A/N: Well, this plot line got the most votes in the mini-poll started with the author's note in the last chapter of my previous story. It would have been posted earlier, but for some annoying (and in the end expensive) computer problems. At least they are behind me now and the first chapter is up.
This is not going to be a very long story and I promise to update at least once a week. Like always, the entire range of standard disclaimers applies to the entirety of this story. Also, many thanks to Coreymon77 for proof reading this chapter for me.
Well, enjoy!
Chuck vs the Witch
Sometime in the not so distant future…
Fourteen year old Clara Woodcomb roundly cursed her bad luck. Of all days it had to happen today! The worst thing was that her uncle Chuck was not in town to help her. But his kids were and they were just as big Nerds.
"What the hell, maybe they can help," Clara muttered to herself. Picking up her laptop, she made tracks for the house across the street where her younger cousins lived.
"Who is it?" The voice answering the knock on the door belonged to a girl.
"Cuz, it's me!" Clara yelled. "I need your help!"
"Hey cuz," twelve year old Samantha Bartowski said, yanking the door open. "What's up?"
"This is up," the brunette replied, holding up the laptop. "It froze and won't restart."
"And you want me to take a look at it."
"Well, since your Dad isn't here…"
"Come on in. I'll go get Dad's tools." She disappeared into her father's Nerd Cave… and came back out again. "They're not in here. My brother must have taken them for some reason. Sit tight, I'll find him and tell him to get his butt down here and give us a hand."
"Thanks Sam."
"Jason! Where are you, bro?" Sam yelled, bounding up the stairs.
"Can't you be any louder, sis?" Jason Bartowski, Samantha's older by six minutes brother, replied.
"Get your butt downstairs. Clara has a computer problem and needs the Bartowski Nerd Herd."
"Gimme a few minutes and I'll be right down. I need to finish installing the supplementary cooling system for the Monster's graphics processors." The Monster was the computer system they had built with their father.
"Okie-dokie." However, the minutes passed and there was no sign of Jason. His sister found her patience running out. "Jason!" There was no reply. "Jason, I want you and Dad's tools here, NOW!" Sam snapped her fingers at the last word. And then something happened. Her brother and the tool case suddenly materialized in front of the two girls. Both Clara and Sam screamed. Jason looked shocked.
"How on earth did you do that, sis?"
"I… I don't know," Sam stammered. "I said I wanted you here and then you appeared… out of thin air."
"My sister has mastered teleportation," Jason muttered.
"Yeah? With what? My crazy wiccan powers?" Sam retorted.
"Cuz, I hate to state the obvious, but the moment you wished for your brother to come, he appeared," Clara stated. Like her cousins, she was a little freaked out. "It was… magic."
"We should set up a stake in the back yard and burn Sam at it," Jason piped up. "What do you think, cuz? Should we burn the witch?"
"Are you guys sure it wasn't some weird disruption of the time-space continuum?" Clara asked. "At least that's what I'd expect you two to say. Uncle Chuck would."
"Well, there is only one thing we can do to make sure it wasn't a fluke," Jason said, after thinking it over.
"Tell us, bro," Sam encouraged.
"Try to do something like that again," he said. "Say, move the Indian Chief from his corner to another."
Nodding, Sam turned to the tobacco store Indian they had in the living room. "Nothing," she said.
"Just before Jason appeared, you snapped your fingers, Sam," Clara piped up. "Maybe you should do it again."
"Hmmm… you're right, Clara." Sam refocused her attention on the wooden statue and where she wanted it to go and snapped her fingers. It instantly went exactly where she wanted it to.
"Wow," her brother and her cousin exclaimed in unison.
"My sister is a witch," Jason added, running a hand through the mop of unruly chocolate curls on top of his head.
"Pinch me," his blue eyed blond sister said. "I must be dreaming." Her brother was only too happy to oblige. "OUCH!"
"Look on the bright side, sis. You won't have any trouble cooking dinner before Mom and Dad come home."
"Hey, you're right. But we forgot all about Clara's computer."
"Bah, use your witchy powers to fix it."
"Oh." Sam followed Jason's suggestion and again snapped her fingers towards the laptop. "Try it now, Cuz."
Shaking her head, Clara opened the laptop and pressed the power button. "It works! Thanks! You saved my life. I really needed some of the files I have in there."
"Sam and I were talking about having a movie marathon, maybe make some hotdogs, pizza and popcorn. Are you in?"
"Depends on the movies," Clara replied.
"The Bone of Contention followed by Naked Heat," the twins informed their cousin in unison.
"Classic mystery movies. Cool, I'm in."
"I'll set up the player," Jason offered.
"And I'll work my magic on the snacks and drinks," Sam added.
"You read my mind, sis. Don't forget dinner for Mom and Dad."
"They'll find a nice romantic candlelit dinner served when they get here," she assured him.
Sam rejoined her brother and her cousin in the living room carrying a large tray with cans of soda, bags of popcorn, plus pizzas and hotdogs – still as she'd taken them out of the freezer. She arranged the stuff on the coffee table and with a snap of her fingers everything was ready to eat.
