Ch. 13 A White Christmas in Los Angeles
A/N: Posting a little later than planned. Had to travel for a family event over the weekend. Another trip is planned for this weekend. We are entering the final stretch. The ending of the story is somewhat open, so I could revisit the story in the future. At this time, there are no plans to do so.
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Sarah sat at the edge of the fountain in the courtyard outside of Chuck's apartment. She was idly tracing patterns in the water with her fingertips. She was looking without really seeing, as she tried to wrap her head around all of the emotions swirling through her heart. Chuck had headed out to meet up with Morgan- who suddenly had been saddled with much of the responsibility at Nerd HQ, even though he didn't, and couldn't (to Chuck's regret) know why.
How do you tell a man-child civilian that his best friend: is an elite hacker who single-handedly saved Westside Hospital; attacked the foreign military group responsible; got the NSA hunting for him; negotiationed with the NSA to keep him in Burbank; and, helped a DEA agent capture a Venezuelan drug sub when it tried to enter US waters?
But she had to give credit to Morgan-Chuck said that he needed some spare time, Morgan asked no questions and got the work done. Truth be told, Sarah was a little envious of the close bond between Chuck and Morgan. She had Carina. But their friendship had a …dynamic to it that often resulted in nightclubs advising that they wouldn't seek reimbursement for repairs if the two of them agreed to never again enter the premises.
Sarah had seen the potential for a more traditional close friendship with Ellie. But now there had been the double-whammy of Sarah admitting to her CIA past to Ellie and Chuck hinting to her at his skills as a hacker. Sarah was working hard at keeping Chuck out of the NSA and in Burbank. If Chuck had to leave Burbank, Sarah would follow, but that would split the Bartowski family. And Sarah was not ok with that.
Sarah heard the door to the apartment close and realized the source of her most recent musing was standing behind her.
"So, Devon was encouraged that Chuck," Ellie raised both hands to make air quotes, "'got back on his bike and went for a ride.' His saying, not mine." Ellie was trying, and mostly succeeding, at smothering her laughter at Sarah's discomfort.
"Oh, my god," Sarah mumbled in embarrassment. "I am so sorry. I totally forgot that you and Devon were even home."
"That's great!" Ellie exclaimed, before clarifying. "I don't mean that it's great that I had to hear what I won't be able to unhear coming from my brother." Ellie gave an exaggerated shudder that wasn't wholly faked. "I mean that it is great that you lost yourself in the moment. Well, moments. Actually, given the amount of time involved, should it even be referred to as a 'moment'?" Ellie asked as she titled her head to the right.
"Ellie!" Sarah yelped, playfully smacking Ellie on the arm. "Stop. Please. Seriously. For both of our sakes."
"Hey, you should be grateful that I stopped Devon. He was going to make you both one of his protein shakes so that you kids could keep your energy up," Ellie teasingly admonished. "What's great is that given your…past work, that you were comfortable enough around Chuck to allow yourself to get lost in the moment. Maybe, going forward that is, you just limit the number of times that you get 'lost' when Devon and I were around? Please?"
Ellie collapsed in a fit of laughter as the dusting of pink embarrassment on Sarah's cheeks escalated to a vibrant red.
"Well, maybe if you had warned me about what an amazing singer Chuck is, I would have be able to control myself and limit the number of 'bike rides'," Sarah retorted, expecting Ellie to appreciate her going along with the joke. But as soon as Sarah mentioned singing, Ellie abruptly stopped laughing and her eyes grew wide.
"Wait," Ellie exclaimed, "wait, wait. You are telling me that Chuck, as in my brother Chuck, sang to you? Seriously? Please tell me that you aren't joking or making some Devon- like sex analogy? Chuck really sang again?"
Sarah could read the hope and expectation on Ellie's face. This was a serious question from her. That made absolutely no sense. Chuck had an amazing voice. Ellie's excitement would make sense given how good he was. Then Sarah parsed the words "sang again" which indicated that he used to sing, but then stopped. Why would someone with such a gift just stop? Unless…Sarah's eyes narrowed, growing hard and cold.
