A/N First let me apologize for the weird use of quotes, from now on I will only use them when someone other than Sarah is talking, just to make it easy on me.

For my loyal readers all over the world. Please leave a review and tell me how the story affects you, and I especially want to hear from the ladies, am I doing a good job of thinking and feeling for women like Sarah and her daughters?

It would seem that watching Sarah tell her story is taking a while, not just for you, but for Molly, Stephen, and Diane as well.

Inside Sarah Walker

Chapter 7: Family Matters

When Molly and Diane arrive the next morning Stephen is sitting in the kitchen sipping on a cup of coffee. Next to him on the table is a round object that looks just like the one that contained Sarah's spy will. Diane gasps as she spots it, and her hand touches her throat. Stephen smiles and thinks to himself, "just like Mom."

Molly moves over to the object, "is this what I think it is?"

Stephen shrugs, "I don't know, I haven't opened it, I wouldn't do it without you two here. I was just looking around and I took down Dad's Tron poster there was a hole in the wall, and there it was. You have to see the stuff on the back of that poster, all kinds of spy stuff tracking that Intersect thing, I am starting to believe that Dad was way more than just a goofy computer geek."

Diane is anxious, "well let's open it, what are we waiting for?"

Stephen sips his coffee and unwraps the breakfast sandwich that Molly handed to him, taking a bite, "Sis we have spent 3 days and barely scratched the surface of Mom's story, I think we need to come up with a plan if we are going to open yet another story."

Molly nods, "Stephen is right, this is taking a while, and we have all been missing time with our families."

Diane agrees, "I know that, and I miss Harry and the kids, but we can't stop now, so what do we do?"

Stephen is hesitant as he says, "well I talked with Amy last night and we came up with a possible solution." He has Diane and Molly's complete attention as he continues, "In order to make it work Diane I will need your help."

Diane asks, "me, how can I help?"

Stephen takes a deep breath, "I want to buy your half of the house, move Amy and the kids out here and work at Carmichael Industries head office." Stephen sits quietly allowing Diane to process his idea.

Slowly Diane nods her head, "I like the idea, I like that the house will stay with the family, I will have to discuss it with Harry, but I like the idea. What I don't like is that you and Molly will be close together and I will be halfway across the country."

Stephen walks over and puts his arm around her shoulder, "Sis do you really think I would come up with a plan that leaves you out? You and I own half of CI, there is plenty of work for all of us. I also did some research online, there are multiple houses available in this area. With the money I am going to pay you, and what you will get for your house, you can buy outright. What greater tribute can we pay to the folks than bringing the family back together, here where it all started. Then we will have the time to watch all of Mom's story, and if Dad left one,' he taps the container, 'his too."

Diane looks at Molly, Molly shrugs, "I like it, how could I not?"

Diane asks, "have you discussed this with Uncle Morgan and Aunt Alex?"

Stephen is shocked at the question, "of course not, I had to discuss it with you first, and to be honest I think it affects our cousins more than them, Uncle Morgan retired years ago, and of course Grandpa John is gone."

The three of them sit quietly, considering. Diane is the first to speak, "I'm onboard, I will speak to Harry today, but I have one caveat, my family must always be welcome in this house." Stephen stares at her, and a tear comes to his eye, standing up he walks out and slams the door behind him. Diane's jaw drops, 'what the hell was that?"

Molly stares at her in disbelief, "Diane Becca Bartowski Frank, how could you say that to him? Do you believe even a little bit that you and your family, his family, would not be welcome in his home, here or anywhere else? His entire plan was about bringing the family together, all of us, centered on this house. What the hell was that?"

Diane looks at Molly's angry face, feeling ashamed she answers, "that was about me being jealous."

Molly points at the door, "you get your ass out of that chair and go apologize to your brother, NOW."

Diane runs to the door, but she doesn't have far to go, Stephen is sitting on the porch steps. Diane moves up and sits next to him, Stephen is crying.

