Chuck was alone in his office at work when his computer screen suddenly went blank. He did a quick dummy check, but the system was still plugged in, the monitor was still securely connected to the CPU and both were on. A blinking blue curser caught his attention on the lower left-hand side of his screen.
Are you alone? Appeared with the blinking curser at the end of the inquiry.
Chuck furrowed his brow a moment before crossing to his office door and locking it. He then checked that his blinds were also closed before sitting down and typing back, yes.
Did Bryce Larson try to contact you prior to his death?
Chuck almost responded in the negative before the 'junk mail' came to mind. Yes, he sent me an email. I sent it to my trash bin before reading it since it didn't include the parental waiver we were waiting on from him. I had no interest in anything he had to say beyond that.
Charles, he sent you an important piece of intelligence. I need you to send it to me so that I can get it to the proper people before they think you had something to do with Larkin's rogue mission. Can you get the files to me?
Give me a few minutes to track it down and I'll send it off to you.
Aces, Charles.
The screen returned to normal and Chuck opened his email and began searching through his deleted emails until he found the email he'd received. Opening the email, he went to log into the secure server his father had set up for their communications, but in order to transfer the files, he had to open the attachment.
The screen went blank again and green pixelized letters appeared on the screen. The Terrible Troll raises his sword.
Chuck rolled his eyes, "Like I'm going to fall for that, what does he think I am, galactically stupid?" He huffed, opening another program to open a back door to the files at the coding level. He glanced through the coding before noticing an error in the coding that, if left uncorrected could cause serious errors to develop. An hour, and several patches later, he sent it on to his father.
The package has been sent, had some bugs, but the Piranha took care of them. He wrote in the messaging area of the server.
Charles, please tell me you didn't open the files.
Not to worry, Dad, I just fixed a few errors in the coding. The program should run smoother now for the powers that be, and the data has been secured through the normal channels, so it is not so easily taken. I also streamlined it so that it's not so bulky in the output.
Aces, Charles, you're Aces!
Chuck grinned as the screen went back to normal, indicating his father severing the connection once more. He stretched, enjoying the popping release that ran up his spine with the movement. Standing, he opened his blinds and door once more before meandering toward his best friend's office. "Hey Morg, I was thinking about getting some sizzling shrimp for lunch, care to join?"
"Only if you are going to Bamboo Dragon," Morgan quickly saved what he was working on and began closing down files, "Do you mind if Alex joins us?"
"Sure, the more, the merrier," Chuck smiled, "Heck if it wasn't so far away from the school, I'd ask Sarah to join us."
"Join us for what?" Alex asked, entering the office she shared with her fiancé.
"Chuck invited us to join him for a little sizzling shrimp," Morgan explained, "He was just lamenting the fact his lady works to far away from the gastric nirvana that is the Bamboo Dragon to justify inviting her along, too."
"Ah, okay," Alex nodded, "Hey, we got Sarah's and your RSVP the other day, but we still need to get Molly and Clara over to the bridal shop to get their dresses."
"Right," Chuck nodded, "I'll remind Sarah and Ellie to give you a call to hammer out those details."
"Maybe you ladies can take care of it while Chuck and I are getting our tuxes," Morgan suggested.
"Great idea," Alex smiled and gave Morgan a kiss, "Handsome and smart, how'd I get so lucky?"
"Oh, trust me; I'm the lucky one here," Morgan grinned up at her before shifting to look at his best friend, "So, lunch?"
"Lunch," Chuck and Alex agreed and soon the trio were on their way to the Bamboo Dragon to eat enough shrimp to make a seal jealous.
"Have you given any thought to your wedding?" Ellie inquired as she sipped her coffee. She and Sarah had met up that afternoon for their usual coffee date. It was the one time a week their schedules aligned to allow it between Sarah's teaching and practice at the LA Phil, and Ellie's later shift's meal break.
"A little," Sarah shrugged, "We don't want to wait too long, but we also don't want to step on Morgan and Alex's toes. We want to wait until they're back from their honeymoon before Chuck and I get married. It would probably be best to do it either right after school ends or sometime early in Summer break, so we have time for our honeymoon before I have to go back to teaching."
"Makes sense," Ellie nodded, "Have you two discussed venues?"
"A little, my mom mentioned that the chapel she and Bill got married at isn't too far from here," Sarah smiled, "But we've also discussed getting married on the beach, either here or at Coronado where we first met. There's also the option of going back to Napa, the bed and breakfast we stayed at hosts weddings in their gazebo."
