A/N: Thank you to everyone who continues to review and/or read this story. I appreciate more than you know.
Thank you to Michael66 who beta'd this chapter for me. I'm proud to say that because of this chapter, he is now enjoying a new television show.
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck or any of the other TV shows I use *cough, exploit, cough*, because clearly, I've never had an original idea.
Chapter 11 – The Comic Center of Pasadena
They strolled down the sidewalk toward the comic book store. The talk in the car cemented a bond between the two Sarahs, who now walked comfortably side-by-side. Jen couldn't be happier than seeing her daughter and her friend form a relationship.
Out of the blue, Jen said, "Hey! Why isn't it 'Spidermun?' You know, like Goldman, Silverman?"
Her daughter giggled and answered, "It's not his last name."
Sarah turned her head and leaned forward to get a better look at the other two. They both wore grins and seemed to be in their own little world.
"It's not?" Jen said in astonishment.
"No. It's not like…like 'Phil Spidermun.' He's a spider man. You know, like, uh, like Goldman is a last name, but there's no gold man," she replied to her mother in a very serious tone.
"Oh, okay!" Jen said. She paused and the exclaimed excitedly, "There should be a 'Gold-Man!'"
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They approached the front of the comic books store when Jen asked, "So what kind of powers would Gold-Man have?"
Her daughter thought for a moment and answered, "Okay, well, he would turn things to gold."
"What about things that are already gold?"
She smiled triumphantly when she answered with a grin, "Ah, his work is done."
Sarah was the first to reach the door to the comic book store and opened it with a smile. That conversation sounded like the kind of discussion Chuck and Morgan would have. Nerds really are everywhere, she thought as Jen and her daughter walked through the open door. She followed them inside the store and stopped in her tracks. Truer words were never spoken, she thought as she looked around the store.
The place was floor to ceiling all things comic and science fiction. There were comic books, posters, t-shirts, action figures and sculpted minis. There was Star Wars, Star Trek and Lord of the Rings. There was Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Flash, Catwoman, Wonder Woman and every other comic book character imaginable. Against the walls were black metal wire magazine racks that held every different comic book one could ever want, each carefully protected by from dirt and oily fingers by plastic sleeves.
"Whoa," Sarah breathed. "How have Chuck and Morgan never been here?" she wondered aloud. "It's Nerdvana."
"I don't know if you should tell them about it," Jen said quietly. "You may never see your husband again. He'll just live here."
Sarah nodded mutely, still overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff around her as they walked further into the store. In fact, she was so flummoxed that she didn't even notice that everyone in the store had stopped talking and was staring at her, mouths agape.
Jen noticed immediately and smirked. She gently elbowed her daughter and pointed with her head at the sight before them. Sarah grinned and nodded with understanding. Her mom leaned close and said softly, "This happens all the time. She's like nerd Kryptonite. She renders helpless every nerd she meets."
Sarah giggled and Jen continued, "Do you remember my friend James from the UCLA library?" Her daughter nodded. "He looked just like that guy over there," she said, indicating the man of Indian descent wearing a paisley shirt, argyle vest and polyester tracksuit jacket. His eyes were glazed and stared unfixed at the older Sarah. The younger Sarah snorted and then clamped her hand over her mouth in embarrassment at the sound she had made.
The Indian man was apparently accompanied by a tall, thin man wearing a Green Lantern t-shirt over a red long sleeved shirt, a much shorter man with wavy hair and black rimmed glasses and a man who could only be described as a cross between Ringo Starr and Austin Powers. He was resplendent in his skin tight red pants, matching red turtleneck and large Batman belt buckle. The four of them stood at the four corners of one of the tables that held hundreds of comic books, each standing upright and encased in their protective plastic sleeves. The tallest man was the first to return to rifling through the row of comic books before him.
Jen and the two Sarah's began browsing around the store and tried to ignore the heated, whispered argument that seemed to break out between the four men at the table. Each would occasionally steal quick and furtive glances at Sarah, who chose to simply ignore them. Instead, she approached the man behind the sales counter to ask him for assistance. Her movement caused the room to fall silent again. Jen and her daughter simply watched the scene unfold before them with great amusement.
"How can I help you," the man behind the counter asked Sarah bravely, his voice stronger than he felt.
