A/N: Hi All, thanks for the reviews, feedback, and messages. Apologies for the delay between chapters, life keeps getting in the way. Trying to update as soon as I can, goal of 500-1000 words a day, but you know how it goes. The adventure continues.
A/N2: Should have an update for Sarah vs Bravo 1, and working on a couple of other stories
A/N3: As always comments are welcomed and appreciated.
No Beta, all errors are my own.
I don't own Chuck / Nor have any rights to characters portrayed
Chapter 16
November 16, 2010 – The Compound – 10:30am
It was a relatively quiet morning around the compound, the team had gotten back yesterday, taking the long way just o be sure no one could track them back to Oahu. They took the time to unload their gear getting everything back to Talus and a chance to decompress a little. This was pretty typical for the way they came back from other missions, but everyone knew Chuck might need a little more time to get his head straight. Emotionally, they all knew this would be taxing for him. So, the entire group, including Ellie, gave him some space. He said he would tell them all about it, and Chuck was someone who kept his word. Chuck had spent most of the time down at his house by the beach, of course all the dogs had come to check on him and stayed close. Earlier, he had gone paddleboarding earlier, and did a little swimming. The warm pacific felt good, helped him forget about his problems for a little while. Chuck had come back from his swim to get cleaned up before heading up to the main house and Talus. When he got out of the shower, he was surprised to see Captain Awesome sitting on the patio with a coffee. He had brought with him a couple of muffins that Morgan had made this morning for breakfast. Morgan, as well as his cooking skills had become quite the baker as well. The blueberry muffins seemed simple enough, but they were delicious. Seeing Devon sitting there drinking coffee and munching on something, he finished putting his shirt on and came out to sit next to his brother-in-law.
"Hey Devon, I was just going to head up to the house, what's up?"
"Hey bro, Morgan baked some fresh muffins, there was a scramble to see who would bring them down to you. Ellie, Anna, Tracy and Heather all wanted to bring them down to you."
"Really?" Chuck asked sarcastically. "I wonder why I am all of a sudden so popular, considering 3 of the 4 are married and one of them is my sister." Chuck said smirking.
"Chuck, they are all just worried about you. I volunteered to give you a break. I know your going to update us all when your ready. There just worried about you and are wanting to give you some womanly/sisterly advice." Devon finished. "I'm curious too, but you tell us wheat you want when you're ready."
"Thanks, Awesome. I'll update everyone when we get up there. Sarah and I talked, I talked to Ziva afterwards about it. It was really helpful actually, I guess I never realized how much alike Sarah and Ziva were."
"I know it might not be my place, but did you ever think that maybe one of the reasons you invited Ziva to be part of the team, is because in some ways, she reminded you of Sarah?"
Chuck thought for a moment, "what do you mean?"
"Look, we know you were in love with Sarah before all this. I think everyone knew except maybe you and Sarah. I'm not saying you love Ziva, at least not like that. I see more of a friendship kind of bond that couple. But Ziva was a true spy, a lot like Sarah. I don't know enough about either of their lives before being spies, but as spies, they are a lot alike. Both were assassins, both were forced to use seduction in the name of the 'greater good'. They had been alone most of there adult lives. I mean, just the change since Ziva has arrived to now is pretty remarkable. I am going to assume Sarah probably went through more of a drastic change, she was 'with' you longer than Ziva has been, and you 2 were forced to act as a couple. She may not have wanted to admit it, but you got under her skin."
Chuck was stunned, but of course that was why he was Captain Awesome. "You know Devon, I didn't realize it until you just said it out loud. But I think subconsciously, I may have done just that. I told myself we needed her help and maybe she needed ours. But maybe a part of it was because in some ways she is a lot like Sarah." Chuck said, staring out over the ocean, then continuing "you know, when I spoke to Ziva after my talk with Sarah, she said something similar. That she and Sarah were a lot alike. She almost defended Sarah and what she did, the choices she made. To trick me to the bunker. She wasn't sure she would have done it, but she could see herself doing it, and really with the idea of keeping me safe. That's what Sarah said, she was just thinking of keeping me safe."
"What are you going to do about it?" Devon asked.
"Honestly, I don't know. I love her, part of me will always love her. But how can I trust her? All the lies, she would lie right to my face, and I caught her dozens of times, but she was still the best. When she led me into the trap for the bunker, I believed everything she said. I thought I was going to go down and Dad was going to be there."
"The heart wants what the heart wants bro." Devon said. "You need to ask yourself; can you be with someone you can't trust? Or I know it's not just one thing, but can you learn to trust her again?".
"Its like my heart and my brain are at war, and I'm not sure I trust myself to make the decision. For a long time I could not picture my life without her in it somehow. Then what happened, happened. And while I might have still cared about her, I hated her for what she did to me. Then seeing her again, talking. She was saying all these things I had dreamed of hearing, felt like my dreams were coming true. If this had been 2 years ago, I would have been over the moon, so happy and excited. Now, I hear it and I am trying to figure out what game she is playing, what her end goal is." Chuck finished, frustrated.
"I think you have your answer, at least for now. I'm not saying maybe you can't get back to where you want to be. But your not there now. There's that quote, maybe Hemingway, maybe Dr Seuss, not sure ,but 'The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them." Devon said.
