Ch. 11 Home for the Weekend
A/N: Welcome back. When we left off, Sarah had just arrived at the Maus in search of Chuck. This chapter moves back and forth in time, so keep an eye on the dates in parenthesis. The good news is that this chapter is twice as long as the last chapter. The bad news...well...
(October 29th)
Given her "benched" status with the Clandestine Services division of the CIA, it was child's play for her to be able to go off of their radar and slip down to San Diego to spend a long weekend with her mom and her "sister" Molly. After being stood up by Chuck, she needed a change in scenery. The nav system on the Porsche said that the drive should take six and a half hours. She was sure that she could do it in eight. Round trip.
Roan knew, without officially knowing, that Ryker's mission had actually been unsanctioned. He also knew that she had re-entered the country through unofficial channels, and that the infant's whereabouts were unknown. While he wouldn't have taken such a risk for a baby himself, he applauded her virtuosity. More importantly, he hadn't attempted to determine the whereabouts of the infant.
He had even gone so far as to subtly steer the unofficially official investigation towards several red herrings. After she had gone back on the grid following the mission, Roan had promised to keep an ear out for any rumors as to Ryker's location. Although, given how furious his protégé had been after that mission, he doubted that Ryker would ever be found again.
As she headed down the 405 towards San Diego, Sarah smirked while recalling how Roan had used official channels to let her know that she was free to use his house in Palm Springs for when she told him she was leaving for a long weekend to clear her head. He was going to be "occupied" on the East Coast.
Sarah didn't know how often, if ever, the analysts at the CIA checked on her location. It was possible that the new interim Director had told them to leave her alone. Nevertheless, the trackers on her phone, watch, and car all showed her to be at Roan's house. Periodically, the trackers on the watch and phone even moved about Roan's house. What the analysts wouldn't know was that the chip from her phone and watch were currently strapped to the top of a Roomba which followed a set schedule of traveling through the house to vacuum the floor none the wiser for the stowaways on board.
She hadn't told Roan why she had to get away, just that she needed to. She didn't want him to know that his protegee, the one they used to call "The Ice Queen," was hurt because she got stood up at some stupid masquerade ball. The event had been on a Wednesday night, and by the next morning, she knew she had to get away. Roan hadn't asked why, he had just heard it in her voice. She skipped Friday classes and began her long weekend early, not sure if she was going back Monday or not.
As the Roomba was busy cleaning Roan's living room, Sarah was seated in her mother's living room, watching Molly play with a doll. "You never were the 'white dress, fairytale princess' type. Not even at her age," Emma said from over Sarah's shoulder. She reached down and gave Sarah's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "You were more the 'tear a hole in the knees of your jeans while trying to race a squirrel to the top of a tree' type."
Sarah let out a laugh. "What can I say, I'm a very specific type." Hearing Sarah's laugh, Molly perfectly mimicked it, with a gap toothed smile directed towards her 'big sister.'
Emma, on the other hand, turned a shrewd eye towards Sarah. "You've changed." Sarah waved off the proclamation.
"Of course I've changed," she murmured dismissively. "I've been 'reassigned' to the world of academia." Emma gave Sarah's shoulder another affectionate squeeze.
"A fact for which I am profoundly, and eternally grateful," Emma replied. "But that isn't it." She scrutinized her biological daughter, trying to put a name to what she was sensing. "You've met someone! There is finally someone out there who you can't pigeonhole, and he-or she- has you intrigued."
"Me seeing Molly happy and healthy has you convinced that I've finally found a man to settle down with," Sarah scoffed, even while picturing Chuck's face in her mind's eye with perfect clarity. Part of her hated that her mom was right, the other part was desperately trying to figure out why Chuck Bartowski had stood her up. There had been no text, no nothing…
"It's a mom thing," Emma cryptically replied. She saw Sarah's ever alert eyes briefly soften as a faraway look fleeted across her daughter's face. Emma smiled as she sipped her coffee and gave a mental "Aha!" She was right, there was a guy. Emma had always hoped that under that hard CIA/Jack induced shell that her little girl was still tucked away, deep inside. A girl who wanted someone to love her for her. "Now, do what you really want to do and start talking to your mom."
Sarah stalled for time as she watched Molly play. Sarah knew her mom right about one thing-she wasn't good at sharing her feelings…and that Chuck intrigued her like no one else ever had. She wanted to huff, but she didn't knowing full well that her mom would see right through it. Fine. She was right about two things.