Sarah gave him a smile. "I'm looking for the com-, the Brian K. Vaughn graphic novel series, Ex Machina. Could you point them out to me?"
He jerked when he heard that she actually sounded like she knew what she was talking about. His chest puffed out a little when he came around the end of the counter and strode toward the table that held what she was looking for. Although the tall, thin man was no longer watching the scene, all other eyes, including a large man wearing sweatpants and a Captain America t-shirt, were on him enviously as he proudly said, "Here are all of the Brian Vaughn things we have. Go ahead and take a look."
She smiled her thanks and then raised an eyebrow at him when he continued to stand next to her. He got the hint and mumbled, "Let me know if I can help you in any way." Turning away reluctantly, he shuffled back toward the counter.
The store grew fairly quite again as the only sounds heard were the rustling of plastic sheathed comic books and graphic novels as they were shuffled through and examined. The only other sound was someone quietly saying over and over, "Got it. Got it. Got it. Got it. Got it."
"Hush, Sheldon," the shorter man with the glasses said to the tall, thin man without looking up. "You're bothering the other customers."
Sheldon's head snapped up from the row of comics he was perusing and replied emphatically, "Me? I'm not saying anything." He looked around and said, "It's coming from that blonde woman over there." He looked back down to the comics before him and said, "Frankly, Leonard, I don't find what she's doing bothersome at all."
"Gee, I wonder why?" Leonard replied sarcastically.
Jen and her daughter wandered over to where Sarah stood looking through the Brian Vaughn graphic novels and saw the frustrated look on her face. She huffed and said, "Chuck already has all of these. I guess I'm going to have to find something else for him to read." The other two were as clueless as she and simply shrugged.
Sarah blew her bangs out of her eyes and harrumphed. "What else does Chuck like to read?" she wondered aloud. Then she remembered the stop they made when they were on the run in Europe. Chuck had to stop and pick up the newest comic book for…oh, what was it? She wished she had paid more attention but at the time she had…other things on her mind. Her mind wandered a bit and a small smile crept across her face as her eyes lost focus. That time on the train was…mmmm. She jumped a little when she heard Jen clear her throat and blushed when she saw the amused look on her friend's face. "Sorry."
Sarah turned to Jen and her daughter and said, "Chuck and I were…ah…traveling in Europe," Jen rolled her eyes knowing there was more to the story. There was always more to the story with Sarah. "And we were at the Montparnasse train station waiting to board our train to Zurich."
She paused and smiled at the memory of the thrill of finally being with Chuck for real and forever. Shaking her head a little, she continued, "I had gone into one of the shops to pick up a couple bottles of water for us to drink while we waited for our train. Chuck found a magazine stand and bought a comic book. I remember him saying something about it being a 'DC Comic' that he wanted to get."
She stopped and closed her eyes, trying to picture the front of the comic book in her mind. "All I can remember is a little goblin looking guy on the back and some legs in green tights in the upper left hand corner of the cover."
"I'm sorry," the taller man apparently named Sheldon said as he moved around the table toward them. "I couldn't help but overhear. Perhaps I can help."
"Sheldon!" Leonard hissed. "Don't bother them!"
"No, it's okay. Really," Sarah replied to Leonard. "I would love it if he can help."
Sheldon shot Leonard a smug look and then turned back to Sarah. "I believe you are thinking of Justice League of America." Very pleased with himself he said with hint of smile, "Those of us who are fans simply call it 'JLA.'"
Sarah's eyes lit up with recognition. "Yes! That's it! He said he wanted to get the most recent JLA."
"Of course," Sheldon answered as if it was obvious. "Let me see," he crossed one arm across his chest, rested the elbow of his other arm and put a finger against the side of his face. "You were in Europe in April of 2010. Am I correct?" His voice was filled with certainty and a more than a little smugness.
Sarah narrowed her eyes warily. How could he know that?
Leonard had been watching the exchange and saw the concerned look appear on Sarah's face. He rushed over and said, "Don't worry. He's not a stalker or anything. He's kind of a savant when it comes to comics." He waited a beat and then added, "Well, and everything else."
