back at him.

"Walker-Bartowski. I like that," Chuck spoke, before realizing what he had said and blushing hard. Sarah didn't even try to fight off the giggle that escape at how cute Chuck looked when embarrassed. "Oh, by the way, Big Mike said that he would be emailing everyone later, but he gave me the heads up. Round Five next Saturday is going to be bread."

Sarah bit down on her lip, wondering if she should ask Chuck for his number. She was running through excuses that would make sense for her to need his number. How about the truth, Sarah? Something nice and simple like, 'I'd really like to call you. Could I get your number?' I'm sure he'd say yes. There's something here. Something special. Just ask, Sarah. But when Sarah looked up and opened her mouth to speak, she hesitated.

By then, Chuck was packing the last of his things away. He turned back to her with that ready smile that never seemed to leave his face. "This weekend was a lot of fun. Much more fun than I expected. I'm already looking forward to next weekend." With a quick wave, he headed off. Sarah's smile dimmed as he walked out of the room. She smiled again as he turned and gave a quick wave before heading down the hallway.

"I'm looking forward to next week too, Chuck. Maybe I should get your number so that we can brainstorm before Saturday morning." She sighed.

"You do realize that Curls has gone, don't you Sarah?" Sarah started, not having realized that Carina was right behind her. Putting her hand to her chest to try to keep her heart from jumping out of her chest, Sarah turned to face Carina.

"Yes, Carina. I'm aware that Chuck has already left."

Carina ignored the glare that Sarah sent her way. "Good. It would be hard enough to deal with Big Mike being crazy enough to think that your cookies were better than mine. I'm not sure that I could deal with you seeing people who weren't there."

Sarah laughed, while shaking her head. She could always count on Carina to make everything about herself. Her laughter died away as she looked down the hallway where Chuck had gone. Carina was willing to bet that Sarah wasn't even aware that she had just let out another resigned sigh.

"Besides," Carina carried on, "you're overthinking things. The guy is crazy about you. 'Chuck, give me your phone number' is all that you need. It's not as if the nerd is going to turn you down." Carina shifted her bag on her shoulder before muttering too quietly for Sarah to hear, "And I'll hurt him if he does."

Sarah paused for a moment, the encouragement from Carina reminding her of the odd interaction between Carina and Chuck after lunch, as well as the look of fear from Chuck when that damn camerawoman got too close to Chuck. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Sarah questioned her former track rival. "You gonna tell me just what it was that happened between you and Chuck over lunch that had you so angry, and him so scared?"

Carina smirked at the admission from Sarah that she had been watching Chuck that closely. To be honest, Carina had still been so angry with the tiny deli owner that she hadn't even noticed Sarah watching them. "A girl has got to have her secrets."

Sarah packed up her gear and followed Carina out of the hotel, her head lost in her own thoughts about a curly haired baker. Yesterday morning, she had begun the competition expecting to find herself itching for next Saturday to come around so that she could continue to prove that she was the best of the best. Now, she found herself wanting the next weekend to start so that she could spend more time with Chuck. Winning had become a secondary concern. And that had her freaking out more than a little bit as she headed home to get ready for the work week.


A/N 2: Up next, Chuck's point of view for Round Four. We'll get to see why Chuck is wary of Carina. And another familiar face makes a brief appearance. Once upon a time, maple syrup was issued grades, depending on the clarity and sweetness. Grade A Fancy was the color of champagne, but the maple flavor (or flavour) was very mild. Grade B was very dark, with a robust maple flavour. People in charge of maple syrup production and distribution (yes, there is such a group) decided that they needed to get rid of the "Grade B" label as people wouldn't think that it was as good because it wasn't an A. Up until recently, the sugarbush where I order maple syrup (extremely dark/robust-aka Grade B) also offered "Grade C" maple syrup for commercial uses. It was not sweet, and only came in 5 gallon jugs, so I never bought any. Probably more information than you cared to know about maple syrup, but I keep hoping that Grade C will come back.