As they had the night before, they set to working on fixing the Volkoff problem; only this time Sarah's choice of sleep attire wasn't as distracting. While she still wore his Firefly t-shirt, she had chosen to don a pair of yoga pants and fuzzy socks to lounge around in. Chuck had changed into his most comfortable pair of sweatpants and a worn t-shirt before going about setting up his computer to continue on with his project. He noticed Sarah, who was curled up on the couch with a book, specifically his dad's old copy of 'Weapon of Choice,' which was now his old copy of 'Weapon of Choice.' He remembered the first time he caught her reading it; he'd jokingly asked if she was searching for tips from James Bond on how to be a spy, which earned him an eyeroll. For some reason it had struck him funny that a real-life spy was reading a novel written by a real-life spy about a fictional spy. He chuckled to himself as he uncorked the bottle of Rombauer he'd opened just that morning, he saw he saw her raise an eyebrow in acknowledgment before returning to her book as he waited for his computer to boot up.
Sarah continued to read, the faint clicking of her boyfriend's fingers over his keyboard as he worked along with the swish of liquid as he took a sip of wine and the crinkling of packages as he opened and munched on some snack serving as background to their night. About an hour and half into Chuck's coding session, she saw him tip the bottle back and finish off the wine it contained. She marked her place in the book with a strip of pictures they'd taken a few months back, when he'd taken her to the pier for a day of fun and walked over to the sideboard where she'd made sure to have a full case of water stocked. Twisting the cap off the bottle she walked over to her boyfriend laying a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention and hand him the bottle with a simple, "Drink."
Chuck did as he was told while Sarah cleared away the empty packaging and the empty wine bottle, tossing them in the waste basket by the wet bar. She uncorked another bottle of Rombauer, knowing that if he worked much longer, he would be wanting more of his 'thinking juice.' She then cut up some of the fruit that had been in the basket they'd received upon their arrival, plating it up on a plate that had been provided with their pastries. When she'd seen he'd finished the water she'd given to him, she carried the plate and the newly opened bottle of wine over to him, setting them within easy reach where he could see them. Kissing him on the cheek, she cleared away Chuck's empty water bottle, and grabbed one for herself, before returning to her seat on the couch and picking up the book she'd been reading.
As it had that morning, the cycle of Chuck diligently working to find a way to override the Volkoff Intersect while Sarah kept an eye on him, making sure he was eating and not overdoing it on his thinking juice, continued well into the early morning. Sarah was about ready to pass out from exhaustion, as she had refused to indulge in any coffee so that she would be able to go straight to bed once Chuck was done working for the night, when Chuck pushed back from his computer with a satisfied sigh.
"I think that just might do it," He smiled over at her, "Thank you for staying up with me while I worked on this, I know it's super late."
"'s okay, Sweetheart," Sarah yawned, "I didn't mind."
"You can head off to bed," Chuck nodded toward the bedroom, "I'm just going to activate my simulations before joining you."
"Are you sure?" Sarah gave him a hopeful look.
"I'm sure," Chuck nodded, "Go get some sleep, you look like you're about ready to drop, I'll be right behind you."
"Okay," Sarah blinked drearily before slowly rising to her feet and shuffling toward the bedroom door. She barely had time to pull the blankets up over herself as, the moment her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep almost immediately.
Chuck made quick work of setting up the parameters of the simulations, including the variations of the override program he'd created, looking it all over again to make sure everything was set to run as he wanted it to, he hit the 'enter' key to start the concurrent simulations before making his way through the suite, turning off lights as he went.
He ducked into the bathroom to brush his teeth and swish around some mouthwash to rid his breath of the aftereffects of his thinking juice and snacks before proceeding to bed. He let out a soft chuckle upon seeing his girlfriend, half covered by her side of the blankets, snoring lightly in her deep slumber. He gently and quietly slid under the covers, careful to not disturb Sarah as he climbed into bed and drew her into his arms, making sure the blanket fully covered them both. Pressing a soft kiss to his girlfriend's head and placing his feet over her now bare ones to keep them warm, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep, hopeful for what the next day might bring.
Sarah awoke, spooned in her boyfriend's warm embrace, his soft breaths tickling the hairs at the base of her head and his arms firmly wrapped around her, holding her secure to him like a child with a favorite stuffy. A soft smile graced her lips at the thought, she didn't mind being his favorite cuddle buddy, in fact, she rather loved it, reveled in the affection he freely showed toward her. Moving slowly so as to not awaken him, she gently arched her back and wiggled her hips to release the slight tension that resulted from laying in the same position for a while.
