A/N: Time for the team to take a short break from the action, but not from other aspects of their job. In fact, they've reached a pivotal point.
Naturally, one more time, I'd like to express my thanks and gratitude for all your support and encouragement.
"You're tense," Chuck commented while he stroked Sarah's arm as they lay in bed together. "I hope it's not something I did. You've been like this for days."
She shifted to face him. "It's not you, Chuck. I guess I'm still a little tense after everything we went through the other day."
"Ryker is dead. Molly and your parents are safe."
"But… Chuck, you don't understand. What if Ryker told Shaw why he wanted to learn about my family…"
"Shaw is under surveillance," Chuck pointed out.
"And the team following him around managed to lose him once already," she shot back.
"Remember what Graham told Casey and Bryce when he debriefed them. They figured out how Shaw is keeping in touch with his informants and clients. He doesn't know Internal Affairs is on to him, either."
"Internal Affairs," Sarah scoffed. They managed to lose him in a subway station. As for the leeching from someone else's Wi-Fi, Graham would have never thought of it if you hadn't opened his eyes during the Alahi part of the mission." She jumped up and began to pace the bedroom. "My family will not be safe unless Shaw is out of the way for good." She paced some more while Chuck watched. "It's not that I don't already have a score to settle with the creep," she fumed. "He blew the mission in Brazil and to top it off, he turned me and a friend of mine against each other, not to mention sending another to the hospital – and only because the rest of us saved her in the nick of time." She spun around and faced Chuck. "Do you know what I want to do to him?" She didn't wait for an answer and plowed on. "I'd like to lower him into a barrel full of nitric acid – very, very slowly."
"Nitric acid?" Chuck echoed.
"It doesn't have to be nitric acid, necessarily. Any sufficiently caustic substance will do… Or I can have him slowly fed into a rock crusher, like in the movie we watched together the other night."
"You mean Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?"
"That's the one," she nodded. "A road roller would probably have to do instead of a rock crusher though..."
"Would that be a static or a vibrating roller?" Chuck asked sarcastically.
"I haven't decided… Wait, are you making fun of me?"
"To be fair, you're acting a little crazy."
She finally sat down. "Sorry," she said, looking suitably contrite. "It's just frustrating. At first, when I killed Ryker, I thought everything was finally over. We'd be free to be ourselves, spend time with our families… But now, it seems I'd miscalculated. There is one more loose end to tie up."
"All in due time," Chuck said soothingly. He was about to continue when a movement outside caught his eye. "Is that Morgan?"
"What? Let me see." She took a look and nodded, now completely confused. "He is. And what is he doing coming out of Casey's place?"
"The Buy More is not open yet, so he wasn't here for a delivery," Chuck determined.
"Only one way to find out," she said and swiped a large t-shirt of Chuck's from the back of his desk chair, throwing it over her underwear.
They exchanged a meaningful look. They always had a unique way of communicating without words, which they had somehow developed along the way. They hadn't even realized it, but to those who knew them it was a confirmation that they were made for each other.
Morgan was walking towards the wrought iron door leading to the street, while simultaneously checking something on his phone and mumbling to himself about things he had to do. The Buy More wasn't the same without Chuck, even though they both knew his friend's latest stint bad been from the start only a temporary situation. Still, it wasn't too bad. If anything, he'd never have met his girlfriend without the job. All of a sudden, two pairs of strong hands grabbed him and hauled him inside an apartment through an open window. He managed to yelp and thrashed a little before realizing where he was.
"Chuck? Sarah? What's the meaning of this?"
"You tell us, little buddy," Chuck said.
"What were you doing in Casey's apartment?" Sarah pressed.
"His daughter is my girlfriend."
"And you're still alive?" Chuck and Sarah exclaimed together.
"Um… yes? I mean, he did make the threats every father makes to his daughter's boyfriend, spiced up a bit, quite imaginatively so too, since he's career military, but Mrs. Casey likes me and he trusts her judgment. How do you know him, exactly?"
"The contract I had, remember that? It involved working with Colonel Casey at some point," Chuck informed Morgan.
"I'll add a threat of my own," Sarah said. "Alex is a good kid, so if you hurt her you better pray Casey gets to you before I do. That said, and even though I haven't seen the two of you together yet, I think it will go well. Before you ask, Alex just happens to be my little sister's babysitter."
"You have a sister young enough to need a babysitter?"
"She's adopted," Sarah explained laconically, her tone precluding any further discussion of the circumstances about the adoption process.
"OK, I see." He then realized something. "Wait you two are an item now?" He jumped on Chuck and clung to him like a koala bear. "Dude, I'm so happy for you!" He turned to look at Sarah. "And you are a very lucky lady."
"Don't I know it," she replied seriously. "Now get off of my boyfriend."
"Right. Sorry. I'm just thrilled to see him get his life back on track. He deserves it after all he's been through."
Chuck smiled. "Let me tell you, little buddy, it was worth it. I don't think I'd have met Sarah otherwise."
"You would have," she said with a smile. "Remember the day I offered you the job?"