"Jill." It was a statement, not a question. The Ice Queen had just materialized in front of Ellie.
"Holy crap. You are seriously scary when you talk like that," Ellie said quietly.
Sarah struggled internally to regain control. What in the hell did that wretched woman do to my Chuck to hurt him so badly that he would stop singing? Sarah breathed hard through her nose to try to reel in her anger.
"Maybe I should pay a visit to Jill Roberts. Extract her side of the story," Sarah said once she thought that she had her temper under control.
Ellie just looked at her skeptically, "I don't even want to know just how you would 'extract' a story from someone, particularly Jill."
Sarah's anger cracked in the face of the Bartowski sibling sarcasm. Okay, maybe my temper wasn't totally under control. "I could just ask her, you know?"
Ellie simply snorted in disbelief, "You don't even buy that, Sweetie. How do you expect me to?"
Sarah was suffused with warmth and happiness at the term of endearment from Ellie. These Bartowskis are made of stern stuff. She knows that I was CIA, that I was at the very least dangerous, even if she doesn't know the full deadly extent of that danger. Yet she feels perfectly safe in my presence.
"Besides," Ellie continued. "Chuck just found you. It wouldn't be fair to Chuck to make him wait for you to get out of jail for murdering Jill."
"You know," Sarah replied in a conversational tone, "it's really hard to convict for murder when they can't find a body."
"TMI there Sarah," Ellie laughed. "I'm pretty sure that I would be more comfortable discussing your and Chuck's sex life…robust sex life…really, really robust sex life…"
"Ellie," Sarah cried in mortification, her fury over Jill forgotten. For now.
"Fine. Fine," Ellie laughed good naturedly. "Since you don't want to talk about your sex life, and I don't want to learn how you could make Jill disappear, tell me more about Chuck singing. What did he sing to you?"
"Well, we were talking about something that my mom said to me and Chuck mentioned some movie called 'White Christmas'…"
"Oh my gosh," Ellie exclaimed. "Some movie? You've never seen 'White Christmas'? We are doing a joint family movie night to watch that! You will bring Emma and Molly- she needs to see the movie too-, and Chuck, Devon and I can host a dinner & movie night."
Sarah raised her eyebrows while looking expectantly at Ellie, saying nothing.
"Uuuugh," Ellie groaned out in mock mortification. "Fine. Morgan can come too. But I'm not calling it a 'joint' family movie night if the bearded gnome is there."
"Fair enough," Sarah replied with a chuckle and a smug grin.
Ellie moved past Sarah to sit next to her on the edge of the fountain. "White Christmas has so many great songs. Which one did he sing to you? And please, please don't say Choreography."
Ellie was bending down to sit when Sarah replied, "Mandy". Sarah watched in shock as Ellie missed the fountain, thumping down hard to the ground. "Ellie, are you ok?"
"Chuck sang 'Mandy' to you?" Ellie asked in a quiet voice, before changing her tone. "Damn, that sex must have been amazing."
"Ok," Sarah stated drolly, "I get that we are friends apart from the fact that I am dating your brother, but we are so NOT having that conversation."
"Sorry," Ellie said while laughing, before wincing as she rose to sit on the side of the fountain. "I don't need, nor want for that matter, any details on my brother's sex life. But Sarah, that song is about marriage. And not obtusely about marriage. 'There's a minister handy.' That's just…wow. Since, um, that woman, he hadn't even made it to a second date until you. And now not only does he sing, but it's a song about marriage. Just wow." Ellie stared at the sky without focusing, amazed by the developments and Chuck's growth since meeting Ellie's incredible new friend.
"In fairness to your brother," Sarah pointed out, "my mom had teased me this morning about showing up to breakfast in yesterday's clothes and with bed head." Sarah held up a hand to forestall Ellie, who was twitching with excitement. "Last night wasn't about that. It was…work related. But mom didn't know that, can't know that. And Chuck and I can't tell you about it either."
