A/N: Wowwww, haven't updated this in almost a year, but my excuse is great...University happened! One year down and two more to go.

I made some adjustments to the two previous chapters in terms of tweaks to characterisation, especially that of Jake. I'd suggest rereading them to reacquaint yourself with the story and to be in the know for the changes. But if you don't, I have made Jake more 'bad guyish'. In the earlier edition, I felt like I had him characterised as a normal, if not misguided teen who's just navigating in an over-sexualised world but then I made some tweaks to the plot and thus had to up his bad boy image a little. Sariyah's age has also been changed from fifteen to fourteen.

That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter which was nearly a year in coming.

Charah vs the Teens, Chapter 3- Some Explaining To Do

Casey was escorted to one of the interrogation and he was reading through the release papers when CJ came through the door with an officer at his side. He looked up and noticed them and immediately he scanned CJ, checking for any possible injuries. There weren't any visible. He then scanned CJ's face and tilted his head on a side, silently asking CJ if he was ok. CJ replied with a slight nod.

"What happened?" he asked. The question was to both CJ and the officer.

"The young man was picked up for assault and battery. According to our reports, someone called and reported two young men fighting outside of the icecream shop on the corner of 5th and 6th Avenue. When the officers arrived on scene, Mr. Bartowski and another young man by the name of James Smith had crashed into a grocery's display of fruits which were on the outside of another store. That's when we intervened, separated them and brought them here."

"I see." Casey said, glaring at CJ. He better have a damn good reason for all of this.

"That's not all; the younger man sustained a couple of minor bruises and a broken nose."

Casey growled. "You said he's allowed to go. I assume that charges aren't being pressed against him?"

The officer nodded. Jake's father had made a scene in the precinct when he arrived. When he found out that the person whom his son had fought with was the son of Chuck and Sarah Bartowski, owners of the largely successful Carmichael Industries, he saw dollar signs. He wanted to sue them, and hit them hard. A couple thousand, maybe even a million dollars in damages surely wouldn't hurt their pockets. However, those dollar signs soon disappeared when he was told that the two witnesses who were there from the rising action and climax of the commotion had stated that his son was the aggressor and if anything, CJ was acting in self-defence.

"That's correct, no charges have been pressed." He paused. "I hope we won't be seeing you back here young man. Try to stay out of trouble." He advised CJ.

"Yes Officer Thomas," CJ nodded at the man who had taken his statement and written up the report.

Casey grunted. That was good news. "Thanks officer. CJ, come on let's go."

/\

"Are you gonna tell me what really happened?" The two were sitting in the Crown Vic. CJ was silent, and stared out of the window, his face betraying the anger he was feeling, "I'm not starting this car until you start to talk," Casey informed him. CJ scowled at him, but Casey kept his gaze firm, letting him know that he was completely serious.

"He had it coming. I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to do a bit more damage before the cops came," CJ said bitterly. He only regretted that Jake had gotten off with a broken nose rather than a fractured jaw. At least then he would have been unable to talk trash for a while. "The guy, he...he's the guy Sariyah got into trouble with Mom and Dad for. He was sending her inappropriate pictures, and they found out. He's a player…you know? Tries to get as many girls as he can, has sex with them and when he's tired just tosses them aside. I warned Sariyah to stay away from him but I don't think she wanted to hear anything I said." Casey growled from in his driver's seat. "Anyway, something happened at school today and both of them got suspended. Everyone was talking about it at lunch and on my way home, I saw him over at the ice cream shop, laughing and dragging Sariyah's name through the mud." His eyes darkened and his fists were tightly clenched as he remembered what had happened mere hours ago.

/\

A few hours earlier

CJ Bartowski sighed tiredly. Today had been a long day. He had just finished soccer practice at ten to five, and rather than call one of his parents to come collect him, he decided to walk home. He was certain that his parents would be disciplining Sariyah at the moment. During lunch, news about her suspension and Jake's had spread like wild fire. As was common in high school, the rumour mill had been turning and speculation as to the cause of their suspensions varied from as them being caught having sex in the janitor's closet to them being caught trying to sneak out of school. He just hoped she hadn't done anything stupid which would harm the already fragile balance between her and their parents. He knew that both his mother and father were growing weary of her behaviour and that if she didn't set herself straight, the consequences would be serious. He sympathized with her, after all, it was difficult being a teenager, but even he had to admit that she was being difficult.

