Authors Note: Sorry it took so long to update this. Thank you so much for your reviews and for following my story, it really makes my day to see that people are enjoying my drabble, in fact if it wasn't for your encouraging words I would have just left this story unfinished.
The gunman was so focused on his mission that he almost didn't hear the car approaching in time. Sloppy, was his only thought. I just about got myself caught.
He was thanking Chuck for his help when the unfamiliar car came to a stop on the road. The woman inside asked "You need any help?" She asked the question with a strange familiarity to Chuck, he noticed.
Before he had to spend another second with the Bartowski's the gunman jumped into his truck, thanking Chuck again, and sped off.
"What was that?" The driver of the car asked.
"Just helping someone out." Chuck walked over to the open car window reached inside and gave her a hug. "Good to see you mom."
Mary and Sarah waved at each other from the cars. They were always friendly with each other but there never was that level of comfort between them that Chuck seemed to have with her own mom. He was a people person, she, Sarah Bartowski, was not. Stephen was bouncing all around his car seat. He knew that when his grandmother arrived, presents were soon to follow. "Mam maw, Mam maw!" He squealed.
"I was hoping I'd get here before anyone left. Guess I'm a little late." Mary said.
"No just in time. I didn't think you were gonna make it. I thought you had a new bunch of recruits to train."
"I do, but I don't do it all myself you know."
"Follow us back to the chalet. We can leave your car there and you can spend the day with us if you want."
"If I want? What a question. Of course I want to spend the day spoiling my grandsons."
Back on the road now with Mary Bartowski in tow. Mary looks down at John. He reminds me so much of your father" she said to Chuck. "He'd be so proud of the life you've made." Her eyes misted over for a second but Stephen soon shook her out of her stupor.
"Mam maw, gift?"
"Is that all you think of me as? Someone who brings you gifts?" She said while tickling his tummy.
"No more, no more" he told his grandmother ready for the tickling to cease.
She stopped her tickling "I have you gifts, but I'll give it to you later, after I've gotten to see Clara too. Will that do?"
"Will do, will do."
Mary spoke to Sarah who was in the passenger seat. "What are you feeding these boys? They are growing so fast."
"I know, it seems like yesterday Stephen was John's size."
"How are you enjoying your new job as an instructor?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah mom, you're not being too rough on the recruits are you?"
"As rough as I need to be. Anyways, I like it pretty well, I get to set my own schedule and I get to pass on what I know to the next generation." She paused. "I heard something pretty interesting the other day. I overheard some of the recruits talking, apparently they are all told in training, of some agents who were the perfect spies, when national security was at risk, they were the best the agency had to offer, but these same agents were also the perfect example of those who make the biggest mistake an agent can make. Never let feelings get involved, the recruits are taught. Softness will get you killed. The instructors like to leave out the fact that when they say, these agents left us forever, that they merely left the agency not ceased to live."
"Hmm, I wonder who they could be talking about?" Chuck gave a knowing smile to his wife.
"Yeah I wonder." Sarah said returning his smile. She then turned back and looked at Mary, "I'm guessing you never told them otherwise either did you?"
"No way, I don't think it would help get the message across if I told them all there was a happily ever after, would it?"
"Probably not." Sarah said. She was always grateful to Mary for never coming right out and talking about her and Chuck's past in the CIA, but instead always speaking in code, like just now. Chuck didn't want the kids to know about the dangerous life they led, he said, we can just tell them that we were in the CIA and leave it at that. They'll just think that our work was from an office just like it is now. Sarah knew, that her kids were too young to understand but she was grateful to her mother in law for never speaking about it in front of Clara either, they didn't want her to spill the beans to her cousins in the future.
The weather couldn't have been more perfect, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. All the families met up at a beautiful lake just like they had planned. Ellie and Clara ran to give Mary a huge hug. Clara wouldn't let go of her hand, she seemed to have a special connection with her grandmother that anyone could see. They looked nothing alike, acted nothing alike, but were two peas in a pod.
