A week had passed since the accident, Chuck and Sarah had returned to work and Emma was still at home, although moving around better and better every day. Since Emma's only real restriction was her left arm, which would remain in the cast for several more weeks, the decision was made for Molly to stay home with her grandma, which she was loving every minute of. It had taken Sarah a while to convince her mother to call the lawyer to see about taking legal action against Joseph Davies to get him, or at least his insurance company, to cover Emma's medical bills and the cost of replacing her car.

The appointment was set, and Molly was dropped off at Miss Anne's for the day, Sarah took the day off work and canceled her coaching sessions. She also had called Chuck asking him to come with them since he was there at the time of the accident. Of course, he agreed and even offered to treat the women to lunch afterward as the appointment was set for 10 am. He had gone in long enough to make sure everything was set for the release of their game in time for Christmas shopping to begin and had left the operations for the rest of the day in the capable hands of his best buddy, Morgan.

Emma and Sarah had been shown into the meeting room where they were to meet the attorney who would be representing Emma's interests. It was a simple conference room with a small 6-seat table, a monitor on one end and large glass windows with shades that could be opened and closed if needed for client confidentiality. Sarah was getting a little concerned that Chuck wasn't there yet, but figured he'd gotten held up at work or, the more likely reason, had gotten stuck in traffic. Looking up she saw a young man about her age with dark wavy hair, and a nice, but not overly fancy, navy business suit which he wore with a sky-blue dress shirt and no tie approaching the conference room when she heard the door open and close. Turning, she smiled at the man who quickly made his way into the room.

"Sorry, I know I'm running late," Chuck gave her soft smile and a kiss before taking his seat next to her, "Morgan had a million questions about the release before he let me leave and then I got stuck in traffic and, gah!"

"Well you made it just in time," Sarah assured him.

"The lawyer hasn't come in yet," Emma added.

"Yes, I have," Came a slightly accented voice from the doorway, causing the three other adults to turn and see him. It was the man Sarah had seen just a moment before. "Hello, I'm Clavo Villanueva Penhall. I know it's a bit of a mouthful, you can just call me Clavo; I'm sorry if you feel my Aunt Judy foisted you off on me. I swear I don't ask her to do it."

This got a chuckle from the trio as Clavo took his seat, opening a leather folio on the table in front of him and organizing some papers before returning his gaze to the women and man sitting across from him. He noticed Emma's cast and gave her a warm smile, "I'm guessing you are Emma?"

"Yes, I am," Emma nodded then gestured to her daughter beside her. "This is my daughter Sarah and her… Chuck."

Clavo turned his sights to the tall man who sat with the women, "Chuck? You were at the crash site, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yeah, right place right time," Chuck shrugged, "I was heading home from dropping Sarah off and part of my drive home happens to follow the same route as Emma takes to work. I witnessed the crash and started administering aid until first responders arrived."

"And your sister was the ER attendant who treated Emma?" Clavo confirmed.

"As luck would have it, Westside was the closest hospital to the accident and Ellie happened to be the attendant on ER rotation." Emma explained, "I'm very lucky since I hit my head during the accident that the physician on rotation was a neurologist."

"Alright," Clavo nodded, consulting the reports he'd received and making a few notes of his own, "I see here that Mr. Davies, the other party involved was evaluated on scene and was found to be under the influence at the time of the accident?"

"That's what we were told by the police," Emma nodded.

"Seems we have a good place to start from," Clavo smiled up at them, "As for my fee…"

The lawyer was interrupted by a knock on the conference room door followed closely by two older men who looked to be in their late 40's or early 50's. One was thin with an angular, clean-shaven, face dark hair and eyes, and wore a jean jacket, ripped jeans, and motorcycle boots. The other man was taller but broader than his cohort, he had a buzz cut fauxhawk and a bit of scruff, the brown coloring interspersed with grey, it was clear he had been athletic in his youth but had softened a little around the edges over the years. He wore a leather motorcycle jacket, jeans, and boots. Clavo looked up at the newest additions to the room and gave them a questioning look.

"Uncle Tommy, Papa Tio, I'm a little busy right now," Clavo gave them a pointed look as if they hadn't seen the three other occupants of the room. He knew they had, nothing really got by them anymore due to their combined 53 years in law enforcement, "What is so important that you couldn't wait?"

The broader man smiled warmly at him, holding up a paper bag and shaking it at him, "You forgot your lu-unch," He sing-songed, causing his partner to roll his eyes.

Clavo did not look impressed, used to his adoptive father's antics, which were only spurred on and encouraged by his best friend and long-time work partner. "Thanks, but you could have just left it with the receptionist."

"Hey," The man who still held the paper lunch bag, held up his hands defensively, "I'm just trying to be a good parental-type figure and make sure you eat. It's Pollo! You love Pollo!"

