Chuck VS The Birthday

Notes: Thanks so much for the lovely notes, glad people are embracing the concept of these snippets out of chronological order. Last week was Zac's birthday….so….here you go! And someone wanted the CATS back, so they make a brief appearance here.

Also, I don't think I gave Grace a birthdate, but based on the end of the show and math and stuff I am thinking she was born mid-October, but math is hard so let's just go with that. They are still living in the apartment.

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Sarah glanced at the clock on the wall as she tied the ribbon around the gift she and Grace had worked hard on. It was Chuck's birthday and while there was going to be a big family party in a few weeks when Grace turned one, Sarah didn't want Chuck's actual birthday to pass without some celebration.

Grace had a check-up in the morning and Sarah used it as an excuse to skip the office that day, which Chuck didn't question at all, even agreeing to take Sarah's client at the end of the day which would keep him there until at least six allowing Sarah the whole day to cook his favorite dinner and even bake an actual cake.

Grace had been a trooper at the pediatrician and despite the minor trauma of a check-up had been an absolute doll all day, keeping Sarah company and napping on schedule, she was now on the floor in a diaper and a Yoda tee shirt playing contentedly. Sarah really hoped pleasant Grace stuck around all through dinner, cake and presents.

"OK, baby, cake is frosted, lasagna is in the oven, present is wrapped – thanks to your precious little hands," Sarah looked down at the handmade wrapping paper she and Grace made with finger paints and handprints, "It is time for us to get dressed!"

Sarah scooped the little girl up, she couldn't believe her daughter was almost one, that a year had gone by since Grace entered the world. She and Chuck had installed a little playpen in their bedroom for just this sort of time, so Sarah plopped Grace inside and went to the closet.

"What do you think Grace?" Sarah pulled a new dress out of the closet and held it up.

"Mama," the little girl grinned.

"Yes, Mama needs to look pretty for Dada," Sarah smiled back.

"Pwetty!" Grace clapped.

"You are a fantastic audience," Sarah twirled around still holding the dress up and Grace squealed.

Sarah moved around the room pulling some lacey underthings out of the dark recesses of her drawer, she had showered earlier while Grace was napping so now she quickly took off her lounge clothes and put on the outfit she had picked out especially for Chuck.

She had let her hair dry curly and pinned some of it up, added some simple jewelry and some seriously high heels.

"What do you think?" Sarah asked Grace.

"Kitty," Grace held up a toy cat.

"Yes, that is a kitty," Sarah reached in for Grace and despite her new outfit and fancy hair she snuggled the baby close.

"Time for your outfit, little miss," Sarah moved out of her bedroom and down the hall to the nursery.

She and Chuck had made an offer on a house on the ocean, a gorgeous house with a pool and a beach beyond it and Sarah was excited about it, finally feeling fully settled in to family life after all the trauma of 2 years ago.

Sarah dressed Grace in a sweet little sundress and put barrettes in her blonde curls, she was just fastening her daughter's shoe when she heard a knock at the door.

"Who is that?" Sarah asked Grace.

Grace raised her little shoulders in a shrug that made Sarah laugh.

"I don't know either," Sarah agreed as she carried the girl to go find out.

Sarah opened the door and her jaw dropped to find Carina and Zondra on her doorstep.

"Hey Walker, cute kid," Carina grinned, her tone was sarcastic but the grin was genuine.

"Not that I'm not thrilled to see you guys, but what are you doing here?" Sarah stepped aside to let her friends in.

"We're here to surprise you and steal you away, but based on the outfit you're wearing Chuckles spilled the beans," Carina continued to talk as Zondra seemed enraptured with Grace.

"Wait? What?" Sarah looked at Carina.

"We called Chuck the other day, said we might be able to get in to town tonight. He said he would take care of the rugrat and we could take you out on the town. Is he here?" Carina looked around.

"No, he's still at work, but I'm surprising him. It's his birthday," Sarah pouted.

"He did not mention that," Zondra finally spoke.

"Of course he didn't, because he is too damn sweet for his own damn good," Sarah sighed.

"Damn," Grace said randomly.

Carina's eyes went wide as Sarah covered her daughter's ears and quietly chastised herself.

"Well, Chuck obviously doesn't care if you go out tonight and you already look pretty good, for a mom," Carina looked her friend up and down.

Sarah might not be a spy any more, but she could still throw an icy glare.

"A really hot mom," Carina stepped back.

"Can I hold her?" Zondra finally asked and Sarah handed Grace over.

"Chuck might not mind, but I do. I cooked all day and baked a cake and…"

"What?" Zondra asked.

"I want to spend the night at home with my husband. Oh God, I am an old married mom now…" Sarah nearly collapsed into one of the chairs at the already set table.