Slinging his gym bag over his shoulder, he waved goodbye to a few of his teammates and began the twenty minute walk home. He was perfectly content to walk with his headphones in his ears, as the music helped him relax. When he neared the ice cream shop, he saw Jake and two other boys, one whom he recognised from school, leaning up against the display window of the shop. He growled, but resolved to pass them without making a scene. His parents would not appreciate it.

As he approached them, he could hear Jake bragging to his friends about Sariyah. His jaw clenched. The little bastard was probably talking trash about his little sister.

"Yo Bartowski!" He called out when CJ was close to them. CJ faced them, his eyes hard and his lips set in a frown.

"What the hell do you want Jake?"

"Easy there," he taunted, holding his hands up in a placating manner. "I guess you heard that little sister of yours got me suspended. I shouldn't have been suspended. She basically attacked me in the hallway. Talk about sassy!" he snickered.

CJ glared at him. He didn't need to hear this garbage. He turned on his heel, intending to continue on his way home. He felt Jake's hand on his shoulder, pulling him back.

"Take your hand from of off me," CJ snarled. Before I break it.

"Where you going man? I'm sure that little Miss-not-so-innocent- Sariyah is just itching to blame it all on me when you get home."

"If I ever see you around my sister again, I will hurt you," CJ threatened and walked away from the boys.

Jake was not going to let it go just like that, though in retrospect he would see that it was not a good idea to attack someone who was an inch and a half taller and at least fifteen pounds heavier than him who played football and practiced various forms of martial arts. He ran up to CJ and blocked his path. "Oh, you Bartowskis think you can disrespect any and everyone don't you?" He shoved CJ.

CJ allowed his school and gym bags to fall on the ground beside him. He had tried to be the bigger person, but clearly Jake needed to be put in his place. Jake sprang at him, his fist raised, but his reflexes were quick and he stopped his arm before the punch could land. In a split second, CJ had pulled back his arm clenching his fist; he threw it forward with a force that knocked Jake backwards when it connected. Jake fell into a tray outside of the grocery store with a dull thud.

Jake picked himself up, and looked at CJ with murder in his eyes. The punch had caught him off guard and he cursed himself. He was relentless and charged towards CJ again, and swung another punch towards CJ's head. CJ realised that Jake was stupider than he had originally thought. The younger boy was no match for him. He had been learning various techniques from his mother and Uncle Casey and occasionally Aunts Carina and Zondra from the time he was seven years old. Instinctively, CJ blocked the punch and countered with an upward cut to Jake's face. He connected and heard a crunch. He assumed that Jake's nose was broken by the intensity of the cuff. Served the idiot right. He watched Jake's eyes widen in surprise ad he staggered backwards, violently coughing. Their fight had drawn a crowd and CJ groaned when he saw the people looking at them. There was no way this was not going to get back to his parents. He sighed. Great, just great! The police sirens in the distance though made him curse...Oh fuck!

/\

After hearing the story, Casey wasn't as mad as he was before. He didn't usually condone or encourage CJ to use violence, but since CJ had tried to walk away, and Jake attacked, he felt his Godson was justified. Add that to the fact that he was defending his younger sister, Casey thought Jake got exactly what had been coming to him.

"Any chance you know where this Jake lives? I wouldn't mind paying him a visit." He grunted and revved the engine.

CJ smiled. He could only hope his parents were as understanding. When Casey pulled up to Chuck and Sarah's driveway, CJ turned to him. "You're coming in with me, aren't you?" He would beg if he had to. He was sure his Uncle Casey would be able to keep his parents from overreacting.

Casey grunted. "I guess." He wished he'd brought some twilight darts. He had a feeling that the Bartowski parents would be ripping into both of their children tonight.

"CJ, where have you been? It's almost seven! Practice finished before five; I've been calling you for the past hour." Sarah was on a roll from the time he entered the living room.

"Why didn't you call and let us know you were going to be home late?" Chuck questioned.

"I was with Uncle Casey," he explained. That puzzled his parents.

"Casey? What were you and Casey doing?"

"Walker, Bartowski," Casey greeted as he entered the living room. He had heard their relentless questions from in the foyer. He looked at his two friends and saw how pissed they were. Sariyah was sitting on the couch, and looked very distressed.