Chuck was soaking in what Devon said. He wasn't wrong, he wasn't there yet, no matter how much he wanted to be. Could he be in time, he thought so. Maybe the 'time heals all wounds' saying was true.
"You know, there's another trust saying or quote, 'Trust, but verify.', Ronald Reagan."
"But Casey lives by that one." Devon said, chuckling.
"I have no doubt." Chuck said chuckling. "I don't know how to verify that with her."
"Trust yourself Chuck. You've been right about the people you and Orion have brought in. Trust your gut." Devon said. "Alright, going to head up to the house, see you up there when your ready." As Devon stood up and started to head up to the main house.
"Hey Devon," Chuck said.
"Yea bro?" Devon asked.
"Thanks." Chuck said, some emotion in his voice.
"Anytime bro, family takes care of family." And with that he headed up.
Chuck sat there thinking, he really was Captain Awesome, and it had nothing to do with his flossing. Chuck finished his muffin, cleaned up, and then with the pups in tow headed up to main house to brief everyone on what was happening and where he was mentally.
Up at the main house, everyone was gathered in the living room except for the kids who were out at school or daycare. Looking out over the large array of windows was the southern pacific. Everyone was talking amongst themselves. Some about the mission with Team LA, others about this and that. They were all anxiously awaiting to hear what Chuck had to say about him and Sarah. Ellie was annoyed that Devon went down to Chucks beach cottage instead of her. Everyone agreed Devon was the better choice, Ellie was to opinionated and Chuck needed more of an objective sounding board. Chuck entered the house with all the pups in tow, he saw everyone in the living room, so he immediately headed to the kitchen. He thought about a beer but decided to just grab some coffee. Once he had his coffee, he headed into the living room and time to get this over with.
"Hi all, how are we doing, full house today, wonder why?" Chuck asked.
Chuck got a flat look from every woman in the room with the exception of Ziva.
Ellie started because, well of course Ellie would start. "Chuck, you damn well know why we are all here."
"We typically do mission debriefs down in Talus." Chuck said.
"Chuck, it was a nothing mission, we knew that going in. What did Sarah say, we know you 2 talked." Anna said.
"Ok, yes Sarah and I talked at length. As you know, during the mission Larkin showed up and started calling out for her. At that point, we had pretty much what we needed from a mission's standpoint. I told Sarah to get Larkin out of there and we finished up the mission."
"Chuck, we heard the comms, you told her to get her 'boyfriend' out of there." Ellie reminded.
"Ok, well after the mission I needed to clear my head, so I ended up back at the beach. You know El, where I would go to clear my head." Chuck said glancing at Ellie, who nodded acknowledging.
"That was the beach where Sarah asked me to trust her at the end of the first night when this entire debacle started. So, I had been there for a bit when Sarah shows up. Apparently, she had had a heart to heart with Ziva back at the hotel suite." Chuck said nodding to Ziva.
"What, the girl showed up kind of a mess or panic. She wanted to talk to Chuck, and he wasn't there." Ziva said then continued, "plus, I can relate to Sarah better than anyone else here. I thought she could use someone to talk to."
"Basically, she did apologize, explained her thought process. She told me she loved me and wanted to be together. She would quit the CIA, join us, do whatever she had to get me to trust her again."
"That's great Chuck." Tracy Collins said. "Isn't that what you want?"
Chuck took a deep breathe and exhaled. "Prior to all this, it is. Now, I would love it, I just can't trust her, at least not yet." Chuck finished.
"Do you not believe what she said Chuck?" Ellie asked.
"I think she was telling me the truth, but as the conversation went on, I told her I knew about her mom and the baby. She tried to deny it, like she didn't know what I was talking out. She wants me to trust her, says she loves me, but she doesn't trust me with everything until then, I don't know how I can trust her." He finished.
Heather Cole was next, "Chuck from everything you have said, Sarah has been taught to lie since she was young. It's her first instinct. I'm not saying what she did is right, but for her it's learned behavior, it may take a while before she can hear something like that and not respond as she did. Obviously, her mom and the baby are important to her. In some ways, she reacted like a mother, trying to protect the baby."
The other ladies in the room nodded, as they all could understand protecting a child, even those without children of their own.
Jimmy was next to weigh in, "you know Chuck, Heather's got a good point. We have all seen the her file that you and Orion provided. She was recruited to the CIA at 17, before that she had basically a con girl since she was 8. Its no wonder she was recruited so young, her father taught her to lie, steal, and cheat since she was a child. Then the CIA just builds on that. You're talking about 20 something years of that. I can imagine its tough to break that training."
"It seems you are all so hell bent on getting Sarah and I back together. Why? You all know what she did to me? If we were to get together, she would be part of this, part of this team and family, your telling me that what you all want?" Chuck asked.
Before Ellie could chime in, it was Morgan who took the lead in speaking for the group. "Chuck, buddy. You've brought us all together, made us a team and a family. A loud, mixed, slightly dysfunctional family, but family none the less." The group laughed and nodded at Morgan's description.