"Hi honey, I'm home!" Chuck chirped humorously as he came through the door.

"Damn, dada, damn!" Grace exclaimed.

"Did she say…? Hello, ladies," Chuck greeted the guests.

"Hey, Chuck," Zondra smiled and snuggled Grace closer.

"Happy Birthday, dude," Carina grinned.

"Oh, yeah," Chuck shrugged.

"Sarah, baby, what's wrong?" he noticed his quiet wife.

"I was trying to surprise you and you, of course, were doing an even better job of surprising me," Sarah indicated the banner she had hung over the opening to the kitchen.

"Awww, babe, we're having a party next month. I didn't think…" he leaned down and kissed her softly.

"OK, so we have a little O Henry thing going on here. We'll leave you guys to your dinner and tomorrow we'll have lunch?" Carina asked Sarah, "You can even bring the spawn, Z seems to like her."

"We could watch her tonight if you guys want to be alone?" Zondra offered eagerly.

"That's sweet Zondra, but she's part of the party. I'll bring her to lunch tomorrow, I promise," Sarah had to tug a little to get Zondra to let go of Grace and Chuck tried to control his smirk.

"We're at the Ritz," Carina informed.

"I wouldn't have expected anything less," Sarah smirked.

"Happy Birthday," Zondra waved and they were gone.

"Surprise!" Sarah declared as she closed the door and turned back to her husband.

"I love you," he moved across the room to her, slipped a warm hand along her hip and tugged her close, cradling Grace between them as he kissed her more thoroughly than earlier.

"Happy Birthday," she said, her lips still touching his.

"Thank you! Do I smell lasagna?" he kept his lips where they were but shifted his eyes toward the kitchen.

"Yes, Grace and I made all your favorites," Sarah handed the little girl off and went to move to the kitchen.

"Um, Sarah?" Chuck stopped her and she turned back.

"Yeah?"

"You look gorgeous," he said shyly, taking in her full outfit as she stood there.

"Thanks," she dropped her eyes to the floor and then headed to pull the lasagna out of the oven.

"I didn't really think this meal through," Sarah laughed as she took in Grace's tomato sauce covered face, hands, entire body really.

"I'll take her outside and dunk her in the fountain later," Chuck shrugged.

"Cake or presents next?" Sarah asked with a laugh at the visual of Chuck bathing their child in the courtyard fountain.

"I'm too full for cake," Chuck puffed out his cheeks and looked at the pan of lasagna that he had put a huge dent in.

"Presents it is, well, one present…the other one you can't have until later," Sarah batted her eyelashes at him and Chuck's heart skipped a beat.

Sarah cleared their plates and tossed Chuck a damp cloth to attempt a quick clean-up of the baby. She went to the side table and took the small package and brought it back and set it in front of Chuck.

"Are these hers?" Chuck asked looking at the handprints on the wrapping paper.

"They are, we had fun with finger paints today," Sarah smiled and tickled Grace.

"Oh my God, this is the cutest thing. Sarah, I love this," Chuck leaned over and kissed her.

"You haven't even opened it yet," she giggled.

"I can't imagine anything better than my baby's handprints," Chuck turned the package over in every direction.

"Oh Chuck," Sarah sighed, loving the man even more every minute.

"OK, I'll open it," he grinned and untied the ribbon, carefully easing the tape off to preserve the precious paper.

Inside was a picture frame, it was upside down and as soon as Chuck turned it over his grin grew even wider.

"You little sneak," he faux accused his wife.

"Who me?"

"You stole this off my phone," he turned the frame around to show Sarah what she already knew to be there, a picture of her and Grace taken at the beach, both in floppy hats, squinting against the sun, smiling widely at Chuck.

"I know you liked how it came out and thought you'd like a copy for your office," Sarah said innocently.

"You are right, I love it and I love you…"

"Dada dada dada…." Grace chorused.

"Both of you, I love you both," Chuck leaned over and kissed Grace's cheek which still smelled of tomato sauce.

"Someone needs a bath," Chuck suggested.

"Bath!" Grace exclaimed.

"I'll do the honors, you are much too fancy for bathing duty," Chuck kissed his wife and picked Grace up finding new spots of tomato sauce everywhere.

Chuck held the baby out in front of him like live explosives and moved towards the bathroom. Sarah tidied the kitchen while Chuck laughed and sang to Grace. She turned down the lights, moved the cake with its unlit candles to the table and then went to the couch with a glass of wine.

"I think someone is too tired for cake," Chuck said quietly as he emerged with a pajama-clad Grace clutching her stuffed turtle and her eyelids fluttering to stay open.