"What were you two doing?" Sarah asked again. "And couldn't you have at least called and let us know?" she snapped. It was bad enough that they had to deal with Sariyah's questionable behaviour and then had to worry about where CJ was.

CJ looked at Casey and nodded. He was going to tell them what happened.

"Mom, Dad, don't freak out. You need to remain calm," CJ advised.

Sarah raised her brow and Chuck frowned. Calm? He expected them to be calm at a time like this? "Just spit it out CJ. You two are really testing me," Sarah said. With a sick Skylar and two seemingly out of control teenagers, she was really beginning to feel the taxing effect it had on her body.

CJ sighed. Beating around the bush would only infuriate them more. "I got arrested."

Sarah's head snapped around so hard that Casey thought she would have a definite whiplash. The room was filled with tension as they waited for Chuck and Sarah's response. Sariyah was looking at CJ with wide eyes. His admission was unexpected.

Chuck was the first to speak. "You were arrested? Prey, do tell. Why on earth were you arrested?"

"I got into a fight with Jake Smith-" he began, only to be cut off by Sarah.

"Jake Smith?! The same Jake that your sister was involved with?" She was livid now. They had left work after Sariyah's outburst, intending to get to the bottom of the mess she had created, but she was mum. Sarah wondered if she was in an alternate universe, because her children weren't behaving like themselves. They were acting like they'd lost their minds! "Why were you fighting with him? And do you know that that could go on your record? Did you even think about that? Don't you think that your chances of getting into MIT would be reduced if you have a criminal record? Or were you thinking that your father and I would splash some money their way as a 'donation?' CJ, what were you thinking?" She was firing off her questions rapidly and it reminded Chuck of Ellie when she was on a roll.

"Walker, Bartowski, a word please," Casey interjected.

"Don't you dare move," Sarah instructed CJ before following Casey into the kitchen.

Sariyah turned to her brother. "Well the only good thing about tonight is that Sky is over at Uncle Morgan's so she won't have to hear all this yelling."

"They're really gonna rip us a new one, aren't they?" CJ questioned forlornly.

When Sarah entered, she considered pouring herself a drink, but decided against it, she needed her mind to be clear when she went back to her children.

"You shouldn't be so hard on them." Casey grunted.

Sarah raised her brow at him. "You think we're being hard on them? I feel like I don't know who they are anymore," Sarah said harshly. "When and how did it start to go so wrong?" She was becoming overwhelmed by the whole thing and her voice cracked at the end. Chuck wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair.

"Look, I'm not trying to tell you how to raise your kids." Casey continued, "I'm just saying maybe you should decrease the yelling and maybe then they'll open up to you. They're good kids." He pursed his lips for a moment. "Being a hard ass and coming down so hard on them isn't going to help the current situation."

Chuck and Sarah nodded. Maybe they had been a bit too harsh and didn't allow their children to finish speaking before they jumped in. "Thanks Casey, we'll take that into consideration."

"Welcome." He grunted.

"Parenting advice from Casey that doesn't involve military training or Reagan," Sarah snorted, "who would've thought?"

"Heh," Casey grunted again, "I just don't want you two to say anything to them that would damage your relationship," Casey explained in an expression of what could be considered 'lady feelings'.

"Casey, man, thank you." Chuck clapped him lightly on the back.

"I've gotta go, so I'll see you guys later." He left the kitchen and went to bid the Bartowski children goodbye.

Sarah drank a glass of water and did a couple of breathing exercises while Chuck counted to ten in his head. When they went back into the living room, they'd maintain their equanimity. Chuck and Sarah found the children in the same spot where they had left them.

"Your mother and I realised that we were not being fair to you and for that we are sorry."

"So, who'd like to go explain themselves first?"

Sariyah raised her hand. She had not spoken to them since this morning and now that they seemed to be calm, she decided she'd take her chance.

"He was nice to me," Sariyah began timidly. "Most of the boys at school are nice to me too but a lot of that is because I'm CJ's sister. But Jake, well he was nice and when we skipped class he seemed interested in getting to know me and the things I liked and after a while he asked me to be his girlfriend."

As CJ listened to his sister, he clenched his fist. That was a typical play. He should have made sure that Jake had kept far from his sister.

"And I had heard the rumours about him but he was so sweet, I thought that that was all they were…rumours."

CJ sighed. Was this just her wanting to believe the best about people? "But I told you about what happened to Macy."

