Hello again. I got quite a number of reviews for the last chapter, which I do appreciate. I was a bit surprised, however, that some people weren't happy with how much I stuck to show canon in the chapter. I had thought it was the right thing to do to not mess too much with one of the best stories of all time from the show, so I didn't want to make any major changes. As for the team being broken up, I'd imagine most people are thinking two things: 1) it will be a bad decision, and 2) they won't stay apart forever. After all, you can't keep a good team down. But just to warn you, things get worse before they get better.
Also to warn you now, this chapter definitely follows show canon for the most part. A change here or there, but that's probably why I got it out a little faster than previous chapters. And everything in this chapter that came from the show remains the property of NBC and Fake Empire Productions. Although if I ever win the Powerball jackpot, I'm going to do something to fix that.
I'm hoping to have the next chapter out before the end of the month, but there are a lot of details I have to hammer out. I'm actually working a lot of side jobs that almost total a full-time job when you put them together. I'm trying to make 2016 better (although the tragedy in Orlando hit our family too, sadly). I'm reminded of Al Pacino's speech from "Any Given Sunday." Right now, there's a lot of clawing with fingernails for that inch, but hopefully it'll be the difference between winning and losing.
Enjoy the chapter, and please leave reviews. Thanks!
Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
April 25, 2016
10:15 AM PDT
Chuck, Casey, Carina, and Jimmy looked on at Sarah and Bryce, still not believing the bombshell Beckman just dropped. Bryce was going to receive the Intersect? And far, far more shocking: she was breaking up her best team?
"General, this doesn't make any sense," Chuck protested. "These people helped you take down Fulcrum! Why would you break up a group of people who were so successful?"
"BECAUSE they took down Fulcrum," Beckman crossly replied. "The TV show cover was Director Graham's idea, not mine. The team only needed to stay together so long as you needed to be kept safe and Fulcrum was still a threat. And now neither of those are the case. I need someone to partner with Agent Larkin in this new Intersect project, and who better than the person he was partnered with for so many years. And Colonel Casey can accomplish ten times more by training our newest recruits here in D.C. All of them were agents before they ever joined the team and were quite successful. Breaking up the team doesn't change that fact."
"But…"
"Mr. Bartowski, I have made my decision."
"How do you even make this happen?"
"We will leak rumors to the press that Agent Walker is leaving the show for "personal reasons." And that she decided to stop dating you for the same reason. Without Jen Burton, there is no show. We'll give the fans a chance to say goodbye at Comic Con in July. Agents Miller and Slade will get new identities and be given remote assignments so they aren't easily recognized. And Agents Walker and Larkin will busy themselves putting the new Intersect to good use."
Beckman terminated the link. Everyone stood around looking at each other, none of them knowing what to say.
"We should get ready, Sarah," Bryce said quietly, carefully avoiding saying anything else.
Chuck, Casey, Carina, and Jimmy left the room. Bryce watched them leave before turning back to Sarah.
"They'll be fine. They're good people," Bryce said. "You guys did great work."
"Yeah, we did," Sarah replied in an almost ghostlike tone.
"But with the Intersect in a proper agent, the work we'll do will make history. In a few days, we'll be in Zurich."
Sarah stared out into space, the enormity of what had transpired over the last several minutes completely overtaking her.
"Excuse me," she said, exiting the conference room.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
April 26, 2016
10:00 AM PDT
Chuck growled as heard the knock on the door. He hadn't had much of an excuse to go out…or leave his bed, for that matter…since yesterday's news. He was grateful the Intersect was out but the result of that was making him sick to his stomach. The team didn't deserve this, not after everything they did.
Chuck opened the door to find Casey waiting for him.
"This is for you," Casey replied, handing him an envelope. "It was overnighted to the L.A. office."
"What's exactly is this?"
"It's your pay packet, numbnuts."
Chuck glared at Casey as he opened the envelope. He peeked inside. "Hi-ho! Whoah!"
"You know, if you were a true patriot, you wouldn't even cash it."
Chuck gave a little smile to that. It was a very Casey-like comment. "Casey, thank you for saving my life at least once a week."
Casey grunted in the affirmative and shook Chuck's hand. Chuck pulled him in for a hug.
"See, guys can hug," Chuck said.
"Not if they don't have their man-parts," Casey hissed in response.
"That's a good point." Chuck quickly terminated the hug.
Casey did continue to shake Chuck's hand. "You've done good work here."
"Thank you."
Casey reached into his pocket and found a business card. He handed it to Chuck. "In case of emergencies. My personal number."
He then grabbed Chuck's fingers. "But your fingers better be on fire when you're dialing."
"OK, got it," Chuck winced in pain. Casey started to walk away. "Case, wait! You…don't you want to stay for the wedding?"
"Not my thing," Casey replied a bit softly. "Plus Beckman wants me back in D.C. right away. Congratulate your sister and Devon for me."
"What about Carina and Jimmy?"
"Miller's leaving on our jet tomorrow. Three guesses as to where. I don't know about Slade."
Casey left, and Chuck looked down at the ground. Ellie's wedding would be tough enough tomorrow with him having to pretend things were still OK with Sarah. But he had really hoped the rest of the team would stick around.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
April 26, 2016
1:30 PM PDT
Chuck walked through the courtyard of his apartment complex carrying the tuxedos for his father, Devon, the groomsmen, and himself. They would get ready at the apartment tomorrow morning. Devon's parents had flown into town a few hours ago and Honey Woodcomb was already driving poor Ellie crazy getting her ready for the ceremony. Ellie had a room in the same hotel where their honeymoon suite awaited them tomorrow night after the reception. Despite her strong objections to how grandiose the ceremony had become, she wanted to keep a tradition or two, such as not spending the night before with Devon. Their honeymoon in Paris would begin early next week.
"Carina, hi," Chuck said, surprised to see her waiting for him. He opened the door to let her in. He walked in and went to the closet, putting the tuxedos inside.
"Armani? I'm impressed," Carina said, looking at the tuxedos.
"A little present from Awesome's dad. He's kind of a clotheshorse and insisted on passing that down to his kids."
Carina smiled at that. "So, how are you doing otherwise?"
"I'm…I'm good." Carina wasn't buying it. "I…still can't believe this is happening."
Carina shrugged. "I don't like it, either. But this is the life we chose. I mean, we were lucky to even have what we had for the last six years. And this past seven months with you was the highlight."
Chuck smiled at that. He could say the same about being with them. "So, what's next? Gonna wing over to London and jam with the Stones?"
She gave a little laugh. "Oh, they don't party much anymore. Although Keith can still kiss, even at his age."
Chuck shuddered at the thought of Carina making out someone more than twice her age. "But I assume you're going to meet up with…"
Carina nodded. "I've got some time off, and I haven't been to the UK in a while. It'll be good to see Cole."
"I'm glad for you," he replied quietly.
Carina looked at Chuck for a moment. "Don't give up," she finally said. "This could still work out."
