Engagement and Surprise
Smiling at the sight, Neal watched Sara as she sat at his table surrounded by papers. Setting a glass in front of her, Neal asked what she had going on.
"There is a lot to do, this case is keeping me busy, and Carina is passing through so I want to have time to see her…" She was winding herself up with stress.
"Take a moment to sip your drink, breath, and relax. The case will be here tomorrow, Carina wants to spend the evening hanging out again, and you have everything under control." Neal encouraged her to take a break so that she could come back refreshed and make more progress.
Breathing as instructed, Sara then took a grateful sip of her drink while leaning back as Neal moved to rub some of the tension out of her shoulders.
Leaning forward to kiss her, Neal could feel her relaxing, "Feel better?"
"Thank you," she sighed.
Kissing her on the head, Neal moved to take a seat next to her. "Is there anything I can help with?" He knew Carina was coming for her evaluation before she'd give her permission for him to propose to her little sister, he'd messaged her his intent to ask for her sister's hand, and she'd be evaluating them later in the evening. A distraction to ease his nerves while helping her ease her stress load would be mutually beneficial.
"Actually…" Sara began explaining her case to him.
If nothing else, he could provide insight as a sounding board using his assignment as a con artist and his history as an agent.
Later in the week, Neal was watching Sara over a different table.
She was talking animatedly with her sister as she discussed the high-profile case she'd closed with Neal's helpful support.
Carina was leaning forward matching her in interest as she listened from the other side.
To the side between them, Neal was leaned back comfortably as he observed.
He was letting them talk and enjoy their time knowing that Carina's visit to evaluate their relationship was going well.
She'd given her approval the previous night and gave her permission for him to propose to her sister.
Since it was her last night, Neal had decided to include Carina in his plans. So, he had their waiter deliver a bouquet of yellow roses to Carina and a bouquet of white and red roses to Sara.
The girls started smelling the roses and commenting on how beautiful they were.
Then Sara went to smell a particularly lovely flower only to have her nose encounter something cold and hard concealed in the petals. "What?" She pulled back and carefully shifted the petals to reveal a ring settled down inside of the flower.
Kneeling down on one knee when Sara turned to him, Neal began his proposal. "Sara Lynn Ellis, you know that I love you, like Chuck loves Sarah and Peter loves Elizabeth, but you probably didn't know that in the absence of your father, I've asked your sister for permission to ask for your hand. She's spent the week evaluating our relationship, making sure I'm treating you right by giving you the care and support you need, and she's given me her permission. Now, I'm here before you as myself, the real me, covers, every part of me, and I'm asking you an important question. Will you marry me?"
Tearing up, Sara hadn't been expecting anything. He'd picked a nice restaurant, they'd dressed accordingly, but with Carina along, it wasn't as romantic as a private date. However, the surprise and having her sister would still make it special.
Nodding, Sara started at a whisper before raising her voice, "Yes… yes, I'll marry you."
Taking the ring from her while she put her left hand forward with her fingers stretched out. Then he slipped the ring on before standing to meet her with a kiss and a hug.
Stepping back, Sara wiped the tears from her eyes before the sparkle from the ring caught her attention. Looking at the ring again, she shifted it admiringly before turning to look at her sister.
Carina was also surprised based on her expression when Neal looked at her, despite having known the proposal was coming, but she pulled it together by the time her sister turned to her for a hug. Giving her congratulations, Carina hugged her sister and then Neal.
"We're going to be family, after all, Bryce. Treat my baby sister right, or else." Carina generally teased, but she had a serious undertone.
"I promise. Visit and keep in touch, or else I will carry out my threat and retrieve you for a forced visit." Neal grinned at her while Sara looked between them.
Turning to Sara, he explained, "We have an agreement to make sure you aren't neglected in any way."
Chuckling, Sara simply shook her head in appreciation of their agreement and truce, "Just as long as you get along."
As the conversation progressed with the evening, the roses came up and the sisters wanted to know the significance of his choices.
Starting with Carina's bouquet, Neal explained them both. "Yellow roses have a few meanings, but friendship is one of the most common. As for your bouquet, Sara, everyone associates red with love so that's an obvious one. However, the white roses are less commonly known as bridal roses, and considering the question I had for you, that seemed to be an appropriate hint."
Although Carina seemed amused, she still took her bouquet with her and the girls were discussing where to put them when Neal dropped them off.
Time flew quickly and soon they were drawing near to the wedding.
Carina added to the last-minute complications when she showed up to stay with her sister through the wedding. She was expected so Neal had prepared dinner for the group, but since Carina had just finished a mission, she brought unexpected guests.
She claimed that she didn't know she was being followed, but then Sarah and Chuck "dropped by" to see her as they passed through the city.
Since everyone ended up chatting in the living room while Neal finished cooking dinner in the kitchen, his identity wasn't initially known. He was Neal, the fiancé cooking dinner, based on what he heard of their talk.
Stepping into the conversation to reveal himself when the cooking was done, Neal commented, "I didn't plan on guests, but I think I made it work if you want to join us, Chuck, Sarah."
"Bryce!?" They both gasped before glancing at Sara in concern.
"Chuck and Sarah Bartowski, meet my finance, Sara Ellis. Sara, this is the Chuck and Sarah that Carina and I have mentioned." Neal made the introductions. "Carina is Sara's older sister so she's here for the wedding, and I assume you followed her out of curiosity?"
Blinking, Chuck and Sarah stuttered for a few moments as they were too surprised to quickly regain their composure.
Pulling it together first, Chuck's expression broke into a smile, "You have a lot of explaining to do on what happened and why you didn't tell us you were okay. But, I'm glad you found your own Sara… despite it being odd that she's also named Sara," he quirked an eyebrow in amusement at the coincidence.