Ellie's face reflected her concern, "This has to do with what went down at the hospital. Doesn't it?"
Sarah wavered on how much she could tell Ellie. Sarah would protect Chuck, but Ellie would need something to keep her from spiraling like her brother. The problem was, Ellie was so smart that too much information could result in Ellie getting in nearly as much trouble as Chuck.
"It does and it doesn't," Sarah finally compromised. "I promise that I will protect Chuck. I do have some old work friends helping out with that protection." For you too. "But both Chuck and I are going to be helping out the government from time to time. Not out in the field, but we still won't be able to give you details. Okay?"
"I trust you, Sarah," Ellie genuinely stated. Like her brother the statement was made in full certainty. "And I trust you with Chuck's safety." Sarah wasn't the most tactile of people, but she needed to hug Ellie after that statement.
Ellie stood after the hug. "I also trust you with my brother's heart." Sarah's jaw dropped open. Again, absolute sincerity and certainty rang through Ellie's tone. But as Ellie got to the doorway and grabbed the door handle, she turned with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, "For as long as you both shall live."
It was Sarah's turn to slip off of the fountain and onto the courtyard. Oh god, not her too.
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A few days later, Sarah strolled into the Nerd HQ office, with a wide smile breaking out as soon as she spotted her favorite nerd. Chuck was thoroughly engrossed in coding the next, next big game for their company. It wasn't until a three ring binder hit the desk next to his keyboard that he realized that Sarah had entered the office.
"Sarah," he called out as a grin as big as her own appeared. Sarah genuinely loved the fact that every single time that Chuck saw her his reaction was the same, as if seeing her was the highlight of his day. "Is it weird for me to say that I missed you today? I mean, it's only noon, but I've gotten so used to you being here that it felt strange to be alone."
"Well, sweetie, you are the most social creature that I know," Sarah replied, running her fingers through his hair, causing him to hum. She was thrilled to hear Chuck admitting that he missed her even though they had been on a date only the night before. "It makes sense that you are happy to have someone to talk to."
"Nope," Chuck shut down her claim. "Not someone. I'm pretty sure that I am this happy because it is you that I get to see."
"Just pretty sure," Sarah responded with a fake pout. "I must be doing something wrong."
"Impossible," Chuck answered. "Aside from ignoring every driving rule in the State of California, you do nothing wrong."
Sarah picked up the binder to gently bat Chuck on the shoulder. "If I had let you drive on our first date, we'd still be on the 405." She rolled her eyes, but her ever-present smile diminished the impact. "I bring news. Agent Montgomery—"
"Roan."
And there it was. The Bartowski Rule. If someone does them a favor, that person is a friend who deserves personal recognition, not official titles.
"Roan," Sarah acknowledged, making Chuck smile all that much harder. "Roan sold the NSA on the plan not only to hire you as an outside contractor, but for the two of us to create Carmichael Industries and work together for this company. No field work. I get final say on whether or not we accept an assignment. I will help put together information on each target, and prepare the after action reports. You will work your computer magic, while I protect you. In this binder are three sites for you to choose from to base CI."
Sarah paused for a moment before finishing what she had to tell. "General Beckman did have one proviso. One that I'm not really thrilled about. She wants there to be a second business on site, one that is an NSA cover so that John Casey can be stationed here. She claims that she is concerned that the North Koreans could try to get to you. As an active agent, Casey would have greater latitude on what actions he can take without the fear of local law enforcement."
"I don't have that latitude, as a former CIA agent. But I have far greater motivation to
keep you safe."
"Well," Chuck said as he shut the binder closed without looking at any of the properties, "I won't be considering any of these properties."
Sarah cocked her head to the side as she tried to riddle out why Chuck was going to be difficult. They had gotten all that they wanted from the NSA, and far more than Sarah had expected. Why is Chuck going to be belligerent now?