"What can?" Chuck asked, but Carina gave him a look. "Yeah, but what is there to do? She'll be off with Bryce…"
Carina shook her head. "She'll come around. As has been proven over and over, it's a bad idea to bet against you. Just be patient."
She hugged him. "Congratulate Ellie and Devon for me. I'm sure I'll see you sooner rather than later."
Carina exited the apartment.
Hilton Hotel – Universal City, CA
April 26, 2016
5:00 PM PDT
Chuck entered the lobby of the hotel and almost missed seeing Jimmy walk out of it.
"Jimmy, wait!" Chuck called out. Jimmy turned around.
"Hi, Chuck," he said quietly. He then reached into one of his bags and pulled out an envelope, handing it to Chuck. "I was going to drop this off at your place, but since you're here…"
Chuck looked at the envelope. It looked like a card that was addressed to Ellie and Devon. "What is this?"
"Just a little wedding present."
"You're not coming to the wedding tomorrow? I figured Casey wasn't up for it, and we all know where Carina's going, but I thought you'd want to be there."
"I just…I have some things to deal with. Give Ellie a big hug for me. And take care of yourself."
"But she really wants you…"
Jimmy continued to walk out of the hotel. Chuck stared in disbelief.
First United Church – Pasadena, CA
April 27, 2016
1:30 PM PDT
Chuck walked through the church watching the setup for Ellie's and Devon's wedding. The string quartet was settling in and organizing their sheet music. The groomsmen stood around and made sure their outfits were just right. His father looked nervous as hell. Chuck found that a bit humorous given the danger they had been in a week ago. Devon looked as scared as any groom would right before his wedding, which Chuck couldn't believe. This was the same person who had climbed Mt. McKinley, skied more black diamond-rated slopes than he could name, and had a dozen parachute jumps under his belt. Yet he looked like he was an hour away from taking his toughest exam in medical school. Actually, compared to today, that was probably a cakewalk, too.
Chuck walked to the bridal chamber down the hallway and knocked on the door. Honey Woodcomb answered, looking like she had been doing her best imitation of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket.
"I just wanted to talk to my sister for a minute," Chuck said to Honey.
"It's bad luck to see the bride…" she barked.
"It's fine," Ellie called from inside the room. "I don't believe in that stuff."
"All right, just get in, get in."
Chuck walked up to his sister, who was positively radiant in her wedding gown and veil.
"Hi," she said nervously, checking herself in the mirror to make sure not a single thing was out of place. "What?"
"Look at you," Chuck said, beyond impressed. "Ellie, your dreams are coming true."
"If it were up to me, I'd have a small ceremony on the beach. Sand between my toes, people I love. But we all make sacrifices for family, right?"
"One, two, three…" Honey counted the bridesmaids. "Where the hell is my blonde?"
Ellie turned in Honey's direction and sighed. "I sent her out to find you. Think you can…"
"I'll get her," Chuck replied. "It was so nice of you to ask her to be a bridesmaid. And very brave, given how much the press follows her."
Ellie laughed at that. "Well, I'm sure if the press was really that interested, we would have been hip-deep in them already."
Ellie gave Chuck's face a gentle caress. "I made my dreams come true, Chuck. What are you gonna do about yours?"
Chuck turned and exited before the smile on his face disappeared. There wasn't anything he could do about his dreams. They were leaving to run the new Intersect project and be with Bryce Larkin. He wished like hell he could do something or say something to convince her to stay, but he knew she had to be a spy first. And the history she had with Bryce did make her the best candidate to partner with him. But right now, he felt even more lost than he did when he left Stanford.
"Chuck?"
Chuck shook his head clear. Sarah was standing right in front of him.
"They're waiting for you inside," he said quietly.
"Actually, Ellie sent me to find you. She wanted to make sure you had the rings, but you…"
"Yes," Chuck replied, reaching into his pocket and holding out Ellie's and Devon's wedding bands. "Got them right here."
"Good." She straightened his tie. "You look like a real spy."
"Thanks," Chuck whispered, unable to meet Sarah's gaze. "You look like a real bridesmaid."
The tension between the two was worse than when they were both doused with the truth serum.
"Chuck, I…"
"Thank you…for coming to the wedding." Chuck could feel his emotions threatening to boil over. "Good for the cover."
He walked away quickly. Sarah turned and watched him go, a few tears coming to her eyes. She thought she couldn't feel worse than she did when she found out the team would be disbanded and she would leave Los Angeles, but she was wrong.
~/^\~
Chuck walked into the banquet room where dinner would be served following the ceremony. He found a bottle of wine and took a drink, not even caring at this point if he made it through the ceremony sober. He wasn't in a mood to celebrate anything. He couldn't even envision what would happen once they had Sarah 'dump' him and cancel the show. He'd be right back to where he started. No girlfriend, no future, nothing.
He slumped down into one of the chairs but felt something at his feet underneath the table. He bent down and lifted the tablecloth.
"Oh! Oh, my God!" he whispered in fear at seeing two waiters underneath, both dead from gunshot wounds to the heart.
He bolted upward…and Ted Roark sat down in front of him.
"I believe we've met before," Roark said.
"Ted Roark?" Chuck asked in complete horror.
"No, I'm Ted Roark. You're the CIA agent who's in deep trouble. By the way, congratulations on your sister's happy day. Love the gown."
"What the hell do you want?" Chuck growled.
"Oh ho, there's no need to curse," Roark flippantly replied. "You know damn well what I want."
"I…"
"I want the Intersect cube."
"I…I can't, I can't, I can't give you that."
"Oh, you'll find a way, I'm sure."
Roark started to get up from the table, grabbing Chuck's bottle of wine. He then turned back to Chuck. "Oh, sorry. I forgot the threat part. If you don't deliver that cube within a half-hour…forty minutes tops with traffic…I'm going to kill the bride."
He checked the label on the bottle of wine. "Nice," he said calmly as he walked away, leaving Chuck shaking in fear.
Chuck ran out of the reception hall and toward the church, looking for Sarah. He almost ran right past Morgan.
"Chuck," Morgan began. "Can I talk to you real quick? I'm just feeling a little nervous."
"Buddy, I'm so sorry, I can't talk right now," Chuck quickly replied and started going towards the bridal chamber.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey! What's the matter? You could tell me, I…might be able to help."
"It's uh, it's uh…" Suddenly Chuck had an idea. "It's the rings. I have to go home and get them. Find Sarah, pull her aside, and specifically tell her that I forgot the rings."
"The wedding is in twenty minutes. Ellie is going to kill you!"
"Thanks for that," Chuck retorted, as if he wasn't in enough trouble already.
"Unless…I stall the wedding. OK? No one will even know you're gone. They'll just blame me. It'll be fine."
Chuck wasn't expecting that. "You'd do that for me?"
"Of course I would, dude. You've saved my ass a million times. It's about time I saved yours."
Morgan pushed him towards the exit. "Go, hurry."