Sarah strapped on her carrier and placed John inside. She often thought that it was perhaps the best invention ever for a baby. Chuck leaned his tall frame over and kissed John's head and Stephen who was running up ahead yelled "Catch me Da da."
Chuck took off after his boy and swooped him up and twirled him in the air. He then sat him down and started beating his chest and making monkey noises, which he knew would always get a laugh from Stephen.
Morgan, Alex and Devon were already at the water's edge. "I thought you only had two boys Sarah but I guess I was wrong, looks like you have three." Alex said.
"Yeah, and the biggest one is only behaving this well because he's in public." Sarah laughed. And I'm not joking she thought to herself.
Ellie now came to stand beside Devon. They had come to an understanding the other night. Ellie needed more time at home. Devon was relieved, when after broaching the subject Ellie seemed to be wanting the same thing as him. When they returned to Chicago she was going to cut her hours drastically. Right now though neither was in any hurry to return to Chicago. This vacation was exactly what the doctor ordered. Ellie was getting quality time with her own little family and was also getting time with Chuck, who she felt so protective of and so much love for. He was her brother but at the same time like a son to her. Moving to Chicago was so hard for her. She missed her brother dearly. It had become easier over the years. Chicago was home now, but given an opportunity her and Devon would love to return to Burbank. They also discussed this and both made the decision that it was time to start looking for work back in California. They had their dream jobs but realized that it wasn't enough. Their happiest memories were always back in Burbank surrounded by family.
Meanwhile, the assassin was wondering if he'd ever get the chance to finish what his father, Nicholas Quinn, had started. His father failed to kill the Bartowskis in an attempt to recover a weapon of which Mike knew nothing of, and instead got himself shot instead. His father and him never were close but that didn't mean that no one would pay for his murder. The CIA stole his father from him most of his childhood and now any chance of them ever becoming close had been taken away. He hated the CIA almost as much as he hated the Bartowskis.
After another day of fun in Yellowstone the families returned to their chalet. They sat around exhausted from the day's events. Sarah sat with John in her lap and a book in her hand…I sat there with Sally. We sat there we two. And I said, how I wish we had something to do! She had a very captive audience in John and Clara.
"Who would have guessed this possible" Morgan said nodding towards Sarah. "Night and day difference from the girl you first introduced me to buddy."
Sarah glanced up from her book. "Thanks a lot Morgan." Then continued reading for the children.
"You must have been blind then buddy, because I saw it from the start." Chuck said smiling at his wife who had once more glanced up. She whole heartedly returned his smile.
"You are so corny bro" Devon said laughing.
"Jealous?" Chuck quipped back.
"It wouldn't hurt him any to be a little more corny himself." Ellie answered for her husband while jabbing him in the ribs.
They all retired early that night both from exhaustion and to be ready for the day ahead. They were all going their separate ways. Mary would be joining Ellie's family and Morgan and Alex hadn't made up their mind yet. Alex was leaning towards staying at the chalet all day. Chuck's family was planning on going on a hike at a remote part of the park.
That morning as the families were making their ways separately from the chalet, Mike Quinn smiled to himself. Today is the day.
"We have everything?" Chuck asked Sarah while fastening John into his car seat.
Sarah looked into the back of the car "I think we may have even brought the kitchen sink" she said looking at the load they were taking with them. "Who would have thought we'd need so much stuff for a hike and picnic?" she said shaking her head.
"I know it's crazy. The diaper bag is bigger than John is. I mean how can that be? It just doesn't make sense does it?" Chuck said.
"It'll make sense when he needs a change. Trust me." Sarah said matter of factly.
"Oh, I do" was Chuck's response.
"John messy" Stephen chimed in from his seat.
Later that day at a remote area of the park Sarah and Chuck, with John strapped on his chest, were enjoying the view. Stephen was running around throwing sticks and pretending to shoot rabbits.