"I could get used to this," Jason said approvingly.
The three kids were in the middle of watching Bone of Contention when the sound of a key in the lock reached their ears. Sam smiled and snapped her fingers. The table was instantly set with a nice dinner for her and Jason's parents. Jason paused the movie and all three went to greet the couple. The scene made it glaringly obvious that Jason had taken after his father, while Sam was the spitting image of her Mom.
"Come here you two!" Chuck Bartowski said.
"Hi Dad! How was your trip to jolly old England?"
"It was fine, son. Hartley and Vivian send you their regards," he said. "And these," he added, giving his kids some gift-wrapped boxes. "And he didn't forget you either, Clara." He gave his niece her present as well.
"Thank you Uncle Chuck."
"Hey, what is my Indian Chief doing over there? Jason McLane Bartowski, was it your doing?"
"Um… I may have instigated it."
"Should I believe him, Sarah?" Chuck asked his wife.
"I don't know… Samantha Nikki Bartowski, what do you have to say?"
"I might have helped move the Chief, Mom," Sam admitted.
"But Mom, it was my idea," Jason insisted. He was always protective of Sam. Their age difference was only six minutes, but he still considered himself to be the big brother. Their parents smiled, as did Clara.
"And there is something else," Sam continued. "But you'd better see for yourself, Mom." With a snap of her fingers the Chief went back to his proper place.
"I'll be damned," Chuck said. "One of them really inherited your powers, Sarah."
"Mom's a witch?" Jason and Sam exclaimed, looking wide eyed at their mother.
"We had no idea, Auntie Sarah," Clara said. "But I think it's cool. Why didn't you tell anyone for so long?"
"Your parents and grandparents know, Clara. But Chuck and I decided to leave off telling you and your cousins until you were old enough. However, I forgot one thing: My own powers first appeared when I was Sam's age, too."
"Are you really a witch, Aunt Sarah?"
Sarah smiled and with a wave of her hand a can of soda took off from the table and hovered in front of her niece. "Yes I am."
"Wow, you really are."
"I inherited my powers from a great aunt on my Dad's side of the family."
"Is Auntie Carina a witch, too?"
"No, neither she nor my Mom has magical powers."
"Enough talking," Sam admonished. "Dinner's getting cold. Mom, Dad, sit down and enjoy it. I cooked."
"Did you cook, or did you…?"
"I cooked using my newfound powers," she admitted with a smile.
"By the way, what were you three doing in the living room?"
"Oh, we were just enjoying some junk food and having a classic mystery movie mini marathon."
"Which movies?" Chuck asked his son.
"Bone of Contention and Naked Heat."
"I'm not entirely sure that these are appropriate for kids your age," Sarah remarked.
"Come on, Mom. They're just movies!" Jason protested.
"And you know we love the books," Sam added.
"That may be, but I see you're watching the unrated version… not even the PG-13 one…"
"Dad, all the blood and gore is faked," Sam protested in mock exasperation. Her brother and cousin were both nodding in total agreement. "It's a movie. It's realistic, but definitely not real."
"They are wise beyond their years," Chuck relented and hoped that his wife would do the same.
"Fine," she said. "I'm too tired to argue."
"Then let's have dinner and I'll give you a special massage afterwards."
"Ew," Sam grimaced. "Dad, there are minors in the room, too."
"She's right, Dad. TMI," Jason agreed.
As if on cue, Rex, the family dog, bounded down the stairs carrying Sarah's fluffy bunny slippers in his mouth. He set them down in front of her and wagged his tail.
"Thanks Rex," she said, kicked off her high heels and gratefully slipped her feet into the luxuriously soft slippers. Then she turned to her children. "Was Rex in our room?"
Two sets of hitching shoulders answered her. "We don't know, Mom," Jason said. "I was working on the Monster…"
"And I was in my room reading, before Clara came and asked us to fix her computer," Sam added.
"If Rex made a mess in our room, he'll spend a week in the doghouse," Sarah decreed. She caught the shift of her daughter's eyes. "I know what you're thinking, young lady. Bear in mind that I can reverse everything you do, so I'll find out no matter what."
"Can you really do that, Sarah?" Chuck asked her as they went up to their room.
"Yes, it's all in my book," she replied.
"Oh yes. I haven't seen you take it out in quite a while."
"It's not that I need it," she said. "After all, I have you whenever I want some magic in my life."
"I love you, Mrs. Bartowski."
"I love you too, Mr. Bartowski."
"The kids will be curious to learn about you and the whole witchy powers thing, you know, Sarah… especially since Sam is also a witch now."
"Let's change and head back downstairs for dinner. I'll promise to tell them everything soon."
"Works for me," Chuck shrugged and turned to change out of his rumpled suit into something more comfortable.
"At least we got an answer to your question, Chuck."
"What question?"
"The one you asked me years ago, when we first found out that I was pregnant on Jason and Sam."
"Oh, you mean about whether they might inherit your powers or not?"