Morgan took off for the bridal chamber while Chuck ran for his car scrolling through his phone. He had to hope and pray one of them…all three if he was lucky…would be there.
Morgan turned the corner and approached the door to the bridal chamber, only to be stopped by Woody Woodcomb, Devon's father.
"Dr. Awesome?" Morgan said.
"Don't take another step," Woody commanded. "My wife warned me about you."
"Good warnings, I hope?"
"Retreat two steps back."
Morgan was not finding this fun. "I need to get in there."
"You…"
The door opened. "Dr. Woodcomb," Sarah said. "Your wife wants me to tell you to go to the car and get backup hosiery. Does that make sense?"
"Man my post," he replied. "Don't let this one in."
"Yes, sir."
Woody left. "Sarah, listen to me," Morgan said. "Uh, Chuck forgot the rings, so he-he went home to go get them."
"He what?"
"Yeah, the wedding rings. He blew it. I have to stall the wedding." Morgan was dumbfounded. "How do I stall a wedding?"
Sarah's surprise was quickly replaced by the realization Chuck must have been in danger. "Do it, Morgan. By any means necessary."
"Right, right." Sarah ran off, leaving Morgan there. "How the hell do I stall this wedding? Think, man, think!"
Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
April 25, 2016
3:05 PM PDT
Chuck ran up to the conference room and pounded on the door. "Bryce! Bryce! Please tell me you're there!"
Bryce opened the door. "What's wrong?"
"I need the Intersect cube!" Chuck said in a panic.
"It's gone. It's with the new Intersect."
"Where? Where is it?"
"Chuck, you know I can't tell you that. It's top secret. Not even Beckman…"
"No, I need it, Bryce. I need it. My family's in danger. Ted Roark and his Fulcrum team are at the wedding. He's going to kill Ellie unless I bring him the cube."
Bryce shook his head. "Roark can't have it."
"No! He's going to murder everyone!"
"No, you're going to give them me."
Chuck stared at him. "They still think you're the Intersect."
Bryce nodded. "They kept looking for me, even after what happened last Thanksgiving. The cube can't fall into the wrong hands. I made a promise to Orion."
"You…you knew?"
"That was the deal. Your dad knew I protected you at Stanford. I was the only spy he would trust at first. But as I worked with the others, he learned to trust Case and Carina and especially Sarah. And I'll just bet he had a hand in making sure Jimmy was the one to replace me when Fulcrum got too close and I had to leave."
Chuck shook his head. "I can't believe you've known this whole time."
"He wanted to keep you out of this. But I knew you could handle the Intersect, and I knew Sarah and the others would find you and keep you safe. But most importantly, you deserved to know the truth about your father. He's a hero."
He grabbed his gun, loaded it, and attached a silencer to it. "Now, let's go get your sister married."
First United Church – Pasadena, CA
April 27, 2016
3:10 PM PDT
Honey Woodcomb walked quickly to the front of the church where Stephen and Woody were waiting for the ceremony to start.
"What's the holdup?" Woody demanded.
"Uh, the bride is perfect," Honey replied. "She'll only wilt from here."
Devon joined them. "We can't find Chuck."
"Oh, and the blonde is gone, too," Honey added.
That set off Stephen's alarm bells. "Sarah?"
"Yeah."
"Just now?"
"Yes."
Stephen looked at Devon. There was no way in hell Chuck and Sarah would hold up a wedding unless something terrible had happened. "Excuse me," he said, quickly walking out.
The Woodcombs watched Stephen depart. "This is a really weird family," Woody muttered.
Sarah opened the door to the reception hall slightly, taking a peek inside. She saw Ted Roark and a handful of armed Fulcrum agents posing as waitstaff.
"Sarah, something's wrong," Stephen said, walking up behind her. She motioned for him to stay quiet as she closed the door.
"Ted Roark and his men are inside."
"He's alive?" Stephen asked in disbelief, to which Sarah nodded. "Did you bring a gun?"
"I'll think of something. Check the chapel and the bridal chamber. Make sure there's nobody else."
"Wait," Stephen replied. He pulled his tuxedo sleeve back to reveal his wrist device. He scanned a blueprint of the building. "Use the southeast entrance through the kitchen."
Sarah nodded. "OK, thanks."
Devon, Honey, and Woody turned at the sound of a microphone being turned on. Morgan was standing in front of the altar.
"Hello," he said, tapping the microphone a few times to make sure it was on. "Uh, I'm Morgan Grimes: unofficial member of the wedding party. Uh, so, uh, we have some pre-wedding entertainment planned for you guys."
Honey looked like she was about to have an embolism and Woody stared in shock.
"So without further ado, I present to you…JEFFSTER!"
Jeff and Lester walked up to the stage. "Dude, we got the perfect song," Lester whispered to Morgan as he lowered the microphone stand to his height, and Jeff passed out sheet music to the string quartet.
"OK, this is in 4/4 time. It's in D. Watch me for the changes," he told them as he readied his keytar.
Jeff began to play as Lester got ready to sing.
Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto
Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto
Mata ahoo Hima de
Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto
Himitsu wo Shiri tai
Devon ran to Morgan and grabbed him. "Morgan you are ruining my wedding!"
"Listen to me! If you hit me, know that it only teaches me to hit," Morgan quickly replied. "OK, now for reasons I cannot say, I HAVE to stall this wedding!"
"Tell me why," Devon demanded, throttling Morgan in the process.
"Because Chuck is in trouble, and I'm saving him, man."
"Chuck told you to do this?"
"Yes."
Devon looked at Jeffster! in confusion. He had no clue what Chuck would do to warrant this, but Chuck almost always had a good reason for doing what he did.
"OK," Devon replied quietly. Whatever the reason was, it had better be epic.
Inside the bridal chamber where Ellie and her bridesmaids were waiting, she tried to remain calm. And then she heard the music. "OK, no Sarah. And that is definitely not the wedding march. Um, could one of you please go see what's going on out there? NOW! Thank you, thank you."
She took deep breaths to calm herself. "Focus on the calm."
~/^\~
Sarah slipped into the reception hall through the kitchen, staying behind the large stacks of wedding gifts. She ripped the bottom of her bridesmaid's dress off to make herself more mobile. She pulled down one of the gifts and opened it, hoping to find something that could be used as a weapon. She then tried a second box, and a third, but she came up empty each time.
~/^\~
I'm just a man who needed someone
And somewhere to hide
To keep me alive, just keep me alive
Somewhere to hide to keep me alive
Woody walked up to Morgan and Devon breathing fire. "Devon, why are you letting Sam Kinison and an Indian lesbian wreck your wedding?" he growled, taking a drink from a flask he was carrying.
"Dad just…chill out, OK?" Devon replied angrily.
~/^\~
Ted Roark walked up to the wedding cake and admired it for a second while Sarah continued to sneak along the floor out of sight, opening gifts to find a weapon.
"You know what? I'm feeling a bit peckish." He grabbed a knife and prepared to cut a piece.