Clavo rolled his eyes before turning back to his clients, "I do apologize for this, I know it's extremely unprofessional."

"You should meet some of my family," Chuck snickered.

"Clavo, you gonna introduce us?" The thinner man pressed, earning an amused and slightly defeated huff from his honorary nephew.

"If they are okay with it?" Clavo checked with his clients who just chuckled and nodded their consent. "Will you two go away If I do?"

"Sure, whatever you want," The stockier man nodded.

"Fine," Clavo stood and walked over to the newest additions to the room, snagging the paper bag out of his Papa Tio's hand and setting it on the table beside him, "Emma, Sarah, and Chuck, allow me to introduce some more of my family. This is my Papa Tio, Doug Penhall, and his partner, Tom Hansen."

"Work partner," Hansen corrected.

Clavo ignored the interruption as he continued, "My Aunt Judy used to work with them on an undercover task force. They loved undercover work so much, they went on to the DEA. They like to pop in and embarrass me when they are in town."

"So basically, family," Chuck snickered.

"Si, family," Clavo admitted with a slight shrug and amused expression on his face, "Papa Tio, Uncle Tommy, this is Emma and Sarah Walker and Chuck Bartowski."

"Chuck Bartowski, like the computer guy?" Penhall turned to him.

"Uh, yeah," Chuck shrugged.

"And didn't you just play at the Phil?" Penhall turned to Sarah.

"And just how would you know that?" Hansen rounded on his partner.

"What?" Doug gave his friend an innocent look, "I enjoy culture, I heard her play a beautiful aria a couple years ago when she was with the New York Philharmonic. When I heard she was performing at the season opening of the LA Phil, I had to go. Miss Walker you gave me chills."

"Thank you," Sarah blushed at the compliment, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Why didn't you take me with you?" Hansen demanded, back handing his best friend's arm.

"I didn't think you would enjoy it," Penhall shrugged, "It didn't seem your thing."

"I grew up playing in the school orchestra!" Hansen huffed, "I would have enjoyed it!"

"I'm sorry, I'll bring you next time," Penhall gave his buddy a sheepish smile.

"Hey!" Clavo interjected trying to regain control of the conversation, "Felix, Oscar, take your lover's spat outside, I'm in a meeting."

"Fine," Penhall huffed, "We'll probably be in town a while on assignment, so I don't know how much I'll be able to see you on this go-around. Just wanted to swing by and say hello before we went under."

"I appreciate you coming, but I have a meeting to get back to." Clavo gave his father and uncle a smile.

"Alright, we'll get out of your hair, see ya around," Hansen gave the younger man a small waive and exited.

"It was good to see ya kiddo," Penhall walked over to Clavo and slung his arm around the younger man's neck, pulling him in and dropping a kiss on his head, "Love ya kid."

"Love ya too, Papa Tio," Clavo smiled up at the man who had raised him since he was eight, "You two stay safe."

"We will," Penhall nodded and turned back to Chuck, Emma, and Sarah, "It was nice to meet you. My kid here will take good care of you."

"We're sure he will," Emma smiled warmly at the man, "Good luck."

"Thanks," Penhall nodded and left the room as well.

"Sorry about them," Clavo shook his head as he rounded the conference table and reclaimed his seat, "Now, where were we?" He looked over his paperwork, "Right, my fee. As this is an injury case, I will not be charging you for my time, win or lose. We will include my billed hours in the litigation paperwork, it will be Mr. Davies who will have to pick up the tab. Don't worry, I am no where near as expensive as most other lawyers, so it won't be too much more of a hardship for him. From the police and medical reports, plus eyewitness testimony, we have enough to prove he is culpable to cover the expenses you incurred as a result of the accident. I have already taken the liberty of filing a preliminary petition with the court and we have a hearing date for next Thursday."

"Wow, that was fast," Emma looked impressed.

"To be honest, we got lucky that there was an opening in the schedule," Clavo shrugged. "I have your number if anything comes up, and I know you have mine. If you need anything, have questions, whatever, please just give me a call."

"Thank you," Emma smiled at the younger man as they all stood and shook hands.

As Emma and Chuck turned to leave, Sarah put a hand on Chuck's wrist pausing his retreat, "Hold on a moment," She spoke softly before turning to the lawyer, "Um Clavo, if you have a moment, there's another matter I would like to discuss with you."

Emma looked between her daughter and the attorney questioningly, "Do I need to stay for this?"

"No, Mom, I'll catch up with you in a minute," Sarah assured her.

Once Emma left Clavo turned his attention to the couple before him, "What can I do for you?"

"I know you're busy, so I'll make this quick," Sarah gave him an apologetic smile as they reclaimed their seats, "I don't know if you know anything about custody arrangements."

"I deal with them all the time," Clavo assured her, "Granted it's usually in a slightly different context than I'm sure you are dealing with."