Sarah seemed to relax a bit. Sheldon nodded and said, "You see, I have memorized all of the JLA covers along with their corresponding publication dates and issue numbers. Based on your description of the cover, I believe the issue you saw was number 44, which also had the words, 'Brightest Day' at the top." He turned suddenly, stalked over to the Justice League section and quickly fingered through the comics. His fingers stopped and pulled out a comic. Flashing at her, he said triumphantly, "Ah! Here it is. This is the one you saw."
Sarah's face registered shock and surprise. "Yes, that's the one!" she cried happily.
"Well, of course it is," Sheldon huffed, as if he being wrong was the silliest idea in the world.
"So, I guess you're still with this guy?" Leonard asked slowly hoping the answer was no. He pinched his fingers together and twisted them against each other nervously. He did not hear the answer he was hoping for.
"Yes," Sarah answered blissfully. "As a matter of fact, I married him."
Leonard shoulders slumped slightly.
"Well, congratulations to you for finding a man with such exquisite taste in comics. You must be very proud," Sheldon said with a sincere grin.
Sarah suppressed the giggle that threatened to bubble over and bit down the retort of, Yes, a man's taste in comic books is what's important to me. She knew he was being sincere so she instead smiled at him and said truthfully, "Thank you. I am very proud of him. We're very happy."
Leonard's shoulders slumped lower and he turned dejectedly and shuffled back toward his previous spot at the comics table.
Jen smirked when she heard the Indian man tease Leonard by saying, "Shot down by a blonde again. Stick with brunettes, Leonard."
"Shut up, Raj," Leonard shot back.
"Yeah, tough break buddy," the one in all red said. Then he snorted and said, "As if you had a chance with her even if she wasn't married."
"Thanks for the support, Howard," Leonard said, his word dripping with sarcasm. "It's overwhelming."
Back at the other table, Sarah had informed Sheldon that she and Chuck had been extremely busy in the last few months and so Chuck had not had a chance to buy any new comics in quite awhile. Apparently there were fifteen new Justice League issues for her to buy for Chuck. She felt like she had struck the mother lode in a nerd gold mine.
While Sheldon happily assisted Sarah in finding all of the new issues she needed, Jen and her daughter wandered around the store again.
"Sarah, do you still want to try to find some things to read when you go to Grandma and Grandpa's in a couple of days?"
She shrugged and replied, "I'd like to, but I have no idea what I might like to read."
Howard overheard that and snickered at Raj, "Hey, Raj. Maybe you can help her. Go talk to her."
Raj's eyes nearly popped out of his head and face showed abject terror. He silently shook his head rapidly and rather violently. He looked over at the teenager who glanced at him curiously.
Sarah and her mom continued to scan the racks until one caught her eye. Sarah took it off the rack and turned to the first page. A smile crept across her face as she started to read it. "I've actually heard of this one," she said to her mom. "It's the 'Black Widow.' She's some kind of superspy and was played by Scarlett Johansen in Ironman 2." She thumbed through the rest of the magazine and nodded her head. "I like spy stories. Can I get it?" she asked.
"Sure, sweetie. Spies are cool, aren't they? Why don't you get as many as you can? You won't be able to start at the beginning, but maybe as you start reading them, you can eventually figure out what's going on." They were able to track down several collections of "Black Widow" and when they were both satisfied that they had found something to entertain her on her trip, they walked back to Sarah, who seemed to be trapped in a conversation with Sheldon.
"…and so evil Wil Wheaton lied to me and told me his mee-maw died." He paused for a moment and then finished dramatically, "I opened my soul to him and he crushed it. How apt a name, Wesley Crusher," he seemed to say to no one in particular.
Jen needed no invitation to come to her friend's rescue so she swooped in and said, "Hey, Aunt Sarah, look at the time! We really need to get going."
Sarah looked down at her watch and feigned shock and she replied, "Yes, look at that! It's much later than I realized. We do need to get going."
Sheldon's eyes narrowed. He looked at Jen, pointed to Sarah and asked, "Is she your aunt? Is she the sister of one of your parents? You are clearly older than her. The nomenclature of 'aunt' is usually given to the older person, not the younger."
Jen scowled, but then her face softened. He's right. Who am I kidding? "She's my younger sister and my daughter's aunt," she said, pointing to Sarah. "Can't you see the family resemblance," she said, barely keeping the laughter from her voice.
Sheldon was now utterly confused. "But I heard you call your daughter Sarah."
"That's right, I did."
"Don't you find that to be confusing?"
