Author's Note:
Roughly 10 years after the finale, Chuck is a sad widower with two children. Once again, Chuck finds himself living with Ellie & Devon and working at the Buy More. But on the third anniversary of Sarah's death, an old friend sends him an email that will change his life . . .
This story will start out sad, but it will become happier (or at least bittersweet).
The genesis of this story is: what if they rebooted the series, but YS could not return as a regular, with her appearances limited to brief flashbacks.
I expect this to be a long-ish story (maybe around 50k words). I have the beginning and the end written, but may struggle a bit to write the middle.
For those of you who don't like the Chuck of Chapters 1 & 2, keep reading. He evolves as the story progresses. Although it's best read in order, by Chapter 8 he's closer to the Chuck of the series.
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, or any of these characters. I'm not making any money for this.
Images of Sarah flashed in Chuck's mind:
"You're my home Chuck."
"You're a gift."
"It is real."
"I do. Again and again."
"Would you like to meet your son?"
"I'll be home around 7:00 tonight."
*Beep-Beep-Beep-Beep* the alarm blasted. Chuck smacked his hand on the snooze button and threw the pillow over his face.
"Get up, little brother!" a frustrated Ellie called out, wrestling the pillow off Chuck, tossing it aside, and shaking his shoulders. "I've already dressed and fed the kids this morning for you, again, and I'll get them to school, but you need to get to work." She added.
"Ellie, you know what today is, right?" Chuck asked, half awake. Ellie nodded softly. Today marked three years. Three years since Sarah died. Three years since Chuck entered a shell of near catatonic depression.
"And you're coming tonight?" he asked.
"Of course I am. We'll all be there." She answered.
"Casey too?" Chuck inquired.
"No, Casey can't make it. But he said he would have something special for you later, to help you remember her." Ellie responded.
Chuck sighed. He was hoping on seeing Casey. He hadn't seen him since Carmichael Industries folded, a few months after Sarah passed. Blowing off meetings, missing deadlines, and not returning phone calls would quickly destroy any small business, even a successful one. Then, once General Beckman pulled the consulting contracts that formed much of their revenue, the jig was up. He wondered what Casey was up to. The last he heard, Casey was working as a "consultant" for the Department of Defense – a description that could mean anything.
Grudgingly, Chuck got out of bed. Like most days, he didn't bother to shower. In fact, it had been six days since his last one - and that happened only after Devon practically threw him under the water. Chuck stank. But he didn't care. Throwing on an unwashed t-shirt, and wrapping his body in the uniform of a Nerd Herder, Chuck left his room.
"Daddy!" called out a little girl with golden hair and blue eyes. Chuck didn't want to admit it, but it hurt to look at her. At just over five years, she looked more and more like Sarah every day. As her resemblance to Sarah grew, Chuck's feeling of loss only magnified. And her name. That name.
"Hi princess," was all Chuck could muster.
"Are you taking us to school today?" Diana asked, scanning the room towards her older brother Stephen, and her cousins Clara and Peter.
"No, not today. Your Aunt Ellie is on duty. But I'll see you all tonight." Chuck responded. Diana looked just a little disappointed. Steven sat indifferently, not acknowledging his father's presence.
Chuck left, grabbed his bike, and began his 15-minute commute to the Buy More. That Buy More.
Why did he do it? It was a question Chuck sometimes asked to himself. He didn't need the money. Ex-spies make sure they are well prepared for an early demise. Maybe an old enemy will take revenge. Maybe it will be the draw of one last mission. Maybe the human body will just break down from years of beatings, shootings, tranqs, and painkillers. Whatever the cause, Sarah's $7 million in life insurance benefits removed any financial pressure, even after the collapse of their business. It was more than enough to pay off the mortgage on their stately six-bedroom home, with a little over $5 million left over, plus a few million in cash and other assets that Chuck and Sarah had earned over the years. Chuck could remain his depressed, useless self for the rest of his life, and still have enough to get by comfortably, even with two kids.
But the Buy More was something to do. Somewhere to go. Something familiar. Something with no pressure. Someplace with Morgan, still the Store Manager. And someplace with memories. Memories of her. Every now and then, he saw ghosts; phantoms of her coming in. Giving him a cover kiss on the cheek, offering him a frozen yogurt, or calling him out to Castle. Some people couldn't stand to be constantly around such memories. But Chuck Bartowski was a man who lived in the past, to the extent he lived at all.
The hours passed slowly. But 6:00 p.m. eventually came, and Chuck left the store, accompanied by Morgan. They drove together to the beach. To their beach.
By the time they got there, Ellie, Devon, and the kids were already there. Carina Miller was there too, along with a few of Sarah's old spy buddies. Sarah's mom, Emma, and her sister, Molly, arrived a few minutes later. Alex, Morgan's ex-wife, also came, but stayed a respectable distance away from the main gathering. Alex waived to Morgan, flashing him a small smile. Morgan nodded, and turned away. He didn't approach her all night.
