AN: Between work and dissertation writing... yeah. Still working on the story, still not going to stop. We have a bit more to travel. I always saw the stories with publication dates and update dates so far apart and wondered how that happened... now I know. For those of you who have been entertaining us for years... thank you. For those still with me and reviewing, thank you as well. I don't respond to all of them as I probably should, but I read each one, and considered them as I write.
Normal Disclaimer: I am not the owner of any characters, locations, or anything else connected with Chuck, or other referenced works in this chapter. My wife did attend the college, and we both grew up just outside the air base. So this was my little shout out to home.
Enjoy!
Chapter 21 - Back to School
That night as they lay in bed, Sarah's mind kept wondering over the past few months. Once, they received clearance from Beckman, Benetti was allowed to reestablish contact with her mother. True, he couldn't go out in public but at least, they could spend time together in Echo Park. She was happy for her mom and Molly. In fact, Sarah was happier than she could remember. Benetti had turned over the list of potential Omaha candidates. This list had included Sarah, Chuck, Jill, Bryce, Rick, Vicky, and a few others from various colleges around the country. What nagged at Sarah's mind was the fact that one of the un-recruited candidates was teaching as a professor at the University of Central Arkansas, mere minutes from the potential missile site.
"Chuck, are you awake?" Sarah gently nudged him.
"Hmmm"
"Chuck, can we talk?"
"Hmmm"
"Chuck, I'm serious sit up and talk to me." Sarah gave him a less than gentle shake.
"Ok, ok. What's up?"
"What if the missile thing is a ruse?"
"Why would it be a ruse?"
"I'm just not sure. Everything, since this junk started, has centered on the Omaha project. We learned about the strikes months ago, and we just learned about the missile location recently. That doesn't make sense."
"What doesn't make since…. Wait, you're right, it doesn't make sense." Chuck sat up in bed and put his back to the headboard.
"Right! Why've they waited so long to attack? They could've struck months ago." Sarah joined him sitting up.
"So what is going through that beautiful mind? Do you think this is a trap?" Chuck put his arm around her and drew her close.
Sarah took the time to snuggle into Chuck before answering, "I do. It seems odd that they would use old missiles. I think something else is happening. We know that in that region is a potential Human Intersect. I just don't know what that means. I think we need to be very careful."
"I understand. Sarah, have you explored the Intersect? I mean really studied it's data capabilities?"
"I'm not sure what you mean?"
"You realize that we can use the information in one flash to dig out more information. It's not comfortable and I've only done it a few times. However, it could really come in handy."
"Chuck, what if we used ours in series? You know I flash and communicate, and you flash on my flash? This way we each can recover before we tap another source."
"It's worth a try. Do you want to flash on something we already know just to see how it works?" Chuck's eyes had taken on a definite glow as his core nerd was running faster than an overclocked processor.
"You're so cute when you get all child-like excited. Ok, here goes… Cole Barker."
Chuck immediately flashed on Cole's service record and various operations in North Korea, Russia, and the United States.
"Cole Barker is a member of MI-6 counterterrorism detail. Assigned to infiltrate Fulcrum as a cover for an Operation Assistance." Chuck recited.
Sarah flashed on Operation Assistance.
"Operation Assistance is a joint NSA and MI-6 operation to determine the level of compromise of CIA operative assigned to the lead task force fighting Fulcrum."
Chuck flashed. "Operation Assistance final report to NSA director of the Fulcrum task force determined that CIA Agent Sarah Walker was indeed compromised and would operate in the best interest of the asset and not the agency."
"Cole, said that in his report?" Sarah was just a tad on the angry side. "He was an arrogant, pompous…."
"Careful, Sarah. Remember were working on better speech patterns for our pending little one."
"Still, I can't believe he would report that just because I turned him down each and every time he attempted something."
Chuck spoke under his breath but not soft enough for Sarah to not hear, "Not every time."
"Not every time, Chuck? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Come on, Sarah. It was a long time ago, and we both know you were a little enamored with the guy."
"What makes you think that?"
"Uh, you kissed him and from what I saw it fired you up, and you barely resisted him."
"From what you saw? What exactly did you see?"
"I saw you guys kiss when I tapped into the surveillance video through the Orange Orange register."
"You did what?!" Sarah was boiling now.
"I watched you kiss Cole," Chuck responded just as hotly.