"Stay close Stephen" Sarah said always the protective mother.
Stephen, being Stephen pretended not to hear and just kept on with his games. By now he was getting too far away for comfort and Sarah took off after him, which of course just made him run faster. He however didn't run for long. He bumped right into Mike Quinn, who had been watching them all day until they were far enough from anyone or anything to know what was about to happen.
Mike snatched the boy up and held a gun to his side. With pure malice in his voice he said "You don't know who I am do you?"
Chuck and Sarah were momentarily frozen with fear. "No, no I don't. I mean yes, yes I do, I helped you fix your truck. Just don't hurt my boy" Chuck said.
"Whatever you want it's yours" Sarah said. "Just don't hurt Stephen. How much do you want?"
"It's not money I want, but there is a debt to be paid." Mike said.
"What is it then?" Chuck said.
"You took my father from me" he said looking at Sarah and then at Chuck. "Now I'm gonna take both of these boys' parents from them."
"He was a patriot, he gave his life for his country and he deserves justice."
"Just put my son down and we can talk about this" Chuck said trying to reason with Quinn.
"You put the baby down. I have no intention of harming your kids" Mike said.
Relief washed over Chuck and Sarah. Mike Quinn had no idea what he was getting himself into. Now that they knew he wasn't going to harm the kids they were not going to play by his rules. They may be former spies but they haven't lost their edge. In fact, ever since Sarah first told Chuck that she was pregnant with Stephen he suddenly lost his aversion to firearms and no longer carried a tranq gun but one with live ammo. He worried that the second or two that it took for a tranq to work could be a second or two too long. He didn't want to kill and since then thankfully never had to but now he had a family to protect. Sarah of course, being Sarah, felt naked unless she at the very least had a knife strapped on somewhere.
Mike let loose of Stephen and Chuck got John out of his carrier.
"Can you be a big boy and come over here and sit down by your daddy while he hands you your little brother to hold?" Sarah asked gently of her son who had tears streaming down his face by now.
Stephen did as his mother asked and when Chuck handed him John he told him "everything is okay, were just playing a silly grown up game. We're gonna take a little walk and then we'll be back. Okay?"
He nodded his head.
"You stay right here. It's very important that you don't leave this spot and that you take care of your brother. Okay?"
Another nod.
"Alright, let's take a walk" Quinn said pointing the gun at Sarah.
Once they were out of earshot of the children Mike began to speak to them again "My name is Mike Quinn. I'm the last person you'll ever see."
"Quinn" Chuck and Sarah said in unison.
"Your father was no patriot" Sarah said angrily at him. Remembering the pain he caused her and Chuck.
"Your father was going to kill a lot of innocent people when he was killed" Chuck said.
"Lies, lies. Your last words are lies."
The couple glanced behind them and saw that the kids were no longer in sight, they were thankful Mike Quinn was at least descent enough to spare them this. Then they shared a quick glance and when Quinn turned his gun and eyes on Sarah, Chuck wasted no time. He pulled out his pistol and shot Quinn in the chest.
"I got this, get back to the boys" Chuck said hurriedly to Sarah. He looked over at her as she began to run back to the children. She knew Stephen was scared to death and it tore her up inside. She had to let him know everything was okay. She just wanted to hold her children.
Chuck walked over to Mike Quinn. There were no final words or last breaths, he was already gone. Chuck felt sick to his stomach. He never wanted to take a life, he knew he had no choice but it still felt so pointless that a life had to be taken. Father and son both died the same way, at the hands of a Bartowski. Poor Mike, Chuck thought, he died to avenge his father and he never even knew what kind of man his father was. He pulled out his phone to call 911 but had no signal. There was nothing more he could do here right now, he had to tend to his family.