Chuck and Sarah exchanged glances. They had heard about the situation but had never gotten the name of the boy who was involved.

"I know, and you were right," Sariyah admitted softly. "I saw him with another girl in a classroom after school yesterday."

CJ sighed. Yes he wanted his sister to come to her senses but he also knew that seeing that must have hurt her. "I'm sorry."

Sariyah laughed bitterly. "I guess that's what I deserved."

"Baby no. No one deserves that," Chuck soothed.

"I just feel so foolish," Sariyah huffed.

"Sweetie, you like to see the best in people. And I don't ever want you to loose that. Going forward it just means that you have to learn how to read people," Sarah said.

"What happened today at school?"

"I was getting a book from my locker and when I told him it was over, he called me a slut. Then boxed me in and then he tried kissing my neck."

With that admission, the two children saw fury in their parents' eyes.

"I am going to find my sharpest knife and I will cut his dick off," Sarah seethed. No one could try to take advantage of her daughter like that and get away with it.

Chuck, equally livid, was in complete agreement. "I will break his face."

"If it counts, I broke his nose, so that's a start." He then proceeded to relay his account of his altercation with Jake.

/\

"Thank you for telling us what happened. I'll admit, I was a bit harsh-"

"We both were." Chuck cut in.

"Yes, we were both harsh on you, and again we apologize. I know we're always telling you that you need to listen to both sides of the story before jumping to conclusions, over the last couple of days we exhibited a case of 'do as I say and not as I do'. It's just that I didn't have the best childhood or teenage years for that matter and when you were born, I promised myself that that the same wouldn't happen to you. I what's best for you. Your actions, well I thought that they didn't reflect good judgement and well, it made me think that maybe I haven't done a good enough job of raising you two and..." Sarah trailed off. Her vision was becoming blurred by tears. She felt three pairs of arms wrap around her body, as her family enveloped her in a warm hug.

"We're sorry." Both children apologized. "You're an awesome mom."

They held each other in the hug for almost two minutes. When they separated, Chuck looked over at CJ. "Though you defended you sister's honour, you did destroy the tray in front of the grocery store. You will be responsible for paying for any losses they incurred. So tomorrow, you and I will go down there." CJ nodded. "You two can go on up to your rooms."

CJ and Sariyah climbed up the stairs in silence. It had been a draining day for both of them. When they reached the hallway upstairs, Sariyah turned to her brother and hugged him. "Thanks for sticking up for me."

CJ smiled. He may not have always agreed with her, but that didn't mean he was going to allow boys to hurt or disrespect her. "He was insulting you. No one can insult you but me!" he joked.

She released him from the hug and slapped him on the arm. "You douche!"

~/0\~

Though Sarah was happy that Sariyah had not been making out with Jake at the time when they had been found by the principal, something was still nagging her. She knocked softly on her door and found her daughter staring through the window. Sarah stood there in the door way, watching her. She looked so innocent and pure. Sariyah who was lost in her own thoughts turned and noticed her mother there.

"Mommy, I didn't hear you come in." She said, shifting on her feet. Sarah looked at her, her expression neutral. Sariyah felt uncomfortable. Sure they had all apologised but she could not read her mother's vibe and that made her nervous. After a moment, Sarah pulled Sariyah into a loving embrace. Sarah was not expecting it and tensed for a moment before finally wrapping her arms around her mother's torso. Sarah rested her chin atop Sariyah's head, swooning in the love she felt for her child.

"I know you and Daddy apologised, but are you still mad at me?"

Sarah sighed softly. Releasing Sariyah from the embrace, she sat on the foot of the bed and motioned for Sariyah to join her. When she did, Sarah took a big breath before speaking.

"I'll admit that I am still mad at the situation." She paused and collected her thoughts. "You know that we saw the pictures that Jake sent to you," Sarah said. Sariyah cast her eyes down. When they had given her the phone as a Christmas gift they had also explained to Sariyah that she had to be careful with the kind of messages she sent. "Do you realize that things like that follow you for a long time; if not the rest of your life?" She tried to keep her voice even. There were way too many sad stories about girls who sent images to their boyfriends and him showing them to his friends or blasting her on social media when they broke up. She didn't want Sariyah to have to experience that.

"But Mommy, I didn't send him anything like what he sent me," Sariyah said. He had wanted her to, but she had refused.

"You should have told us when he first started sending you pictures," Sarah said.