He thought about it and remembered her telling him how she'd found that Hans Lichtenstein had a doppelganger. "You are right. I would have." The rest was left unsaid. No matter what he could have been doing, like working a nice cushy job with a major firm, he would have definitely accepted Sarah's job offer. And they would have fallen in love no matter what.
Morgan looked at them both. "You two are hiding something. Whatever it is, it's not my business. Your happiness is enough for me." He patted Chuck on the back and squeezed Sarah's arm before hopping out the window and into the courtyard, leaving the happy couple to kiss lovingly.
-o-
Their day was being spent productively, or at least as productive as a couple on vacation can be. In fact, housekeeping was just about the only productive thing they did. The chore they left for last was laundry.
"Sarah, does this go in the laundry hamper or among the clothes I'll ask Ellie to repair?" Chuck asked, holding up a pair of his girlfriend's acid washed ripped skinny jeans. He'd decided to take care of the laundry while Sarah was finishing vacuuming the rugs.
"Don't you dare!" Sarah exclaimed, dropping the vacuum cleaner's handle and snatching the garment from his hands. It was one of her favorites.
"What's that noise?" Chuck asked suddenly.
"What noise?"
"Wait, I'm hearing it again now. It's like someone's calling my name."
"Yeah, the Hoover's calling your name," she mocked, but turned off the appliance anyway.
"Finally," a new voice was heard to say. "I must say, you two look terribly domestic."
Chuck and Sarah found the source of the voice. It was her laptop, which had been left open on the coffee table. Graham's huge form filled almost the entire screen.
"Sir?" She was definitely surprised – and so was Chuck – not to mention nervous about her boss' reaction to the domesticity of the scene.
"We have certain matters to discuss with both of you," Graham said, not bothering to comment further on the closeness between the agent and the contractor. "Take a seat. It won't take us long and you can get back to your spring cleaning once we're done."
Chuck and Sarah looked at each other and sat down on the couch. "Go ahead, sir," Chuck said.
"Before releasing Mr. Bartowski here from his contract, there is one final task to be performed: removal of the Intersect from his head."
"Oh, right, I remember you saying removal was technically possible."
"Not only possible, but with the latest technology it's a piece of cake, not to mention completely safe."
"Please continue, sir," Chuck said. "What do I have to do?"
"I believe the technical part is best explained by one of the original members of the Intersect development team. Stephen, you have the floor."
The screen split and Graham's image moved to the left of the screen and Stephen J. Bartowski's appeared on the right.
"DAD?!"
"Mr. B?"
"And there we were, thinking you knew about this because of Mom's involvement with the CIA and now you're telling us that you invented the Intersect?" Chuck wondered. "Which is an awesome thing, by the way," he added.
"Can't take all the credit for it, son… just the really cool parts," his father chuckled. "Now, just like Langston said, removal is easy, painless and safe. From what I'm told, you had the upload at Bryce's."
"Yes, that's right."
"Among the equipment Bryce received for the upload, there was a removal tool, just in case something went wrong. If he still has it, you can use it to remove the Intersect. All you have to do is look at the screen and the preinstalled program will do the rest."
"Hold on a second there, Stephen. How do you know about what kind of equipment we supplied Bryce with for the upload?" Graham cut in.
"Not the CIA, me," Stephen explained. "Mary and I knew everything from the start. She was pretty pissed at you for not talking to us first, by the way, but I managed to talk some sense into her. Therefore, we decided to play it safe and provide some of my own gadgets. The removal tool is one of them."
"Will it work?"
"Langston, it's me you're talking to. Have I ever failed to deliver the goods?"
"Sorry to interrupt this very interesting chat, but I have a question to make," Chuck said.
"I'm listening, son."
"Dad, it's all nice and dandy, but I'd like to keep some of the Intersect stuff." He paused and looked at the image of his father on the screen. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing. I just bet your mother that you would like to keep some of the Intersect in your head, being the Nerd you are always so proud to refer to you as. Looks like I won the bet and I plan on collecting big time. To answer your question, yes, it's definitely doable. You'll just have to configure the removal program accordingly from the options menu before you run it. Just out of curiosity, what do you want to keep?"
"The skill sets," Chuck replied without hesitation. "The information can go, but I think keeping the skills, except those related to Lichtenstein's personality of course, is going to be cool."
"I'll email you some instructions and software updates."
"Um, Mr. B, is keeping the skills going to be safe for Chuck?" Sarah asked, mindful of the risks Graham had told them about before Chuck uploaded the customized version of the Intersect.
"Sure. The problems only ever arose with uploaded information. I won't bother you with the technical details, but skills are much easier for the brain to absorb. To be totally honest, I was able to help with the upload as well. Bryce modified his computer to specifications I provided, putting in some pretty special extras. Any risks are practically nonexistent."
"Thank you." Sarah sounded most relieved.
"You're welcome. I'll be back in LA later this week. We'll talk then. Oh, your Dad can join us too, if he's free."
"He'll make sure he is," Sarah smiled. Jack Walker and Stephen Bartowski had become fast friends. Their wives were also thick as thieves, especially where their children were concerned. Despite their occasional inquisitiveness, which tested Chuck and Sarah's patience sometimes, the closeness of their immediate families was very much appreciated by the young couple.
