Chapter 4: The Conquering Hero

Chuck trudged through the courtyard with Sarah, Casey, Julia, and Charlotte. He was exhausted after talking to the cops and firemen about the incident. A whole team of news vans also swarmed on the scene. Chuck was going to have his fifteen minutes of fame for the first time.

"Hey listen guys, I'm just gonna go home and crash okay, I'm really beat."

He grinned wearily at Julia and she kissed him on the cheek.

"You're a wonderful young man, Charles Bartowski, don't ever forget it! And don't ever let anyone make you think otherwise."

She glanced at Casey, who had opened his door to make sure the coast was clear in his apartment. Julia knew he was often unsympathetic to people that tested his nerves. However, she felt that John actually liked Chuck; he just hid it well. Chuck got her point, he kissed Charlotte and said goodnight.

"Goodnight, Chuck! I love you!" Charlotte smiled.

Sarah laughed and ribbed him. "Looks like someone has a little crush on you!"

"Aww, how…sweet! I love you too, Charlotte!"

Casey kept his back to them and his temper flared. He never had a chance to say those words to Charlotte or hear them from her, but now Chuck did. It was unfair.

Sarah took Chuck's arm. "I'll go with you Chuck, give them a chance to catch up on things. Casey and I talked it over and decided it's too dangerous for her to spend the night here. They may have already found out the location of Casey's apartment and we can't compromise your safety either. Do you mind if I come inside with you?"

"Uhh, sure, no problem."

Casey popped his head out of the front door. "All clear, c'mon, Julie. Remember Chuck…"

"I know, I know, if I have anymore flashes I'll give you a call. I think I'm about done for today."

"You know it's never done." Casey told him cryptically and escorted his family inside.

Chuck sighed and put the key in his door. When he opened it, all the lights were out. He yawned and flicked them on.

"SURPRISE! HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO!"

Sarah nearly pulled the handgun from under her shirt and Chuck fell against her. Ellie, Devon, and Morgan were standing in the dining area with huge smiles. Devon and Morgan popped cold bottles of champagne and Ellie was holding a big vanilla and chocolate cake that aptly said, 'Chuck: The Hero.' She put it on the table and they all ran up to him. Ellie gave him a big hug and kiss.

"Chuck, I can't believe what happened, it's all over the news! Morgan called me and told me not to worry, that you were safe. So, instead of panicking I came home and decided to bake you a cake and throw a little something together."

Devon grabbed his head and mussed his curls. "Man, I didn't think you had it in you bro, but you surprised me once again. My pep talk really worked! I think we're gonna have to start calling you Captain Awesome."

Chuck held up his hands with a laugh. "Oh, no! I couldn't take that moniker away from you, Awesome. Captain Marvel maybe…I always wanted to be like him…you know…the geeky kid who says, SHAZAM!"

Devon nodded serious. "I think that's a good idea. We don't want anyone to get confused."

Ellie and Sarah went to the kitchen to get plates. Sarah was very proud of Chuck. She watched him slicing the cake and a dreamy sigh escaped her. Chuck was a better than average guy, and one day he would make a certain woman extremely happy. Ellie caught her staring and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know he's my brother, but I just have to say that you have the cream of the crop. I don't know what it is, but Chuck seems so different these last few months. He's more positive, happy and definitely busier, and I know a lot of that is because of you. Even though you guys are taking it slow, I can see how much my brother cares about you. I'm so proud of him."

Sarah turned to the pretty brunette with a smile. She knew Chuck's feelings for her were starting to run deep. "Me too, I think that's one of the things that really attracted me to him first, his big heart." She mused. "You know Ellie, it was like a scene from a movie, Chuck came running out of that fire with the little girl like…"

"BACK DRAFT! Man! That's what it was like! Back draft! So did the fire, like, actually make noise? Remember in the movie, bro? It was like, ROAAR!" Morgan ran around the room, emulating the fire and everyone laughed.

Chuck plopped on the couch and sipped his wine. "Well, it was blue flames and yellow flames. The just shot into the air, the little girl wouldn't of had a chance, especially since she was strapped in the car."