Sariyah let out a sigh as she knew she'd lost their trust. It was foreign to her. "I'm sorry."

"I know you are," replied Sarah. She exhaled deeply. "Your father and I thought something was off with you. I don't know, call it parental intuition." Sariyah was opening her mouth to speak but Sarah's raised hand stopped her. "We had agreed that we would be taking your phone for a while because you were becoming too engrossed with it." Sarah was quiet for a moment. "I saw the picture you sent him in your swimsuit," Sarah stated. Chuck had been very upset when he saw that picture. Although he had been there when Sarah had purchased the swimsuit for Sariyah, seeing her in it made it seem so much more revealing. The way her body filled it out and showed that she was developing into a young woman had left him feeling unsettled. His baby girl wasn't that much of a baby anymore.

Sariyah tensed beside her. She had sent that almost two weeks ago. She and Jake had exchanged so many messages in that time frame that she had forgotten about it and only remembered when Laura brought it up. She had also deleted the picture after she had sent it, as she had felt slightly wrong for sending it in the first place. When Jake had sent a picture of himself topless, he had hinted at wanting one of her in return. She hadn't obliged him though and he had begun to pressure her into sending him a revealing picture. But he had been slightly appeased once she had sent the bathing suit picture.

"I know you were wearing short pants over the swimsuit bottom, but Sariyah, the fact that you sent them to him makes your father and I very uncomfortable." Sariyah scooted back and drew her knees to her chest, hugging herself as she felt the tears prick her eyes. "And I don't want you to be uncomfortable with your sexuality, it's just that you're still so young and we don't want you rushing into anything…for anyone."

Though Sarah felt guilty to a small extent about them going through the messages, it was a necessary evil. She wanted- no needed to know what was going on and just how far things had gotten. In her view, the pictures were just a tip off the iceberg. This Jake guy had a real desire to be intimate with her daughter and that alarmed her. The way that he seemed to be so comfortable in sending these types of messages also inclined Sarah to believe that this was not his first experience doing such and having heard that he was the one involved with Vanessa's best friend made that belief stronger.

"Is he the reason you wanted to start wearing makeup?"

"Yeah."

"You wanted to look more mature?" Sarah further pressed.

Sariyah nodded. "He's seventeen and I didn't want to look so childish and plain when I was with him."

"Baby, I know this is gonna sound cliché, but you don't need to wear makeup, because you're already so beautiful."

Sariyah snorted and Sarah looked at her puzzled. "Yea right. It's easy for you to say that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Wellll," Sariyah drawled. "You're you." She shrugged as if it would explain anything. "You're the most gorgeous person I know."

Sarah stuck out her hand to Sariyah and she took it. Sarah then led her daughter to the bedroom vanity and pointed to the mirror. "You know, people say we look alike."

Sariyah squinted a little. They had the same hair and eyes, but she didn't feel half as much as beautiful as her mother. Her mother was drop dead gorgeous. She wasn't blind. She had seen the way men's eyes would drink in the sight of her. The attention didn't ever seem to faze her though as she noticed her mother would snuggle closer to her father if he was there or purposely do some action so that the onlookers would clearly see her wedding and engagement rings if he wasn't. "I guess so," she admitted.

Sarah nodded. "So if I'm as gorgeous as you say I am, and we look alike, then wouldn't that mean that you're as gorgeous as I am?"

Sariyah laughed at that logic.

"I'm serious baby; you are beautiful, on the inside and the outside. I don't want you to think that you have to wear makeup or change who you are for people to like you. And well, when it comes to boys, when you turn sixteen and you are allowed to date, and not a day before then, remember that."

"Ok, ok, I get it, no makeup and no changing who I am just to please other people."

"Good, and when we do allow you to wear it, I will take you shopping, because that stuff you bought was awful." Sarah laughed. It was not the right match for her skin tone and would've probably have caused her to breakout.

Sariyah smiled. She was much happier now that they were talking and laughing, even if her mother was making fun of her shopping choices.

Sarah sobered up for a moment and remembered that she had not finished talking about everything she had set out to when she entered. "How long was this thing been going on between you two?"

"About four weeks." Sariyah confessed.

Sarah nodded. "You know we have the rule. You're not supposed to be dating without our permission. We have that rule for a reason."

