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Chapter 14
"Alright this is the plan." Sarah stated pulling out a rolled up piece of paper. She unrolled it with the help of Chuck and laid it flat on the dining room table. "Ellie you are to decorate the courtyard, I want extra twinkle lights here, here, and here with a table set up on the left side for gifts and opposite side for refreshments. Devon you are to be the go to guy, you are to make sure Ellie has anything and everything she wants or needs when she asks for it for this mission. Morgan, you are to…" Sarah paused and looked at the eager looking bearded man.
"Yeah yeah? What you need me to do Sarah?" He asked enthusiastically. Sarah thought for a second.
"You, uh have the most important task." She said lowering her voice to make it sound even more important. Morgan leaned in closer giving her his full attention. "You are to distract the mark so they won't know what's going on when we hit." She told him seriously. Morgan nodded, stood up straight and saluted before walking away to do his part.
"Uh, Sarah-"
"Chuck you are to go to the store and pick up the other supplies needed, here is the list." She slapped the list into his chest hard causing him to make an 'ouf' sound. "And last but not least Casey, you are to supervise and make sure everything goes according to plan and weed out any hostiles that make attempt to make it in. Set your watches everyone, mission starts in three hours let's move it and lets not screw this up." She said as she looked around at the people surrounding her.
The stunned silence of the group around her caused her to scowl. She wasn't sure how they were going to accomplish this with the team she was stuck with. She thought idly for a moment bringing in a backup team for this but decided at the last second not to.
"Come on people move!" She said loudly and they all scattered to their various tasks. Chuck stayed back for a second watching the other scatter and waited for the last person to close the apartment door.
"Uh, Sarah, darling." Sarah looked up from the plans scowling. "My love. This isn't a mission where the national security of the country is dependent on its success. It's a two year olds birthday party." The scowl deepened and her eyebrows narrowed.
"It's not just a birthday party Chuck. She's going to look back on this someday and think 'wow, I'm very much loved and had a great time that my friends and family went through all this trouble for me."
"Actually she's not going remember any of this sweetie she's two. I don't believe children's minds start really recording till about aged 4." Sarah crossed her arms at him refusing to answer his logic. "Or you know she'll see the video and pictures and think "oh man this is fabulous." He amended.
Feet running down the hall from the back room disrupted them luckily for Chuck as Morgan ran into the room with the phone plastered to his ear talking to someone. Stepping up to Chuck and Sarah he bowed his head in submission and held out the phone.
"Milady, the bakery is on the phone." He said. Sarah took the phone from him and he ran back to where he came from, presumably to entertain Lily while they got the party together.
"Calmly sweetie, remember your people skills." Chuck reminded her soothingly as Sarah put the phone to her ear.
"This is Sarah." She said into it. She paused for a second to listen before eyes narrowed again and her anger rose. She could see Chucks concerned face as he tried placating her but it didn't seem to work. "What do you mean you're out of the Little Mermaid cake toppers? You guaranteed you had it in stock when I ordered it last week."
Sarah looked over at Chuck as he slumped against the table next to her with a defeated look on his face. She knew he was aware her patience was at all-time low with this but she wanted everything to be perfect for Lily's second birthday. She was a trained agent who planned missions of infiltration, seduction and assassination. She can plan a child's birthday party.
"No, I don't want the two inch play set toppers. If I wanted those I would have ordered those. This is for a baby she'll chew on it and choke and by god I swear if that happens I will come down there and make sure you reenact it before I really make you suffer. I want the big Little Mermaid cake toppers as promise and I demand it within the hour as originally agreed upon."
With that she hung up the phone and looked at Chuck whose head hung low with his arms crossed over his chest.
"What?" She said impatiently. Chuck shook his head and raised his hands in surrender.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing. I uh, have my own list to care for so if you're excuse me." He stuttered leaning in to give her a kiss before backing out of the room. She watched him go with a scowl.
She knew she was going overboard. She was well aware it was just a two year olds birthday but that didn't matter to her. She wanted that little girl to have the best she can have for as long as she can have it.
She knew without a doubt that Chuck would never leave her of his own accord. They've talked about it before and the only thing that will take him away is his death and he was doing everything he could to prevent that. His parents abandoning him even though he understood why his father had left still left a pain inside of him that will never go away, and he was determined to make sure Lily never felt that, especially since she already had to contend with the feelings of hurt by her mother being absent from her life.
Her own family, well, her mother left when she was child and her father was a con man. What else is there to say about that? She didn't have the best role models growing up and she wholeheartedly believed that's what made her the best CIA Agent. She started with nothing and CIA filled that void.
She refused to allow that to happen to Lily. She was determined to make sure she had the best life possible with the most happy memories. She already was screwed with her moth being a traitor to her country who ended up killing herself after trying to kill Lily. Sarah wondered quite a bit on what Chuck will tell Lily when she gets older and is curious about her mother.