The door opened. "Don't you dare!" Chuck yelled. "If you ever want to see the Intersect again, you will NOT touch anything in this room. Do I make myself clear?"
"Chuck," Sarah whispered in fear. This was exactly what she didn't want to have happen.
"Today is my sister's wedding day, and believe me, you don't want to see her angry."
Roark tiredly dropped the knife back on the table next to the cake. "Where's the Intersect, Chuck?"
"Uh…about that…"
Roark rolled his eyes. "Kill him," he ordered.
"Ho! Ho, ho, ho down! I mean hold on! Just hold on a second, all right?"
"Finally," Sarah sighed in relief as she uncovered a set of steak knives.
"I did bring…an Intersect with me," Chuck said.
"An Intersect?" Roark inquired.
"Mr. Roark…"
Bryce walked into the room and all of the Fulcrum agents trained their weapons on him. Roark was impressed, to say the least.
"Bryce Larkin. The human Intersect."
A Fulcrum agent closed and bolted the doors behind Bryce. Bryce spotted Sarah and gave a quick nod, which she returned. She readied the steak knives.
Bryce stepped forward with his hands in the air. "Roark, you want me, you have to let Chuck and his people go. We leave, they stay. Nobody else needs to know."
Roark nodded. "Terrific plan. Thing of it is, Fulcrum wants Chuck here dead, no matter what."
Roark turned to the agent next to him. "So with that said, shoot Mr…"
"Sarah, take him!"
Sarah flung a knife at that agent, nailing him dead-on. Bryce dove for Chuck as Roark and the Fulcrum agents took cover. Chuck and Bryce crawled behind the gift table as Sarah continued to throw the steak knives, making every one of them hit. Bryce opened fire with his gun.
"No, no!" Chuck shouted as the shootout intensified. "Oh, God! Not the flowers!"
Roark kept down as his men continued to fire away. "Not the centerpieces!" Chuck yelled.
Bryce fired again and ducked back under the table. "I'm dry," he told Sarah. "Any more knives?"
"Nope. I threw all eight," she replied.
"Get up," a Fulcrum agent ordered the three, pointing an assault rifle at them. All three of them stood up with their hands raised.
"Oh, God," Chuck said, looking around at the carnage that was Ellie's wrecked wedding reception. "Someone just shoot me now."
"I can help you with that, Chuck," Roark replied with a smug look on his face as he took a shotgun from one of the Fulcrum agents. He looked it over. "Mmm, a real shotgun wedding."
He aimed it at Chuck. "Just think," he said confidently. "That terrible pun is the last thing you'll ever hear."
Roark cocked the gun. Then the entire hall was surrounded by what sounded like a helicopter just above it. Everybody stared to look around in confusion.
The windows shattered along the west end of the room. Casey dropped in on a zipline in full tactical gear and opened fire at the Fulcrum agents with a Heckler & Koch MP5K.
The windows shattered along the east end of the room, and Carina dropped in with an Uzi 9mm, firing away.
The double doors at the south end burst open and Jimmy came charging in, unloading on the Fulcrum agents with a pair of MAC-11 machine guns. He reached behind him and pulled out two more, tossing them to Sarah and Bryce.
Sarah pushed Chuck back to the ground as the team went on the offensive. They quickly gained the upper hand, shooting the Fulcrum agents dead, and Ted Roark looked around in shock. What was certain victory mere seconds ago was about to become a resounding defeat. He crawled between the tables and headed towards the exits.
Bryce moved forward to shoot at an oncoming agent, but another one stood up, ready to fire at him. Chuck kicked the chair next to him at that agent, knocking him off-stride and making him miss. Bryce turned and heard the noise, quickly shooting the agent Chuck nailed.
"I take back what I said earlier," Bryce said in appreciation. "You ARE a proper agent."
Casey, Carina, and Jimmy finished off the last of the Fulcrum agents as Ted Roark ran for the door…and right into Stephen Bartowski.
"Hello, Ted," Stephen said with a grin…and knocked him out with a single punch. "Waited twenty years to do that."
Chuck slowly stood and surveyed the damage. He turned to Casey in shock.
"You rang," Casey countered.
Chuck and Sarah ran out into the hallway just as Ellie walked out of the bridal chamber. She noticed Chuck's disheveled look and Sarah's ripped dress.
"Chuck? What happened?"
"Uh, everything's alright, Ellie. There was just a minor…centerpiece problem," Chuck replied.
The time has come at last
(Secret, secret, I've got a secret)
To throw away this mask
(Secret, secret, I've got a secret)
Now everyone can see
(Secret, secret, I've got a secret)
My true identity, I'm Kilroy, Kilroy, Kilroy, Kilroy
Lester finished singing and Jeff grabbed a pair of Roman candles and set them off. The heat and flames set off the sprinkler systems and the fire alarms. Everybody ran out of the church as they were inundated with water. Chuck, Sarah, and Ellie could only stand there in shock as they were soaked as well.
Ellie's attempts at calm were gone as she saw everybody run out of the church. "Wedding cancelled," she cried.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
April 27, 2016
3:00 PM PDT
Chuck couldn't move. He could barely breathe. It was like the last scene in a horror flick when you thought you had the killer dead to rights, only to have them come back and take you out. If he felt pain before from Sarah leaving and the team breaking up, what happened in the church increased it a hundredfold.
"This is officially a disaster," he said, barely able to keep the tears in check. "I can't believe that my spy life has wrecked my real life. Again. I've completely ruined my sister's wedding day."
"I'm sorry, son," Stephen gently replied, although he felt as bad as Chuck did right now…if not worse. "I…if anyone knows how you feel, it's me. You had no choices, Charles. You saved her life."
Chuck looked at the ground, not feeling comforted in any way by that fact, and someone knocked on the door.
"Hey," Sarah said softly as she entered Chuck's bedroom. "Are you OK?"
"No, I'm not," Chuck said, feeling his entire body shake. "I'm not OK. I don't want to have to save my sister by having a group of government agents on 24-hour speed dial. I just want to be a normal guy…who helps his sister in normal ways. Like right now, if I could give her anything in the world, I would…"
Chuck froze. It then dawned on him. He could give her anything in the world.
"Excuse me." He went to his desk and opened up the top drawer where his check from the government was. He smiled and showed it to Sarah. "I think I might know how to fix this."
Sarah looked up at him. The look on his face was something she missed badly in the last few days. She saw the energy return to him.
"You got time for one more mission before you take off?" Chuck asked her.
Sarah looked at the check and grinned. "It's not what a normal guy would do."
She stood. "You go talk to Ellie; I'll get the team together. This is going to be our best mission yet."
Sarah quickly exited. Chuck and Stephen watched her depart. "Trusting her was the smartest thing I ever did," Stephen said with a smile. "I'll go see what I can do to help."
Stephen left and Chuck went down to the bathroom. He knocked on the door.
"Ellie, are you all right?"