"If you get married out of town, your students can't come," Ellie pointed out, "Didn't you say that some of them were asking about that?"
"True, but we don't want the guest list getting way out of hand, either," Sarah sighed. "I did tell them that even if they were invited to the wedding, we might not be able to invite them to the reception."
"Why not?" Ellie challenged, "Chuck can afford it. He lives in that tiny condo when we both know he could afford to buy a decent sized house outright."
"And if we still want to be able to afford a house, we can't go crazy on the wedding expenses." Sarah arched an eyebrow at her future sister-in-law. "Honestly, if it were up to me, I'd be okay eloping. Finding a small chapel somewhere, just Chuck and me, you and Devon, the girls, my mom, and Morgan and Alex. Just an intimate little ceremony, then maybe after we get back from our honeymoon have a party to celebrate that would be open to our coworkers and my students."
Ellie mulled the idea over for a few minutes before nodding, "That's actually not a bad idea," She agreed, "Heck, you could get married at the beginning of April, take your honeymoon over spring break, and have your party the weekend after school is back in session."
"Don't you think that's a little soon?" Sarah hedged, "I mean, that's a month and a half away."
"Easily, just get a dress for you, a suit for Chuck, I can find nice dresses for the girls," Ellie suggested, "And you wouldn't need to worry about the party, I could take care of that, and I bet your mom and Morgan would offer to pitch in to help with the cooking, too."
"I'm really starting to like this idea," Sarah smiled as her phone's alarm started beeping, signaling it was time for her to head to rehearsal. "Oops, got to go."
Ellie stopped Sarah as the younger woman reached to withdraw her wallet from her purse, "I got it, it's my turn to buy anyhow. You just get going."
"Okay," Sarah nodded, "Love you."
"Love you too," Ellie smiled as she stood and wrapped her brother's fiancée in a hug.
As luck would have it, Chuck loved the idea when Sarah presented it to him as they were getting ready for bed that night after putting Molly to bed. He immediately pulled out his cellphone and began looking into how they could make it happen. "Hey Babe, what do you think of this?" He asked tilting the screen so Sarah could see.
"Perfect," She grinned reaching up to press a kiss to his lips. "Send me their information and I'll call them in the morning."
Chuck tapped his screen a couple times, "Done." His statement confirmed by the soft ding from Sarah's cell phone indicating a message had been received. "Now that we have that sorted, what else is there to do?"
"Hmm," Sarah hummed thoughtfully moving over to straddle his legs where he sat against the headboard of their bed, "There's a suit for you," She pressed a kiss along his jaw line, "A dress for me," She kissed his neck, "Maybe some flowers," She kissed his Adam's apple, "But all of that can be dealt with later. Right now, there's something, or should I say someone else I'd like to do right now."
"Future Mrs. Bartowski, are you trying to seduce me?" Chuck teased, sliding his hands up her thighs and pulling he close into him.
"Not trying," She gave him a coy grin as she lifted his shirt over his head, trailing hear hands down his chest and abs to where she now sat in his lap. She rose up on her knees and slid his pajama pants down before catching his eyes as she slowly removed her night gown revealing the nothing she had on underneath.
"God, you're so beautiful," Chuck gasped, taking in the full view of the woman before him.
"This is an interactive game, Mr. Bartowski," Sarah smiled as she leaned forward to press a sensual kiss to lips, and while he happily returned the kiss, his hands lay at his sides, "Chuck, touch me." She sighed against his lips.
Chuck needed no further invitation, flipping them over, causing Sarah to squeal in delight as her back hit the mattress, causing her to bounce a couple times at the impact as he dove in, nibbling, tasting, and suckling his way down her body while his hands began their slow exploration.
Sarah, Ellie, Emma, and Alex had agreed to meet up at the bridal shop. Their trip was two, or rather three-fold, they needed to find a wedding dress for Sarah, and dresses for Clara and Molly for not one, but two weddings that would be happening within the next few months. Anticipating it would take Sarah more than a few dresses to find her dress, as it had for both Ellie and Alex, Sarah and Ellie left the girls with their fathers who would be dropping them off later. Sarah had done some research and the bridal shop they were going to carried most of the styles of dresses she was considering.
"Good morning," A slim woman with light brown hair approached them, "How can I help… Sarah?"
Sarah's eyes widened, "Zondra?! What are you doing here? I haven't seen you since graduation."