If Jake was so bold as to give her a hickey during school hours then Lord knows how much further he could have taken it if they had been somewhere else. She remembered Sariyah admitting that they had left the school grounds and her mind began to run wild.

It pained her to ask her fourteen year old this question, but she had to, "Are you sexually active?"

Sariyah's cheeks flushed scarlet in embarrassment. "NO!"

"Look, I know it's one of those weird conversations but if you are, please tell me," Sarah pleaded.

"Mom, I didn't have sex with him."

"Has he been touching you? Did you two experiment with your bodies sexually?"

Sariyah shook her head vehemently. "No."

"I know I've been hard on you and sharp with you, but I promise you can tell me the truth." Sarah sighed. "Did he ever put his hand up your shirt? Into your bra? Into your panties?"

"Moommmmm!" Sariyah whined, getting uncomfortable with this line of questioning. "No, he never did." She suspected that the thought might have crossed his mind a few times but he never did.

"Okay, okay, good," Sarah nodded. "But um, what about you?"

"What?"

Sarah cocked her head to the side. "Did you give him a blow-"

"Mom!" Sariyah screeched, turning a deeper shade of red. "Please stop! I didn't give him that or anything else."

Sarah had a bemused smile on her face, noticing the blush and the fact that her daughter couldn't say blowjob. "Sweetie, you know Grandma Emma wasn't around when I was teenager and Grandma Mary wasn't either when your father was," Sariyah nodded, "and I mean things have changed so much from back then. Now in this age you guys have sexting and all these communication platforms and sex is everywhere." Sarah sighed, momentarily stopping her rant. "I know we had the Birds and the Bees Talk a little before you started your period, but this whole thing made me realise that maybe I need to remind you, that it's okay to wait. Sure a lot of the people in your year might have boyfriends, for all I know they could be sexually active. But baby, I don't want you to be in a hurry to grow up. Just take your time. I want you to get all excited about going out on your first date mixed with a little bit of fear that your father would round up Uncle Casey, Devon and Gertrude so that they'll look imposing when your date comes to pick you up for prom. I love you baby and you are so precious and any guy that likes you should be able to see how amazing you are and respect your wishes."

"I understand,"

"I know the way we handled the situation at first wasn't ideal. And I know that sometimes, well actually, most times, you like going to your father first about your problems. But I hope you do know that I will always be here for you and that you can tell me anything."

Sariyah stared at her mother momentarily. "He- he wanted me to," she began, unsure of if to continue. Her mother nodded encouragingly. "He asked me before to send a picture that was more revealing, but I didn't. And he um, he uh was staring at my chest once, one of my buttons had become undone, but I caught him and he apologized." She'd felt a tad uncomfortable when she realised that he had been staring at her chest and had resolved to make sure her buttons were always done. "And then there was this one time he..he um ran his hands up my skirt. But I stopped him, um mid thigh.., before his hand got too far. I promise I never thought about doing anything sexual with him. You and Daddy always told me that I should only do it with someone that I love and who loves me back."

Sarah was relieved. This time she was sure that Sariyah was telling the truth. "It's good that you remembered that."

"You know there were rumours going around about Jake," Sariyah admitted. "CJ was angry when I told him about Jake…But I thought he was different. He was nice to me," Sariyah sighed dejectedly.

"Well baby, sometimes rumours do have an element of truth to them."

"When I saw him with that girl yesterday, I came home and cried. I know it's stupid. I mean there I was crying over a guy who clearly didn't really care about me."

"Baby, I told you, it's understandable that you would've felt hurt. You were disappointed. But, we have to see people for who they truly are and I am glad that you saw Jake's nature before things got any further between you two."

Sariyah shrugged. "I don't know… Yesterday I had this thought that maybe if had had sex with him then he wouldn't have strayed."

"Baby no. Don't you dare hop on that train of thought. When someone truly loves and cares for you, they won't be unfaithful simply because you refuse to have sex."

"I guess you're right."

Sarah looked at her watch. It was getting late. "It's time for you to go to bed. We can talk some more tomorrow."

She nodded and scrambled under the covers, she felt a lot better now. Her mother kissed her on her forehead and wished her good night. "I love you Mummy."

Sarah smiled. "I love you too baby girl." Sarah replied.

/\

Closing Sariyah's bedroom door behind her, Sarah leaned against it and slid down to the floor. That was the way Chuck found her half an hour later. She was startled when she felt his hand in her shoulder but smiled when she saw it was him. Smiling, Chuck helped her up from the floor and they made their way to their room together.