"I'm sorry Big Brother, I'm a jealous asshole, I know you would never do what I suggested."

Stephen turns to face her, "You and Molly are all I have, my only connection to Mom and Dad, I love you, why would I ever push you away?"

Diane puts her arm around his shoulders, "well right about now I would deserve it, but I know you never would, I was just being a brat, because you thought about it first and claimed the house."

Stephen kisses her cheek, "Sis if you want the house, I will give you the same deal I asked for, I just want it to stay in the family."

Diane takes a deep breath, "no Stephen, you should have it, it was your idea, and you and your kids have the Bartowski name, and I will help cook the holiday meals, so we can all be with Mom and Dad for all the special occasions."

Stephen hugs his sister, "now that is an offer I can't refuse, let's go listen to Mom some more."

As they stand up Diane asks, "what about the other box?"

Stephen opens the door for her, "good question, let's see what Molly thinks."

Molly smiles when they walk back into the house hugging and laughing, "now that's more like it."

Diane walks over and hugs Molly, "thanks for the kick in the ass, I deserved it, and it is exactly what Mom would have done."

Molly laughs, "well that is indeed a compliment."

Stephen picks up the new spy will, "so folks what do you think?"

Diane looks at the object in question, "I am dying to know what's in there, but I also want to hear more from Mom. We have time, it's not going anywhere."

Molly walks over and touches the container, "the Dad I didn't know was my dad may be in there, he may have something to say to me… but I also want to hear the end of Mom's story… this is so hard."

Stephen weighs in, "here is my take on this, we have a lot on our plates, we need to get the housing situation worked out, pack up and move our families, Amy and I will have to find people to take over our positions at our CI satellite office, and we have to talk to our partners/cousins and get settled into new jobs at the main office, none of that will happen overnight, and we want to hear the rest of Mom's story. Molly I get where you are coming from, and there is no doubt in my mind there is a message from Dad for you, if that is his story, but I also know he already said it to you in person, I say we wait.

Diane, you don't need to wait, you Harry and the kids can live here with us until you find a place, I know my kids will love that, and if it gets too crazy the adults can hide at Molly's house. If this is what you want, I say we do this as a family or not at all."

Molly laughs and adds in, "hey the kids can stay with us too, our kids have grown, the house is way too quiet, we can do this, I may go crazy thinking about what's in there, but I can wait."

Diane nods, "I will let Harry think he has a choice, but we're in, I can wait."

Stephen laughs, "Mom taught you well, Dad never had a clue that he wasn't in charge, I think he was so in love with Mom he didn't care about anything but making her happy. So, we are all in agreement, we wait to open this until we are settled in and can take the time to watch without neglecting our families.

Diane offers an idea, "how about we make some calls and get the ball rolling, Stephen you've already talked to Amy, how about you get on the phone with the cousins and set up a time for us to get together and talk, I will call Harry and hash things out with him. Molly you call Jimmy, man it is weird not calling him Uncle Jimmy, and make sure he knows he is part of this. We get things moving, break for lunch, and come back to watch more of Mom."

The trio breaks up to make their respective phone calls.

An hour later, Diane walks back into the kitchen where Stephen has been working the phone, "great news Sis, seems that Mom and Dad purchased homes in this area as investments, two of them are empty right now both within a five-minute walk, and guess what, we own them, not CI, the folks bought them as investments, we own them." Stephen laughs, "it wouldn't surprise me if they bought them hoping we would move back. Sis, thanks to Mom and Dad we are set for life, we never have to work again, unless we want to. Just in case we want to, we have a lunch date with MJ and LJ tomorrow at El Compadre at noon."

Diane falls into a chair, shocked, "you mean this is all going to work out, and Mom and Dad are the ones that made it happen?" Diane jumps up, hugs Stephen and screams, just as Molly walks in. Molly, asks, "did someone win the lottery?" Diane and Stephen rush over to hug her, in unison they yell, "hell yeah." Diane and Stephen excitedly fill Molly in on the news. Now it is Molly's turn to scream, "OMG, I get to have my little brother and sister all the time, and we get to hear Mom's story, and maybe Dad's,' She screams, 'I won the frickin' lottery."

