I admit, I was not prepared to like this week's episode, because I really thought that Sarah was leaving the show for good. But I did enjoy this episode. And was I the only one that thought Alex and Sarah shared some resemblance? Honestly, in the first scene in the Castle with the four of them, I totally interpreted Chuck's staring at the two women as his noticing that they shared some resemblance and his comparing the physical features of the two. Oh well. I decided to take a bit of the show's timeline and arrange it to fit my own desires. And what we know about Sarah's dad, doesn't apply to this chapter.
"Hey, Sarah." Sarah stops her pacing in front of the fountain at hearing Ellie call to her as she and Devon enter the courtyard.
"Hey," Sarah responds and stops the pair from entering their apartment. "I need to tell you something before you can go in there."
"Sarah, I am beyond exhausted, so can we do this later?"
"No." Sarah stands her ground and waits patiently until Ellie stops trying to get around her and stands with her arms crossed, waiting for her to speak.
"Okay. Is everything alright?"
"Nothing happened at Devon's bachelor party, Ellie."
"How do you know that?"
"I'd like to know that, too." Devon speaks up, though shuts up when Ellie turns to glare at him.
"My sister is really protective of me. I know, I'm 28 years old, but she still acts like I'm 15 and bringing my first boyfriend home. Which is beyond wrong considering she's only in the country for a couple days every two or three years, but I digress. She's protective. And she was in the states this week; she got here last week, found me and saw me as I came here for dinner last Friday. Remember, Devon was the one that answered the door and greeted me with a hug? Well, she saw that, and thought that I was dating him. Then she overheard Morgan, Jeff and Lester talking to Chuck about Devon's bachelor party and thought that he was marrying me.
"She likes to test the men in my life, then she sends me evidence of the test." Sarah pulls out her phone and shows Ellie one of the photos that she saw Jeff and Lester with. Ellie glances at them for a heartbeat before turning away. "This photo was taken after Devon told her how in love he was with his fiancée. She then dosed him with an animal tranquilizer and allowed Jeff and Lester to take some completely inappropriate photos of her with him and sent them to me – because my reaction to her testing is part of her test."
"Okay," Ellie is once again prevented from entering her apartment. "Can we talk about this inside?"
"That's the other thing. I got her to get a friend to help Chuck out with something as a way to repay you for her mistake."
"Alright; help Chuck out with what?"
"His wedding gift for you." Sarah reaches behind her and opens the door for them, following the couple in. Chuck is waiting in the living room, still in his Nerd Herd uniform. Sarah looks around when she sees that his father is not around.
"Where's-"
"In the bathroom." The younger couple shares a soft smile which does not go unnoticed by the older couple. "Um, Ellie," Chuck motions to the blood-stained scrubs his sister is wearing. "You might want to change out of those. Trust me." He adds with a smile before she can comment.
Ellie smiles indulgently before going into the master bedroom to change, Devon following behind her. As soon as their door shuts, the bathroom door opens and Stephen Bartowski comes out.
"Did I hear someone come in?" The older gentleman smiles in greeting at Sarah before turning to his son.
"Ellie and Awesome are here."
"'Awesome'?"
"Devon Woodcomb, affectionately known as Captain Awesome."
"And he's your sister's boyfriend?"
"Sort of; Dad-" Chuck is cut off by Awesome exiting the room in jeans and a polo, tucking his keycard back under his shirt.
"Seriously, Chuckster, I never got to thank you for finding my key card. You seriously saved my butt finding it."
"No problem." Awesome notices the older man standing in the living room and recognition immediately crosses his face.
"Dude." He glances quickly between Chuck and Stephen, his expression travelling from shock to pure unadulterated joy. "Seriously? You found him? How?"
"Dad, this is Devon Woodcomb, Ellie's fiancé; Devon, Ellie and my dad, Stephen Bartowski."
"Awesome!" Devon grabs the man's hand in a firm shake, pulling him in for a one-armed hug. "You have no idea how happy Ellie will be that Chuck's found you. Oh, she might even forgive me for your sister's actions the night of my bachelor party."
Any further comment is halted as Ellie comes out in jeans and a shirt, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. She enters the kitchen and pulls a bottle of water out of the fridge.
"Alright, Chuck, Sarah, what's this big news you've got?" She takes a sip and turns around, spitting out the water when she sees who's standing on the other side of the partition next to her brother. Chuck stands there with an over joyous grin on his face, while their father stands by with a somewhat hesitant smile of his own. Ellie glances between the two before turning to Sarah, the question clear in her eyes.
"Let's just say that my sister has more than a few favors owed to her from various government officials, and she owes me even more."
"Hello, Ellie." Their father finally speaks up. "You- you look beautiful. So much like your mother."
Ellie makes her way around the island to stand in front of the father/son pair.
"How? How did you find him after all the invitations that you sent out came back?"
Chuck points behind him to the blonde. "Sarah." He simply states. Before Sarah can object, Ellie throws her arms around the younger woman's neck, holding tightly before releasing her and throwing one arm around her brother and the other around her father. Chuck registers a flash from the side and turns to see Devon putting his camera away. He turns to look for Sarah and finds her quietly leaving the room, talking on her phone. Ellie finally releases the two men and quickly wipes away the tears that have fallen. She looks around, noticing that Sarah's left.