She had always rationalized that keeping her feelings locked up had kept her alive all the years out in the field. She was also cognizant that she had no earthly idea, or any intergalactic idea for that matter, of what she was doing when it came to Chuck. If there was one person, she could tell…who wouldn't judge her…and even help her…
She sighed. "Fine," she huffed. There's this guy." Sarah promptly ran out of steam, causing Emma to start laughing while clapping her hands. "Not helping, Mom."
Emma worked, poorly, on trying to school her features. "Sorry." Emma cleared her throat in an effort to sound more dignified. "Please continue."
Sarah sent her mother a skeptical side-eye. But seeing as how she had picked up that particular trick from her mother, Emma wasn't phased in the least. "There's a guy," Sarah resumed. "But I haven't actually met him…at least not in person."
She paused and then resumed, avoiding eye contact with her mother as she spoke. "Not unless you consider eye contact from across a crowded quad to be a meeting." Sarah glanced over, and saw that tidbit had her mother stunned, so she continued. "He started texting me not long after I started classes. It had me pretty spooked, as the texts came to my work phone." That little detail dropped the wind out of Emma's sails. "After a little digging, I figured out that he was a professor at Stanford."
Emma's eyebrows shot up, but her chin tucked into her chest. Even a blind person would pick up on the fact that her mom wasn't thrilled with that particular nugget of information. Sarah just chuckled at her mom's expression. "He's not some old, creepy stalker type. No crazy white hair that hasn't been combed in several decades. Not even a corduroy jacket with leather elbow patches. He's actually my age."
Sarah drew in a breath, uncomfortable as always in discussing her work life with her mom. "Given the fact that he had my work number, he has to have some connection to the intelligence community. I just don't know what that connection is. He's definitely NOT a spy, and it's not like I can just call the Graham up and get the details."
"Good," Emma spat out. "I hope that deceitful, manipulative bastard never tastes freedom again." Sarah smiled at the vehemence of her mother's declaration.
"He is," Sarah began carefully. "Or I should say was, the Director of the CIA. I'm pretty sure that deceit and manipulation are two of the official job requirements for the position."
Emma just let out a derisive 'hmmph.' Sarah snickered at her mom. "So, if you know he does, even if not how he knows, your background, what's holding you back from this professor of yours?"
Sarah stood from the sofa and started to pace back and forth. "He was good at covering his tracks. He used a burner phone. Got into the campus security system without a trace so that he could use the cameras to track me around campus so that I couldn't spot a tail." Emma fought back a smile at the admiration that Sarah was showing for this mystery man.
Sarah paused, dwelling on one thought for a moment before speaking it out loud. "One time he noticed me at the library rubbing my eyes after staring too long at a computer screen. The next day he left a pair of special glasses for me. The lenses are coated to block the blue light from a computer monitor. Cuts down on eye strain."
"Huh," Emma murmured.
It was quiet, but Sarah jumped on it immediately. "What? What do you mean by 'huh'?"
Emma smiled softly at how transparent her daughter was behaving. "Where are the glasses now?" Emma confidently held out a hand, palm up, towards her daughter. Sarah hesitated a moment but knew that her mother wouldn't move on without knowing. Sarah reached into the inside pocket of her leather jacket and pulled out the glasses in a protective case. Emma popped open the lid for a moment before closing it and handing the glasses back to her daughter.
She decided not to push on why the computer glasses were close on hand. They both knew the answer anyway. "They're not beautiful flowers, or fancy jewelry. But it is a really thoughtful gift, if you think about it. You were uncomfortable and he fixed that. They're a truly considerate gift. It shows that he cares more for the person than the packaging."
Sarah's shoulders had been tensing up as she waited for her mother's explanation. They relaxed slightly at hearing her mother's take on the gift, with Sarah realizing that she treasured the glasses even more now. "I…um, tried to flirt with him after he left them for me. That didn't go so well." A look of excitement mixed with anticipation colored Emma's expression. Her mom tried to mute the squeal, but a little squeaked out anyway. "Thanks for the support there, Mom."
Emma laughed rather than take offense at the bit of snark. "Relax, sweetie. I'm just thrilled to see my little girl acting like, well, a real girl." She stepped over and wrapped her daughter up in a hug. Molly jumped up and wrapped her arms around Sarah's knees, joining in the group hug. Then she jogged back over to where her doll was now lying on the floor.
"I'm sure it wasn't that bad." Emma gave Sarah her most supportive look.
Sarah rolled her eyes, sighed, and admitted what she had told Chuck. "Mom, I asked him if he had a kink for sexy librarians!"