"Chuck, please just go away," she said, still in her wedding gown and her face streaked with tears as she drank from one of the wine bottles from the reception in the bathtub.
Chuck opened the door slowly and entered. Seeing his sister in pain like this hurt him to no end. And knowing he was the reason for it made it all the worse. But it was time to right an egregious wrong.
"I can't believe your idiot friends ruined my wedding. I'm just…I'm never going to forgive Morgan for this."
"Well, I think you're going to have to," Chuck said in a fit of massive guilt. "Because Morgan and Lester and Jeff, they only did what I asked them to do."
Ellie was stunned. "What?"
"I did all this. I forgot your rings, so I told them to stall. So if you're going to be mad at someone, you should be mad at me."
Ellie stared into space, trying to process what Chuck just told her. "Please say something," he begged.
The tears began again. "You…ruined…the most important day of my life?"
"Look, Ellie, you have to trust me, OK?" He handed her the wedding bands. "Here, you take these, and I'll take care of the rest, OK? Just trust me. Trust me."
Chuck quickly left to find Sarah.
Malibu, CA
April 28, 2016
2:00 PM PDT
Chuck and Stephen stood at the back of the seats set up on the beach and Ellie stood between them in a beautiful Vera Wang white dress. Devon waited at the front with the bridesmaids…including Sarah…and the groomsmen. Unlike yesterday when he was nervous…and then devastated when the ceremony was ruined…he was now all smiles. This was the wedding Ellie wanted. He only wished he had stood up to his parents and eschewed their obsessiveness for a big ceremony. But given the tears Honey was shedding and the proud look on Woody's face, Devon figured he'd be forgiven.
Chuck and Stephen escorted Ellie up the aisle on the beach, which was adorned with rose petals. Chuck looked around and couldn't believe it. Sarah was right; this was the best job Casey, Carina, Jimmy, and she had ever done. The permits to have the ceremony along the shore in Malibu were handled in hours thanks to Casey's connections, Carina was able to obtain beautiful new bridesmaids dresses and very sharp suits for the groomsmen, and there was plenty of food and drink waiting for them back at the courtyard in the apartment thanks to Jimmy getting that ready.
"We are gathered here today to join Eleanor Faye Bartowski and Devon Christian Woodcomb in matrimony," the Justice of the Peace began. "Who gives this woman in marriage to this man?"
"We do," Chuck and Stephen said at the same time. Ellie smiled and gave each of them a kiss.
"Love you," she said to Chuck and Stephen.
Chuck and Stephen led Ellie over to Devon and then took their places. Sarah looked over at Chuck, who still had the same smile he did yesterday when he decided he could save his sister's wedding.
And it made her smile. It made her happier than she ever had been in her life. She had accomplished so much in her career, but none of it compared to how things had been since being put together with these people. These fellow agents…John Casey, Carina Miller, Jimmy Slade…who became the greatest friends she ever had. And then to meet Chuck. He was supposed to be just a regular guy, someone who got all the secrets of the government uploaded into him. But he was so much more than that. He was beyond anyone she had ever encountered. Someone who wore their heart on their sleeve and went to such great lengths to help others. And he was as true of a friend to her as anyone she had ever met. Through all of the danger, the suffering, and the heartache, they made it to this day together. She couldn't imagine giving all of this up to reunite with the man who broke her heart three years ago just to be part of the best spy team in the world.
"A partnership should not be entered into lightly but with much consideration. If any person can show just cause why they should not be joined, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."
"Sarah," Bryce said into his communicator. He looked out at the ceremony from a distance with a pair of binoculars. He focused on Sarah. "You're not coming with me, are you."
"Do you have the rings?"
Chuck gave the rings to Ellie and Devon as Sarah looked out at the rocks where she thought Bryce would be.
She shook her head.
Bryce was crestfallen. What Sarah told him at Thanksgiving was true: she was a different person these days. And he was ready to not take her for granted like he had before. But he knew he was too late. Sarah wanted someone else. She deserved someone better. But if there was a bright side for him, he knew how good that someone better was.
"Take care of him for me," he said quietly into his communicator. He then walked away.
Ellie and Devon put the rings on each other's fingers, and the Justice of the Peace declared them to be husband and wife. They kissed to thunderous applause from everyone, especially Chuck and Stephen.
West Century Blvd. – Los Angeles, CA
April 28, 2016
2:30 PM PDT
John Casey sat in the passenger seat of a transport van as it headed to a private hangar at LAX. Ted Roark would be handed off to a team of NSA agents, who would fly him back to Washington D.C. Three members of his old unit were guarding Roark in the back, and Miles, one of his best protégés, was driving the vehicle. Roark's trial would likely be kept silent. If he detested being on the show, he couldn't even fathom how much press there would be if Roark's crimes were made public.
"Wow, what a crappy life you lead, sir," Miles said, who was driving the transport vehicle. "Fire guns on-stage, all those groupies."
"Gimme a break," Casey growled quietly. "I'm glad it's done."
"Wait, there's no season seven?"
"Hey, keep it quiet. Nobody's supposed to know. But yeah, I'm going on this flight to D.C. to work at Langley."
Miles grinned. "As an instructor? In the classroom at 0900 and on the first tee by 1300?"
"Something like that," Casey muttered. He could live without the show, but teaming up with Walker, Miller, and Slade for the last several years gave him so many chances to do good. He'd miss that…and them. He'd even miss that pain-in-the-ass nerd Bartowski, but he admired Chuck for his work, especially for getting his sister her wedding back.
The engine started grinding. "Uh-oh," Miles said.
"Better pull over," Casey replied.
Miles pulled the vehicle over and opened the hood. Casey went to the front of the van to inspect the engine. Miles walked to the back of the vehicle and unlocked the door.
"What's going on?" one of the men asked him.
"Nothing you'll need to worry about," Miles replied. He pulled out a silenced revolver and shot the three Marines dead. Roark looked around in shock and then breathed a sigh of relief, assuming Miles worked for Fulcrum.
Miles aimed and shot Roark in the chest.
Casey heard the muffled shots and ran around to the back of the van to see Roark and the Marines dead.
"Don't!" Miles warned, coming around from the other side pointing his gun at Casey. He pushed Casey against the side of the vehicle and moved his hands above his head. He kept the gun trained on Casey as he removed Casey's weapons.
"Sorry, sir. We've been through a lot," Miles said quietly.
"How long have you been with Fulcrum?" Casey snarled.
"I'm not with Fulcrum."
"Go ahead and pull the trigger. I don't want to look at your face. You just killed three Marines in cold blood."
"Yeah," Miles replied in agreement. "But none of them saved my life."