"And do you know why? I'll tell you why! Because you were all let's just be friends again with me. I was trying to replace you. So do you want to know what Coles biggest flaw was for me? He was not you!"
"Ok, sure. You might have thought you liked me back then but I doubt you were comparing all other guys to me….. Ouch! Let go of my ear."
Sarah grabbed Chuck and lead him downstairs and shoved him onto the couch. "Sit!"
She opened up a DVD she dug from the back of their video cabinet and placed it in the player. She took a moment to scrub through the video to Day 564. Chuck watched as Sarah confessed in her mission log that she loved him and didn't know what to do about it.
His grin grew larger by the minute. "So there, Chuck. That's why Cole lost. He wasn't my sweet, caring, putting others first, nerd. He was a superspy without complication and emotional pitfalls of being so in love I could hardly think straight. In fact, Bryce, Cole, Shaw, and every other super spy who ever tried to woo me had the same problem, they were never meant for me. God designed you for me and used the others like Northern Stars to lead me to you."
"Wow! You know I'm supposed to be the articulate…"
"If you call me schnook you can just lie right there and sleep."
"Genius," Chuck said and then he pursed his lips and shrugged with an expression that said, what else would I say.
"Right. Let's go to bed. We've got an early flight. Perhaps we can do some data mining on the flight."
"I'd rather find a way to renew our membership." Chuck smiled as he watched her ascend the stairs in front of him.
"Too bad. We're flying commercial. Maybe when this mission is over, we can take our jet to Fiji and you can rub suntan lotion on me and help me relax. After all everything Cole suggested sounded magnificent if he was a little taller and named Chuck Bartowski."
Chuck just laughed as they climbed back in bed. He gave her a kiss, and then the both went to sleep.
-O-
Morning arrived early, but they met the team at LAX and boarded their plane a few hours later. Chuck was not impressed as they stepped off the plane several hours later in Little Rock. The layover in Dallas had been horrible. Riding on the small commuter plane from Dallas to Little Rock was miserable at best. Sure it was just a little larger than his company jet, but the company jet was not 21 rows for seats with three on one side and two on the other. On top of it, Morgan had the window seat and Sarah demanded the aisle since she was pregnant and need the lavatory more often. Chuck thought it was an excuse for more leg room, but he loved so he didn't say anything, until now.
"Wow, babe, you went to the lavatory a lot," Chuck commented to the back of her head as the filed out of the plane.
She looked over her shoulder, "I didn't go to the lavatory."
"Exactly."
She just smiled, "You know you love me." That settled everything, he consented to say no more, because he did indeed love her.
Turning to Morgan as they entered the gate area he asked, "Well, Martin, which way to the baggage claim?"
They both took a moment and attempted to get oriented. Chuck looked down the single hall of gates and realized he could see the last gates to his right, so he turned left and realized they were at gate 2. "Wow, this place is small."
"Come on, Steve!" Casey walked by and clapped him on the back, "We need to get our vehicles and luggage."
They walked around the wall that separated the screening area from those exiting the airport, past the one restaurant, and down the escalator right into the row of car rental booths, and the two baggage belts.
Sarah looked up at Chuck, "Really small."
"Huh?"
"You're right. This place is tiny." Chuck smiled at her. Took her hand and asked, "Which first, luggage or car?"
Carina spoke up while she wrapped her arm around Casey's arm. "You big strong guys should get the luggage while us ladies get the cars. How does that sound, Alex?"
Before Alex could answer, Casey chimed in, "I don't know about strong, and in his case," pointing at Morgan, "certainly not big, but I'm sure they can help me get the luggage."
"Dad, stop being mean to my Martin," Alex stated while looking at Carina with narrowed eyes as she emphasized the words, my Martin. She was still not comfortable around her, even after all these months. Alex knew that Carina called Morgan Martin often in the early years whenever she blew through town and that they had slept together before he met her. Additionally, she didn't like that Carina seemed to be buddied up to her father. Sure, this was a mission and they were a cover couple, but over the past weeks, it looked like Carina might want something for real.
"I was only kidding. You ladies get the cars and us men will get the bags." With that, the guys walked off towards the luggage belts. The women turned and walked up to the help desk.
After what seemed like an eternity, they finally had the keys and were headed for the parking lot.
"What took so long?" Chuck asked Sarah as she walked beside him toward their vehicle.