Graham coughed to get everyone's attention back. "You can talk about your social plans later. Right now we have to make arrangements for Chuck to undergo the removal process. He has to travel to DC, I guess."
"No, that won't be necessary," Stephen assured him. The device is portable and he made sure to have it on hand at all times. Heck, it can be done today, if everyone agrees."
"Works for me," Chuck shrugged. "Maybe we can even make a day out of it when we're done. Bryce and I haven't been able to go out and have fun for a while now", he said eagerly. "I was thinking about visiting one or two of our old haunts. You and Jill are most welcome to join us, of course," he told Sarah.
"Sounds nice," she agreed. A double date with their friends would definitely be one of the highlights of her vacation.
They all proceeded to discuss some of the plan's finer details. Stephen promised to call Bryce and arrange to be present at the meeting, just in case his help might be required. Graham approved and the conference ended, leaving Chuck and Sarah free to finish cleaning house.
-o-
Chuck, Stephen and Bryce were holed up in the study, working on the removal device's menu, while Sarah and Jill were content to enjoy some coffee and talk in the living room. Since they planned on going out afterwards, they'd both changed, Sarah wearing her white Capri pants and a pastel blue tank top, while Jill preferred a floral pattern belted sundress.
"What's taking them so long?" Jill asked almost irritably. "Chuck's dad said they would be done before we knew it when he called."
The sound of laughter came from the study. "I guess they're goofing around while working. Mr. B brought some stuff to help with configuring and updating the device he'd sent Bryce, so I guess that's what they're doing," Sarah said and took a sip of her coffee. "We, however, have other matters to discuss. Chuck mentioned planning on revisiting some of his old haunts with Bryce. I suppose you know what he meant, right?"
"Oh boy," Jill groaned. "They mean to subject us to a gaming binge at an arcade or two."
"Is it that bad?"
"Since you'll be coming along, no, I don't think so. While they do all the stupid stuff they used to do in college, we can keep each other company."
"And laugh at them," Sarah added.
"That too," Jill agreed and then turned serious. "Bryce told me what happened the other day while I was at my parents'. You must be relieved it's over."
"It's not completely over yet," Sarah shook her head and proceeded to explain about Shaw and the possibility of him getting greedier and coming for Molly.
"You're right to be worried a bit," Jill nodded. "What did the Boss say?"
"The usual," Sarah shrugged. "Good job all round, thanks for taking Ryker and his gang out, rest assured we won't be letting Shaw out of our sight until we have a better picture of his activities, yadda-yadda."
"If I were you, I'd be pushing Graham to let the CAT Squad take care of this Shaw when the time comes."
"You know, the idea isn't half bad," Sarah said. "I'll talk about it with the girls. I'm pretty sure they'll want in."
Further discussion was prevented by the entrance of the guys into the living room. "We're ready," Stephen announced.
"I thought you'd be done already," Sarah shot back.
"Actually, we thought about going ahead with the process and leaving you ladies in peace, but on the other hand you might want to be part of it, Sarah," Chuck said.
"I can see the merit in your argument. I was there when you had this thing uploaded. It's only fitting to be there for you when you have it removed." She smiled brightly. "So, what do you need me to do?"
Chuck smiled back. "Just stay here and be your normal charming self."
"Useful," she commented sarcastically.
"Very," he said seriously. "Moral support is very important. Let's do this."
"Wait, won't the rest of us need protective eyewear?" Sarah asked.
"We're not using the TV this time, but this," Stephen said, holding up what looked like a PSP. "It's the Intersect blocker, configured for program uninstall. All Charles has to do is look at it while it runs its program." He handed the device to his son.
"Showtime," Chuck smiled. He booted up the device and was about to press the start button when…
"Chuck, wait!" Sarah exclaimed. "I think you'd better take a seat first. You remember what happened when you uploaded the Intersect, right?"
"What? Oh, right, good point. Thanks." He took a seat and pressed start. It was over in a few minutes. When the screen went dark again, Chuck slumped back in the armchair, his hands dropping to his sides, the PSP still clutched in one. "Man, what a rush," he mumbled. He shook his head to clear it, ran his free hand through his hair and got up. "OK. Process complete," he announced. Seeing Sarah's worried look, he hurried to reassure her. "I'm fine. The removal was quicker and easier than the upload." He paused and thought a bit. "And I can still speak German, so everything worked just fine."
"Walk towards me in a straight line and then take three steps backwards," Sarah told him. "I want to make sure you're fine before you and Bryce go fry your brains at the arcades."
"Oh, someone's been gossiping," Bryce teased the girls.
"Shut up," Sarah and Jill told him in unison.
"Women," he huffed. "It's a good thing we love those two, right bro?"
"I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world," Chuck nodded, offering his arm to Sarah. "Shall we?"
"Let the fun begin," she said. Learning about Chuck's old habits was going to be fun.
"Dad, I hate to be leaving you like this…"
"Don't worry about me, just go have fun," Stephen said affably. "I'll take care of the equipment, pack it and lock up when I leave."
"Thanks Dad, see you later."
"See you later, Mr. B," Sarah said. Bryce and Jill also waved goodbye.