"I'll get her bottle," Sarah traded spots on the couch with Chuck.

Chuck took the proffered bottle and offered it to Grace who suckled contentedly in his arms.

"This is the best birthday I have ever had," Chuck said honestly.

Sarah pressed against his side, watching Grace succumb to sleep , she kissed his cheek.

"She's out," Chuck declared as he felt Grace's body lose the tiny bit of conscious tension and drift in to slumber.

"I'll put her down, finish your wine," Sarah indicated the 2 glasses on the coffee table.

"Good night, sweet Grace," Chuck kissed her curls, damp at the ends from her bath.

"She didn't even fuss," Sarah said quietly as she reappeared, still wearing her heels, her hair still styled perfectly, she looked ready for a night on the town.

"Sorry about the CATS, I thought you might like a night out," Chuck grinned at her, reached a hand out and curled it around her waist.

"It was very sweet of you and I might have loved that if it weren't your birthday. I know we haven't always had time to really properly celebrate this day in the past…."

"Ellie had a party for me once, it was not fun," he frowned.

"I don't remember that," Sarah said, momentarily panicked by the idea of a memory she never recovered.

"It was literally right before I met you," he grinned.

"Ah," she nodded and her eyes slipped shut as his thumb moved rhythmically over the material of her dress, right against her hip bone.

"Do you w-want cake?" she stuttered at the look in his eyes.

"I want you," he said, his voice and his intention perfectly clear.

Sarah reached a hand out intending to pull him to his feet, but he had other ideas in mind and tugged her instead onto his lap.

"Here?" she giggled.

"I'm not too old for sex on the couch yet," he laughed and slid a hand under the short hem of her dress.

"Besides," he added as he kissed along the column of her neck, "soon Grace will be mobile and we will have to confine ourselves to locked rooms to prevent scarring her for life."

"I love you," Sarah grinned as he lifted her dress off of her body.

It was Chuck's birthday, but the way he looked at her in the lacy undergarments she had bought for this occasion was the best present for Sarah. He made her blush with the utter desire she saw in every facet of his expressive face.

"I need…." He held her in his lap and reached past her to the coffee table for his glass, "I'm a little….parched."

He took a sip of his wine, carefully placing the glass back so as to fully press his body against hers, and then leaned back again taking her in.

"I take it," he cleared his throat and started again, "I take it this is the other present I couldn't open earlier?"

"Mmmhmmm," Sarah nodded, "So as to prevent the scarring for life thing we are trying to prevent for our daughter."

"Our daughter…" Chuck was momentarily distracted from the gorgeous woman on his lap, "it still blows my mind sometimes."

"She's pretty special, part you and part me," Sarah began unbuttoning Chuck's shirt and while his hands moved against her nearly naked body, his eyes stayed locked on hers.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Something we made in the middle of so much craziness," she had reached his belt and undid that as well, working in between their two bodies.

"Do you want another baby, Sarah?" Chuck asked hoping he was reading her right.

"Soon," she nodded, stilling her hands at his waist, "not right this second, we have the move coming up and Morgan and Alex's wedding and Grace is still just a baby, but soon?" it was a question, a joint decision.

He just nodded and Sarah saw the lust in his eyes shift, it didn't go away it just changed to this rich deep love and what was a silly passionate encounter on the couch became this meaningful bonding, a recommitment to house and home, a declaration of forever.

Chuck didn't take her lingerie off with his hands, he actually kissed it away, pushing it aside with his nose and his chin to kiss her skin. Somewhere in the house Sarah heard a clock strike nine and then ten and eventually eleven before they finally curled around each other completely spent.

"I'm so glad you were born," Sarah said sincerely as she stroked his face, felt the stubble of the end of the day there.

He kissed her, held her close and felt her heart beat comfortably against his chest.

"I made you a cake, from scratch and I think," she turned in his arms and pulled his arm up to look at his watch, "yep, it is still technically your birthday."

They struggled to untangle themselves and their clothes as they sat up.

"Are you going to sing to me?" he grinned.

"Well, it's your birthday so torture seems kind of mean," she grinned back and kissed him before retreating to her room for her robe and a tee shirt for Chuck who, as expected had his boxers back on in record time.

Chuck poured the end of the bottle of wine into their glasses as Sarah went to the kitchen returning simply with 2 forks. They sat close together, their bare knees touching, Sarah's foot rubbing along his calf as they each took a big bite of cake.

"So good…." He moaned around the yellow cake and chocolate frosting.

Sarah just nodded with a smile, it was both their favorites one of the things they learned when they were closed up in a train car in France, when Sarah finally let her guard down and started revealing bits and pieces of herself to the man that had saved her life in more ways than one.