Miles took his gun and hit Casey in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious. He went to the front of the van and undid what he had to sabotage the vehicle in the first place. He then drove off to dispose of the bodies.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
April 28, 2016
7:00 PM PDT
The reception was in full swing. Chuck looked around and couldn't believe how beautiful the courtyard looked. Jimmy had done a great job getting it ready and making sure the caterers and bartenders had everything perfect. Chuck wanted to thank him, but he was nowhere to be found. He said goodbye for a second time to Carina earlier, who delayed her flight to help fix the wedding. And Casey was escorting Ted Roark back to D.C., so he hoped he would have a chance to thank him later.
"Thank you," Ellie said as she walked up to him.
"For what?"
"For what? For all of this! For my wedding gift. This is…I don't know you did all this."
"Well, I can't…I can't take all the credit…"
"First the beach and now this. I don't know. You're pretty amazing, little brother. Sometimes I think you have superpowers."
Chuck laughed nervously at that. "Yeah, I wish."
"I know."
"Chuck!" Devon walked up to Chuck and Ellie and handed his wife a glass of champagne. "Man, you saved the day. Looks like you're the big hero. Thanks, bro."
"Wow, now I really am your bro."
"Yes you are," he replied with a grin."
Ellie and Devon went to talk to other guests as Chuck spotted Morgan in the middle of the courtyard. He walked up to him and put an arm around him.
"I can't believe you're actually leaving me."
"All right, don't, Chuck," Morgan replied. "I'll cry."
"Well, we don't want that, do we." Chuck tipped his glass of champagne at him. "I'm happy for you, buddy. I think you're going to be the greatest hibachi chef in the world."
"I don't know, man. This whole 'making your dreams come true' thing is hard. And the bigger the dream, the harder it gets. You know, on one side the girl you love. And on the other, life as you know it…"
Chuck tuned out for a moment as he saw Sarah across the courtyard, looking her usual beautiful self. He missed that smile of hers, that laugh. It had come back yesterday, ever since the two of them were determined to put Ellie's wedding back on track. He knew first-hand she was someone who could do practically anything, and she proved that again by making this happen. She needed to be out there helping Bryce. Chuck felt a bit selfish for thinking she could give up saving the world just to be with him.
"…it's just friends and family and a job you can't stand. I don't know, man. I should just go with Anna, right? But then I, uh…I'm overthinking this, right?"
Chuck shook his head clear and returned to the present. "Yeah, yeah, you are. Go with your heart, buddy. Our brains only screw things up."
Morgan nodded in agreement and Chuck walked across the courtyard to Sarah.
"Where's Bryce?" he asked her.
"Gone," she replied. "They're uploading him with the new computer tonight."
Chuck nodded. "Off to save the world. I guess both of you are."
She looked at him. "You want to dance?"
Chuck knew that answer. This was his last night with Sarah and after everything they did to put this wedding back together, he had every intention of enjoying it.
"You know I do."
They walked out to the dance floor and held each other closely. Behind them, Bryce watched with considerable sadness, taking a look at what he could have had if he hadn't been so foolish.
"Mr. Bartowski," Bryce said as Stephen walked up to him. "Or is this an Orion conversation?"
"A bit of both," Stephen replied. "I reconfigured the cube for you under two conditions: you stop looking for me, and you leave my son alone."
"We asked Chuck to be on my team and he said no."
Bryce straightened up. He had a job to do. "Goodbye, Orion."
Stephen grabbed his arm. "You made changes to the Intersect, to my initial designs. The data architecture is different. What does this new computer do?"
"You don't want to know," Bryce said gravelly.
A man came up to Bryce. "Agent Larkin, it's time to go." Stephen looked at the man.
He then saw pictures of the man in his mind and a document saying the man in front of him was presumed to be dead. As Bryce and the agent left, he staggered, holding his head in pain. He almost passed out. He straightened himself out and shook his head clear.
Chuck and Sarah continued to dance in the middle of the courtyard, their faces pressed against each other.
"You belong out there, Sarah," Chuck said quietly. "Saving the world. I'm just…I'm just not that guy."
Sarah smiled and held him more tightly. "How many times do you have to be a hero to realize that you are that guy?"
"I want more, Sarah. I want a life. I want a real life." He began to shake. "I'm…what you and the others do…I…that's not me. I'm not this…saving the world…"
She looked him in the eyes. "Chuck, I don't want to save the world. I want…"
"Chuck, Chuck!" Stephen ran up to them out of breath. "The agent that came for Bryce, he isn't a CIA agent. He's…he's supposed to be dead."
Chuck and Sarah stared in skepticism. "Dad, how could you possibly know that?"
"I…screw it. I have an Intersect in my head." Chuck and Sarah's skepticism quickly turned to shock. "After what happened with Jimmy, I tried to figure out what went wrong. I…tested it on myself. I wasn't going to risk anybody else. But the intel was good. That man isn't CIA."
"Bryce," Chuck whispered in fear. "Bryce is getting the upload tonight.
"They're going to kill him. They'll download the Intersect into their team instead."
"Well, if they know about Bryce, they know about Casey…about all of us," Sarah said.
She quickly left the courtyard. Chuck started to follow her but Stephen stopped him. "Let her go, son. You've done your part."
"But I have to go!"
"No, no you don't. You're not a spy."
Chuck looked right at his father. "Dad…I love her."
Stephen looked back at him. He feared the worst, but he knew Chuck wouldn't stop. There was too much of him in his son.
"I can't follow you, son, but take this." Stephen removed his wrist device and handed it to Chuck.
Chuck took the device and hid it under his coat. "Thank you," he told his father.
"Be safe, Charles."
Chuck got into his car and floored it to the hotel. He got upstairs in time to see Sarah, Casey, Carina, and Jimmy exit the conference room armed to the teeth. Casey held an ice pack to the back of his head and looked ready to kill.
"Hey, I'm coming with you," Chuck told them.
"Stay here, this is not your mission," Casey growled.
"Wait, this is the Intersect we're talking about and I'm a Bartowski!" He showed them his father's wrist device. "You need me."
The four looked at each other and nodded.
"Let's go," Chuck said. The team quickly exited the hotel to head towards the Intersect.
Unknown Location – Los Angeles, CA
April 28, 2016
9:00 PM PDT
Bryce walked down the hallway in the basement of the facility led by his escort.
"Did you see her?" Bryce asked the man. "Agent Walker?" The man nodded. "She was amazing, right?"
"Yes, sir," the man replied.
They reached the door to the Intersect room. "She loves another guy," Bryce said. He shook his head as he typed in the code to open the door. "Bad day to be me."
"You have no idea," the man replied, aiming his gun at Bryce's head. Bryce stared at the man, not completely shocked this happened.
"Mr. Larkin," Miles said, coming from the other direction with several enemy agents.
Bryce gave a little smile and spun, grabbing the wrist of the man next to him and firing his gun. He then turned both of them, using the agent as a human shield as Miles and his men fired back. Miles charged down the hallway guns blazing as Bryce slipped inside the Intersect room and sealed the door. Miles tried to punch in the code on the keypad but was denied access.
"Open this door!" he ordered.
The team made it to the front of the building and discovered a trio of security guards shot dead.
"They're already here," Casey whispered.