Stephen covers his ears as Molly and Diane jump up and down and the screaming continues. "guys…' he can't be heard above the screaming, 'GUYS …he finally gets their attention, … we stillhave a lot to do, we need to talk to the lawyers, Diane needs to pick which house she wants and somehow get Harry involved in the decision, talk to Morgan Jr. and Little John, and we should visit Uncle Morgan and Aunt Alex, today is our third day here and haven't reached out to them, that is just wrong."

Molly nods her head, "you're right, why not invite them to lunch tomorrow as well and get their input?"

Diane pulls out her phone, "I will call Aunt Alex right now." Diane touches the screen on her phone and ringing can be heard on the speaker.

A familiar voice answers the phone, "Hello."

"Hi Aunt Alex, it's Diane, I'm here with Stephen and Molly, you are on speaker."

"Oh! Diane it's so good to hear your voice, Morgan come quick it's Diane, Stephen, and Molly. We were wondering when we would hear from you, MJ and LJ said you are meeting for lunch tomorrow at El Compadre."

Stephen speaks up, "that's right, that's why we called, to invite you to join us."

Morgan joins the conversation, "hell yeah we'll join you."

Alex interrupts, "Morgan you know what Mexican food does to your stomach."

Morgan fires back, "so you think I am going to miss seeing my favorite nephew and nieces because you don't like it when I fart?"

Stephen, Molly and Diane crack up laughing as Alex responds embarrassed, "Morgan Grimes behave yourself."

They can hear it as Morgan kisses Alex, "I will not behave myself, I'm eighty years old, I can do anything I damn well please. We will see you tomorrow, your treat, right?"

Stephen, Molly and Diane crack up laughing again and Molly answers, "you got it Uncle Morgan, it's on us."

Alex speaks sternly, "Morgan, you do know you are a millionaire, and somehow you can't treat your sons, and the children of the man who was like a brother to you for close to eighty years, your best friend's kids to lunch, you're lucky Dad's not here, he would kick your shriveled up old ass."

Diane turns off the mike on her phone as the laughter in the Bartowski house roars. The bickering on the other end goes on for minutes and so does the laughter.

"Morgan, you realize if it weren't for Chuck and Sarah, you would still be selling toasters at Buy More."

Morgan is irate. "Hey, I saved their lives in Thailand, Daddy found Big Baddie Belgian when no one else could, that's right I'm Daddy, I took a Thai leech and I died to save them in the desert.

Alex responds, "my dear sweet husband we all know you are a hero, so be a hero now, look after your family." Morgan's voice fades like he has moved into another room, "No Morgan, nobody has ever made me see rainbows like you,' there is a murmuring in the background, 'yes Honey I know you had Bo Derek, and you were no doubt the best manager Buy More has ever had, you trained the Gretas. Yes, Sweetheart you discovered Jeffster and never got a cut, but why take that out on the kids?"

It goes on and on for who knows how long. Finally, the bickering calms down and Alex says, "so it's all settled kids, lunch is on us, we will see you at El Compadre at noon,' just before the call is disconnected, they hear Alex say, 'yeah, yeah I know you're gonna use the force to teach me a lesson, too bad your Lightsaber doesn't work anymore."

Molly, Stephen, and Diane can barely catch their breath, tears running down their cheeks they are laughing so hard. Finally wiping the tears from her eyes catching her breath Molly says, "let's go to my house and get some lunch, then get back here and spend more time with Mom." The three of them move to the door and leave, still laughing.

Returning to the Bartowski house the trio go right to the living room and turn on the playback.