Ellie spoke up, "Chuck, you've been unhappy since this all started. While we can understand why. Your world has been burned up and turned upside down more times than is imaginable. Mom and dad leaving, Stanford, the intersect, the almost bunker. We all know your in love with Sarah still, you've had questions, wondered if it was real or all just her doing her job and playing you. One way or the other, you need closure. That's the only way you can move on."
Chuck looked and listened to his sister, to all of them. They weren't wrong. He has been unhappy, lonely. He just couldn't trust her, not yet at least. He didn't know what she could do to gain it back or even if she could.
"What do you want to do Chuck?" Anna asked.
"For now, we stick with the plan. We'll keep working with Team LA, Larkin should be benched, but he'll at least be sidelined for a bit after our last discussion."
"You mean after you choke slammed him through a dining room table." Link added. Which got a chuckle from the group.
"Well yeah. That was one way to get him out of the way for a little bit." Chuck finished.
"That's not what Anna was asking Chuck." Ellie said.
"I know, I don't know what I am going to do about Sarah. For now, I still don't trust her, but maybe I can one day." Chuck said. After a couple of minutes of comfortable silence from the group, he continued "Anna, you and Orion keep an eye on the feeds from Castle and Beckman. I have a feeling they will be calling sooner rather than later."
"We have been son." Stephen answered. "So far, nothing pertaining to us."
"Ok, lets keep an eye on that, and lets take it easy for a couple of days. Morgan, let's try and finalize a base of operations in LA."
"Copy that Chuck, we have it down to 3. We can go over and do some 'virtual' tours or grab the jet and do some walkthroughs." Morgan added.
"Ok, lets get some rest, and we'll regroup tomorrow. And I want to thank you all, for caring." Chuck said genuinely. With that he got up and headed down to the guest house on the beach.
November 16, 2010 – Castle – 9:00 am
Team LA was gathered in Castle for a meeting with General Beckman. She was pissed at what had happened to her intersect, but no one was sure whom she was angrier with, Larkin for trying to pick a fight, with what turned out to be at least right now a superior intersect, or Chuck for actually kicking Larkin's ass. Bryce had walked away with a dislocated shoulder and 5 broken ribs. If he didn't want to sit in the van, now he wouldn't have a choice. He would be out of action at least 4 to 6 weeks, maybe longer depending on how long it took his ribs to heal and his pain tolerance. She started the conference angry, "Team, what the hell happened. How did you let this get so out of control?" She barked, at no one in particular.
It was Casey who decided to take the lead, "all due respect ma'am. How were any of us to know that Larkin would pick a fight with Bartowski. You had ordered us to work with, and in your words 'play nice' with Team Orion, that's what we were doing, when Agent Larkin continued is diatribe and tried to force the issue. Bartowski responded how any of us would have responded."
General Beckman heard what Casey said and he wasn't wrong, but she wouldn't admit that in front of the team. "I have told you to play nice with Team Orion for now, but I expect you to back up your teammate." She stated.
Zondra was next to speak, "All due respect ma'am, you told us we were working with Team Orion as partners, meaning they are teammates as well. Agent Larkin instigated the situation. We all understood Team Orion had operational control, it was Agent Larkin who disobeyed orders and went rogue. It seems to be a pattern with him." She finished.
Bryce while he did have his arm in a sling and ribs were hurting, was tired of being dumped on by his team. "I'm right here, and none of you had my back. Bartowski has no business running around playing spy. The sooner we get him to give me his governor, the sooner we can dump that crew and get back to the important work we need to do. Imagine what I can do once I have the intersect under control."
"Larkin, you have to pull your head out of your ass. First off, we're a team, we are supposed to be working together. Second, you keep saying Chuck is playing spy, well if that's what you want to call it, he's playing it better than you on your best day. If you can't admit he is good at what we do then your delusional. It was CHUCK that came down and pulled me and Zondra out of the shit and saved out lives. He pimped his own blood into her to save her life. We all know you wouldn't do that." Carina barked, tiring, like the rest of the team at Bryce over inflated ego.
"This is my team, I'm the intersect," Bryce barked out. "Are you all forgetting we are spies; we are trained to work alone. You want to be a team, get me that damn governor. Why don't one of you ladies do you your job and fuck Bartowski and get me the governor. Once I have that, it won't stand a chance against me."
Sarah who had been quiet this whole time was standing closest to Bryce turned to him and punched him right in eh face, breaking his nose. The crack could be heard by everyone. As Bryce put his hand to his nose, blood came pouring out in a pretty steady pace. Both Carina and Zondra had satisfied looks on their faces, while Casey just grunted his approval.
Bryce with blood pouring out of his nose, "Sarah, why would you do that?" Bryce asked, legitimately shocked.
"It's Agent Walker to you, you sanctimonious son of a bitch. We are not your whore's Larkin, we are Federal Agents, just like you. We worked hard to get here as part of this team, and we will not be belittled or disrespected because you got best by a former Nerd who turns out to be one hell of a spy. Your ego and narcissistic attitude may get you killed but worse than that, your going to get one of us hurt or killed. You may have the intersect, but Chuck's proven he has mastered it. Governor or not, he would beat you any day of the week and twice on Sunday." Sarah finished, trying to figure out what he ever saw in him. He always had a big ego, but since getting the intersect, its just gotten so much worse.