"Sarah, want to come out and inspect what we've done so far?" Ellies voice rang through the opened front window. Sarah shook herself from her thoughts and walked out to the courtyard.
She was amazed by it. It was beautifully decorated in blues, pinks and greens. Balloons littered the place and twinkle lights hung from balcony's and off the sides. There were tables set around the courtyard holding food and a pile of presents already.
It was absolutely perfect, except for the cake which Chuck had been carrying in right as she thought about it. She could tell by his slightly red cheeks that it's not exactly what she asked for and she marched up to him as he set it down on the table and looked at it.
Instead of the Little mermaid, it was decorated with Tangled toys with the horse, that lizard thing and the main characters. She took a deep breath and looked up at Chuck who gave her a bright smile.
"They didn't have the toys Sarah. So I authorized this. I'm sorry. You're right the others were too small for her and those people were so scared. We got this for half off and they made it extra special. I promise." He told her placing a comforting hand tentatively on her shoulder.
Sarah took a few deep breaths. She was ok with this. Lily had been obsessively watching Little Mermaid recently hence the cake topers but Chuck is her father and made the decision. She could live with that. Besides Lily enjoyed Tangled as well, and so did Sarah secretly.
Soon the guests started to arrive, and by guests it mostly meant people from the Buy More and fellow doctors and nurses of Ellie and Devon who had children and knew Lily. There were a couple of people from the park nearby that Chuck Lily too nearly every day that brought their own little ones as well.
Soon Chuck excused himself to go into the house and about half an hour later came back out caring Lily in his arms dressed in the miniature wienerlicious outfit Sarah had gotten her in Germany. Her short curly hair was even put into the traditional pigtails. Everyone fawned at her and told her how adorable she was but Lily didn't seem to care, she spotted the cake and reached her hand to point at it.
"I don't know little one. You should eat real food first." Sarah said to her standing eye to eye while Chuck held her. Chuck lifted Lily under her arms holding her up covering his face and spoke in a high squeaky voice.
"Aww come on Sawah it's my birfday" he said for her. Sarah shook her head amused at their antics. Lily just gave her the best smile she could which shattered her heart with joy seeing it was an exact duplicate of Chucks.
"Oh fine. You know I can't resist your smile." She told Lily. Sarah tickled her exposed stomach and she giggled and kicked. Chuck handed her to Sarah and placed a kiss on both their heads.
"Great work convincing her Lily, I knew you could do it." He told her helping her with a high five. "Alright everyone, with the permission of my beautiful girlfriend, Sarah, Lily has convinced her to have cake first." He announced loudly as everyone cheered.
The group of party goers surrounded them by the Tangled birthday cake, crushing in close to them making Sarah feel nervous. She was never great with crowds especially ones that had eyes upon her, but a pat from Lily caused her to forget them as she focused solely on Lily and making her smile on her birthday.
"Dad, get the video camera." Chuck shouted over the noise. Sarah spotted Stephen nearby holding a camcorder and pushing himself through till he was right in front of them. He zoomed in and focused on Sarah and Lily for a few seconds, making her blush slightly at the attention.
"You know son, you two are going to have the most beautiful children, I swear." He commented pointing the camera at Chuck. Instead of the normal blush he used to have whenever Ellie mentioned things like that he just smiled proudly, which caused Sarah to blush a little more especially as she thought about their conversation not long ago while on that private weekend.
Finally everyone quieted down as they surrounded them and Chuck raised his glass above them.
"I would like to make a toast first before we cut the cake." He proclaimed lowering his arm to right in front of him. He looked over giving Sarah a meaningful look before his eyes shifted to Lily, who was chewing on her fingers while tugging Sarah's hair.
"Lily, today you turn two years old, and I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of you. I know you haven't done anything yet, but that's not the point. The point is, I love you more than anything in this world. You are the light in my darkness, the angel in my choir, the beacon in my night sky, and the Ewok of my heart." Everyone around them laughed, including Sarah though she didn't quite get the reference.
"In short, you are my everything and I love you so much. No matter what you do or don't do, no matter how you do it or don't. I will love you more than anything for just being you. My daughter, Lilith Eleanor Bartowski."
Sarah hid slightly behind Lily as tears filled her eyes. It was a beautiful speech, and though she wasn't her mother she silently made the same promise to the girl.
Sarah looked up as Chuck reached out for her and Lily grabbed hold of him letting go of Sarah's hair. She looked at them too as Chuck hugged her close and placed kisses all over her face much to the little girls giggles.
"Will you help me blow out the candle?" Chuck asked Sarah finally catching her attention. She blinked a few times to come back to the present.
"Isn't that the birthday girls job?" She asked him.
"Typically it is but I think it's an unspoken rule that those too young to actually blow said fire out and tend to just drool on the cake get help from their parents." He told her grinning. "isn't it Lily." He tickled the little girls stomach as she hollered out in delight.
Sarah was stunned for a second as her heart sank a bit.