"Where's Sarah?"
"She got a phone call, babe." Awesome motions to the front door as he says this.
Sarah puts away her phone as she shuts the door, turning to see Alex standing behind her.
"So, 'Alex Forrest', never thought I'd see you again."
"Same. I certainly never thought I'd be seeing you as the result of a 49B. What happened, kid?"
"Stop calling me that. And nothing happened. I guarantee you, after a week of having this assignment; you'd have fallen for Chuck's charm, too."
"So you have fallen for him."
"That's not what I said."
"Look, I'm not here on Beckman's orders anymore. Truth: have you fallen for him?"
"I care about him. No questions there. If you understood just how important he was to national security you'd be especially worried about anyone new on this team also."
"Does this have anything to do with the domestic terrorist group, Fulcrum? There's been a lot of chatter going on about an asset they want that's in the LA area."
"You know I can't talk about it."
"That answers my question right there. Don't worry, I won't ask anymore." Further conversation is halted by the door opening behind Sarah and Ellie pokes her head out.
"Sarah, what- oh, hello." Ellie's gaze narrows as she recognizes Alex and her tone cools immediately. Alex pays no attention to the cool tone and goes forward with a bright smile and cheery tone.
"Hello. You must be Ellie, I'm Alex, Alex Forrest. I am so sorry about what happened with your fiancé, believe me, had I known he was not Sarah's, then I would not have done what I did."
"If you had just called me instead of following me around then you would have known that he wasn't mine." Sarah shoots back with a smile belaying the upset tone to her voice. "Ellie, this is my sister, Alex."
"Why don't you join us for dinner? Let bygones be bygones."
"Well-"
"Hey, babe, what's the hold-up?" Devon comes up behind Ellie, Chuck and Stephen behind him. Chuck's eyes widen at the sight of Agent Forrest standing there, though he remains silent.
"Wait, Chuck you were at the bachelor party, why didn't you recognize Alex there?" Ellie turns to her brother.
"Well, she was wearing considerably less than she was when I met her. And she did not look the same. Plus, I wasn't particularly enjoying that part of the evening." Chuck comes up behind Sarah and throws an arm around her shoulders. "I've got all that I need right here, why would I entertain myself with the entertainment?"
Alex raises her eyebrows in Sarah's direction and quietly speaks to her in a language no one else present understands. Sarah takes a deep breath before quietly responding. Alex smiles softly at the couple before nodding in acceptance. The three looking on don't ask questions, but do look curious at what transpired between the sisters. Finally Ellie speaks up.
"So, Alex, will you be joining us for dinner?"
"Thank you, Ellie, but no. My flight leaves in a few hours."
"Uh, before you leave…where did you gain access to animal tranquilizer?" Devon questions something Sarah said in her explanation of what happened the night of the bachelor party.
"I'm a large animal veterinarian." Alex states simply.
"Like, horses and cows?" Alex pulls out her phone and pulls a photo up, showing it to the others.
"Like giraffes and lions and other African creatures." The display is a photo of her and a white tiger on an examination table. "Honestly, I'm surprised at how long you lasted before passing out. I gave you a dose for an ostrich, but other guys Sarah's dated succumbed in seconds, you lasted at least seven before passing out."
"Well, thank you. Was that what caused my headache that morning?"
"Combined with the alcohol, yes; the tranquilizer alone wouldn't have any side effects besides waking up surprisingly refreshed." Alex takes her phone back and leans in to give Sarah a hug. "I really do have to go. Walk me to my car, kid?"
"Sure." Sarah extracts herself from Chuck's embrace before following Alex to the car.
"Seriously, kid. Watch yourself. You lucked out with this 49B, there's no guarantee that you could be so lucky next time."
"Our results speak for themselves. Beckman recognizes that the bond we have is a good thing, not a hindrance."
"Fine, but still…watch yourself. I'm happy for you, really, I am. The last thing that I want to see is for the two of you to be separated."
"Thanks." Sarah leans in and wraps her arms around Alex's neck. "Take care of yourself."
"See you next year?"
"See you next year." Sarah confirms before releasing Alex and watching her drive off. She turns to see Chuck leaning against the archway watching.
"Please don't tell me that she's going to be back next year." He pleads with her.
"Just one of our code phrases, Chuck."
"Really? Wait- so she really is your sister?"
"Yeah. And she really is a large animal vet, but she stumbled onto a CIA operation a few years back and rather than allow herself to be placed in a bunker, she accepted the CIA's offer to become an agent."
"You can do that?"
"Yes."
"Could I do that?"
Sarah is silent for a moment, weighing the options of making Chuck a field agent. Finally she steps forward and twines her fingers with his.
"What's say we get through Ellie and Awesome's wedding first? Then we'll discuss what to do with you."
Walking back into the courtyard, Chuck turns to her for one last question.
"What did she say to you? Before Ellie asked her to stay for dinner?"
"Eh, it'd loose something in the translation. Basically, she likes you." Sarah smiles brightly up at him before following him into the apartment.
So I know I promised a couple other versions awhile back, but I lost my flash drive recently, and it had those stories on it, so I got to start over. Let me know what y'all think…and wish me luck on my senior thesis…it's the only thing I'm gonna be writing in the coming weeks.