Sadly, her attempt to not wake the dozing man behind her was unsuccessful, evidenced by the soft chuckle she felt rumble from deep within his chest as she heard his deep, sleep-warmed voice against her ear, "You tryin' to start something, Mrs. Carmichael?"
God, she loved it when their cover allowed him to call her missus anything, so long as it was Chuck who was the mister side of the equation. It seemed so right for him to refer to her that way and vice versa, as if they were always supposed to be thus. "No, just stretching," She hummed, rolling over in his arms to face him, "But if you are game…" She leaned up to press soft kisses against the stubble along his throat and jaw, weaving her hands through his curls, as their mouths met in a soft, promising kiss. "Mmm, good morning, Mr. Carmichael."
They luxuriated in bed a time longer, hands and lips exploring, sleep wear shedding piece by piece, as they slowly made love in the small slivers of the midmorning sun that peeked its way through their drawn curtains. They drifted off to sleep, spent and sated, sleeping for an hour or so more before they reluctantly withdrew from the comfort of their bed, and each other's arms, to shower and dress for the day.
Chuck emerged from the bedroom first, clad in jeans and a comfortable sweatshirt he'd purchased when they'd traveled to Stanford the weekend he'd received his degree, allowing Sarah to have the bathroom to dry her hair and do whatever magic she did to take her from breathtakingly beautiful to stunning every day. Waking his computer, he began to run the analytics on his simulation to see if any were successful enough to justify moving forward in his pursuit of removing the Intersect from Volkoff's head.
Sarah had just finished pulling her hair up in a messy bun when she heard Chuck swear in the living area. Exiting the bedroom, fingers ready to reach to the hilt of one of the throwing knives she'd tucked into the waistband of her jeans, if needed, she went to see what was causing such a reaction from her normally even-tempered boyfriend.
"Damn it!" Chuck huffed, looking over the data.
"What's wrong?" Sarah inquired softly, stepping behind the chair Chuck was seated in and placing her hands on his shoulder, squeezing them in support.
"None of the simulations were successful," Chuck groaned, scrolling through line after line of data that streamed across the screen, "I mean these two were close, but nowhere near what I need."
"Alright, so can you combine what worked and discard what didn't; build from there?" Sarah suggested.
"Yeah, but this delay means I probably won't be able to finish the override program and the reformatting of the glasses to be able to remove Uncle Hartley's faulty programming during this trip." Chuck sighed, "Not to mention, there's some neurological data that I can't understand. It's not my specialty, and it's not Dad's, either. Hartley was the neurologist on the project, and he's no good to me right now. I think I'm going to need Ellie in on this, but I don't know if she's been approved for the clearance needed, nor do I know how she's going to react to… everything."
"What do you want to do?" Sarah asked, stepping around him and taking a seat on his lap, deliberately distancing Chuck from the data on the screen which was still upsetting him. When Chuck tried to look around her, she reached out, placing her hand on his jaw angling his head until his eyes met hers, "Charlie, what do you want to do from here? Do you want to try to see what progress you can make on your end, maybe work on reformatting the glasses? Do you want to reach out to Beckman and Graham to see if any progress has been made on your sister's security clearance? Do you want me to drag you to bed and make mad passionate sex to you until you are unable to spell the time or count your name?"
The last one drew a soft chuckle from him as his posture relaxed and Chuck wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder for a moment before meeting her gaze once more, "I needed that, and as tempting as your offer is, I think I need to see if I can make any progress on my end. First though, I think I need to reach out to Cole and let him know that I'll have a message for him to pass to Frost."
"I'll leave you to it," Sarah pressed a kiss to his cheek and stood from his lap, "Just so that we know what all we have to work with, I'm going to reach out to the powers that be and see the status of Ellie's vetting process."
"Thanks, Baby," Chuck gave her a soft smile, "You're amazing, you know that? You're the only person I know that can calm me when my mind in a full tailspin spiral."
"Glad I can help," Sarah returned the smile, "If you are going to start on the Rombauer again, eat something first, okay?"
"Okay," Chuck nodded, reaching for a banana and a pastry. "What time do we need to head out for the wedding?"
"The ceremony is set to start at 6:30 PM, so we should probably be dressed and ready to go by half past five to make our way over to the church." Sarah mused, "Just to be safe, if you're still working by then, I'll cut your thinking juice off by three to give you time to sobor up before the ceremony. Last thing you need to do is go to a wedding tipsy when we know full well the vodka will be flowing like water at the wedding supper."