General Beckman had heard enough, "ENOUGH, this team will work together. Agent Larkin, you are trained to both work alone and a team, act like it." Beckman snapped. "Agent Walker is correct however, Bartowski seems to have mastered the intersect and his latest version is at least as advanced as Agent Larkin's maybe more so. While the governor is still a priority, if we could get Bartowski and Orion's help to revamp ours, we wouldn't need to work with Team Orion going forward. Agent Walker, you are close with Bartowski, what are your thoughts on convincing him that working with us or sharing the updated intersect specs. We could promise to leave him alone and lift any future sanctions or capture orders."
Sarah couldn't believe Beckman's arrogance. "General, Chuck has made it clear he will not share the governor or intersect updated specs. He doesn't trust this team or the government, we were making some progress until Agent Larkin took it upon himself to try and play hero."
"Do you think you can get him to a place where he would be willing to consider, we all know he had very strong feelings for you. Can we use those feelings to get what we need?"
Sarah, Carina, Zondra, and Casey couldn't believe the arrogance of Beckman. She had to be somewhat arrogant to succeed in the job she has, but her arrogance towards the whole Chuck situation was ridiculous.
"General, Chuck has made clear his feelings working with us, and quite frankly ma'am, you specifically. He doesn't trust us or the government. I believe he will only keep working with us under the current set up so long as Agent Larkin follows his team's instructions." Sarah said. "To answer your question directly ma'am, I will talk to Chuck about our need for his help, but I will not coerce or lie to him. Ma'am, those feelings he may have had for me changed when I followed your orders to bunker Chuck. That one order, undid 2 years of trust and good will. I will be blunt, I will not manipulate him, I will not lie to him, even if I tried he would see right through it. He is not the same man he was before you ordered the bunker. I suggest we continue to work with Team Orion as partners, and perhaps the relationship can grow to a point they might consider. The government doesn't have any good will built up with the Bartowski's." Sarah finished.
"Agent Walker, you will manipulate, coerce, lie, of fuck whoever I tell you to. You are an agent, I am the General, you will follow my orders." Beckman snapped.
It was Casey who spoke up next, "General, I follow orders, however none of this team will follow an order we deem to be illegal. Both the sanction order and bunker order for Chuck Bartowski were illegal. You cannot order a female agent to sleep with anyone, that can only be done if the agent agrees to it."
Before Beckman could respond, Zondra spoke up. "General, fucking Chuck Bartowski into submission won't work and quite frankly I agree with both Agent Walker ad Colonel Casey. Both Carina and I watched him cut through up to 30 men hardly breaking a sweat. He initiated a rescue mission to save us with no back up. We have seen the results of his and his team's work. I think Agent Walker's suggestion is the best course of action. There planning on the last mission was top notch and the mission would have gone off without a hitch if not for Agent Larin going rogue."
Beckman was not happy, her own team was not following her orders and pushing back. It felt a lot like when Bartowski was part of the team. She did need Bartowski, they were right, Larkin was getting worse, they needed the governor. After watching Bartowski take down her intersect out rather easily she needed to come up with a new approach. She didn't have time to gain Bartowski's trust. He thought process was if she could find their base, send Team Orion on a mission and grab Orion, but they had to find the base and both Bartowski and Orion were to good with computers for her NSA analysts to be able to back trace a communication. She would have to see about getting a tracker on a member of team Orion. She didn't believe Team LA with the exception of Agent Larkin would tell her where the Team Orion base is located if they were able to find out. She needed to find Eleanor Bartowski, that would give her leverage, and she needed some leverage on the Bartowski's. IF she remembered, she believed she and her husband were somewhere doing doctors without borders.
"That is all for now team. With Agent Larkin recovering, we may need to bring in Team Orion sooner than expected. I will contact you when we have a new meaning. Stay mission ready, but you have the next 10 days off. Any questions? No, good." With that Beckman ended the transmission.
Team LA looked around and started to get up to move and move on with there day. Bryce got up first, moving slow because of the ribs, none of the team was getting up to help him. With awkward silence, he spoke to no one in particular, "I was trying to protect him." Bryce said.
"What?" Carina asked.
"Chuck, with Stanford, I was trying to protect him, he's not built for this life. He's not built like us. This life will kill him. I was trying to protect him." He finished, not really apologizing, more justifying what he did, at least to himself.
"If you were trying to protect him, why send him the intersect 5 years later. There were other things to do than get him kicked out.?" Zondra asked, curious.
"I needed to keep the data safe, I couldn't trust anyone in the intelligence community. Chuck was the only person I could trust with it."
"Bullshit." Sarah said.
"What?" Bryce asked, legitimately surprised.
"You sent it to Chuck so once you escaped, you get could it back and either download it yourself or sell it, or who knows what. You didn't count on Casey shooting you. You figured you'd get out, jump on a plane to LA, get the intersect back before Chuck saw it." Sarah stated. "I know you Bryce, Chuck, you thought would be the easiest person to take advantage of to get it back. If you were really trying to protect him from this life, you never would have sent it. It proves your reasoning for getting him kicked out of Stanford out the window. Why did you? You wanted to be the intersect all along I bet, that James Bond Super Spy. Chuck's retention score was so much higher than your and everyone else's, you wouldn't have been considered." Sarah said, it really dawning on her that she never really knew Bryce at all.