Emma's wince said more than words. Trying to rally her daughter's failing confidence, Emma shifted the focus. "Well, what did he say back?" If anything, the question made Sarah feel worse. "He fell all over himself apologizing for making me think that he was objectifying me. He felt terrible for offending me and probably would have been happy for me to throw the glasses away."
Emma let out a quiet, "Aww." She reached over and patted her daughter's arm. "Clearly that didn't happen."
Sarah slumped back down onto the sofa. "After that he left me a ticket for a big campus Halloween party." She smiled a bit. "He had said that he didn't like the spy term 'dead drop', so he set up a 'live drop' and had the ticket there waiting for me. I bought a costume and got all ready for it." She decided to gloss over the call to Chuck's sister so that she could wear something that would blow Chuck's mind. Certain details her mother didn't need to know. "But he never showed up." Emma's mouth dropped open in shock. .
"Wait," Emma interjected. Sarah winced, she was hoping she could have slid the timing past her mother. "Halloween is Sunday…this is Friday."
"I'm aware," Sarah replied. "This happened on Wednesday night."
"We're talking two nights ago Wednesday night, right? This year, not last year?" Sarah gave her mother a look making Emma grin. "Sorry, please continue."
"Thank you," Sarah said, but she knew she was losing this battle with her mom. "For the first couple of hours, I just pretended like nothing had happened."
"Such restraint," Emma murmured.
Sarah ignored the barb, continuing on with her story. "I didn't check my phone for messages…didn't look for him around campus." She paused. "He didn't call…or text or anything to explain standing me up."
Contrary to Sarah's expectation of a commiseration hug, Emma straightened up instead. Standing up her little girl didn't mesh with the mental picture she had drawn of this secret admirer. Something is off here. "Did you try to reach out to your professor to find out why he didn't show up? It doesn't make sense that he would give you a considerate present then be so rude as to not go to a party after buying you a ticket."
Sarah felt a little hurt over her mom taking Chuck's side. "No! He was the one who didn't make it. He should have…I don't know…called or sent flowers or…or something. I didn't…" Sarah ran out of excuses as it dawned on her that she assumed that Chuck was avoiding her without any evidence. "I was…"
"Butthurt?" Emma fixed her with a raised eyebrow mom-look.
"Mom!" Sarah was caught off-guard by her mother's blunt take.
Then, from across the room, the two of them heard an angelic voice happily calling out, "Butthurt! Butthurt! Butthurt!" Emma's head sank into her hands. "I'm going to be getting a call from her daycare in the near future. No doubt." With a sigh of resignation over the inevitable, she straightened up to look at her biological daughter. "I get it, dear. You finally find a guy who you like, who intrigues you. You get excited about a romantic first date." Sarah's eyes shot open as she realized that's exactly what the party would have been. "And then you get…what do the kids call it these days?"
"Ghosted," Sarah muttered. Ironic, given my reputation at The Company.
"You get ghosted, and it hurts. It just seems so odd that he would go to the trouble of buying you a ticket, working up the courage to invite you, getting the ticket to you and then he just vanishes."
Sarah froze at the word vanishes. "What is it dear?" Emma's concern for her daughter took priority over her confusion over Chuck's behavior.
"I'm not sure," Sarah slowly replied, thinking back over the events of the day before. "But yesterday one of my classmates was saying something to her friend about Chuck. But I tuned them out because I was…"
"Butthurt?" Emma asked in a stage whisper.
"Distracted," Sarah flatly replied. "But I think she may have been saying something about him not being in class that morning? Maybe?"
Sarah reached into her jacket to pull out her spy phone. She then did something she'd never done before. She called Chuck. She felt a weight settle in her stomach as an automated message came on indicating that number was out of service. She had hated the feeling when she had thought that Chuck had stood her up. This feeling was much, much worse.
She got up and ran to her bedroom to grab a burner phone from her go bag. "Mei Ling? Hi, it's Sarah Walker. Look, I remember you once talking about some professor at school who's amazing with computers. Mine just crashed, but when I took it to the BuyMore, there were these two creepy Nerd Herders who just weren't anyone who I'd trust not to use my laptop to spy on me or something." Sarah forced a cheerful tone into her voice as Mei Ling provided intel that made a bad situation much more dire.
Sarah hung up the burner phone before returning to the living room where she'd left her spy phone. Picking that up, she dialed a number from memory. "Roan, we've got a situation. There's a professor who's a government contractor." Sarah did her level best to reign in her anger when Roan interrupted her. "Not Fleming! Professor Chuck Bartowski. He's vanished, and I just learned that his father, who's also a government contractor dropped out of sight the same day."