"Good idea," Chuck agreed, popping a bite of pastry in his mouth, chewing slowly, "Well I'd better get to it."
"And I'm going to see what I can do on my end," Sarah nodded, retreating to the bedroom where her travel burner lay charging on the bedside table. There were only a few numbers saved in the directory, barely enough to fill her speed dial, pressing and holding the #5 key, she waited for the call to connect, "Good morning, I need to know if any progress has been made on securing a clearance level for Dr. Eleanor Bartowski..."
To allow Chuck the uninterrupted time he needed, Sarah let Casey know the initial simulations had failed and that Chuck would be working the rest of the afternoon on improvements to the programming. Casey, naturally, grunted his understanding and said that he would work on seeing what he could do about furthering their original mission, just in case removing Volkoff's intersect proved unsuccessful.
While Chuck continued to work, Sarah excused herself to the in-house spa at Vivian's request. The women wanted to get to know each other better, and this offered the perfect opportunity to do so. After enjoying some time, sipping mimosas while getting their nails done, luxuriating in the hot tub and sauna, and getting a massage, Sarah returned to the room in just enough time to cut Chuck's thinking juice off, exchanging it for water and snacks until 4:30, when she informed him it was time to start getting ready to go. The shower that was intended to be a quick rinse off turned into an encore of their earlier play time but didn't delay their preparations too much.
Wrapped in the fluffy towels provided by the hotel, they emerged from the bathroom. Sarah quickly grabbed the garment bag that held her dress for the evening before stopping and carefully selecting her undergarments before disappearing into the bathroom once more to finish her preparations for the evening. While Sarah busied herself slathering her body with the scented lotion that she knew Chuck loved so much, did her hair and makeup, Chuck was in the bedroom, changing into the custom-tailored tuxedo that had been purchased in preparation of the mission.
Buttoning his shirt and sliding the straps of his suspenders up over his shoulders, Chuck straightened his shirt as he walked toward the vanity mirror. He was using his fingers to lightly arrange his curls so they wouldn't go too crazy as they continued to dry when he heard the door to the bathroom open. Turning, he saw Sarah, her long blonde hair swept back in an elegant French twist, diamond drop earrings sparkling in the low light of the room, a matching pendant around her neck accenting the tasteful v-neckline of her dress.
She wore a floor length chiffon dress with a beaded bodice and capped sleeves in a shade of plum that both flattered her natural coloring and highlighted the blue of her eyes. Chuck stared at her, transfixed by her beauty before an awed smile graced his lips, "Wow," He whispered, "Sarah, you look absolutely lovely."
"Thanks," A rare blush bloomed on her cheeks as she reached up to fasten the top button of his shirt and made quick work of his bow tie, "You look very dapper yourself."
"Thank you, but I can't seem to find my cuff links." He shrugged, casting his eyes around as if to look for the errant accessories.
"Sorry, that's my fault," Sarah walked over to where he suitcase lay on a folding luggage rack, opening the top flap and extracting a small red velvet case from one of the zippered compartments. Returning to him, she handed the box to him.
Chuck smiled his appreciation and opened the box. The hinge of the clamshell box protested with a soft creak as the lid was lifted. Chuck's eyes shot up to Sarah, surprise, shock, and amazement battling for primacy, "How… Where…" He stammered.
"Ellie gave them to me to give to you," Sarah explained, "They were originally supposed to have been passed on to you when you graduated Stanford, but after Bryce got you kicked out, she'd put the box back in her jewelry case and forgot about them. She pulled them back out again after your expulsion was overturned and your degrees awarded. She said that she had originally planned to give them to you for Christmas, but when I mentioned part of our plans included a formal event, she insisted I give them to you early."
"They were my dad's," Chuck's voice was reverent as he looked at the white gold cufflinks. They had a round face with a halo of diamonds around a cushion cut garnet. "My grandparents gave them to him the day he graduated MIT. He wore them the day he married my mom." He could barely contain his emotions, his voice cracking as he spoke, a glimmer of tears in his eyes, "I remember he would wear them with his suit on their anniversary."
Sarah reached up, wiping the tears from his eyes before cupping his jaw in the palm of her hand, her thumb gently stroking his cheek. She smiled softly when he leaned his head into her touch and gave him a moment to get himself under control. "She said they were special to you."
"They were, they are," He lifted his head slightly to meet her eyes as he handed the box to her, "Could you help me put them on?"
Sarah gave him a warm smile and accepted the box, "Of course."
