For the second time in just about a month, Chuck Bartowski found himself on an airplane, staring out at the English Channel below, preparing to jump. But this time, he wasn't alone. He had his wife.
Sarah sat next to him, holding his hand. They'd checked each other's gear and chutes and were ready.
It was kind of fun for Sarah to bring Chuck to the OSS headquarters in London to prepare. He was wide-eyed at all of the cool gear they got to use, and she was happy just watching him.
Their visit to OSS only reinforced Sarah's feelings, however. She knew this was an important mission, or else Ike wouldn't have given it to them personally. They were counting on them to succeed. But that didn't take away from the fact that she just wanted it to all be over already. She had already found her husband, now she wanted to start her new life. Understanding how vital what they were doing, though, she forced herself to push those feelings aside so she could concentrate.
"Are you ready?" Chuck almost had to yell above the racket of the plane.
"Yeah," she nodded under her helmet. Chuck grinned at how cute she looked.
"How's your Dutch?" He smiled.
"Mijn nederlands is goed," she answered in perfect Dutch. "But most people speak at least some English in the Netherlands, Chuck."
"That's good," he nodded back. "Because I'm still getting a grasp of English myself," he joked, and she laughed, relieving some of the tension.
Suddenly the little light next to the door flipped on, glowing red.
"Up!" Chuck ordered as he stood, reaching down to help Sarah stand. They hooked their parachute lines onto the main center rope that ran down the length of the plane.
Chuck re-checked Sarah's parachute closely. There was no way he was going to let anything happen to her. He'd packed her chute himself. Once he was sure she was all set, he patted her shoulder and turned around so she could check his.
"You're squared away!" Sarah yelled.
Chuck turned and looked at her, grinning at him in the dark plane. She leaned up and gave him a thorough kiss, unnecessarily straightening out his clothes when it broke.
Leaning in so she could whisper, she put her lips right up to his ear.
"I love you."
"I love you," Chuck replied.
Just then, the light went green.
Chuck grasped Sarah's hand and nudged her towards the door. It was his turn to lean in and whisper in her ear.
"I'll be right behind you baby," he told her. "I'll see you on the ground."
With that, he simply shoved her out the door. Sticking his head out, he saw her line catch and her chute open. Letting out a sigh of relief, he jumped out after his wife.
They were being dropped outside of Eindhoven, one of the larger Dutch cities in the south of the country. They knew if they were going to use Holland as a backdoor to Germany, they had to take Eindhoven.
Chuck used the slips of his chute to maneuver himself close to Sarah, but not too close, lest their parachutes become entangled. They refrained from speaking, even though it was silent, knowing how far their voices would carry in the darkness.
His feet hit the ground and he expertly ran to soften his landing. Gathering up his chute, he glanced around until he saw Sarah doing the same about fifty yards away.
"Fancy meeting you here," he grinned when he walked up to her.
"Yeah, most new brides don't get shoved out of a plane by their husband," Sarah grinned back as they shared yet another kiss, this one full of relief that they were both safe.
"Come on, we need to hide these chutes, Agent Bartowski."
"That's Mrs. Bartowski to you, thank you very much," she smiled wide. "Over there looks good," she nodded to some trees.
Once they'd hidden their parachutes effectively, they took inventory of their gear. They had weapons, ammunition, a first aid kit, civilian clothes to blend in, knives, a couple days of rations, a radio, and other vital equipment. Chuck quickly used the radio to send a coded message back that they had arrived in-country and were five-by-five.
"We need to find somewhere to lay low until dawn," Sarah suggested.
"Good idea. Once the sun comes up we'll be able to make our way to a town, get the lay of the land. Do you think the people will help us here?"
"Definitely," she nodded enthusiastically. "There's a huge Dutch resistance network. I assume they've just been waiting for us to send someone. Hopefully they'll be more than willing to help us."
They found a copse of trees that provided ample cover. Settling in to wait out the night, Sarah couldn't help but think about the nights before D-Day, when they'd been doing the exact same thing. It had only been a little over two weeks before, but so much had changed in her life since then.
In France, she and Chuck were just beginning. Hell, they'd only met one another about a fortnight before the invasion. By the time that fateful and infamous day rolled around, she was already positive that she was going to spend the rest of her life, no matter how long that was, with Chuck. She had almost subconsciously allowed Chuck to set the pace when it came to deepening their relationship – she knew he had insecurities, and the last thing she wanted to do was push him. She saw how he almost broke when she had invited him to her bed the first time.