Chuck quickly accessed the building's blueprints on his wrist device and found the path to the Intersect room. He pointed forward, and the team moved in that direction. They went slowly down the hallway. Casey turned the corner to see a group of agents working on the lock. They opened fire on them. Sarah kept Chuck back while Carina and Jimmy moved up to open fire on the agents.
Chuck checked his wrist device. "Bryce must be in the vault! And they have another half-dozen running this way!"
"Jimmy and I will cut the others off," Carina said.
Chuck quickly typed on his wrist device. "Go back down the hall and into the vents! You'll take them by surprise!" Carina and Jimmy sprinted down the hallway.
"Chuck, go get help!" Sarah yelled as Casey and she took out a few more agents. Chuck ran back towards the entrance. He passed underneath an air-conditioning fan and suddenly had an idea. He pulled up the schematics for the vent system on his device and found a path that would lead into the Intersect room. He grabbed a chair, stood on it to rip the grate off, and pulled himself inside the ventilation system.
The remaining agents with Miles continued to fire at Sarah and Casey. Eventually Sarah and Casey ran out of ammunition and were surrounded by Miles and his agents.
Chuck dropped down inelegantly into the Intersect room with a painful thud. He looked around at the stark white walls. He saw the lone computer in the center with the Intersect cube attached to it underneath.
He then turned and spotted Bryce. "Hello, Chuck," Bryce said weakly, sitting just inside of the room.
"Bryce," Chuck said breathlessly. "Sarah and Casey are pinned down just outside."
"I'm on it," Bryce replied and tried to get up, but he was in too much pain. He moved his left hand to see the gunshot wound in his stomach.
"Oh, my God, Oh, my God, Oh, my God, you've been shot."
"Yeah. I'm really sorry about this, Chuck."
"No! No, it's OK, it's OK! You're going to be fine. It's not that bad."
Both of them took a look. It was bad. It was very bad.
"Take care of her," Bryce rasped.
"Don't…don't' say that! You're not dying, man. She needs you, OK? You…you guys are going to go on missions together and do exciting things and save the world. You'll be a team again; it will be great!"
Bryce shook his head gently. "She wasn't going to come. She wants…" Bryce clenched as the blood loss worsened.
"Come on. Hold on, hold on, hold on."
Bryce reached into his coat pocket and took out what looked like it could fit into the disk drive of the computer. He handed it to Chuck.
"This will destroy the Intersect. This new computer is too powerful. It's too dangerous."
"But…but you need the computer to fight Fulcrum."
"Fulcrum doesn't matter, all right? They're just one part of the Ring. They'll use it against us, Chuck. You have to do this. All right? You have to destroy that computer and then get out of here."
"But you can beat them, you're a real…hero, Bryce."
Bryce fell to the side and moved no more.
"Bryce?" Chuck whispered in horror, but Bryce no longer responded, his eyes staring out at nothing. "Oh, my God."
Chuck felt himself losing it. His best friend, the one who he thought got him kicked out of Stanford but actually relied on him to keep the Intersect safe, was dead. He shook uncontrollably, tightly gripping the disk Bryce handed him to destroy the Intersect.
He tried to push those feelings back down. He would have to mourn later. Right now, the Intersect computer had to be destroyed. Chuck ran for the computer and took a look at it. He saw the slot where he could insert the disk and destroy the computer. But then he saw the handprint on the table that would activate the computer and he saw the message on the monitor.
Do you wish to activate?
The last seven months began to flash through his mind.
"I can't figure out why Bryce did this, why he chose me."
"You can do anything…I've seen you in action."
"You can't put him out in the field. He won't survive!"
"You may not be a spy, but you're certainly no coward."
"You're better than that, Chuck. A lot better."
"It's a bad idea to bet against you."
"I'm just Chuck Bartowski…not a hero."
"How many times do you have to be a hero to realize that you are that guy?"
He breathed in and out a few times. He then put the disk down and placed his hand on the pad to activate the Intersect. The lights in the room began to turn off row-by-row. The sound of electronics and fans and beeping began to fill the room. The Intersect cube began to spin underneath the computer.
Activation complete.
The room filled with thousands of images, completely surrounding Chuck. He saw all of them, completely hypnotized by them, unable to look away or even blink. His eyes darted back and forth at blinding speed to see the images flicker by.
The images stopped, the lights came on, and Chuck fell to the floor. He grabbed the table to hang on and tried to catch his breath. He struggled to pull himself back up. He took the disk Bryce gave him and inserted it into the drive. The computer began to spark and he stepped back. Electrical surges traveled along the walls and through the Intersect cube, shorting it out. The monitor cracked and lost all power. The Intersect was destroyed.
The door slid open, and Miles entered. "What did you do?" he demanded. He then raised his gun. "WHAT did you do?"
Chuck turned to him. "I destroyed it. You're too late."
"For that, you'll die last," Miles snapped as he went to the Intersect computer and inspected it. His men entered with Sarah and Casey in handcuffs.
Sarah looked to her left. "Bryce?" She ran to him and tried to shake him. "Bryce!"
Two of Miles' men dragged his body away. "NO!" she screamed. "Don't you touch him!"
One of the other agents aimed a gun at Casey and her, moving them back. She looked at Chuck, who mouthed "I'm sorry" to her.
"There's nothing left," Miles said angrily.
"So you lose," Casey said in triumph, glad to see some revenge was had against a traitor.
"You should know this," Miles retorted. "No one can stop us. No one ever has."
"Who are you?" Sarah demanded.
"Spies, Agent Walker." Miles aimed his gun at her. "The best."
Chuck suddenly began to flash. The flash was completely different than the flashes he felt before. There were no files on these agents, no plans for weapons, just sets of instructions he felt go through his entire body.
"Sir, you should look at this," one of Miles' men said, gesturing to Chuck. Miles went over to him and all five pointed their guns at Chuck, who appeared to be staring into space.
"Chuck, did you just flash?" Sarah asked.
"He uploaded it," Miles concluded.
"Oh...Chuck me," Casey whispered in astonishment.
"Kill him!" Miles ordered.
Chuck reached out in both directions and chopped the weapons out of the hands of all of Miles' men, scattering them across the floor. One tried to send a roundhouse kick at him but he ducked out of the way. Another tried to trip him but he backflipped twice to avoid them.
He looked at his hands in complete amazement. How the hell did I do that?
He looked over at Sarah and Casey, both of whom were stunned silent. He then got over his shock and went after Miles' men, somersaulting past one and landing a hard punch at the chest of another. He threw punches at two others on either side of him and chopped a third in the back of the neck, spinning and knocking another one down. He sent a spinning kick at one man and kept throwing punches and chops to put them down. He ducked out of the way of a man trying to kick him in the head and stomped on the guy in front of him. He grabbed the wrist of one man, threw a punch at the man behind him, then flipped the first man through the air and to the ground. He clotheslined the last one to the ground as Miles came after Chuck. Miles tried to throw punch after punch, only to have Chuck block each one. He sent a chop to Miles' throat to send him back and then put a hard kick into him, sending Miles crashing into the wall and to the floor.