"Uh-huh. If you'll recall, I was just as curious as you were."
"We'll need to sit down and have a talk with Sam regarding the use of her powers, Sarah. Your book can help, too."
"I know. Who would imagine that parenting involves giving our daughter advice on the proper use of witchcraft?"
They both laughed and headed downstairs for dinner. They found their kids and Clara trying to see if Jason also had magical powers. So far it appeared that he was just a normal twelve year old boy.
"You're wasting your time, you know," Sarah told them.
"But Mom, my powers just appeared out of thin air," Sam said. "Maybe Jason's are still dormant."
"Jason has no powers. Trust me. I'm a witch, so I know how to identify other witches and wizards. Right now I'm only picking up a vibe from you, Sam."
"Were you always picking up this vibe, Mom?"
"No, sweetie, I wasn't. Like I said before, powers manifest themselves for the first time around the age of twelve and they are detectable after said first manifestation. Before that, anyone possessing them is a perfectly normal child."
"It makes sense, in a way," Sam agreed. "But if Jason has any powers, they too will be detectable after he uses them for the first time."
"Sam's got a point, Sarah," Chuck agreed.
"Since he tried and failed, I think he's magic free," Clara pointed out.
Clara's parents chose that moment to look for their daughter in the Bartowski residence. Since they hadn't found her at home, they reasoned that she must have gone to her cousins'.
"Ellie, Devon, come in," Chuck greeted his sister and his brother-in-law.
"I see the gang is all here," Ellie said, seeing the kids gathered together.
"Yes and things got rather… complicated," Sarah said with a smile.
"Define complicated," Devon prompted.
"Well, Sam got a lot more from Sarah than just her looks," Chuck supplied.
"No kidding," Ellie exclaimed. "You mean she's a witch, too?" She looked at the little girl, who was standing there with a big smile on her angelic face.
Instead of replying, Sam snapped her fingers and a beautiful bouquet of flowers appeared in her aunt's hands.
"Impressive," Devon commented. Ellie just hugged her niece. She was used to Sarah's occasional use of witchcraft, so she wasn't at all bewildered by it. "I'll have to put them in a vase."
"Let me take care of it for you, Aunt Ellie." The flowers disappeared. "When you go home, you'll find them in a nice vase," Sam said smugly.
"All that is nice, but you, your mother and I will have to sit down and have a nice little talk about when and how you should use your powers," Chuck told his daughter.
"Dad, I'm not a little kid any more."
"You're still a kid. And as your parents, it's our duty to do as your father said," Sarah replied.
"I'm well aware of that. But I still think it's somewhat annoying. After all, you're the ones always saying how mature Jason and I act all the time."
"OK. Come on, Clara. We got you your favorite Chinese on the way back from the hospital," Ellie said.
"Yummy! Did you get me dessert?"
"Damn!" Devon exclaimed. "I knew we'd forgotten something."
"I think can give you some of my chocolate soufflé. And before you ask, no, I won't make it appear by magic. I made it before I went to pick up Chuck at the airport. You know how much he likes it," Sarah said. "You'll only have to bake it." She went into the kitchen and returned with a large ramekin, which she handed over to Ellie.
"Thanks Sarah. By the way, I'm planning a ladies' night for next week. Are you in?"
"Like you have to ask. I'm in."
-o-
A couple of days later, in the evening, the Bartowski family was gathered in the living room. Jason had claimed the recliner. Chuck and Sarah were in the love seat, while Sam sat in the big beanbag. Rex was curled up next to her, while Sarah's cat Lucy was fast asleep on the rug.
"Like we promised, tonight we are going to tell you everything about me and how I ended up here in LA," Sarah began.
"I'll let you do most of the talking, honey," Chuck promised.
"There's a lot you can say, you know."
"Yes, I know, but it's better to hear the story of how you came here from the source, namely you."
"OK. Now, Sam, Jason, pay attention. Some things, especially in the beginning of my story, might seem awfully weird to you. There is an explanation for everything though. You may recall me mentioning a book and in fact Sam asked me about it yesterday. She correctly guessed it's a book of magic spells and I have it right here with me, as it will help with her, um, situation, too. I'll go get it from the study later. For your information, something I found in this very book helped cure your father of his allergy to cats."
"Dad was allergic to cats?" Jason asked.
"He was, but since animals are a witch's friends, there are ways to help both yourself and your loved ones happily coexist with them."
"Sorry for the interruption, carry on, Mom."
"Here goes: Once upon a time, in late sixteenth century Europe, was a young woman who had inherited certain powers very few others possessed."
"Sixteenth century?" Sam echoed. "Mom, are you over five hundred years old?"
"No honey, I'm as old as I look."
"Well, if Mom is not immortal, then she must have traveled in time," Jason surmised.
"Who's telling the story here, kids? Me or you?"
"Sorry Mom," the kids said in unison.
"No problem. As I was saying, once upon a time there was a young woman who possessed certain unique powers. Said young woman was me, as you may have already guessed."
TO BE CONTINUED