A few minutes later, Sarah's conversation with Roan wrapped up. She knew that he would look into it, but she didn't like turning the investigation over to someone else when Chuck might be hurt. She turned to look at her mom, guilt written all over her face. "I know it hasn't even been forty-eight hours…but mom, no one knows more than someone who is in law enforcement of any type what the first forty-eight hours means for a search for a missing person."
Seeing the pensive look on her daughter's face, Emma pulled her in for another consoling hug. "His classes are being taught by someone else-which the students aren't happy about. His classes are really popular, and he has a reputation for taking complex concepts and making them straight forward. All of his students rave about what a great teacher he is." Emma bit back a smile, given the news of his disappearance, but noted the tone of not just pride but possession in her daughter's voice as she described him. "The administration won't tell the students in his classes about where he's gone, or when he's coming back. The student paper twitter account or radio station hasn't mentioned it at all. That makes me think that his disappearance may be tied to whatever his connection is to the intelligence community. Plus, I found out that his dad, who is also a professor there, abruptly canceled classes yesterday and vanished as well."
Emma found herself a little out of her depth trying to figure out the situation. It was a common feeling that she had on the rare occasions when Sarah would open up about her work, although at least this time Sarah hadn't had her life in danger. But it sounded as though her heart might have taken a hit. "Have you tried to ask anyone from your work if he's missing or just hidden away on some hush-hush government project?"
Sarah nodded her head. "Once I realized that he had vanished, and his father had up and left as well, I called my mentor at the Agency. I've known Roan as long as I've been an agent. He knows everything going on within the Agency, but not necessarily things going on within the country as a whole. Plus, he's lived and breathed 'need to know' longer than I've been alive. If he didn't think that I needed to know, he would never tell me." Sarah leaned back, her head resting against the sofa as she stared, unfocused, toward the ceiling. "No matter how much I may need to know on a personal level."
Emma pondered that for a moment. "Wouldn't it be better to check with the police or the FBI if he's actually missing? Someone more closely involved in those things?"
Sarah let loose an indelicate snort, which was quickly mimicked by the young girl across the room, briefly lightening the mood in the room. "The CIA and FBI don't exactly play nice with each other, or share their secrets. Kind of an institutionalized contempt for each other. And I don't know any local law enforcement around Palo Alto. I have my orders to keep a low profile. That doesn't track with flashing my CIA credentials all over the place."
Sarah quickly sat upright as inspiration hit her. "But my friend Carina visited recently. She may know some people, well, men on the local police force. Maybe even at the local FBI office."
Emma perked up as well. "Carina! I remember her when you two visited years ago. She's a lot of fun."
Sarah rolled her eyes good naturedly. "You say that because she was on her good behavior in front of you. Nights out with Carina are normally not so much fun as they are hoping that we don't get tossed out of yet another nightclub because of her."
Despite her comments to her mother, Sarah knew that she could rely on Carina to help her out. It was guaranteed that she would hold it over Sarah's head for the next decade or so, but Sarah could live with that if she could just find out whether or not Chuck was ok. She needed for Chuck to be ok. Sarah excused herself, went back to her old room to call her friend.
After a ring, she heard the call connect. "Blondie, missing me already?"
Sarah had been surprised when Carina had immediately answered the phone. "Listen, Red, I need a favor. That professor who spotted you tailing me? He's gone missing."
"What? It wasn't me. My ego's not that sensitive, and tall, dark and dorky doesn't do it for me."
Sarah picked up on the emphasis on the word 'me', but let it pass. "I didn't say that you did it, Carina. I just wanted to see if you could check with any contacts with the local police or FBI to see if there's any chatter out there. He's gone, but the school is acting like everything is normal. Which is definitely not normal. Something's up, and I want to know what."
Carina was quiet for a moment. Sarah was well aware of her razor sharp mind, and waited for her to process whatever it was that she was considering. "You know he's got some connection to our world, right? He wouldn't have known about you or that spy phone of yours otherwise. Do you think that he spooked out? It would explain why the school isn't freaking out."
"It's possible," Sarah conceded. "My mom brought up the same point."
Carina jumped in. "Ooh, you're with Emma! Tell her that I said to say hi. I'll have to look her up next time I down her way."
Sarah let out a small groan. "Can we focus here, Carina? If Chuck went dark for government reasons, it would explain why everyone is acting like everything is normal. But my gut is telling me no."
