Don't own Chuck
Jack hung up with Emma as Morgan took the girls to the rabbit hutch. Sam yelled out bunnies which meant she was now in heaven and he had a couple hours while they were there. He ducked out after telling Morgan he was heading to the gift shop and would be right back with surprises. Entering the gift shop he picked up two stuffed animals: a rabbit and a sheep. Inspecting both the rabbit that sat up right it had stitching across the bottom so when no one was looking Jack forced his thumb in through the seam making a small hole.
"Excuse me Miss can you ring me up? I'm in kind of a hurry," said Jack as he sat both animals on the counter. "They're for my princesses I left them with a friend at the petting zoo and I need to get back."
"Sure, these are great mementos," said the woman as she started to ring them up but noticed the rabbit had a hole in it with stuffing coming out. "I'm sorry but this one is damaged. Parents let their kids run wild in here. If you want you can get another one."
"I can't that one looks like the rabbit she has at home and I didn't see another one on the shelf. My little Darling is going to be disappointed unless you can sell me that one."
"I know I'll give you a two for one sale if that's alright by you. With a little needle and thread it will be as good as new."
"I guess you're right," said Jack shaking his head. "I don't want to disappoint my little angel." He handed the woman cash then walked out. Looking around not seeing anyone he made a quick call.
"It's me don't talk just listen. Things went terribly wrong the Doctor's dead and I've got the chip. … I don't know if the Iranians are on to me but I'm going to need some help. … I'll hide the chip where no one will be able to find it but there's got to be video of us with the Doctor so use your magic and make it go away. If you don't and they get hold of it, it won't be difficult for them to track us down. … I can't talk anymore or I'm going to be missed. Rendezvous with me tomorrow in the park and if you don't see me things went south. I know you don't want to bring Chuck and Sarah in but there might not be a choice. I'm sorry I've got to go," said Jack as he hung up.
Sorry, why'd he say sorry he thought? He'd been roped into this and things definitely had gone south when he saw Arman walking around the Zoo that could only mean he was looking for them. Jack made a beeline for Morgan and the Kids.
"Look what I got for my two gals," said Jack as he handed them the stuffed animal. "We need to go home I just got another call from Emma and we need to stop on the way home to grab some sour cream. She needs it right away so we have to go, chop chop."
"Bunny good," yelled Sam as put both under her arms as she walked next to Morgan. She was happy with Jack's gift but Molly didn't seem all that enthused.
"What is it darling," asked Jack as he looked around making sure Arman wasn't around and the coast was clear to their vehicle.
"Nothing and thanks for the gift," said Molly as she carried the sheep out by the horn.
"If you want I can exchange it for another animal. How about a monkey, a baboon, turkey or a Morgan?" said Jack. Molly smiled but Morgan wasn't going to let him get away with that.
"Hey watch it Jack. You could have gotten a mule they're Jack…." Morgan started to say but Jack interrupted him.
"We get the picture. So princess what's the problem," asked Jack as they got into the car. "You can tell Jack."
"Dad, I'm getting a little old for stuffed animals and dolls. Yes, I play with Sam but that's to keep her company. Thanks for the sheep but you didn't have to bother. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," said Jack as he brushed it off but he remembered the day Sarah told him the same thing. It was inevitable but it didn't mean he had to like it.
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Arman looked over the whole zoo but couldn't find them. He followed their car there but lost them in the parking lot and somehow they had managed to disappear inside the zoo. He knew Kasper wasn't going to be happy but there wasn't much he could do. Checking all the places he thought they might be but either he was arrived too early or too late just after they had gone. They were nowhere so he went back to his car and sat inside. He called Kasper and put the phone on speaker as he studied the crowd coming and going hoping he'd have some luck.
"Kasper, they're gone I can't find them. I think that guy Cobra must be on to us. That's the only explanation how they could've disappeared like this."
"Are you sure you just didn't let them get away? It doesn't matter anyway come back to the track and pick me up. It looks like the police might just give us a helping hand finding them."
"What do you mean?" asked Arman as he started the car and pulled out heading back to Santa Anita Racetrack.
"I overheard some of the police talking and they think our two guys are involved in the homicide of our good doctor. You know what that means if we keep an ear out on the police band we'll be able to find out where our people live and maybe beat them to intercept."
"Sounds good I should be there to pick you up in fifteen. If you're out front I only need to slow down then we can go. What are we doing about the horse?"
