So I actually wrote this at the start of season 4 and forgot about it. But with the spoilers for tonight's episode, I figured I'd post it. I'm debating whether to write what comes next though, so tell me what you think!
"You sure about this?" Chuck stares down at the younger woman to his left, waiting as she takes the hand of the bearded man beside her, takes a deep breath and nods her head yes.
"Yeah, this needs to be done. Does he know?" Alex looks up at her boyfriend's best friend, questioning whether Casey knows what they're doing.
"Yeah, Sarah's briefing him now. Ready?"
"Ready." She steps forward, bringing Morgan with her, with Chuck bringing up the rear, shutting the door behind him. "Mom! Are you here?" A voice answers from the area Chuck recalls is the kitchen.
"In the kitchen, sweetie, I'll be right out." At this, Alex leads the two men into the living room, taking a seat on the love seat with Morgan, while Chuck takes the overstuffed chair to its side.
"The place looks nice."
"You mean since you destroyed it?"
"Trying to save your mother's life, thankyouverymuch!" The pair chuckles nervously. It's to that view Kathleen McHugh enters to. She smiles a greeting at her daughter's boyfriend, moving her gaze over to the young man said daughter is joking with. Her gaze narrows at the man Alex is laughing with.
"You're the gasman."
"Yes, ma'am," Chuck stands to greet her. "But you can call me Chuck." Kathleen shakes his outstretched hand hesitantly, looking to his daughter for answers. The young woman focuses her gaze on hers and Morgan's clasped hands, avoiding her mother's gaze. "You might want to sit down, ma'am." Chuck motions to the couch, indicating she take a seat.
"What's this about? Alex?"
"Mom, I need to tell you something, and you're not going to like it."
"You're not pregnant, are you?"
"What! No!" Morgan speaks quickly, reassuring Kathleen. She grins slightly at his nervousness in reassuring her.
"Funny, Mom, really."
"Sorry, but you all look so serious, I just wanted to lighten the mood a little. What's going on here?"
"Ma'am-."
"Kathleen, please," she interrupts Chuck. "Ma'am just makes me look around for Alex's grandmother."
"Yes, ma'am, Kathleen, sorry. Kathleen, we need to discuss something with you, and it's likely not something that you're going to like." He stops, taking a deep breath before continuing. "We have something to discuss with you about Lieutenant Alex Coburn."
"He's been dead for twenty years, Chuck. What do you need to discuss with me?"
"Do you want the long version or the short version?"
"How about the short version?"
"Alex Coburn is still alive."
"Okay, now let's have the long version. And this had better be a damn good story to have a punch line like that one."
"First off, this might answer a few questions – actually it may cause a few more questions, but I need for you to hold off on them." He pulls a billfold out, opening it up to his badge and ID, handing it over to her. She takes hold of it, taking in the government agency ID'ed on the top. She hands it over silently.
"So you're CIA, that really doesn't answer any questions."
"Patience, this might take awhile."
"How about you start at the beginning and we'll go from there."
"Of course. Twenty years ago, Lt. Coburn was set to return home, except another team that was on base with him was short one man after theirs had broken his ankle on a previous assignment, so Lt. Coburn took his place. Only he found out that the team he was now on was rogue. The details of that mission are still classified, but short version, the team planned to steal the information they were tasked with retrieving and sell it to the highest bidder. There plan to get around it was to fake their deaths, only because the Lieutenant was new, and they didn't know if he would go along with them, their plan was to actually kill him, but he found out. He went to their CO, but the CO was dirty as well, and almost killed him as well. Lt. Coburn went over his head and went to the base CO and got himself sent home."
"Then why did I get a phone call from his mother saying that he had been killed in action?"
"The team couldn't be stopped. They managed to carry out their plan and at the time, no one knew where to find them.
"He had to go underground. And rather than drag you into that life, he chose to let you believe that he was dead."
"So why now? Is the team… gone?"
"The majority of the team was taken care of years ago, all that was left was the CO, and he was taken care of the same day that I destroyed your house while trying to save your life."
"So why didn't he reveal himself then?"
"That's not my place to say-,"
"You work with him, he must have said something."
"He made a choice – a choice to protect the greater good over his own happiness and future. And also the choice to protect your future; he missed out on twenty years, yes, that's enough time for you to make a new life, and he didn't want to disrupt that."
"How long have you known that he was alive?" Alex looks up at her mother's question, the guilt written all over her face.
"Almost a year now; it's killed me not being able to tell you. But I wasn't sure how you would take it and-,"
"Why now?"
"I'm graduating next month, and I don't want to have to lie to you about wanting to celebrate my graduation with my father. I thought that I could handle it – I did handle it when he was in the hospital, but for something as joyous as my graduation, I don't want to have to lie to you about how I'm celebrating it. I want to be able to join my dad at… the… Buy More, ahem, and not have to lie to you about it."
"It's safe?" She returns her attention to Chuck. "Is it safe for me to know him… to know him for who he is now?"
"It's never safe to be the family of undercover operatives. He stayed in the Marines, but he's worked for the NSA for the past twenty years in covert ops. He's the best of the best – better than the best of the best. That's why he's here in LA, part of the team that he's now a part of."
"Does he know that you're telling me this?"
"My partner is telling him now."