Carina was silent. She wanted to bust Sarah's chops about getting all twisted over a 'Chuck', but she also trusted Sarah's gut, sometimes more than even Sarah did. They'd come across more than one trap on joint ops where Sarah's instincts had saved their asses.
Sarah, however, misconstrued the silence, too caught up in her own thoughts to figure out what Carina was thinking. "This isn't because he stood me up. It's…"
Sarah paused as she heard Carina's sharp intake of breath. "Wait, wait. He stood you up? Like on a date? You? The Ice Queen had a date?"
Sarah winced at her friend's indelicate questioning. "It's not out of the realm of possibilities that I would go on a date."
Carina barked out a laugh. "Halley's Comet happens every 75 years, and everyone stops when that happens too."
Carina shifted back to being serious. "Listen, Sar. Seriously. There's no chance that your nerd in shining armor who raced out to protect you from me would have stood you up. Let me see what I can come up with." Sarah put away her phone after her friend abruptly ended the call, being all too familiar with her friend's lack of social graces.
}o{
(October 27th, Chuck Bartowski's apartment- Two Days Earlier)
Chuck felt like dancing in the apartment, even though there was no music. He sat the hat on top of his curls, and grinned at what he saw. Sarah Walker was a modern-day Emma Peel, and while Chuck Bartowski might not have what it takes to operate on her level, he thought John Steed might have a fighting chance.
The whole morning, he had been a bundle of nerves-and energy. Rather than go crazy waiting for the time to come around to get ready for the party, Chuck had decided to distract himself. Old habits die hard. For his distraction, Chuck had threw himself into the Intersect Project that General Beckman and DCI Sommers had read him into during the meetings with his father after Bryce destroyed the Beta version. It was a fascinating concept. But Chuck wanted to try something more with version 2.0.
If information could be implanted, why not skill sets? Picking locks, flying a plane, hot wiring a car all required knowledge. There would be limitations. Knowledge of the optimal running technique could be downloaded, but that didn't mean that an agent would be able to outrun an Olympic sprinter. Knowing how to adjust a shot for wind and elevation wouldn't override a person's morality about killing another human being.
But knowledge of the best way to treat a gunshot wound could certainly save a life. Knowledge of how to fly a plane could help an agent perform an emergency landing if the pilot was incapacitated. Knowledge of a foreign language could be the difference between getting away or getting caught.
Ellie was leading a clinical study on reconnecting neural pathways for muscle memory in stroke victims. Everyday actions such as walking and talking could take months to recover, often jeopardizing patients' recoveries when frustration could cause people to give up hope. Kind of like me giving up on interacting with women. But what if a civilian model of the Intersect could be created to speed up those recoveries, avoiding those months long delays and setbacks. The possibilities were truly endless.
A little after lunch, Chuck had glanced at his clock and realized that he had spent the whole morning absorbed in the potential for the new Intersect. Now, it was time to get ready for the Maus party. He wanted to look perfect for the first time that he would meet Agent Walker-Sarah-face to face. Decked out like John Steed, maybe he could channel enough Avengers mojo to hold his own with the beguiling real life secret agent who he was about to meet.
"Nah," he said, straightening his tie with a huge grin. This was going to be amazing, absolutely- A knock at his door pulled him out of his reverie. He turned, walked over, and opened the door. There stood three men…three large men, wearing masks of various presidents.
"Evening, fellas," Chuck said, confused. He thought they were a bit old to be trick-or-treating, but it was a college, and he had seen stranger things. "You're a few days early and I don't have any candy yet."
The three all raised their right hand, each of them holding a gun. Chuck raised both of his hands, his eyes widening. "You know, I might have some full-size candy bars in the fridge." They gestured at him to step back in. "Okay, I also keep snickers in the freezer, but that's it, I swear." That was the last thing that Chuck said, as one of the men hit him in the head with the butt of his gun.
A/N2: It's always complicated when it comes to these two and a first date. We expect that many...most...pretty much all of you will be upset with the near-miss date. But (1) there is a method to the madness, and (2) this allows for more growth for Sarah when she realizes that she ran away when she was hurt by Chuck's no-show, but then realizes that his absence may not have been voluntary. Both Chuck and Sarah have projected their own self-doubt onto the other, and both need to get the hell over themselves.
Just as Sarah is turning into a real girl, three goons take Chuck. Fortunately for Chuck, that real girl is also a real badass.
We promise that this story will eventually get to Christmas. There will be fluff. Not right away, but there will be fluff. Keep the faith.
Up next, some more familiar faces join the story.