"I think we have to write it off as a lost. The police have confiscated everything and are looking over the horse as we speak. I called the shop and had everything closed down. They're in the middle of scuttling the place now."
"I agree. Make sure they torch the place we've got to make sure we don't leave anything behind. Once we have the chip we can come up with another way to ship it home. I'm going to hang up I'm almost there."
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Chuck and Sarah were headed home from the clinic sitting silently in the car. Chuck was waiting for Sarah to start but she was just looking at the road but he could tell her mind was a million miles away. There was something bothering her, something the doctor had told her. Why did the doctor tell her to see her OB/GYN? What was going on? He wished she'd say something because he was in unknown waters here and he felt like he was drowning.
"Sarah, you know you can talk to me about anything?" said Chuck trying to build up to ask her what was going on. "There's nothing you need to worry about. Nothing will change the way I feel."
"Of course I do, haven't we had this conversation already" said Sarah as she glanced over at him and he nodded his head.
"Yes, but I wanted to remind you then I wanted to…." but before he could finish speaking her phone rang.
"It's in my purse can you get it?" Saved by the bell she thought. "Who is it? We really need to call Jack now and find out if my assumption is correct."
"Yes, we do," Chuck said maybe that was it but why the OB/GYN. "No that's not it… Oh no I didn't mean to say that… I mean it's the General… Oh, let me put her on speaker. Go ahead General, Sarah and I are together. I've been cleared for duty so go ahead."
"Yes I know and congratulations. It's good to have you back but I didn't call to exchange pleasantries. We received word that there was a mysterious fire down at Omar's Emporium and Persian Imports in Chinatown off Alameda. Rumor has it that the VAJA were using it as a front company. I need for you two to take your special skillsets and look around. Beckman out."
"Roger that," said Chuck. He hadn't been on bed rest for that long but it still felt good to be finally able to say that again. Chuck hung up. "Do you think this is coincidence after your sighting at the airport?"
"I don't know but we're here and we can find out," said Sarah as she pulled across from a smoldering building. Fire trucks had just left the scene and there were still a few firemen walking around.
"Why don't I go in and you try to call Jack. You can join me afterwards besides you're not dressed for burning building inspection."
"Listen buddy, I have a pair of coveralls and flats in the trunk," said Sarah then she toned down. "Sorry I barked, I know you were only concerned. Okay let me call Jack then I'll join you."
Chuck walked across the police line even more concerned about Sarah. Could it be Jack or was it something more and was this something more connected with a medical condition. All this he had in his head spinning around when a man yelled for him to stop but he kept on walking thinking.
"Hey Buddy this is a crime scene no lollygagging allowed. Get behind the yellow ribbon or I'll have you hauled away."
"What?" said Chuck. "Lollygagging, I haven't heard that in a while." Chuck held up his badge. "Agent Carmichael, homeland what do you have here?"
"Eric Smith, L.A. County Fire marshal, I was expecting you guys. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you guys would be interested with a name like Oriental Imports and this was definitely arson. Whoever set it didn't even try to hide their handy work. I've got accelerants in every room. Looks like they wanted this place to burn down to ash and they did a pretty good job of it."
"Do you mind if I look around," said Chuck. His nose caught an acrid odor that he recognized. "I'd like to do my own investigation."
"Sure go ahead but be careful to the exterior walls without the supporting structure they could come down but other than that the building is fairly stable. However, we're still talking about a house of cards one thing goes and who knows what could come down with it. Hey lady," said Eric as he started to yell at Sarah.
"She's with me," said Chuck as he went over to meet her. "Follow me this way," he said as he led her into a backroom. "Do you smell that?"
"It smells like a lot of burnt hair but I'm guessing that's from the carpets. Why are picking something else up? You know Casey is going to give you so much crap about that nose."
"That's why I'm not going to tell him. The odor smells like John's beast master, and it's coming from over there," said Chuck as he picked up what looked like a blackened scimitar and began poking around in a mat of burnt carpets that were still smoldering. "Phew," said Chuck as he got to the source of the odor. "I'm going to have nightmares for a while about this and I won't want barbeque anytime soon."
"What is it," asked Sarah as she walked up behind him. In the middle of the molten mesh was a partially burnt body with ligature marks around its throat still visible.
"I think we found Harvey," said Chuck. "You should call this in as he continued to look around. Were you able to contact Jack?"