Ellie clutched her heart and gave him a big slice of cake. "Oh my God, Chuck! Blue flames are the hottest. The poor little thing."

"I know, I just grabbed her out the car seat and started running, I didn't even know if it was going to explode."

"That's crazy, dude! We recorded the news for you and Ellie's gonna pick up a ton of different newspapers tomorrow." Devon said.

Ellie came to the edge of the couch and slid her arms around Devon. "That's right! I'm going to start keeping a Chuck scrapbook. I have a feeling you're going to accomplish a lot more in the future and I want to record every moment of it, little brother."

-O-

Julie looked around Casey's house amazed. It was filled with artfully concealed, hi-tech and covert gadgets. He was always so meticulous. She noticed a picture in the frame on his end table and laughed aloud.

"John, let me guess, do you have a stash of Jellybeans in the house too? I can't believe you still have this picture."

Casey pulled it from her hands and placed it back on the table in the exact position it was in. "What? Reagan himself autographed that for me when I met him at the NSA graduation. It's priceless."

"Sure, priceless. I understand." She murmured with a quick glance at her sleeping daughter. She continued her tour around the apartment, thinking how the U.S Government really took care of its own very well.

"So, since when did the Buy More become the Spy More?"

"Since I'm on a top secret assignment, but that's as much as I'll tell you."

"That's okay, I'm used to that word. The less I know, the safer it will be for us." Julie sat on the couch and stroked her daughter's hair. She had tried to stay awake, but couldn't fight drowsiness.

"Do you have anything to eat? Charlotte hasn't eaten since yesterday afternoon. I'm really worried about her John, ever since they gave her that narcotic she can barely keep her eyes open."

Casey opened a drawer and pulled out an ophthalmoscope. He hovered over Charlotte and put the light near her eyeballs. Charlotte grew fearful and tried to push him away. Casey held her shoulder and stroked her round cheeks. He smiled at her. "It's alright, munchkin. Daddy's not going to hurt you…never. Just let me look at those gorgeous blue eyes."

Charlotte complied and Casey finished quickly. "Yeah, they sedated her good. Her body's too little to handle it all, but she'll be up and running in a day or two. I'll see what I got in the refrigerator."

Casey rummaged for food and took out a tray with roasted chicken on it. He pulled out a bag of mixed vegetables from the freezer.

"Um, I don't really know what she likes."

Julia stood up and took over the dinner preparation. "It's okay John, this is good. She's a little girl, she likes her candy and sweets, but I limit her with that. She loves chicken and rice and Italian food. Oh John, one time when she was one year old, I had given her some Chinese food. She was literally crying to taste the Shrimp and Lobster sauce. I left her for a minute in the high chair to answer the phone. When I came back she was sucking on the crab leg and the sauce was everywhere! In her hair, on her clothes! All she could do was laugh, she smelled all fishy like a little mermaid! I'll never forget that."

Casey found he was laughing along with Julia, but then stopped himself. The memory wasn't his, even though it should have been. Julia looked at him sadly.

"I know you're waiting for me to tell you why I never told you about Charlotte."

"Yes, I am." He was still absorbing the shock of it all.

Julia paced around the kitchen, setting the table and fiddling with things. She did that when she had important matters on her mind.

"I didn't tell you because I was hurt and confused. How many times did we try and reconcile and nothing came of it? How often were you going to show up to check the plumbing? You would always go running back to your missions and nothing was ever discussed. Every time I brought it up, you would put it off or somehow, charm my mind off of it." She laughed at her own foolishness.

"Believe me, when I found out I was pregnant it was a huge surprise, but at the same time, it wasn't. I realized that last night we were together I missed my pill for the month. It was always so unexpected and sudden when you would show up. I guess I wasn't on top of it enough. And…I wasn't exactly thinking of pills when you were…"

Casey looked at her with a sensuous grin and she felt the old desirous shiver down her spine. She looked away embarrassed and continued.

"Anyway…when I went to the doctor, I was thrilled. You know I always wanted to have a baby, our baby! And now I had the chance."

