GreenEyedGirl31

A/N: I can't believe how many people actually thought she'd betrayed him. Shame on all you doubters.

APR

Departure Day +2
Charah House
Lantana, FL

Carina woke first and reveled in the feeling of being encased in Chuck's arms with his morning arousal pressing against her. She knew it was pure biology and that her current situation was nothing more than the habits of sleep but still she enjoyed it. She slipped out of bed and went into the bathroom to shower and dress. There was no point in prolonging the agony or causing him any more stress.

Chuck was dressed when she came out. He smiled at her shyly and then took his turn. She guessed he'd been awake before she was and wanted to avoid any words. She went to her room and redressed in fresh clothes since she'd simply put on what she'd worn to bed when she finished showering. They'd have to talk about dumping Sarah's extensive wardrobe and moving her's into the suite but not today or even tomorrow.

Chuck had just emerged from the bathroom and walked out onto the covered verandah when his cell rang. He noted the caller ID as 'Unknown' and answered as a civilian.

"Hello." He waited.

"Hello." Again. Impatience in his voice.

"I'm sorry. I know it's not the plan but I just had to hear your voice one last time before…"

"Before what, Agent Walker? Before you disappeared forever from my life?" His tone was strident and he couldn't help feeling angry, betrayed and resentful. He was just a man after all.

"Chuck, what's wrong? I know I shouldn't have called. I just couldn't head off to the 'way station' and not know you were OK and I needed to hear your voice before then. I almost called you from Miami and again from Denver but I knuckled down and followed the plan. Please don't be angry, Chuck. I know we agreed…"

"The plan? The plan! It wasn't the plan to burn our wedding portraits! It wasn't the plan to dump your rings and leave that shitty damned note! It wasn't the plan for me to lose you to your goddamned job!"

"Chuck, baby! Oh, I never should have left that note. I'm so sorry. You didn't think…Oh, yes, you did! All your doubts and fears rose up to bite me in the ass. I'm so sorry. Please, I never meant what I said in the letter. I just wanted to add to your scenario! Our wedding pictures are safely in the suitcase and those are rings we used from before when we were the Talleys for the job. Ours are back on my finger where they'll never leave. Oh, baby…"

She started to cry and couldn't speak. She'd shattered him just like the others and he'd been alone with his fears.

"Sarah, I'm sorry. I overreacted. But it was so like…you shouldn't have done it without telling me. You have no idea how…I'm sorry. I'll see you as soon as I can. I love you both."

"We love you too, baby. I'm so sorry…"

"Enough. This is too damned hard. Don't call me again. I…I won't take your call. What's done is done. You did what you thought was right. I…I'll always love you, Sarah, always."

"I'll see you soon. Be careful, my love. We'll be waiting for you." She hung up.

Carina went in search of her partner, suddenly concerned for his absence. She'd broken protocols that she knew were necessary. After all, how long would it take for him to find another weapon hidden in places they'd never thought to look?

She heard his broken voice out on their covered verandah and heard the last snatches of a conversation. "…call me again. I…I won't take your call. What's done is done. You did what you thought was right. I…I'll always love you, Sarah, always."

Her voice was loud and carried a note of disgust. "She called you, didn't she? That bitch! Let me guess…she tried to justify her actions, used the job to make it right in her own mind, right? Chuck, you were right. Don't take another call from her. She just wants to wring the last of you out of her system. We'll get you a new cell number and I'll put NSA on the hunt for her."

"No. I've got to learn to live without her. All I have left is the damned job. It's time for some changes. Get the team to empty out the suite of anything that's hers. Anything! Give to charity, burn it on the beach, I don't care. Just get it done, Shorts. Move your stuff into the room, partner. It's ridiculous for you to have your stuff…"

She flew across the space between them and pulled him into a fiercely protective hug.

"Chuck, just calm down. Maybe you should call forward your cell to mine for a few days. You have enough stress as it is. If she calls back, I'll put her in her place. Don't put yourself through this. We need to get the team back on-line and get back in the game. You said so yourself. Now, go eat something while I get the team busy on boxing up her stuff."

He walked down into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. He felt…alive again, whole again. Now he was back on track and would begin his extraction. It might take a month or two, maybe even more, but he now had a purpose other than just living through another day.

Carina asked Amelia about getting some boxes and explained why. She immediately volunteered to handle the 'removal' and disposal. Her church had a van that would pick up the clothing and distribute it to the needy. She insisted, saying it would 'help the jefe'. She said it would be done before noon and nothing would remain of the traitorous putana.

Graham called Carina to get a status on the situation. When he heard that Walker had called Chuck and Chuck's response he knew that everything would be OK.