"Coincidence, besides, I don't think your Sarah was originally named Sarah," Neal smirked at her which made her frown slightly.
"No, my dad is a con artist so my name was changed a lot growing up and when I was recruited. My original name is Samantha, or Sam as I went by." Sarah rose to the bait and shared her name.
"That's the most personal and real thing you've ever told me," Neal acknowledged the show of trust. "But, since my original name is Neal, I can't complain about the secret sharing." He returned the favor to her and Chuck.
"I grew up in Wit-Sec which relates to my current assignment so I can't talk about it all. Sara is being brought into the case more as my wife to be, my team here knows I'm an agent, but most know me as Caffrey the consulting con." Neal finished introducing himself to his friends.
With the general introductions shared, they transitioned to dinner. The conversation revolved mostly around the connections in the room, Sara and Neal, Neal and Chuck, Chuck and Sarah, Sarah and Carina, and Carina and Sara.
As they talked, Neal learned to better appreciate Carina's connection to Sarah. Sarah was a kind of fellow run away, another wild spirit seeking adventure instead of normalcy. Her name being Sara also served as a reminder to Carina of the little sister she'd left behind.
Learning that Carina had been drawn to another agent due to her name being similar, Sara smiled softly to know she had been missed.
Enjoying the evening, Neal found himself easily getting reacquainted with Chuck and Sarah. He also enjoyed introducing them to his fiancé.
Sara had shown an appreciation at the chance to meet friends from his past.
When the evening broke up, Neal offered to take Chuck and Sara back to the mansion. June wouldn't mind the additional guests while it would make it easier for them to continue talking. It also left the sisters time to enjoy some bonding and talking wedding details.
Kissing Sara, Neal bid her goodnight and waved to Carina where she was looking over her sister's plans.
Meeting Chuck and Sarah on the sidewalk, he showed them the way to June's car.
Getting back to the loft, Neal knew he had an awkward conversation to look forward to.
He had died in front of them and he hadn't contacted them to inform them that he'd ultimately survived after all. They'd held back in front of Sara, but they wouldn't for him once they had him alone.
Since June was asleep, Neal encouraged Chuck and Sarah to take his bed while he'd spend the night on the couch.
"Bryce, we can't take your bed," Chuck had tried to argue with him.
"It's Neal here, that's my birth name. As for the bed, it's only for tonight. June will let you use a guest room for a few days. I just don't want to wake her up tonight." Neal took Chuck's bag and sat it on the bed to reinforce his point.
"A few days?" Sarah was the one to question him. They hadn't stated how long they were staying, but that was apparently longer than planned.
"Yes, I get married in a few days. Since the cat is out of the bag, I want you both to come. You don't have to do anything, just come." Neal didn't know why he felt like he was begging, but he hoped they would come. Given the chance, he wanted his old friends there on his big day.
Softening his expression, Chuck smiled at him, "You don't have to ask us twice, we'll be there. I know you didn't make it to ours, but there isn't any reason for us to miss yours. Besides, I've missed my friend. It's been a long time since I've seen you, and even longer since I've seen you without animosity." He paused for a moment, and then he put out his hand, "Thank you, thank you for watching out for me all of those years until I caught up to what you were doing."
Accepting his hand and shaking it, Neal appreciated the thought, but it wasn't necessary. "You're welcome, but it's nothing you wouldn't do me."
"Give us a call if you need anything, that's what friends are for," Chuck answered, and Sarah nodded behind him in agreement.
Smiling and stepping back, Neal wasn't sure what to say. He hadn't heard much of anything nice from Chuck since before everything that had happened in college.
Before the atmosphere could get too awkward, Chuck cleared his throat, "I'm sorry about that, how I treated you before I knew what you were doing for me. It seemed right at the time, but I shouldn't have treated you how I did, you were only looking out for me as best you could under the circumstances." He shrugged uncomfortably, it couldn't have been easy for him to remember the old pains he'd gone through.
"I remember why I did it all, but I wish it didn't hurt you so much in the process, that had never been the intent." Neal felt uncomfortable too. He hadn't realized how much his action had hurt Chuck until after they'd accidentally rescued him.
Morgan landing into him had been enlightening, and so had the chance to directly observe Chuck. It hadn't just been the needle that had caused genuine fear in Chuck's eyes when they were in the elevator, Chuck had genuinely feared him.
"You did hurt me then, but I've forgiven you a long time ago. How else were you supposed to protect me from Project Omaha? It's not like you could go take the reports back. Invalidating the test score was the only option, and it had consequences. As for sending me the Intersect, I understand your reasoning, and I'm grateful to have finally gotten the answers to the questions I've held since I was a kid. I finally learned why my parents left and I got to be a part of my family's legacy. For that, I thank you." Chuck was shifting in embarrassment but looked up at him gratefully.
"Welcome," Neal cleared his throat too; his shifting was more subtle, but no less present.
Moving forward, Sarah kissed Neal's cheek and stepped back to join her husband. "I want to thank you too, you were a good partner and friend, you protected Chuck and his family, and, although it probably wasn't intended, you caused us to meet. I've found my family in the Bartowski's and I'm glad you've found yours. You've got your own Sara and you've got friends here, like this Burke Sara was talking about. I'm glad you've got a place, a life."
"I can't complain that I lost to the better man, and I'm glad that you found a life. Family, friends, and a place to settle down aren't things to be overlooked." Neal wasn't upset that they'd gotten together, he was glad for them, they deserved to be happy together.
Moving past the awkward emotional conversation, Neal helped them get comfortable for the evening.
Then they settled in for a little more conversation. They needed to catch up on what had transpired in their lives since the incident in the white room.
Eventually, though, the late hour got to them and they opted to get some sleep.
Thank you, everyone, for reading, choosing to favorite, reviewing, and leaving kudos :D