"Let's just say that the worker at the rental booth made every Buy More employee looks like a model of efficiency."
Once they climbed into the vehicles, the passengers punched in the coordinates for the Little Rock Air Force Base in their phones and the three cars left in convoy. One thing that Sarah noticed on the drive was the dreary nature of the scenery as the rolled down the bypass extension into the Jacksonville area. Then the nightmare began as they merged onto 167 and turned north. The construction was terrible and the road itself worse. When they finally exited a few miles down the road, Chuck called Casey.
"Casey, did you seen any place to eat? I mean it's nothing but fast food up and down the highway."
"You can pull in, but I don't know if Sarah is going to be excited about that, but it looks like we have little choice."
Chuck hung up the phone and told Sarah to follow Casey. As she watched him pull under the bridge and make a left and travel up the access road, she turned to look at Chuck. "Burger King? Please tell me we are not stopping at Burger King."
When the vehicle was finally parked in the Burger King parking lot, Sarah glared at Chuck.
"Come on, you like a burger."
"This is not a burger, Chuck. This is a mass produced frozen puck cooked. A burger is what the mom and pop places still serve with patties that look like flattened meatballs."
"I know, babe, but look around. It appears that this town has had its better days. Let's just make the most of it. We'll eat and then head over to the base, find out what's going on, and then head to the safe house."
"Ok. Fine."
After lunch, the team loaded the vehicles and followed the GPS to the front gate of the Little Rock Air Force Base. They stopped by the gym and went into the locker rooms to change. When they exited, the gym patrons witnessed COL. John Colburn, LTC. Sarah Williams, MAJ. Charles Benson, MAJ. Carina Howard, CPT. Morgan Garcia, and CPT. Alexandra McDonald walks out to one of the SUVs and exits the parking lot. Many of the male airmen and some of the junior officers were talking about who the LTC., MAJ, and CPT were. They were confident they would have remembered them being on base before today. Likewise, some of the female airmen and officers were just as curious, and this did not escape Sarah's attention.
"Looks like you boys were a hit back there in the gym. I think I saw some girls actually swoon when you came out of the locker room. Tell me you didn't notice, Chuck." Sarah teased her husband.
"Nope. I did notice that despite the small baby bump, several of the guys saw you and the other ladies."
"Ah, that's sweet of you to notice, Chuck, but we're actually used to turning heads." Carina chimed in on the conversation. "We were just wondering if you guys wanted any tips on how to handle it, you know since it hardly ever happens to you."
Carina wasn't paying much attention when Casey pulled into the parking spot so he turned quickly to enter the parking spot. This caused her to bump her head on the passenger window. "Ha! How's that for turning a lady's head?"
"Funny, John! Real funny. Talk about being an officer and a gentleman." Carina frowned as she got out of the vehicle. "You know I expected more maturity from you, especially considering your age. Remember that mission when you were my uncle?"
"Hey, I was your only slightly older uncle. Remember your dad was my much older brother?"
"Keep telling yourself that." Carina shot back. "Besides I'm not complaining, after all, you know what they say? The older the violin, the sweeter the music."
"Carina, did you know that John was a choirboy and he can hit some real high notes?"
"Oh, I remember that, Sarah. I mean he just belted out that high c note out of nowhere." Chuck laughed.
"I'm going to make you belt out one of your girly squeals if you don't zip it, Moron." Casey shot Chuck and then Sarah a look. Sarah just raised one eyebrow.
"Morgan, do you think something is developing between my dad and Carina? Morgan, are you listening?"
"Oops, sorry. I was distracted by the jet in the front yard." Morgan stumbled as he walked through the door.
-o-
About five hours later the team was pulling up to the safe house. It was a large two-story house near the University of Central Arkansas campus. The house had been designed to rent out to several college students at one time. The four bedrooms each contained a separate door lock and a bathroom. The downstairs consisted of a shared kitchen and living room. All said it was not a bad house and would accommodate the team comfortably. As they were settling in, Casey decided to tackle the sleeping arrangements by allowing Morgan and Alex to share a room. This provided Carina with her own room.
Somewhere in the night, Carina awoke screaming. Casey was the first to enter the room. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it was a nightmare, just go away." Carina was embarrassed. She didn't have nightmares often, but like most spies when she did they were bad.