"Well, I have a child, a little girl from a previous relationship," Sarah began as Chuck took her hand in solidarity, "Her father has not been in the picture since I told him that I was pregnant. I didn't even put his name on the birth certificate when she was born. Chuck and I have discussed marriage, and assuming that happens, I would like him to have the option of adopting her."

"I follow you so far," Clavo nodded, "And I assume you are on board with this plan, Chuck?"

"Yeah," Chuck smiled at his girlfriend as he ran his thumb over the knuckles of her hand. "I was actually able to help track him down."

"That's good," Clavo nodded, "It will be easier to serve him if we know where to find him."

"That's the thing," Sarah sighed, "He found us a couple weeks ago, after my performance with the LA Phil the night before my mom's accident, in fact. There was an … altercation."

"He was out of line and I decked him," Chuck admitted the tone of his voice a mix of pride and sheepishness.

"He was escorted out by security and we were unable to make arrangements or even come to an agreement regarding him officially waving his parental rights." Sarah continued, "Part of the issue in the altercation was that he claims he didn't know he had a child despite me telling him that I was pregnant."

"Okay," Clavo nodded, "Well, considering his complete lack of interest in your daughter, we may have grounds to terminate due to parental abandonment."

"There's more," Sarah gave him an apologetic look.

"More?" Clavo's eyebrows raised intrigued.

"I may or may not have found proof that he is a clandestine agent with an intelligence agency," Chuck shrugged, "So nailing him down to be served could prove difficult."

"There are ways to work with that," Clavo nodded confidently, "We can try to locate the address of his current residence and serve him there, if we are unable to, we will reach out to him by as many ways possible, notating everything. If that doesn't prove fruitful, we can request a judge to sever parental rights in abstentia."

"What is that standard fee for all this?" Chuck inquired, "It seems like quite a bit of work on your part."

"I'm assuming that I may need to have some of the paperwork processed through DC somewhere?" Clavo gave them a knowing grin.

"Money is no object," Chuck stated definitively.

"Some might say that's a dangerous statement to make to a lawyer," Clavo laughed good naturedly.

"No, Chuck," Sarah shook her head, "I can't let you…"

"Hey, if all goes to plan, it will be your money too," Chuck shrugged, "Time frame makes no difference."

Sarah rolled her eyes and turned back to Clavo with an expectant look.

"Starting estimate, $3500," Clavo gave them a small smile, "Mainly because I will need to find someone in DC I can trust and will need to be able to cover their fees."

"Understood," Sarah nodded, "So you can help us with this?"

"Yeah, I'll help you out." Clavo nodded, "I have a soft spot for adoptive parents, especially adoptive fathers, thanks to my Papa Tio."

"I'm guessing he's your uncle and he adopted you?" Sarah inquired leaning on her Spanish electives from college.

"Exactamente," Clavo grinned. "I was born in El Salvador, my Tia came here seeking sanctuary, met and married my uncle. However, due to how quickly they married after meeting, the judge refused to acknowledge their marriage as valid when it was brought to her attention after she refused to grant her asylum and deported her. Long story short, she 'disappeared' as many who went against the government back then did. Papa Tio came looking for her with Uncle Tommy and found my mother and me. My mother sent me back with him for my safety, good thing too, because she eventually 'disappeared' too, and he adopted me. We believe they were both murdered." He crossed himself, "Father Kelly held a memorial service in their honors. Papa Tio, Uncle Tommy, Aunt Judy, Uncle Harry, Captain Fuller, and I were the only ones there."

"I am so sorry," Sarah replied softly.

"Thank you," Clavo gave her a soft smile, "I didn't tell you this to play on your sympathy, but to let you know how highly I regard anyone who loves a child enough to take them into their hearts."

"I appreciate that," Chuck nodded, "And I do love Molly very much."

"I know," Clavo smiled at him, "I can see it in your eyes and they way you love her mother, that was clear to me from the moment I walked in here." He turned back to Sarah, "I will need Molly's information as well as whatever contact information you have on her birth father. Name, birthdate, address, phone, email, work, you get the idea. You can email it all to me," He handed her a card which she promptly handed to Chuck.

"I'll email you by this afternoon," Chuck nodded.

"You do that, and I'll start the filing process by this evening," Clavo smiled as he stood again, gathering his folio and bagged lunch before escorting them to the door of the conference room, "It was nice to meet you both, and I'll do my best to resolve both matters as expeditiously as I can."

"That's all we can ask," Chuck nodded, shaking the lawyer's hand and placing his hand on the small of Sarah's back as she did the same, before escorting her out. They watched as Clavo continued on to his office before meeting up with Emma who had texted them to say she would meet them out front as she was wanting a little fresh air. "So, lunch?"

"Lunch," Sarah agreed as they made their way out of the office building, hope that Clavo would be able to carry through for them on both their cases filling their hearts and minds.