"They're sending a team down now and Beckman wants us to secure the scene. No Jack's phone was busy I'll try again later. Have you found anything else?"
"No everything is pretty much torched," said Chuck as he kicked around in the rubble. "You know this isn't the most appropriate place to ask this, with a half burnt corpse looking like something from the Living Dead and this building too but when I told you, you could tell me anything, that was kind of an invitation."
"I don't understand," said Sarah as she kicked around the ash looking away. She knew what he wanted to know but she didn't know how to talk to him about it. How was she supposed to tell him that she didn't know if she could give him anymore children knowing how much he wanted them and for that matter how much she wanted them? Maybe she hadn't wanted them at the beginning but now, with Sam, she saw how much a difference Sam made in her life. Yes, she wanted other kids; she wanted a herd of little nerds. But it didn't look like it was going to be that way.
"Well are you going to make me ask you?" said Chuck as he got a little mad. "Why is it that our pact only seems to apply to me?"
"That's not fair," said Sarah taken off guard by what Chuck said. "I share! Just maybe talking about myself doesn't come easy to me like it does for you, but I share most of the time. It's just some things are just not important."
"So you're telling me I rattle on about things that you don't care about… thanks that's good to know. Am I annoying you now with my dribble?"
"That's not what I meant and you know it. Oh Chuck come back here and let's talk," said Sarah as he walked off.
"You don't want to… Maybe this isn't the right place. I want to talk with the Fire Marshal to see what kind of accelerant was used. Maybe I can annoy him for a bit."
"Oh Chuck," said Sarah as she continued her search. One thing she was going to have to do was to talk to Jack again about the VAJA agent she saw him with. This couldn't be a coincidence she sees him with an Iranian spy, a smart chip goes missing and now they find Harvey's body in some sort of Iranian safe house. "Jack, what have you gotten yourself involved in?"
Chuck walked back out to the yellow tape were the rest of the fire inspectors and police were waiting for their team to arrive.
"Hey we're waiting here out of the way until your people get here," said Eric a little curt but Chuck could understand his job just got yanked out from under him.
"Have you been able to figure out what kind of accelerant they used to start the fires," asked Chuck. "The smell reminds me of gasoline."
"Give the man a cigar that's because that's what it is. These people weren't trying to hide this as anything other than what it is, arson. I heard from one of my men you found a body. My best guess is they were trying to destroy a crime scene. But I told this already to your colleague."
"She's my wife," said Chuck. There was no reason for him to tell the guy but it was better before any awkward moments occurred.
"Not the lady, the other guy," said Eric he caught Chucks look. "You know the guy had a badge like yours. He was a about average size with dark hair and complexion. There he is next to that wall. What's he doing next to it? Hey you over there," yelled Eric.
But as he yelled the wall fell inward where Chuck had left Sarah and after it fell there were a series of others that collapsed like dominoes one on top of the other. As he watched the walls falling his heart sank into his stomach. He ran back over through the dust and debris tossing bricks off the heap that was created.
"Sarah! My God no, Sarah can you hear me?" He yelled as he frantically threw bricks digging in the debris with his bare hands.
"Chuck, can you be careful where you throw those bricks. You almost hit me," said Sarah as she walked out of a dust cloud coughing. "What's the matter?"
"Don't you ever do that to me again," he said as he ran to her hugging her. "I'm sorry for before I was acting childish. If you don't want to talk to me about what's bothering you, you don't have to. You love me, that's all that's important and I love you."
"Here drink this," said Eric handing her a bottle of water. He and his men can running over to help dig Sarah out but when they arrived they found she hadn't been inside when walls came down.
"Thanks, I thought I heard something in the back then when I got there the whole thing started falling in. Lucky for me I was out when it happened.
"I don't think luck had anything to do with it," said Chuck as he looked at Eric who nodded back. "You said the building was stable."
"And I would've sworn to it," said Eric as one of his men brought over some metallic debris he'd found by the initial exterior wall that fell creating the domino effect.
"Can I see that," said Chuck as he cleared his throat. Chuck flashed. "I need this as evidence this is a micro charge. Our guy used this to bring the first wall down. The one good thing is he didn't want to hurt anyone that's why he got you to pull your people out then made noise in the back knowing we'd investigate."
"What's this all about?" asked more out of reflex than reason. Eric realized he and his men were in over their head on this one.