Chuck commenced the annual memorial. "Thank you all for coming again this year. As most of you know, it was on this beach where Sarah first found me, and told me that I could trust her. And, five years later, after the 'Accident,' it was on this beach where I found her, and got her to trust me. It was a long road back for us. But, as she gradually recovered her memories, we reconnected. And, exactly one year after we met on this beach a second time, we came here to renew our vows. And every year after, we came here. . . ." Chuck stopped. He was crying profusely. "I miss you baby. We were so happy." Chuck had five minutes of remarks planned. But he couldn't continue. The tears were too intense.
"Stevie, would you like to say something?" Ellie asked. Steven was non-responsive, a frown on his face. After ten seconds of silence he ran, bypassed Chuck, and hugged Ellie's legs intensely.
"What about you, Diana? Would you like to speak?" Ellie inquired.
"I don't remember you Mommy, but I know you're with the Angels now." Diana responded.
It went on, each of the attendees taking turns and saying a few words. Everyone except Alex, who stood still and passed. As the gathering broke up, Emma approached Chuck.
"How are you doing, Chuck, really?" She asked.
"I'm fine." He responded.
"You didn't have to cut us, cut me off." She said, voicing sadness and sympathy, not anger.
"You see the kids plenty, Ellie makes sure of it." Chuck responded, his eyes trying to look everywhere but her face.
"You're still my family too. I worry about you. Sara wouldn't want . . . this." Emma said. She reached out, trying to softly grasp Chuck's hand. He flinched, pulling it away.
"I'm sorry. I know. And you're right. But, I look at you, and I see Sarah in 25 years. I see us, together, in 25 years. The future we'll never have. I just . . . can't." Chuck replied. He turned his back, and walked away silently.
Chuck, Ellie, Devon, and the kids all returned home to house they shared.
As Ellie looked at the brother, non-responsive in the car, she thought back. Her life wasn't supposed to turn out this way this way. She, Devon, and their kids were happy in Chicago. Frozen solid from November through April, but happy. Then she got the phone call. She boarded the next plane to Los Angeles. For four days, she watched the children while Chuck kept a bedside vigil over Sarah. Then, when Sarah finally passed, she watched her brother fall apart. It took Ellie's last ounce of strength to even get him to the funeral. Once they returned home, he collapsed into bed. And, aside from bathroom breaks, he refused to get up, even to bathe Steven and Diana.
The end result was that, for Ellie, a visit that was supposed to last a few days became a week, then two weeks, then a month. Emma did what she could to assist. But she lived two hours away and needed had to take care of Molly, who still had school. And, unlike Ellie, Emma had no one Awesome to help with childcare. By the time Ellie's visit extended to six weeks, she looked at her emotionally comatose little brother and knew she had to return to Los Angeles full-time. She gave notice at work. A little more than a month later, after the school year ended, Devon gave his own notice and joined her with the kids.
It wasn't all bad, Ellie thought. Chuck and Sarah's house was large enough to accommodate the extended Barkowski-Woodcomb clan, where she, Devon. and their kids lived rent-free. Clara quickly took to Diana as the younger sister she always wanted. Steven and Peter were almost the same age. They became fast friends and, ultimately, brothers. And Ellie and Devon adored their niece and nephew. Ellie had always wished for a big family and, like the legend of the Monkey's Paw, misfortune had given her one.
But Chuck. . . he just didn't get better. Nearly three years later, and he could barely manage to feed himself. Ellie had found herself the de facto mother to four little kids (only two of them her own), and one very overgrown big kid. Each night, she thanked the god she didn't believe in for Devon. No other man would have been so kind, so understanding, and so giving to her and her entire screwed up family.
After they returned from Sarah's memorial, Chuck went straight to his room, while Ellie and Devon struggled to get the kids ready for bed. After fidgeting around for a few minutes, Chuck turned on his computer. Opening his inbox, he saw a new email from Casey. The subject line was "In Memory of Sarah."
"Hey Ellie, Casey didn't forget!" Chuck called out. "That's good Chuck, I'll be over in a minute," Ellie responded.
Not waiting for Ellie, Chuck opened the email. It turned out to be a slideshow. Pictures of the three of them, taken throughout the years. A tear fell from Chuck's eye, as he stared at the screen transfixed. "Ellie, this is amazing. I didn't think the big oaf had it in him." Chuck yelled.
Suddenly, the slideshow's pace quickened. Images of Sarah sped by, then were replaced with random pictures. Flowers, buildings, turtles, machines. Tens of thousands of pictures, perhaps millions. Chuck sat spellbound, looking at the images stream by for over an hour.
"Not again." Chuck said, as he fell backwards and passed out.
Ellie watched the entire event, peaking through the door to Chuck's room. As she watched her brother absorb the Intersect images, a big smile grew on her face.