Then, they fought side-by-side on D-Day. Attacking those guns had been the heaviest combat she'd ever been in. And Chuck, well, he hadn't flinched. He adapted to the situation, came up with a viable solution, and put his plan in action. He never made her feel inferior, that she was anything less than his equal partner in everything. When she was partnered with Bryce, there was always that slightly misogynistic tone to everything he said and did. He considered himself a better Agent and spy than Sarah.
Chuck, however, did not. He considered Sarah superior in many, many aspects of their partnership, and it showed. He constantly deferred to her judgment, always valued her opinion above all else, and never ceased to have unending faith in her.
Just thinking about it made her warm and gooey on the inside, a feeling she was still admittedly getting used to, but a feeling she loved nonetheless.
"You're thinking pretty loud," Chuck cut through her haze, lying next to her under the trees.
"Sorry," she shrugged.
"Care to tell your husband what's going through your mind?"
"It's hard to explain," she huffed, angry at herself for not being able to put it into words that he could understand. "You already know a lot of it, Chuck. I'm just thinking about how lucky I am. I'm on a mission with my husband. But it's not just that. You're such a great partner, in everything. I guess I'm just sitting here hoping I don't wake up."
"Yeah, that Lieutenant back in France was pretty surprised that we're married," he smiled.
"The OSS did tell us we're the first married spy couple," she reminded.
"You're still serious about quitting?"
She fought the urge to roll his eyes, smack him, or both.
"I'm going to let it slide because you're so cute," she teased. "But honestly, Chuck, I'll say it as many times as you want to hear it. I can't wait until this war is finished. We're going to go back Stateside and start the life we're meant to live. Together."
His smile could've lit up the dark Dutch countryside.
"How many kids do you want?" She decided to just put it all out there.
"Wha – um, what?"
She just chuckled and kissed him.
"I asked you how many kids you want, Mr. Bartowski."
"Well that's not completely up to me, is it Mrs. Bartowski? Besides, how many kids do you want?"
Sarah realized that although they both knew it was a given, they'd never really discussed children in depth. She hoped that this was another way she could reinforce to Chuck that marrying him wasn't a spur-of-the-moment thing. It wasn't a fluke or a mistake. She was in this, both feet, for the long run.
"I'm shooting for at least six," she shrugged casually.
"Six!?" He almost yelped but remembered to keep his voice down.
"Yeah," she nodded slowly. "I'm an only child, Chuck. The closest thing I have to a sibling is Carina." They both laughed. "I don't want our kids to ever be lonely. I know that we'll always be there for them, but I want a big family. I want to share the love we both have. And what better way to express our love than having lots and lots of babies?"
"Okay, who are you and what did you do with Sarah Walker?"
"She's dead," Sarah said simply. "She died the moment you walked in that cafe. It's just Sarah Bartowski now."
Chuck, with all his words, had no idea how to respond to that. But from the look on her face, she wasn't expecting a verbal reply. Instead, she just leaned into him, pressing her lips against his.
Soon she was tugging at his shirt, and Chuck smiled into the kiss.
"I love you Sarah Bartowski," he mumbled between fervent, urgent kisses.
"I love you too, Chuck Bartowski. Time to fulfill your husbandly duties."
A/N: So they're in the Netherlands! It was a lot of fun writing them jumping out of a plane together. That was something we saw both of them do in the show, but never together.
Eindhoven, a real Dutch city, was actually a hive of resistance activity during the war. Plus it's where most of the action during the invasion took place, so that's why I had them land near there.
In the next episode of "Chuck Vs. The Jump", Sarah and Chuck really begin their first mission as husband and wife. It's going to get exciting!
Please keep reading and reviewing! I'm stuck in isolation, and I live by myself, so every review truly brightens my day! My government just announced even more stringent regulations. They're stopping all public transportation, taxis can only carry one person at a time, and you can't go more than 100 meters from your house unless it's for 'essentials' like food and medicine. Luckily, we really consider ourselves 'family' here, so yesterday some people who I've never met before in my life dropped me off a bunch of groceries, free of charge, because they heard I couldn't leave to get my own. People are incredible.
PLEASE STAY HEALTHY EVERYONE!