"No, not when we all call my sister 'Aunt Sarah.'"
"But she's not your aunt. You are using a familiarity that does not apply. When you are with both your daughter and your sister, you should call her Sister Sarah."
"Yes, but then she sounds like a nun with two mules. Besides, she just got married. She's no nun."
Sarah blushed, nudged her friend and said sarcastically, "Thanks for that, Sis."
Jen grinned, enjoying the game of messing with Sheldon's head. "What about my daughter? Should I call her 'Daughter Sarah' when I'm together with both of them?" An evil grin crossed her face as she said innocently, "Isn't that was Einstein's Theory of Relativity is all about? What to call our family members?"
Sheldon convulsed and his face grew beet red. "No!" he shouted, "That is not what Einstein's Theory is all about! It's about…"
He was interrupted when Jen laughed and shouted, "Bazinga!"
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The three ladies purchased their comics and left the store, much to the disappointment of the young men who were still there. Sheldon had actually laughed when he realized he was being teased by Jen and informed her that she was very "droll." Whether or not they would return to the comic book store was another question. They had overheard that Wednesday night was comic book store night for the four young men, so they decided if they ever did come back, they might come on a Tuesday.
Over the course of the evening, the two Sarah's had become fast friends and had even exchanged cell phone numbers. Sarah had even asked her "niece" if it was okay if she texted her when she was visiting her grandparents. She was touched and gratified when she saw a huge smile explode on the teenager's face.
Sarah dropped the Hatch girls off at their house and then drove straight home. She opened the front door and expected to see Chuck sitting on the couch, watching TV. Instead she was surprised to find that although the lights in the apartment were on, the TV was off and the couch was empty. Chuck's Herder was parked at the back of the apartment building, so she assumed he was home. Stepping over the threshold, she quietly closed the door and set down her purse on the coffee table. She kicked off her shoes, picked them up and silently padded across the room and down the hall toward their bedroom.
The moonlight filtered through the curtains and fell across the face of her sleeping husband. He was lying on his back, his eyes closed and his breathing slow and steady. What time was it? How late was I out? She was surprised when she glanced at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it read 9:45 pm.
Was he sick? Her stomach flipped at the thought. She tiptoed into the room and gently placed her hand on his forehead. A sigh of relief slipped through her lips when she found it cool to her touch. Softly, she slid her hand from his forehead and let it rest for a moment on the side of his face, watching his peaceful face as he slept. She sat down lightly on the side of the bed next to his sleeping form. He was so out of it, the dip in the bed when she sat didn't cause him to stir at all.
She gazed at him and thought back over the last couple of weeks. Thinking about everything he'd been doing, she realized that he had to be absolutely and utterly exhausted. In addition to working his regular shifts at the Buy More, he had been putting in crazy hours trying to get Castle outfitted and re-building his father's laptop computer. He also was dealing with the loss of the Intersect and being newly married. No wonder he's completely worn out. She hoped things would slow down a little for them once the Intersect was out of Morgan's head.
Her hand remained on the side of his face, her thumb lightly tracing his lips. He could never fully understand how grateful she was to him for what he had done for her, the gift he was to her. She vowed to show him every day. Leaning forward, she kissed him gently on the lips, whispered "I love you" and then stole out of the room to turn off the lights in the apartment.
A moment later she was back in their room where she slipped out of her clothes, threw on her tank top and boy shorts and crawled into the bed next to him. Not wanting to wake him, she refrained from putting her head on his shoulder the way she usually did when they fell asleep together. She still craved a connection to him, though, so she softly rested her hand on his arm. Even in his sleep state, he seemed to know she was there and rolled onto his side, draping his arm over her. She smiled and flipped onto her side, slid back until she felt him against her back and held his arm in hers, like a child clutching a teddy bear. Safely in his arms, she fell asleep and dreamed that she was the mother of a teenage girl with long blonde hair and a braces filled smile. And it didn't scare her at all.
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A/N 2: The "Spidermun" dialog at the beginning of the chapter comes directly from an episode of Friends. I can't and won't take any credit for the fantastic words written by Adam Chase, the writer of "The One with the Tiny T-Shirt."
Next time on Return of the Ninja Librarian:
She took a deep breath, trying to calm the elephants jumping on trampolines in her stomach.