"But I'm not her parent Chuck." She said sadly, thinking of Jill and for the first time feeling sorry for her. Sorry that she'll never get to witness or be a part of anything like this for Lily. Chuck brushed a stray hair from the side of her face and placed a kiss on her temple.
"Not yet, but someday." He whispered the promise into her ear sending shivers down her spine. With a nod they turned towards the cake as Casey lit the little candle shaped like a two.
"What should we wish for?" Sarah asked him curiously. They both looked at Lily for a second before making eye contact with each other.
"How about to just be happy." He suggested.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR LILY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!" Everyone around them sun out. Sarah laughed out loud as everyone threw out confetti and blew little horns. She bent over the cake with Chuck and counted to three out loud before blowing out the candle to cheers and claps of their family and friends.
Eventually the cheers fizzled out and Casey took over cutting the cake and disbursing it with a growl, making sure nobody took extra. Sarah grabbed a slice with a fork and went to the table where Chuck had settled down with Lily in his lap and handed her the cake.
They watched as she looked at the fork and tried poking the cake with it in order to eat it but eventually gave up and dug her hand into it, causing a mess as she brought it to her face and put it in her mouth. Sarah grimaced at the mess it made but didn't say anything, it was her birthday after all.
"Dad come get a photo." He yelled over Sarah's shoulder to his father. Sarah wasn't sure this was something that should be remembered, birthday cake on someone's face, but who was she to argue. The camera flashed in front of them, Lily not even noticing. "Ok one more." Chuck said as he leaned over towards Sarah. She gave him a grin as she met him half way and kissed over Lily and the flash of the camera shadowed over her closed eyes.
"Wow, kissing your cousin Chuck. And in front of her boyfriend." A woman's voice broke them apart. Immediately they pulled apart to look at the new comer and Chuck stood immediately causing an angry screech to come from his daughter.
"Mr. and Mrs. Roberts! Uh, Hi. Welcome." He said nervously. Sarah looked alarmed and glanced at Casey who was watching them cautiously.
"Please, Chuck, sit down. Relax." Wally Roberts said to him smiling at the squirming child. Chuck sat back down and Lily immediately went back to her Cake. Sarah watched as Stephen stood up straight and offered them a seat.
"Uh, Dad, this is Jill's parents, Wally and Judy Roberts. This is my dad Stephen Bartowski. And you've met Sarah. She's not really my cousin. She uh, my girlfriend." He introduced nervously. They shook hands and all sat around the table. Sarah looked around those nearby, nobody seeming to notice the new guests.
"And who is this beautiful little girl." Judy prompted as the silence stretched on. Chuck colored slightly at forgetting his manners, something Sarah would typically find adorable but right now she was on edge. The Roberts hadn't been a threat last time they encountered them but judging by their daughter she wasn't going to let her guard down.
"I'm sorry. This is your granddaughter, Lilith Eleanor Bartowski, or Lily as we call her." He said snuggling the top of her head and getting some cake on his nose as Lily tried to share. Sarah grabbed a napkin from the table and handed it to him.
"Well it's nice to meet you Lily." Judy said to the girl, tears forming in her eyes. After a few moments of watching the girl eat more cake they finally focused their attention on Chuck. "She's so beautiful, though she hardly looks anything like my Jill. I'm presuming you heard about the news about Jill's death."
Chuck nodded but didn't say anything. Sarah wasn't quite sure either how much they had been told about her death other then it was a suicide. Typically the closest family members would be made aware of their imprisonment but because of the circumstances she wasn't sure what's been released.
"I'm sorry for your loss. It was really hard to find out. I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to tell Lily about it." He told them sadly.
"Do you believe what they said? That she was a traitor to the country? They are dirtying my baby's name" Wally said slamming his fist on the table angrily causing them all to jump. Judy tried soothing him down. Sarah glanced at Chuck and saw him hold tighter to Lily.
"Mr. and Mrs. Roberts, I'm sorry but this topic can't be discussed here, its classified." Sarah piped in.
"You're right Ms. Walker. That's not what we're here for anyways." Judy stated holding her husband's hand.
"Exactly, we're here to celebrate the birth of our granddaughter." Stephen cut in with his own bright smile. "Tell me, Wally what do you do for a living."
"Well I-"
"That's not important right now Wally. We're actually here for another reason." Judy interrupted. Sarah's senses heightened as she braced herself for whatever they were going to say. "I'm sorry Chuck but, we're actually here to deliver this to you."
With his hands fully of child Sarah reached out and took the envelope she produced from her purse. She looked down at the official looking seal on it addressed to Chuck. Making eye contact with him his face in a frown, gave way that he had an idea on what it contained.
"What is this?" Sarah asked, breaking the silence the letter had brought. Judy refused to look at her and looked straight at Chuck.
"I'm sorry Chuck, but, we, Wally and I are concerned that you may be an unfit parent. We're going to sue you for custody of Lily."
A/N: And with this I hit 50k words meeting the NANO goal..or whatever the intials are. Thank you for reading. please review.