She put on a pot of coffee. "I wanted to call you and tell you so many times, but then I thought long and hard about it. I'm sorry, John, but I knew that you would be an absentee father and I didn't want Charlotte to have to deal with all that. I didn't want her to have the stress of knowing her daddy was out there somewhere and we would never know if you were hurt or worse! And how many enemies have you made? What if something happened, like now! I know it was stupid of me at the time. I figured that when she got a little older I would explain everything to her, in hopes she would understand."

Casey sighed and rubbed his forehead. Why were women always so complicated? "Julia, did you really think I would be a bad father? That I wouldn't love her? I know it hurt you when we decided not to have kids, but it hurt me too. And to know I have a daughter now? I've missed everything! I'm a complete stranger to her, she may never accept me as her father."

Julia couldn't control her tears. She kept busy and pulled out the chicken and steamed the vegetables.

"I think she's already taken with you. She's not afraid to call you daddy."

"Yeah, and she calls Chuck, Chuck, what of it?"

Julia toasted some wheat bread and then slammed the butter knife down on the counter. John Casey was the most sarcastic man in the world. She was going to have to confess all to him.

"John, there's more to it than that. I was worried about my own feelings! Damn it! I still love you! I never stopped. I didn't think I would be able to handle the stress of seeing you on and off, talking to you, like other ex-wives when they have to deal with the children. If I was going to see you, I wanted you! I wanted you to be there for us like a normal husband and father and I knew that it was impossible. Your mind was NSA all the way and I figured…you didn't love me enough to change your career, or find another…channel or unit. I don't know! I decided that I would never ask you to do that."

Julia splayed her arms around. "All this stuff is your passion, just like dancing was mine. Your Government, country, and spy work! I did not want to play second fiddle to any of it. So, I stayed in Alberta with Charlotte, opened my little dance school and followed my dream. We…we…get along just fine. She's very happy."

Casey rose and went to her side. He held her arms. She looked up at him and her eyes glowed with tears. He stroked them away.

"I can see that. She's so healthy, and well taken care of…I know how much you love her. That's a big consolation to me at least."

"John, was I that bad of a wife that you had to leave me all the time? Did you look for assignments just to be away from me? I could never understand it!"

Julia was tired of crying and tired from all the stress of the last few days. Casey held her up. He pulled her close to him and she wrapped her arms around his waist. He kissed her soft on the neck.

"I didn't fight the divorce because I knew that it was going to be the way you just said. I know I was never around enough to be a normal husband. Sometimes I felt like I didn't know how. When I fully realized the nature of my work with the NSA…I didn't want you to be part of it, and you couldn't be! I could never share things with you. It would have put you in danger and it was against protocol! There was always threats of danger, you know that! It's happened in the past!"

Casey let her go and mocked a fifties family show, raising his voice a pitch. "Hello honey! How was your day?"

He sat at the table and opened the newspaper and pretended to smoke a pipe. He drew down one page and raised his eyebrow.

"Oh just fine, darling! I stopped a nuclear terrorist from blowing up half the country and I shot a few men in cold blood based on mere suspicious activities. All in a day's work. what did you do today? Oh, what a lovely new hairdo. Is that meatloaf I smell? Mmmm! My favorite!"

Casey dropped the act and went back to her, he held her face.

"I didn't give you the attention you deserved. Julie, I know that, but I…I never stopped loving you!"

Casey picked her up and they kissed passionately. His senses ached for her. He moved his hands up and down her back in gentle motions and she sighed softly.

"John, I really need you…we need you."

A tiny voice broke their fervor. Charlotte stood in the entrance of the kitchen, rubbing her eyes.

"Mommy, Daddy, is dinner ready?"

Casey and Julia were frozen in their pose, and both looked her way with self-conscious smiles.

"Sure honey! Sit down at the table and I'll get it for you."

Julia slid from Casey's grasp and he lingered, holding onto the counter-top. He looked at his daughter with adoration. She placed the napkin in her shirt to protect it. He couldn't believe how much she was like him. John Casey's life was starting to take a momentous turn and he decided to be the real man that he was and welcome it.