Chuck watched her set the open box down on the vanity, her delicate fingers making quick work of inserting the posts through the notches of his sleeves and securing them in place. His mind drifted back to being a kid – before his parents left – watching his parents get ready for a formal event, his mom's own sure hands making quick work of the cufflinks as she fastened them to his father's shirt. He remembered the warmth and love in the looks they would give each other, the intimacy the simple action lent to that moment in time. It was the same intimacy he felt between himself and Sarah as she fastened the second cufflink to his shirt before her hands drifted up to his collar where his bowtie still hung loose around his neck and quickly knotted the fabric.
He felt her give the tie a gentle tug to secure the knot before running her hands down to smooth his shirt, when they reached the center of his chest he reached up, wrapping his hands around her wrists, "Thank you," His voice warm and husky as memories from the past, and the emotions of the moment crashed and ebbed around them.
"You're welcome," She smiled back up at him as she lifted up on her toes, meeting him halfway for a warm kiss. Before they could let it go too far, she took a step back and nodded toward his jacket that lay over the foot of the bed behind them, "You should probably get your jacket on before we're late."
"Right," Chuck nodded, stepping over to the bed and slipping the jacket on, buttoning the top button before turning around to find Sarah, who made no attempt to hide the fact she was checking him out in his slim-fit tuxedo. "Like what you see, Mrs. Carmichael?" He gave her a coy smile.
"Very much so, Mr. Carmichael," Her eyes roamed his tall frame down then up again, a lascivious grin on her lips, "My husband is a very sexy man."
"Really?" Chuck quirked a flirtatious eyebrow, "I'd like to meet him someday."
"Just look in the mirror," She smiled at him, "Come on, nerd, we have a wedding to get to."
"As you wish," Chuck followed her into the living room where they donned their coats and exited the room to make their way to the church.
The wedding was lovely, the church had been decorated with poinsettias, holly, and evergreens and the bride and her maid of honor carried bouquets of red and white poinsettias. The maid of honor wore a red satin floor length gown with a sweetheart neckline and elbow length sleeves. Cole and his best man looked sharp in their tuxedos, and everyone could see the love and adoration he felt for his bride the moment he saw her. No amount of training he'd received could mask the emotion that played along his features, nor could it artificially create his reaction.
Vivian was resplendent in her satin gown with a cathedral train and sweetheart cut overlaid in lace with an off the shoulder illusion neckline and sleeves that ended half-way down her forearms. Her veil and blusher couldn't hide the love and joy radiating off of her as she made her way down the aisle on her father's arm toward her groom.
The vows were simple and poignant, the verses read appropriate to the ceremony, and the pastor eloquent in speech. The ceremony was soon over, and the newlyweds announced to the congregation before heading back up the aisle followed by their wedding party to greet their guests in the foyer of the church. The guests gave the appropriate wishes for a long and healthy life for the couple along with blessings for their future children as they departed the church to journey back to their hotels or, for the select few who were invited, to the restaurant which was hosting the wedding supper.
The wedding supper was held in the same private room that the rehearsal dinner had been held. As they had the night before, the newly weds made the rounds greeting and thanking their guests for coming before taking their seats at the head table with their wedding party. Dinner was an elegant affair with expensive wine and sumptuous food, clearly the influence of the bride's father who, once dinner had finished and before dessert was served, stood to toast the newlyweds.
Since the cake was to be served the following day at the reception, and despite the cold winter temperature outside, ice cream topped with sprinkles was served for dessert. The rest of the evening was spent, as the night before, with the guests mingling as the happy couple made their rounds. It didn't take long for Cole and Vivian to reach Chuck and Sarah and soon the quartet of spies were deep in conversation, the topics ebbing from the mundane to their hopes as couples and individuals for the future to their current missions, the latter of course utilizing code phrases in case anyone else overheard the conversation.
The covert nature of some of their topics of discussion came in handy when Volkoff spotted his daughter and her new husband and made his way over to the young couples, Frost – as always – at his side, "Who do we have here?" He inquired taking in the tall, somewhat familiar looking man, and the blond who had been in conversation with the newlywed couple. They were married, if the rings on their fingers, and the subtle, unconscious interactions between them were to be believed. "I don't believe we've met, I'm Alexei, Vivian's father."