Chuck then pulled a non-resistant Sarah down to sit on his lap. "WE. We will consider these properties. And we will decide which one works best. Together. The NSA has to realize that it's both or nothing."
Sarah quickly wrapped Chuck in a hug. It wasn't a bone crushing hug like Ellie's, but it was close. "Together," Sarah whispered, deciding that it was her new favorite word.
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After deciding that if they were to make any decisions, she would need to move to her own chair, Sarah went through the binder to go over the pros/cons of each property.
"Oh man!" Chuck spouted as he saw the photos of the third property. "Look at those windows, and that view."
Sarah beamed. She had deliberated kept this one until last, convinced that it would be the one that Chuck wanted. "I had a feeling that you would like this one best. It's actually a dual use property. The offices in the pictures are on the second floor of a private hangar at Bob Hope International Airport. It would be easy to partion the space into two 'separate' businesses. The ground floor hangar space not only would allow the NSA to discreetly send and recover rapid reaction teams, but there would still be plenty of room for a secure computer room."
"Plus," Chuck jumped in, clearly excited at the prospect, "since it's on the grounds of the airport, no one would be surprised at the bandwidth flowing into the building. Most, if not all, of the businesses already there use a ton of bandwidth. From time to time the Buy More gets a call for help from those businesses. We would blend in. Well, CI would blend in. You, my dear, definitely stand out wherever you go."
"And, and," Chuck excitedly added, "when we take a break from the Nerd HQ games and cloak and dagger NSA stuff, we can watch planes take off and land full of people heading off on or coming back from adventures around the world."
Sarah stroked the back of her fingers down Chuck's cheek, "You are a hopeless romantic. But you are my hopeless romantic." With that statement, Chuck again broke out the grin that he saved just for her. As always happened when she was confronted by that grin, butterflies began dancing in Sarah's belly.
"Besides," Sarah continued, trying not to get distracted-again-by how special Chuck made her feel on a daily basis, "I have literally been around the world, but Burbank is the only place that has ever felt like home to me."
"And you call me a romantic," Chuck pretended to scoff. He leaned over to give Sarah a kiss. The butterflies in Sarah's stomach switched from dancing to forming a mosh pit. What he did next sent the moshing butterflies into overdrive. [singing] "I've been around the world, lookin' for my baby, been around the world, and I'm gonna, I'm gonna find him."
Sarah barely fought down the urge to rip off Chuck's clothes and make it clear what his singing did to her. Through sheer force of will power, she instead raised her eyebrows, "You calling me baby, Chuck?" She had hoped to sound somewhat intimidating, but it came out breathless.
Chuck, however, looked a little nervous. After all, they had never discussed what pet names were/were not acceptable. "Actually, that was a woman singing that part. So really, it would be me pretending to be you who was calling me baby."
As Sarah worked her way through the linguistic gymnastics of that line of reasoning, Chuck's eyes lit up. Sarah's eyes narrowed in response. Chuck might not know it, but he was dangerously close to lighting a fuse on a powder keg of lust. "I've got it," he called out. [singing] "One Saturday I took a walk to Zipperhead. I met a girl there and she almost knocked me dead. Punk Rock Girl. Please look at me. Punk Rock Girl. What do you see? Let's travel round the world. Just you and me Punk Rock Girl."
Sarah narrowed her eyes down to the point the slits were so close together Chuck wasn't sure that she could still see. She then whipped out her cellphone and started pounding out a text message. Chuck felt a bit lost. He had thought it was a fun game to play, where he would sing some lyrics about world travel. But Sarah didn't look like she was playing a game.
"Uh, sweetie? Who are you texting?" Chuck tentatively asked, hoping that he could figure out a way to defuse the situation that he hadn't seen coming.
"The leasing agent," Sarah spat out while glaring at her phone. "We are supposed to meet him at the hangar at Bob Hope in an hour. We're going to be late."