"You were wrong Larkin; this life didn't kill him. He may not have liked it at first, probably still doesn't, but he excelled. What he did with Walker and I, an untrained civilian. Even without the intersect, the kid cannot only succeed in our world, but excel." Casey finished.
With that, Casey and the rest of the team left Castle and Larkin to think over what they thought.
November 16, 2010 – Maison 23 – 3:00 pm
Sarah was back in her room, having just gotten back from a run. She didn't know what she was going to do for the next 7 days. Maybe she would go and visit her mother and Molly. Chuck had said they were safe, Ryker and his men were dead. She knew Chuck wouldn't lie about something like that. She called her mother and made plans to go down the next day and spend the day or 2 with them. Her mother was thrilled she would get to see her daughter and was hoping this was the beginning of reconnection. After speaking with her mother, she was sitting around just cleaning up her room when there was a knock at the door. He went over, gun at the small of her back, went she saw her 2 best friends clowning around in the hallway. She opened her door and gave them a faux glare.
"What are you 2 clowns doing here?" She asked.
Carina took the lead, "We have the next 7 days off, and as much as snoresville has grown on me, thinking we should jet off for a few days and recharge, Z is in, what do you say?"
Sarah liked the idea, but she had just made plans to see her mother and Molly.
"I'm going to see my Mom tomorrow for a day or 2, if you can wait a couple of days to go, it sounds like fun. Where were you thinking?" Sarah asked. She hadn't had a vacation in as long as she could remember.
"We talked about Vegas or Miami," Carina answered.
"I was thinking something more tropical, Fiji, the Bahamas, something like that, work on our tans and Cabana boys." Zondra said smirking.
"What about Hawaii? Its closer than all those, its tropical, we don't have to let the Beckman know because we're still in the US, they have beaches and Cabana boys all the same. What do you think?" Sarah asked.
"I like that idea; the big question is which island? There are 6 to choose from. Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui?" Zondra said.
"Lets plan for 6 or 7 days, that gets us out and away from LA for a bit and we can forget about Larkin and all this crap with Beckman. How about a couple, Maui nice, I have been there, how about we start there for a day or 2 then move onto Lani or Oahu, I've never been to either." Sarah said.
"I haven't been to Oahu either, lets plan 3 or 4 days there, new adventure for all of us." Carina mentioned. "Leave it to me and Z, will get the flights and hotels booked, you go visit your Mom, we'll leave in a couple of days."
"Thanks Red. It will be good to get away, a little Cat Squad reunion." Sarah said smirking.
November 17, 2010 – Emma Burton's house – San Diego, California – 12:00 pm
Sarah had pulled up to her childhood home, at least till she was 7. The house looked the same, although the trim had been painted a different color. She was nervous and excited. She had last saw her mother almost 4 years ago when she dropped a 3-month-old baby with her. She knew her mother would take care of her, while she was trying to protect the baby, she wanted her mother to have a chance to be a mother. She regretted running off with her father, at the time, to a 7-year-old it seemed like the right decision. She was afraid she would never get to see her Mom again, but thanks to Chuck, here she was. She regretted not being upfront with him when he said Ryker had been taken care of. If she wanted a chance, she would have to stop with all her hang-ups, no secrets, no lies. That's the only way she might have a chance to fix this. She walked up on the porch and knocked. About a minute later, her mother opened the door holding a little blonde girl about 4ish. She looked at Sarah and buried her head into the nape of her mother's neck. Her mother had a big smile on her face, "Sam," she said.
"Hi Mom," Sarah said, as she was enveloped in a hug. Molly, not knowing what to do decided to join the hug and wrapped her arms around Sarah as well.
They came in and sat down. Molly was introduced to 'someone very special," Sarah had to tell her mom to call her Sarah, as that was who she was now. It would take a little getting use to, but as long as her oldest daughter was in her life again, she would call her whatever she wanted.
Emma asked her to watch Molly while she went to go and start a late lunch for the 3 of them. Sarah was nervous, she didn't have a lot of experience with kids at all, she thought back to when she first met Chuck and how he helped the father and the little ballerina. Molly was playing with her dolls, when Sarah got on the floor and asked her what she was doing. When Molly had explained to her what she was playing Sarah asked if she could to. Molly handed Sarah a doll dressed in a Ninja outfit, that made Sarah smile, again thinking of Chuck calling her his Ninja protector. Molly and Sarah played together until Emma called that lunch was ready. She had been watching her eldest daughter, she was proud of how well she was doing with Molly, she remembered when she dropped Molly off, she said she was bad with kids, it wasn't that she was bad, she was inexperienced. But here and now, she was doing well with the 4-year-old.
After spending the day together at the house, Sarah was touched when Molly asked if she would read her her bedtime story. Sarah was happy to do so and when finished gave her a hug and kiss and told her she would see her in the morning. With Molly in bed and asleep, Sarah came back out to the living room and sat down on the couch, her mother had poured her a cup of tea and they sat down to catch up.