"I wish I knew but I'm going to find out," said Chuck as he looked at the markings on the metal.
Beckman's men arrived on station so Chuck and Sarah were able to turn everything over to them and they went home. They first popped their heads over at Emma's, she had finished her goulash and the house smelt Hungarian. After that they went home to get cleaned up and ready.
"Did you notice if Casey was home when we came in?" yelled Chuck as Sarah was in the shower trying to get some of the grim and grit off her from the collapsed building. "Strange, I thought Alex would be over already."
"Chuck, can you hand me my bathrobe," asked Sarah. He tossed it to her then got in after she got out. He heard the hairdryer start as he took his shower then when he finished he went into the bedroom. There Sarah was supposed to be drying her hair but he found her with the hairdryer on and her sitting in on the bed crying.
"Hey, what is it," asked Chuck as he took the dryer from her and turned it off then hugged her. "This has to do with my appointment this morning, doesn't it?" Sarah nodded her head. "Do you have cancer?"
"No, why would you think that… Oh the OB/GYN, no it doesn't have…. Is that what you thought? I'm so sorry; no that's not it at all. I'm a terrible wife."
"No you're not; now please tell me what's going on. We could play charades but that would take all night and Emma's waiting for us."
"I know you want a big family but Chuck I may not be able to give it to you. The doctor told me that my intersect might be what's keeping me from getting pregnant and that if I did get pregnant I might not be able to take it to term."
"This is what's been bothering you? Why didn't you tell me before now? Listen, we have our daughter and if that's all the children we're to have then so be it. I have my other half, you. You are my love, I'm already complete and we have Sam so anything else would just be extra. I'm not saying I wouldn't want other children what I'm saying is I am happy with the way we are now."
"You say that now but thirty years from now when we're old like the Turners will you still be happy with me then?"
"Sam will be thirty-two and maybe with a family of her own. Then we get to be grandparents and spoil her kids. Telling them all about how she used to run around the house until she was thirty with Mr. Rabbit under her arm. Molly will visit with her kids then we'll have the big tribe. You see you don't have to do all the heavy lifting by yourself," said Chuck as he kissed her.
"Why is it that you make everything seem so easy? I love you, Grandpa Chuck," said Sarah as she kissed him. "Can you image Jack as a great grandfather? They should be back soon. Let's hurry up or Mom will get mad and thank you," said Sarah as she kissed him again.
They got dressed and were coming out of the apartment when Jack and Morgan came walking across the courtyard with the girls, each had a stuffed animal from the zoo.
"So you did go to the zoo," said Chuck as he and Sarah bent down so the girls could show them their animals. "Did you have a good time with Jack and Uncle Morgan?"
"Yeah, really great," said Molly. Just then Alex and Casey came out of his apartment with Kat standing in the doorway.
"Morgan, do you have anything to say," said Alex with a tone that told everyone how she was feeling. "Before you say anything you have to know I tried to use my debit card today."
"Oh no what time? I hope not this morning," he said but given her tone of voice it was when the account was empty. "Listen before you say anything let's go check the total and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."
"Wait a minute what went on today," said Alex as she looked at Jack and Morgan.
"They went to the racetrack is what happened," said Sarah but she got cut off when other people entered the courtyard.
"Jack Burton, Morgan Grimes," said a plain clothes detective walking into the courtyard with two patrolmen from L.A. County Sheriff's department. "You both need to come with me. You're wanted in the death of Dr. Franz Schultz. Doctor Schultz was found dead in the paddock area at Santa Anita Racetrack today," said the detective then he read them their rights. The two uniformed officers handcuffed them.
"Wait, we're going with you," said Chuck as he showed them his badge then Casey joined in.
"That's right Colonel Casey NSA," said John as he showed them his badge.
"We're running them back to Arcadia for processing and interrogation but I can tell you, you won't be able to see them until tomorrow."
"That's unacceptable officer," said Chuck as he got out his phone to call the General. "We'll see about that."
"Those are the rules. I don't make them up I just follow them. Take them away," said the Detective to the uniformed officers. "No man is above the law; you people of all people should know that."
"Listen Detective, small town cop, I don't need for you to come in here and lecture me. That's my son-in-law you're taking with you. If anything happens to him I'm holding you personally responsible."
"Is that a threat Colonel?"
"I don't make threats," said Casey as he got up in the man's face. "Do you understand me?"