Chuck was even more confused by her response. "But, Sarah, the airport is like twenty minutes away. Well, twenty minutes for normal people. You can probably get there in ten."
Sarah spun in her chair to look at Chuck. The look she gave him reminded him of a National Geographic special where a Thompson's Gazelle had accidentally gotten itself trapped on the Savannah by a hungry lioness. Chuck had a feeling that he was about to be devoured. He also had a feeling that, while he might not survive, he was going to enjoy it. "We're going to need more than an hour for what I'm going to do to you. And then you are going to need a new outfit. That one isn't going to survive."
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Two hours later, Chuck and Sarah had the paperwork signed for the acquisition of the property by Carmichael Industries. When they had first arrived, Chuck had looked around curiously before breaking out his tablet and searching for something. Sarah was a little disappointed that she hadn't gotten to see Chuck ooh and aah over the office space windows that faced the runways. But she was curious about what had Chuck so occupied. If it was national security urgent, he would have shared with her, so Sarah was fine with waiting him out.
Shortly afterwards, Casey showed up to assess the property for himself. He and Sarah conferred over where best to put the computer systems that would be linked to Fort Meade for full access to NSA files. Ultimately, they agreed on creating a false wall in the hangar directly below Casey's office space, and then creating the sole access to/from the systems-which Casey mysteriously referred to as Castle- by means of a hidden elevator in Casey's workspace.
While Casey had worked on a joint NSA-CIA project where he and Walker had remotely collaborated, this marked the first time that he had really seen former Agent Walker in operation. The CIA really screwed up letting someone as talented as her get away. But then the CIA always manages to screw things up. Interservice rivalry was alive and well within Major John Casey.
Once he and Sarah had a general plan of action in place for remodeling the office space in order to accommodate the special needs of their mission, they headed over to where Chuck was still absorbed in working on his tablet.
"Ah," Chuck said as he heard the footsteps approach, and realized that Sarah had intended for him to hear her. He was fairly certain that both she and Casey could silent slip into or out of any space they chose. "Major Casey-
"Just Casey is fine."
Chuck pulled up a bit short with that. He figured that was about as personable as the gruff NSA agent was likely to act. "Good. Casey. While you two were doing whatever secret agent stuff you two were doing, I created the cover business for the NSA. I present to you, Blackbird Avionics! Pretty cool, huh? The graphics are the best I could manage on this tablet, but I've got the company set up with the State Division of Corporations, and I've set up websites for both businesses, with company logos."
Casey merely sneered at the hard work Chuck had done. "Whatever." Succinct as always, he headed off to a far corner to call in his report to General Beckman.
"Don't worry. Grumpy is Casey's default setting," Sarah assured him. "I think the websites look great." Casey started heading back over towards them. Sarah continued, addressing both men. "We need to be sure that the cover is going to hold up. We are going to roll Chuck's existing company—"
"Our existing company, madame COO," Chuck gently corrected.
With another beaming smile for Chuck, Sarah corrected herself, "Roll our existing company, Nerd HQ in as a wholly owned subsidiary of Carmichael. Blackbird Avionics will also be a wholly owned subsidiary, however, we will have distinct office space. That way the cover civilian operations will take place at Carmichael, while the classified work will take place within Blackbird. Casey, I will defer to you on what security measures you want in order to restrict access to Blackbird Avionics."
"However," Sarah sternly said towards Casey, "we will do whatever it takes to ensure that the work that Chuck and I do with the NSA stays deep undercover. I will not jeopardize his safety. Are we clear?"
Casey broke out yet another sneer, "We're clear. Although if you and Bartowski get any deeper 'undercover', you might as well change your name to Bartowski." Casey then dismissively walked away, leaving a bug-eyed Chuck Bartowski behind.
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A/N2: And there you have it, a straight transition from Lisa Stansfield to The Dead Milkmen. Thanks to all who are reading. Additional thanks to those dropping a review to let me know their thoughts on this little story.