"How are you, Sam?" Her mother asked.
"I'm ok Mom. I'm glad to see Molly is doing so well. You're doing a great job. Thank you." Sarah said, meaning it.
"She is doing well, she's a special little girl, reminds me of another special little blonde girl I knew." Emma says, smiling at her daughter. "But what is bothering you Sam, I'm your mother, you may have been gone for a very long time, but I know when something is bothering you. You have the same expression. Why don't you tell me, maybe I can help."
Sarah sat sipping her tea. She missed talking and getting advice from her mother, it had been over 20 years. Her mother knew what she did to a point, so it wouldn't really hurt anything.
"There's this guy, I met through work. It's actual thanks to him it safe to come and see you and Molly."
"Well, please thank him for us. We missed you Sam and hope you visiting will be a regular occurrence. Molly needs a good female role model." Emma said.
"She has one," Sarah responded looking at her mother. "Anyway, he wasn't part of my world, per se. He was sort of thrown in the deep end and I and an agent from another agency were sent to work with and protect him. The agency classified him as an Asset, but that really wasn't an accurate description. He acted more as a field analyst would. Anyway, we worked together and had to maintain a cover, in the case of he and I, our cover was that we were dating, boyfriend and girlfriend."
"I hope he was a gentleman, that can't be easy on either of you, having to fake being in a relationship like that." Emma said.
"Actual, with Chuck it was easy. He's a great guy mom, not like anyone I have ever met before. When I first met him, just looking in is eyes, it had an effect. He's so smart, selfless, he's the bravest man I've ever met. He's really close with his sister, she's the only real family he has, but he has some friends who are also his family. Its so much different than what I'm used to. I have met so many men who try to be all macho and show try to impress me. But Chuck knows who he is, a self-professed Nerd and he's proud of it."
"Sounds like he knows who he is and is comfortable with himself. Seems like we don't see that as much as we should." Emma commented.
"Yea." Sarah said, off her in Chuck thought. "Anyway, over a 2 year period, we had to act as a couple. We developed feelings for each other, I knew early on he had feelings for me. I felt something but didn't know what it was, it took me a while to admit to myself how much I cared for him. So, it was a valuable asset, although as I said, he was working more as a teammate than an asset. We came to a point, there was concern for his safety, so I was ordered to get him so we could take him to a bunker, for his own safety. I thought it was the wrong decision and told my boss that, but she wouldn't consider other options. We knew he wouldn't got willingly, so I was ordered to lie to him to get him."
"Oh sweetie, how can they put you in that position." Emma asked.
"They couldn't know how I felt about him. I'm not sure he really knew. If they knew I was compromised, they would have reassigned me, I couldn't let that happen." Sarah said.
"Compromised?" Emma asked.
"With Chuck being an asset, I was assigned as his handler, make sure he was operating effectively. The CIA has rules about assets and handlers, we can't have a personal relationship, if a handler is compromised, they may not be able to execute orders that are given." Sarah finished.
Nothing needed to be said, Emma got the hint when she said execute. Sarah continued "so I was ordered to bring him back to our base under false pretenses where he would be taken to a bunker for his safety. I went to the BuyMore, his cover job was working at the local BuyMore, told him what I had been told to. He actually thanked me, told me he owed me an apology because he had been questioning whether he could still trust me. Mom, I almost broke there and told him the truth, I should have. I didn't brought him back to our base and he was tranquilized. When he was losing consciousness, he was worried about me and our partner, thinking the enemy had gotten in. When he saw me, there was realization in his eyes, I could see the betrayal he felt, I betrayed him Mom. He trusted me and I turned on him."
Emma was listening to her daughter who was getting emotional. "Did you think this bunker option was a good idea?"
"No, not at all. We fought for 2 years to keep him out of the bunker. I knew he wouldn't go willingly. I knew the minute we tranqed him I made a huge mistake. He's the only guy I have ever really cared about, and I betray him because my boss tells me to." Sarah said, disgusted with herself.
"Can you go visit him, in the bunker? Is he still there?" Emma asked.
"Funny thing, Chuck being Chuck, he never made it to the bunker, he was able to escape before they got him there. For the last almost 2 years he has sort of been doing independent spy work, he put together his own team and everything. There doing what we do, only in some cases, better. He saved the lives of my 2 best friends." Sarah said.
"Have you talked to him?"
"Our team recently was ordered to work with his team. We had a mission and he and I were paired together. It didn't go quite as planned, but we were able to talk after. I told him the truth; I was the most honest I have ever been in my life. I told him I was sorry, that I made the biggest mistake of my life and begged him for another chance."
"What did he say?"
"He said a part of him would always love me, but he didn't know if he could trust me." Sarah said, remembering the moment. She continued, "I did make a mistake, when we were talking, he told me the threat to you and Molly had been taken care of, but I played dumb, like I didn't know what he was talking about. He knew what I was doing. I had just told him I wanted a second chance, and I'm lying again."