As Chuck approached his wife and boys he found them still embraced in a big hug. Sarah looked up at him and he just shook his head. She understood the meaning and as he reached them she opened her arms for him as well. They stayed like that a few moments longer just holding each other until Stephen started to squirm out of the hug. The boy's face was tear stained but he had stopped crying the moment his mom held him, he knew everything was okay. He didn't know what was going on but he knew everything was okay.
Slowly they picked themselves up and Sarah could see the anguish in Chuck's eyes. He was a good man and he hated taking a life. He strapped back on the carrier and put John in it and she reached up to give him a small kiss. "You had no choice".
"I know" Chuck said grimly. "There's no cell signal here, I wasn't able to call 911. I'll help you to the car with the boys and I'll stay behind while you go and call."
"Chuck, I hate leaving you."
"I know, but just get the kids back to the chalet, Stephen has been through enough."
"I think I'll call Beckman first, maybe they can clean this mess up easier than the local authorities and we won't have to go through so much questioning."
"That's a good idea." Chuck said. "So much for a perfect vacation, huh?"
"All's well that ends well." Sarah said taking Chuck's hand in her right and Stephen's in her left. "Let's get back to the car".
Back at the car they had the kids all buckled in and Sarah and Chuck stood at the driver's side door holding each other before she had to go.
Sarah could tell that Chuck looked troubled. "Sweetie, I know you're not going to get over this right away but it was him or us."
"I know, I know and it isn't like we haven't seen death before, it's just that this time was different. I mean I felt bad about killing him as soon as it happened but up to that point I wanted nothing more than to kill him. I've never felt like that before. It's just that when I saw him with a gun on Stephen all I could think about was killing him. In my mind I was even going to make it slow and painful." He looked pained. "Does that make me a bad person?"
Sarah put her hands on her husband's cheeks and forced him to look into her eyes. "Chuck, you are not a bad person. You are the most kind and caring person I've ever met. If you were a bad person you wouldn't be questioning yourself right now. You were simply being a dad. A great one at that. One that cares so deeply for his family that he would do anything to keep them safe. Besides, you weren't the only one having those thoughts. No one and I mean no one threatens our kids Chuck. Do you think I'm a bad person Chuck?"
"Not in the least, you know that."
"I do Chuck and I love you all the more for what you did today. You saved us. You've saved me in more ways than one so many times. I'll be forever grateful to God for sending you to me."
"You're not the only grateful one." Chuck said as he leaned in close to kiss his wife. A kiss may be a simple thing but when their lips met it was more than just a meeting of their lips but it was also a meeting of their souls. They were made for each other and that was an undeniable fact. As their lips parted they both felt better. Not that everything seemed perfect in the world but everything did seem perfect between them. To them both that seemed like enough.
Sarah called Beckman and she was right. The CIA took care of everything quickly, and knowing Chuck's past the questioning was brief and then they took him back to the chalet. By this time, the families were all back for the day. Chuck was happy to see Stephen happily playing with Clara like he didn't have a care in the world. His young age was a blessing. He'd likely never remember today's events in the future and he knew John never would. This would simply be another one of him and Sarah's close calls. He'd hoped they'd left that behind with the CIA but he was wrong. He knew he wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight but at least he wouldn't be alone. In his wife he had a partner for life.
The next morning John had woke around 5 and with him Stephen got up too. Sarah just brought them both back into her and Chuck's room. She tended to John's needs and Stephen crawled into bed with Chuck and soon fell back to sleep. She then lay in bed too with their two sons between her and Chuck. At that time Chuck caught her eye and they shared a knowing look. We are so blessed.
Chuck whispered to his wife. "Is there anything more we could ask for then what we got right here?"
To his surprise Sarah's answer wasn't a simply no. "I can think of one thing" was her reply.
Chuck was shocked. "Oh really? What's that?"
Sarah smiled over at Chuck. "A little girl."
Chuck gave his wife a huge smile. "I like the sound of that, but first we'll have to practice. Don't you think?"
"Sounds like a plan" she said smiling back.
THE END