"Agent, keep an eye on him but I think the worst is over. I have some things to talk to him about so I'll be dropping by before I fly back to DC. Have the team together and I'll brief them on the new mission. It's probably going to end up international so make sure all the documents are in order for the team members. I assume you've 'replaced' Walker?"

"If you mean I'm with him at night, yes, but that's all I plan on doing, Director, is being in the same bed with him. Even I know that he needs time to adjust, time to heal. He keeps mentioning Mexico and how we just should have gone off the grid. I don't know whether it's sour grapes or genuine regret but I'm not taking advantage of his grief. Whatever happens will be up to him. I assume that's what you wanted to hear, right?"

"Exactly right. I'll see you later this afternoon and I'll need transportation to West Palm Beach airport this evening. I know you hate boats, Carina, but his is being delivered to the dock at the Two Georges as we speak. Get him to spend some time on it. It doesn't have to move and make sure the team is involved."

His abrupt hang up surprised her as did the potential of an international assignment. The agent in her was concerned but the woman was thrilled.

'Getting him out of this damned shrine to Sarah Walker will do a world of good for his attitude and peace of mind. Maybe I'll ask Art about basing us someplace where he doesn't have her treachery rubbed in his face at every turn?'

While Talley met with the Director, Carina called a mini-meeting of the team and briefed them on the situation leaving nothing out. Eric was psyched at the prospect of an international assignment while his partner, Amanda, just sat there as always, taking it all in, keeping her own counsel.

Ron smiled in his quiet way at Faith and mouthed 'Oh, yeah!' and then fixed his attention on the team 2IC. He sensed there was more and he was right.

"OK, I don't know how many of you hate the ocean and boats and things that go up and down but get over it. I've got a huge cache of Dramamine in my bag so see me if you need some. Talley's replacement boat is being delivered today and so tomorrow or the next day we're going to go through it with a fine toothed comb. I don't want a single inch left unswept for bugs, explosives and anything else that wasn't original equipment or a listed enhancement."

"So are we going to our assignment via sea?" Amanda leapt to the obvious conclusion,

"We're not sure. Talley and the Director are finalizing some details and timeframes. I will tell you this…it's a lot warmer than New Orleans."

Belmopan Airport
Belmopan, Belize

Debbie Dingle walked through the airport after clearing Customs. She only carried the one bag and didn't need to go through baggage claim. The flight from Mexico City had been crowded with tourists and vacationers on their way to the Gulf Coast and she'd been crushed between two obese women who prattled on about their plans.

She walked into the ladies room and systematically destroyed any paper trace of 'Debbie Dingle' just as she had her other covers on her trip.

She removed her brown contact lenses and flushed them and her shredded legend down the commode.

Serenity Rogers walked out of the terminal into the bright afternoon sun of Belize's capital city. She consulted her mental 'Chuck List' and caught a cab for Rios Cartage and Storage. She told the cabbie to wait for her and went in a presented her passport and Maine driver's license and requested help in loading the small crates into her cab.

She had the cab driver drop her at a car rental agency and again presented her documents and asked for a 6-month lease on a small truck or jeep, paying with her AMEX card. She gave her the address she'd memorized in San Pedro Town on Ambergris Caye.

The clerk gave her a funny look and Serenity explained that she was "getting over a nasty divorce. I figure 6 months in the sun spending all the bastard's money will make things right." The clerk gave her an understanding smile and then a map marked with the most direct route to the ferry station that would carry her to the Caye and wished her well.

She was not going to the ferry station first. She had a stop to make at the Bank of Scotland branch in Belize City first. According to her 'Chuck list' there was a safety deposit box containing some things she'd need. She also was to withdraw $20,000 in local currency from their joint account to cover her immediate needs until her husband, Bob, joined her after his return from his deployment in Afghanistan.

The first thing she did before leaving the rental agency parking lot was to place her wedding and engagement rings she'd taken off in Denver and hung on a fine gold chain around her neck back on the third finger of her left hand where they would remain until she died.

It was late afternoon by the time she'd made the long drive to Belize City so she got a room at a tourist hotel for the night. She wanted to be fresh and rested before making the drive to Ambergris Caye and San Pedro Town. The concierge locked up the small crates for the night and promised to have someone load them in her jeep when she checked out.

Serenity mentally reviewed the 'Chuck List' before going to sleep to ensure she had her tasks properly prioritized. She knew that several remote actions had been automatically triggered by her husband within minutes of her leaving Charah House for the airport.

Satisfied, she finally allowed her mind to dwell on her last conversation with her husband. She tore apart all of her actions looking for deeper reasons and was finally satisfied that there were no hidden agenda in her actions. She'd honestly been trying to help not hurt her beloved Nerd.

Curling up and wishing the pillows were Chuck, she fell asleep and dreamed of their future.