"He brings up a good point sweetie. How can he trust you? From what you've said he's had a lot of betrayal in his life, sounds like he thought you to had something, but you followed your orders. If I were him, I would want to know your priorities."
Sarah had tears pooling in her eyes. "He's my priority mom, I love him. I made the biggest mistake of my life, I'm just looking for a chance to make up for it, but I don't know what to do. I asked him what I could do and he said he didn't know, that there might not be anything I can do."
"If it were me, just be honest, I don't think there is one thing you can or can't do. It may take a while but be honest with him. You can't hide anything, if you want to him to trust you again, your going to have to trust him, with everything." Emma told her daughter.
"I know Mom, I'm trying. I need to, I need him. I'd like him to meet you and Molly." Sarah ended, somewhat shyly.
"We'd like that." Emma said smiling at her daughter.
They finished there tea and decided to call it a night. Molly tended to wake up early and Sarah wanted to be up to spend more time with both Molly and her Mom before she had to head back. She felt better talking to her mom, her mother just reinforcing what she had already planned to do.
The next morning, they all woke up, Sarah took Molly to the park near the house and spent the morning with her. She loved spending time with her, it just reinforced in her mind she was a good person, she didn't the right thing when she saved Molly. They came home for lunch and the 3 of them spent time together for a bit in the early afternoon. Sarah had to head back to Burbank, she gave her mother her new number, as well as Zondra's and Carina's in case she ever needed something and couldn't get a hold of her. She told her she would be back to visit soon, and they would make this a regular thing. Sarah was surprised at how emotional her goodbye with Molly was, the little girl gave her a tight hug, told her she'll miss her and asked her to comeback and visit her. She promised she would and would bring a friend next time. Sarah got in her Porsche, waved goodbye and was back on her way to Burbank, she felt really good and renewed faith in her effort to win Chuck back.
November 17, 2010 – Maison 23 – 7:00 pm
Sarah had gotten back from her trip to see her mom and Molly; she had spoken briefly with Carina while driving back and they agreed to meet at her hotel, and they would go over there plans. Sarah was fresh from a run and shower she had changed into Yoga pants and a t shirt, Carina and Zondra were coming over in a bit and bringing pizza and wine as they went through their plans for the rest of the time off. The knock at the door surprised Sarah slightly, she didn't expect Carina and Zondra for about another hour, she went to the door, throwing knife in hand, when she looked through the peep hole, it was about the last person she expected. Opening the door, 'Bryce, what are you doing here?" She asked.
Bryce was standing there, arm still in a sling, but he was dressed like he was about to go to a club, a shiny shirt, black slacks, hair having a lot of product in it. "Hey Sarah, I tried calling you earlier, you didn't pick up."
Sarah blew out a frustrated breath. "I went for a run and a shower. What do you want Bryce?"
"I thought we could go out, grab some dinner and hit a club or something, I know how much you like to dance. Just like old times." Bryce said with his trademark smirk.
"Bryce, we have had this conversation, we're teammates, that's it. You thought we would hit a club like we used to when we were couple, dance and drink, then come back here and fuck each other silly, right?"
"Sarah, we are so good together, I don't get why you would give up on us, for what. A chance with a nerd like Chuck? Sure, he was a good guy once, but compared to us, I mean really?" Bryce said scoffing.
"Bryce, our relationship taught me a lot, I don't regret it, but after meeting Chuck, he showed me its ok to want more. You never loved me and I never loved you. We were convenient, and it taught me a lot. But you need to stop. And you need to stop putting Chuck down. He's an amazing guy, you once knew that. I don't know whats happened to you, but if you don't take a long look in the mirror, your teammates won't be there forever."
"Seriously, that NERD, you're serious about Chuck Bartowski? He was a loser working at the BuyMore till I sent him the intersect."
"YOU ARROGANT, FULL OF SHIT ASSHOLE. He only ended up the BuyMore because you got him kicked out of Stanford, you slept with his girlfriend, you miserable piece of shit." Sarah huffed, beyond angry now.
"I never slept with Jill; you know that." Bryce replied defensively.
"First we know its something you might do. Second, with everything that was going on, getting accused and then expelled for something he didn't do. You set this in motion. You put him in funk Whether you did or didn't sleep with Jill, it was just piling on. If you hadn't started this by 'protecting' him, you caused a spiral he couldn't get out of." Sarah spat.
"Sarah, whether it was right or wrong, its in the past. I was hoping we could talk about us."
"You are an arrogant, narcissistic asshole. Get it through your thick skull, there is not an us, us is in the past and its where we will remain. We are teammates, that's it. Heal up Bryce, when we get back, you really need to follow orders. I'll see you in 8 days." Sarah said, opening the door, letting Bryce know this conversation is over.
Bryce stood there, trying to absorb what Sarah was saying. Did she really choose Chuck over him? She was obviously not happy with him. "Ok Sarah, we can talk later." He said as he left.
Sarah was beyond angry, but she took a few deep breaths. There was no point in worrying about this now. She sat down to try and calm down. She wanted to beat the heavy bag, but Carina and Zondra would be there soon. About 30 minutes later there was a knock at the door as Zondra and Carina there with a pizza, vegetarian with no olives, and beer.