"How do you do?" Chuck shook the older man's outstretched hand, "I'm Charlie Carmichael, and this is my wife Jenny," He smiled warmly down at the woman by his side before returning his focus to the father of the bride, "I'm a friend of Cole's from College… or well I believe you call it University over here, don't you? I did a semester abroad at Oxford and we wound up assigned as roommates. Since he'd made the journey to the states when we got married, it was only fair we returned the favor to come meet his bride and see them get married. I have to say, we met Vivian for the first time a couple nights ago and you must be very proud, she is absolutely one of the loveliest, wittiest, smartest women I've ever met, aside from my wife."
"Thank you, Mr. Carmichael," Alexei smiled lovingly at his only child, "I, alas, cannot take all the credit. Due to my line of work requiring me to travel extensively, she lived with my mother until she graduated University and came to work with me." The woman beside him gently cleared her throat, catching his attention, "Oh, but where are my manners, my deepest apologies, my love. Allow me to introduce my lovely companion, Miss Frost."
"It's very nice to meet you, Miss Frost," Chuck smiled kindly at her, extending his hand to shake hers. He knew the moment she'd spotted his cufflink, a flicker of recognition passed over her face so quickly before it was masked again that only he saw it.
"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Carmichael," Frost nodded to the young man before turning to the woman beside him, "Mrs. Carmichael."
"Miss Frost," Sarah gave her cover husband's mother a warm smile, "Lovely to meet you."
Mary noticed some men on the opposite side of the room looking around for someone, and there was little doubt as to who, "Alexei, it looks a if Yuri and Victor are needing to speak with you," She advised, her eyes flicking quickly to the men in question.
"A man's work is never done," Volkoff shook his head with a fake, set-upon, sigh, "It was wonderful to meet you both. Vivian, Darling, please come say good night if I am unable to come back your way before you and Cole take your leave."
"Of course, Papa," Vivian agreed, pressing a soft kiss to the man's cheek before he made his way across the room to speak with his business partners.
Once she was sure no one could overhear, Mary dropped the aloof Frost persona she'd been wearing ceaselessly for the past two decades, "You're wearing your father's cufflinks."
"They were a gift from Ellie in celebration of graduating from Stanford," Chuck smiled, "This was my first opportunity to wear them."
"I'm glad you have them now," Mary's maternal smile was mixed with nostalgia as she remembered seeing her husband wear those same cufflinks to the various galas and formal events they'd attended before she had to leave to deal with Alexei. "Were you able to make any progress?"
"Not as much as I would have liked," Chuck shook his head dejectedly, "I'm still working on it, but it's not going to be ready by tomorrow, I'm sorry, Mom."
"That's okay, Chuck," She assured him, "Your father tried for years to find a solution, I had a feeling it would take your longer than a few days."
"I'm starting to think I may need to call in a little help. I can't shake the feeling that there's something crucial in the programming that I'm missing," Chuck sighed, "Don't worry, it's still staying in the family, Sarah told me earlier that Ellie was granted the clearance needed to be read in. I'm hoping that she can help fill in the missing pieces. She's a neurologist, one of the best in the U.S."
"That has been her dream since she was a little girl," Mary nodded, "I am so glad she was able to make it come true."
"Hopefully with her help, we can make some more dreams come true," Chuck gave her a wistful look, "Specifically the dreams of you and Dad being able to come home and we be together again."
"That's one of my dreams too," Mary admitted before starting to transition back into Frost, "Keep me updated on your progress, send any communication through Cole. If you and your sister are able to figure out the solution to our mutual problem, we'll set up a dead drop for you to deposit the equipment."
"Will do," Chuck nodded, "It was good to see you again. In case I don't see you again, I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, Son." Mary gave him one last motherly smile before her Frost persona locked into place, "Agent Walker, take care of him."
"I will protect him with my life," Sarah nodded, "If only because it would kill me to lose him."
"Good girl," With that, she turned on her heel to join up with Volkoff once more as he made his rounds from associate to associate.
"Well that's as close to her blessing as I think you'll ever get," Vivian chuckled, looking between Sarah and Chuck who were both blushing, recognizing the truth of the statement.
"We should probably get back to making the rounds," Cole reminded his new wife.
"Will we see you at the reception tomorrow?" Vivian gave them a hopeful look.
"We plan to be there," Chuck assured them, "Sarah has thus far been successful at containing my thinking juice consumption, so I hopefully won't make too much of a fool of myself."
"Oh, but Charlie, that's half the fun!" Vivian teased with a faux pout.
"Only to you and Elle, Vivey," He countered then yawned, "We should probably head out ourselves, I had a long night last night."
"I'll just bet you did, Mate," Cole chuckled with a knowing wink, and before either of the Carmichaels could protest, led his wife away to speak with their other guests.