"Hey, I know about nightmares. Come here, calm down, it will be alright." Casey pulled her into him and cradled her against his chest as he held his partner. Sarah and Chuck stood in the doorway for just a moment and then retreated before either spy knew they were present.
"Sarah, have you ever seen Casey like that? I mean he is comforting her." Chuck was genuinely shocked by Casey's actions.
"Yes, I've seen Casey be that caring for his partners. Especially when he knows how bad they're hurting."
"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Chuck was very curious.
"Just let it go. He cares for Carina as a partner and possibly more."
"Did he every care for you that way? You know as a partner?"
"Yes. He… he has comforted me a few times. After the first time, I asked him why, and he told me I was like a little sister to him, and that I deserved better than what I was currently experiencing. I should've kept turning to him as a brother more often if I had we might've had less pain in our lives. Now can we let it go."
"Sarah, the times he comforted you, was it because of me?" Chuck watched her face and saw the answers in her eyes. He waited for a response and when it didn't come he nodded. "I'm sorry for all the times I hurt you."
"I know, and we're passed it. So let's let it go. We are all lucky to have Casey, even if he can be a colossal pain the butt sometimes."
"Goodnight, Sarah."
"Goodnight, Chuck."
Chuck and Sarah both laid there for awhile contemplating their past. Chuck concluded from the way Sarah spoke that most of the comforting must've occurred during the early years before Shaw, because it was then that Casey wasn't around, and when he was he was helping Chuck and not teamed with Sarah as often. He felt sorry for Lou, Jill, and Hannah, but little did he know that those weren't the times.
Sarah debated on telling him how Casey held her in the hospital after the Von Hayes mission and how sad she felt over Chuck's words and being forced to be partnered with Bryce. She thought about the months Casey spent keeping her from becoming a CIA zombie again after Chuck walked away on the train platform. However, more than anything she wished she would've turned to Casey about Chuck changing and not Shaw.
Eventually, sleep overtook all the spies. When morning came, it was Alex who was the first up and moving around. As she passed Carina's door, she noticed it was open and her dad and Carina were in bed together. She stood there for a moment taking in the scene. It looked like Carina was holding on to a big teddy bear and he had her in a tight hug to his side. As she was about to walk away, she saw her dad open his eyes and look at her. He mouthed the words, "She had a nightmare." Alex just nodded and headed downstairs.
As she moved about the kitchen, she smiled. Obviously, her dad was a caring person, and she began to realize that morning that he needed someone to care for in his life. She thought Carina was the devil in female form, until a few minutes ago. Evidently Carina was as human as the rest of them, and it might be nice for her and her dad to have someone to care for on a regular basis. As she thought, Chuck entered the kitchen.
"Morning, Alex. Are you ready for your big day?"
"My big day?"
"Sure. We learned yesterday that all launch and navigation equipment was removed from the missile sites. Therefore, the missiles are just a ruse. They must be here for the professor. Seeing as you are the youngest amongst us, it looks like it's time for you to become a UCA Bear coed."
"Ha, ha, Chuck. That's not funny." She looked at him for a few minutes. "Wait you're not laughing."
"Nope. I'm afraid not. Don't worry Sarah and I will be there as well. She is about to become the newest business administration professor, and I'm going to be teaching in the computer department."
"Aren't you worried about Jill discovering you?"
Sarah walked in at that very moment. "Actually, we're counting on her noticing and wanting to make a move. Your job is simple. Keep a watch out among the student body for Jill or someone else moving in close to the professor. We'll use the faculty angle to get close to him."
Alex looked at Sarah's belly and raised an eyebrow.
"Not close like that! Like peers." Sarah frowned. "Those days are over for me. That's what we've got Carina doing for the team."
"What am I doing for the team, getting close to a mark?" Carina asked as she entered the kitchen.
"Not this time. We want you and Casey to operate together staking out our good professor when he is not on campus." Chuck smiled at Carina.
"Hmm. Sounds like a good plan." Casey had slipped in and heard everything. "Just one thing, who takes the mascot?"
"Mascot? Did someone call me?" Morgan asked as he stumbled in rubbing his eyes.
"Morgan, your job is going to be watching over our base here."
"Never fear, no one will take this base of operation as long as Agent Cobra is on the job. To get in here, they would have to cross the highway to the danger zone."
Everyone just smiled.