"What's got you in such a tizzy blondie?" Zondra asked. "Everything ok with your mom?"
Sarah, still calming down from her discussion with Bryce. "No, yea mom is doing well, it was good to see her. There is probably something else I should tell you." Sarah said. Sarah swore both Carina and Zondra to secrecy, and then told them about Molly, Ryker, sneaking her back to the US and leaving her with her mother. She also told them how Chuck had told her he had taken care of Ryker and his men, which was why she was able to see her mom and the baby. She also told them she gave their numbers to her mother in case of an emergency.
"Sarah, you did the right thing, the only mistake you made was not shooting Ryker in the head the first time." Zondra said. "But it sounds like things are going well with both your mom and Molly. What's got you so wound up?"
"Bryce." Sarah said.
"What about Bryce?" Carina asked.
Sarah went through what had happened when Bryce showed up less than an hour earlier. How he wanted to rekindle their long-ago romance, how he continues to put Chuck and his accomplishments down.
"What an asshole." Carina said. "He must really be intimidated by Chuck. The way he keeps trashing him and putting him down. Ha, never thought I would see where Bryce Larkin is scared of Chuck Bartowski, and that was before Chuck put him through a table." Carina said, smiling at the memory.
"Yup, and its great to see. "Zondra said.
"Ok, so enough about Bryce. Were you 2 able to get us booked up for Hawaii?" Sarah asked.
"Yes and no," Zondra asked. "The hotel resort we wanted in Maui was overbooked so no go there. We decided because none of us had been to Oahu, we would just spend 6 days there at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. There are some good clubs we have heard about as well. During the day we have the beach, a lot of hiking trails and just for Carina, plenty of Cabana boys." Zondra finished.
"That sounds great, when do we leave?" Sarah asked.
"Tomorrow morning, so we'll get packed up and head to the airport, flights at noon. The CATs take Oahu.
November 18, 2010 – Oahu Grill – 6:30pm
The CATs had arrived in Oahu, they had brought their bags to their suite and hit the beach for a while. As the day was winding down, they were hungry, while the resort had a lot of options for dining, but the CATs wanted to get out so they asked the concierge about good local restaurants. The overwhelming suggestion was the Oahu Grill. So the CATs grabbed a cab and headed out, dressed casual. They would hit the clubs maybe tomorrow or Saturday, tonight was more laid back. They had been at the restaurant a shot time, when on the far end, Sarah spotted someone she thought she recognized. It looked like a respectfully dressed Anna Wu. Could it be? Sarah hadn't seen her in about 2 years, she was gong to with Morgan when he was leaving to go to Benihana cooking school. She was lost in thought when Carina asked her a question. While the CATs were having a fun little back and forth, the alcohol intake not helping with there ability to focus. When Sarah looked over towards Anna about 20 minutes later, she noticed Anna, or the woman that looked like Anna was no longer there, having must have left. She didn't think much of it at the time. A couple of hours later, back at the Hilton Hawaiian village, they were having a cocktail at one of the hotels bars. The CATs were having some conversations with some gentlemen on vacation, talking about Oahu and some of the things to do away from the resort. Carina was looking for her next victim, while both Sarah and Zondra were more making friendly conversation. Sarah was in the middle of a conversation with a man named Ted, who was on vacation with a couple of friends when it hit her like a bolt of lightning.
"Holy Shit," Sarah said out loud.
"Are you ok Sarah?" Ted asked.
"What. Ah yea, fine. Sorry Ted. It's been great speaking with you, but I need to go. Maybe I will see you around the resort later." Sarah got up, grabbed Zondra who was talking to a friend of Ted's. Carina was nowhere to be found.
"Blondie, what the hell is wrong with you?" Zondra asked as they were heading to the elevator to head back up to their suite.
"Ok, so before we were going to place Chuck in the bunker, he was working at the BuyMore." Sarah started.
"Yea, I know all that, so what's up?" Zondra asked.
"So, when we were at dinner tonight, at the Oahu grill. I saw a woman across the restaurant, she looked exactly like Anna Wu."
"Who's Anna Wu?"
'Right, so she worked at the BuyMore with Chuck, Casey, and Morgan. Anyway, she and Morgan were dating, just before we were going to take Chuck to the bunker, Morgan announced he was going to go to Benihana school and Anna was going to move with him." Sarah finished.
"Ok, so?" Zondra asked, completely confused.
"Morgan is part of team Orion." Sarah said, like it was obvious.
"Still not seeing where your going, so you saw Anna Wu, isn't there a Benihana school here on Oahu?"
"Exactly." Sarah said.
"Still not following Blondie?" Zondra asked, still confused.
"What if Morgan and Anna are still together, what if Team Orion is based here in Oahu?"
"I mean, sure it could be. But it could also be that Anna moved here and never left, she and Morgan broke up. Maybe there still together and he visits. Or maybe it wasn't Anna at all." Zondra finished.
Sarah was a little down, she was so sure that seeing Anna might mean that Team Orion was somewhere on Oahu.
"Maybe your right Z." Sarah said, a little resigned.
"Blondie, calm down, Chuck said you will talk again. Why don't you just relax, lets have some fun."
"Thanks Z."