"How's Sky doing?"

"Oh, you know those monsters under the bed are no match compared to my Daddy powers," Chuck smiled. Their youngest had woken up from a bad dream but a couple of songs later and another set of good night hugs and kisses all was right with her world again.

Sarah smiled, feeling her heart constrict with love. "No wonder she's such a Daddy's girl. Both of them are," she added softly.

"Hey," Chuck tilted her chin so she was looking directly at him, "what's wrong?"

Sarah pulled away from him and began changing into her sleepwear. Chuck did the same, waiting for his wife to open up to him. "It's just I don't know..." she trailed off, trying to get her thoughts together.

"Sarah, you know you can tell me anything."

"I was just thinking, maybe I wasn't cut out for this...I think Sariyah was right earlier when she said we created this perfect image of her. I think I might have done that unintentionally. From the time she was born I never wanted her to experience life the way I did, and I think that influenced my parenting skills so much that I smothered her and that's why she prefers you over me. I don't think I'm a good mother to her. And CJ, do you see how much time he's been spending with Devon and even Casey? I just don't know. He didn't even call us when he was at the station. Do I even connect with him anymore? And Skylar? She specifically wanted you to pick her up from Morgan's. It's pretty clear cut that she's a Daddy's girl."

Chuck had kept quiet while Sarah spoke, allowing her the opportunity to let it all out. "Sarah Bartowski, do you really believe any of what you just said?" Sure Sarah had been the one to say it but he knew that this was her anxiety talking. "As for CJ spending so much time with Devon, you know that they were working on his plays for the football tournament. And as for him calling Casey to pick him up, you know he probably didn't want to make us angry-"

"Exactly!" Sarah cut him off, "I yell at them so much they don't feel comfortable with me," Sarah sighed, almost in tears. "What kind of mother am I, Chuck?"

"The kids love you! You're the most amazing mother I know. Do you know that CJ watches some of the old recordings from Castle's dojo so that he can watch your techniques? Do you know that he tries so hard at football because he remembers you saying that you wished you could have been on the team in middle school? Do you know how cool CJ and his friends find it that you can kick all of their asses in go karting and martial arts? Do you know how much Sariyah looks up to you? Whenever we train, she always says she wants to make your proud with her new techniques and stances. And baby, Skylar absolutely adores you. You're her Momma and your cookies rival Auntie Ellie's and you teach her foreign languages. When all the other little girls were dressing up as Queen Elsa and she wanted to be different, you got her a Wonder Woman costume and she basically worshipped you for that. Babe, she loves you so much. And yes, Sariyah and Skylar might cling to me in certain ways but that in no way diminishes their love for you. You are simply amazing and I know the kids love you for all that you do for them because it's done with their best interests at heart, even if it may not seem that way all the time."

"Thank you," Sarah sniffed and kissed him on the cheek. She really needed to hear that. "That was pretty eloquent for eleven PM."

"I'm an eloquent schnook," Chuck grinned and kissed her softly on the lips. "How did your talk with Sariyah go?" Chuck asked.

Sarah smiled weakly. "I got her to talk to me." She then recounted their conversation for him. Chuck's eyes had darkened when she mentioned Jake wanting pictures of Sariyah and the desire to go deal with this Jake guy ignited within him once more.

Chuck hated to doubt his daughter, but she had told them a lot of lies already. "How do we know she's telling the truth this time?" He frowned.

Sarah smiled at him reassuringly. "You know she's as bad as you are when it comes to lying to me. I know her tells, when she's lying she closes her eyelids for about two seconds longer than is usual for her blinking, and she also bites the inside of her cheek a lot. I didn't notice any of that. And more importantly, I saw the truth in her eyes." Chuck nodded, that was good enough for him as well.

A/N: Thanks for reading, and please review (even if it's a guest).

So Sariyah did send Jake a picture but then she felt bad about it. I was trying to get her to come across as mostly niave and caught up in the idea of having a boyfriend who was nice to her. I hope that came across properly.

This story will be completed by the end of June. Think of it as a gift from me to you in my birth month. I am thinking maybe two more chapters, an epilogue included or I may just combine it into a long chapter.

Until next time,

xoxoxoxo,

Barbadiangirl 30/05/2016

Chapter edited 25/05/2017