Chuck looked around at the bodies lying around him. He was in absolute shock.
"Uhh…" Casey said in equal shock.
The doors opened, and Carina and Jimmy entered. "We got the others, and…" Carina said but stopped when she saw Chuck standing around a bunch of bodies on the ground. "Um, what did we miss?"
Chuck turned to them, completely unable to speak.
"Chuck?" Sarah said.
"Guys…" Chuck whispered, completely out of breath. "I know kung-fu."
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
April 29, 2016
12:30 AM PDT
Sarah quietly walked through the courtyard. The reception ended a couple of hours ago and the food, drinks, and decorations were gone. She figured Ellie and Devon were at the Four Seasons by now in the Honeymoon Suite enjoying their evening, Casey, Carina, and Jimmy stayed behind to process the remaining enemy agents. But she wanted to see how Chuck was doing. What he did tonight…she still couldn't believe it.
She knocked on the Morgan Door and entered his room. To say she was shocked at what she saw was putting it mildly.
Chuck was sitting on the edge of his bed, curled up with his arms wrapped around his body and his knees drawn to his chin. He was shaking uncontrollably and there were tears in his eyes.
"Chuck?" she said softly.
"What did I do? What the hell have I done?"
She sat on the bed and put her hands on his arms. "What's wrong?"
"I went there…I wanted to go with all of you tonight because I thought I could help. Then I stared at Bryce while he died, and everything that happened went through my mind. I uploaded the Intersect. I thought I had to do it to be somebody. I did what I thought everybody wanted me to do."
He shook even harder. "But you didn't want this. You wanted out of the spy life. That's what you wanted to say earlier, wasn't it. You didn't want to save the world; you just wanted to live your own life. And now I've destroyed that, just like I destroyed Ellie's wedding. You…you didn't deserve what happened tonight. You shouldn't have to spend your life babysitting some delusional nerd. You're so beautiful and amazing and…you deserve to live the life you want. And I took that away from you. You shouldn't…"
Sarah lunged at him and kissed him hard, gripping him as tightly as she had ever held anyone in her life. She pulled him down onto the bed, kissing him with every last ounce of energy she had.
She grabbed his face and her sapphire eyes bore into his. "What I want is you, Chuck. I love you. Since you fixed my phone and started defusing bombs with computer viruses. I love you, Chuck. I've been in love with you from the day we met but I was too afraid and too stupid to take the big risk to be with you. But no more."
She pulled him up and held him in her arms. "Ellie was right. I have to be willing to give all of this up for someone I love. I'm done with this. I'm done with the show, I'm done with the government, I'm done with being a spy. All I want is you."
Chuck stared at her in utter amazement. He couldn't even breathe.
"Chuck, please say something because I'm really starting to feel like a fool right now."
The look of astonishment slowly morphed into a wide-eyed smile. Chuck grabbed her face and kissed her hard. She wrapped her arms around him as the two shared such a passionate, loving moment.
"I've always been in love with you, Sarah," Chuck said, his puppy-dog brown eyes twinkling. "From the moment I met you, I've been in love with you. And I always will be."
A few tears of joy came to Sarah's face as the two continued to kiss, holding each other tightly. Their passion became more and more heated as they began to take each other's clothes off.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
April 29, 2016
8:00 AM PDT
Sarah yawned and stretched in the bed. She never woke up to a happier morning in her life. Not that she got that much sleep the night before. Chuck and she couldn't get enough of each other. Seven months of pent-up frustration and pretending flew away in one night as the two made love over and over. It was a night she had dreamed of for years, before she even knew she desired such a night as this. A night where she could stop pretending, stop lying, and just be the person she wanted to be, not the person that was needed for the mission.
She saw Chuck enter the room and smiled. "OK, I don't know how you got all of this information on me, but it's scary."
Chuck grinned as he put down the tray containing a pair of chocolate croissants and a carafe of Sarah's favorite coffee. "Well, I may have done a little research. You are aware your cohorts know as much about you as you do about them, right?"
He poured her a cup and placed one of the croissants on a plate. "I was saving this for a special occasion."
"I'm pretty sure last night qualifies," Sarah replied with a grin. "In fact, I may owe you a few more 'specials' for this."
Chuck laughed, and it was the most melodious sound Sarah had ever heard. His smile then faded. "I'm…I'm so sorry about Bryce."
Sarah looked down at the ground and nodded. "Thank you. It…it's still so hard to process. I mean, I know I haven't been in love with him for a long time, but I…I can't…"
Chuck put his arms around her. She shook as her grief over Bryce's death resurfaced. "It's OK," Chuck gently whispered in her ear. He held onto her until she stopped shaking and looked up again. She gently caressed his face and pulled him to her for a kiss.
"You were always good at that: being a friend when I needed one," Sarah whispered.
"Hey, you deserve all the friends you can get. It took me all of one day to figure out why the four of you got along so well. Even Casey. And I think we'd both agree he's not exactly Mr. Warm & Fuzzy."
Sarah quietly laughed. "They wanted us to be together. I think even John did."
Chuck nodded in agreement. "Carina told me as much the other day. She said you'd come around eventually. I guess I was thinking a few months or a few years from now."
"Nope. Not anymore," Sarah said confidently. "This is the life I want now. A life with you."
"So do I. But how do we get it?"
"I have some money saved up. Every agent is taught to be ready for this kind of scenario. And thanks to Carina and Jimmy, I have several sets of IDs and credentials and even a few credit cards that are untraceable. The government doesn't even know about them."
"What about the public? You sort of stand out in a crowd, especially being one of the most famous actresses in the world. And an incredibly beautiful one at that."
She smiled at the compliment. "We'll have to figure that out as we go along. Maybe we'll go somewhere where the show isn't as popular. There are a few beautiful locales in Europe I haven't seen in ages."
She got out of the bed and faced Chuck. "Charles Irving Bartowski, do you agree to quit the spy life with me?"
He grinned. "I do. Sarah Walker, do you agree to quit the spy life with me?"
"I do."
He smiled. "Oh, wait right here."
Chuck ran into the kitchen to grab something out of one of the drawers. He ran back to the bedroom.
"Here we go," he said as he pulled a twist tie from the box of plastic bags he found. Sarah laughed and held out her hand. Chuck put a twist tie on her ring finger. She then reached for a twist tie and put it on his ring finger.
"By the power invested in me by the state of insanity, I now pronounce us unemployed and in love," Chuck said.
Sarah grinned and leaped into his arms, kissing him intensely, wrapping her legs around him in the process.
"So, where should we go?" Chuck asked.
Sarah got a devilish look in her eyes. "Right now, about two feet."
She pushed him down the bed and got on top of him, kissing him and teasing him with her tongue as the two began to get worked up again. They held each other as their passion intensified.