"I'm originally from LA, moved home after graduation," Zondra shrugged, "I heard you were with the Phil now, featured soloist and everything, impressive."
"Thanks," Sarah smiled.
"So, what can I do for you ladies?" Zondra addressed the group.
"Believe it or not, I'm getting married," Sarah chuckled.
"Wow, color me surprised," Zondra's eyebrows arched, "Who's the lucky guy?"
"Charlie," Sarah grinned, a slight blush on her cheeks.
"Not the Charlie," Zondra gasped.
"One in the same, he lives here now. We reunited at the end of last summer." Sarah relayed.
"He certainly works fast," Zondra teased, "But I guess when you know, you know. Why don't you come with me and lets see what we can find for you?"
As Zondra led the women over to an alcove consisting of a small couch facing a raised dais to the side of which was a curtain leading to a small changing room. She gestured for the women to take a seat as she sat on a nearby ottoman. "Before we get started, why don't you introduce us?"
"Okay, well this is my mom, Emma," Sarah gestured to her mother who was sitting beside her at the left end of the couch, "My fiancé's sister, Ellie," She smiled at the older woman, "And Alex at the end, she is my fiancé's best friend's fiancée. Ladies, this is Zondra, we were in the string quartet at Columbia together, but she graduated a couple years before I did."
Once the women finished greeting each other, Zondra got back to business, she asked what kind of wedding Sarah was planning, what kind of look she was wanting, and when the wedding was to be. A flash of surprise crossed her face upon hearing that the wedding was in a month and a half.
"That's the other reason we came here, you also carry bridesmaid and flower girl dresses," Sarah explained. "Ellie is going to be my matron of honor and our daughters will be here later so we can find them flower girl dresses not only for my wedding but for Alex's as well."
"You have a daughter?" Zondra's eyes widened, "Charlie really does work fast."
"I had Molly when I was still at Columbia," Sarah explained, "Her biological father didn't want to be part of her life, and we found out not too long ago that he recently passed away, but Chuck – that's what we call him now – is adopting her."
"Sounds like you got yourself a good one, Walker," Zondra grinned, "Why don't we see about finding your dress?"
"Yes, please," Sarah grinned.
"Great, you ladies stay here, I'm going to go pull some dresses from the racks and I'll be right back," Zondra rose and exited the alcove. About fifteen minutes later, she returned, the hooks of several hangers dangling from her fingertips while the gowns were draped over her shoulder and down her back to prevent her from tripping on them.
By the time Sarah had tried on the fourth dress, she knew she'd found the one, and her family agreed, but just to be sure, she tried on the other dresses before finally deciding on the fourth dress she'd tried on. They found a dress in a beautiful shade of pale lavender and in a similar style to Sarah's dress for Ellie and were soon perusing the racks of girl's dresses when Devon arrived, Clara's left hand in his and carrying Molly in his left arm.
"Hey, ladies," He gave them his standard wide smile, "Just dropping off the chickadees, Chuck figured it was best that he stay in the car. Bad luck to see the bride in her wedding dress before he big day and all. We had lunch and Molly had her nap, so with any luck, you won't have to deal with toddler melt down."
"Thanks Dev," Ellie smiled, collecting her daughter as Sarah took Molly into her arms.
"No problem, we had an awesome Daddy-daughter morning with Chuck at the pier." Devon informed them. "Now that I've dropped little babe and miss Molly off with you, Chuck and I are off to get our suits."
"Great, we'll see you at home," Sarah smiled up at her brother-in-law-to-be.
Devon gave them another smile before turning and leaving. After introducing the girls, they went back to searching for dresses for the youngest members of the wedding parties. Thankfully, it didn't take more than an hour to decide on the dresses for the girls, saving them all from the girls getting too restless. After paying for their dresses they all headed home for the night.
Once the girls had been dropped off, Chuck and Devon had made their way over to a local tailor to find their suits. They quickly settled on grey suits that flattered their tall frames, the only difference being that Chuck had purchased a light blue shirt and Devon's would match the pale lavender color of his wife's dress. They paid for their suits and were given the pick-up date for their suits since both needed some alteration to fit them correctly.
On their way home, Chuck insisted on stopping by the jewelry store to pick up a gift to present to his bride on their wedding day.
Both men got a good chuckle when they realized that even after their side trip, they still beat the women home. Not wanting to make the women cook after their long day, and not really feeling up to it themselves, they ordered pizza and settled down in Devon and Ellie's apartment with a couple beers and the Dodger game.