Hey kids, I'm back and like I promised I'm going to tell you about an evening with Morgan. Now before I get into the story, I want to remind you how much we love him. Yes, I know he is a little goofy and way immature, but that man loves you all, he has and would give his life to protect this family. He is living proof that DNA does not make a family. He was there every time your dad needed him most, since they were six years old. He was instrumental in helping me learn about love and loyalty. Sarah takes a deep breath and shakes her head, sometimes it is hard for me to handle how blessed my life is. That being said, this story is not about Uncle Morgan, he got the ball rolling but what started out as a dinner and movie night turned into a spy mission that almost cost me and Grandpa John our lives, wanna guess who saved us?

Let me start at the beginning, now remember at this point Daddy and I were not a real couple, it was just our cover so I could be there to protect him. I walked into the Buy More, just to check in with Dad and see how he was doing and was surprised when Morgan reminded me about an evening with Morgan, I had no idea what he was talking about, I just smiled and nodded. When I got to Chuck, he explained that he hadn't been spending much time with Ellie or Morgan and it would be good to have dinner with them, and as his "girlfriend" I should join them. As Dad was explaining the plan to me Casey walked up and made some very disparaging remarks about spending time with Morgan and Chuck, something about how he would rather be tortured by Afghan warlords. You see Casey protected Dad at work; I was his security the rest of the time. Dad was an unbelievably valuable asset, Sarah shrugs, Maybe I didn't have to spend as much time with him as I did, I guess I just wanted to, wipe those smiles off your faces.

Okay, back to the story; Morgan took me and Dad down to Chinatown to a restaurant called The Bamboo Dragon, to get something called sizzling shrimp, and as Morgan said, "We're gonna pack our bellies so full, you're gonna make a seal jealous." While walking towards the restaurant the boys started acting really goofy, acting out some Kung Fu movie about dragons. At that point in my life, I knew nothing about pop culture, now I know they were talking about the Bruce Lee movie, Enter the Dragon, which we have watched dozens of times. Back then it amused me to watch them act out silly Kung Fu moves in the street, I enjoyed watching Dad be a kid, we stole a lot of that from him turning him into a spy, then things got serious. Morgan wanted to buy something from some guy on the street, Chuck was not happy, and I got worried because I thought they were talking about drugs. Turns out they were talking about fireworks and Dad said no, fireworks, were too dangerous, Morgan gave in when he realized that Dad was not going to.

That wasn't Morgan's only disappointment, turns out the restaurant was closed for a private party.

Morgan was not to be dissuaded, he has an in with someone in the restaurant and takes us into the kitchen through the backdoor. While we are waiting for Morgan to get our food, Chuck tells me that he flashed on the tattoo of a waitress and identifies her as Mei-Ling Cho, a top Chinese spy. Chuck is not happy when we report it to Casey, and he is forced to spend the entire night trying to flash on documents to figure out what Mei-Ling is doing in the United States rather than eating Sizzling Shrimp with Morgan and Ellie.

Daddy was so upset, his spy life was totally messing with his real life, I felt awful for him, but my hands were tied, mission first. Mei-Ling being in the U.S. could be a major threat to national security and needed to be dealt with. It's funny that I separated his real life from his spy life, bottom line; as much as he didn't want it to happen, his spy life was becoming his real life. The worst part is that after spending his night reading all that stuff and getting chewed out the next day by Aunt Ellie for leaving her alone with Morgan having no good excuse for doing it, he blamed it on my spastic colon which I don't have, he didn't flash on a damned thing.

Dad was really unhappy the next day when Casey told him that we needed to do a stakeout at the Bamboo Dragon to see if he would flash on anyone, on a night I found out later that was especially important to him and Aunt Ellie. It didn't help that Morgan was in trouble at work and pleading with Daddy for help. He was being pulled in three directions at once, and there was no way he could please everyone, he was in full freak-out mode.

I felt sorry for the poor guy, but national security comes first, we did that stakeout, Dad's very first. You could tell it was his first, he made a "stakeout mix cd, which of course we didn't listen to, and he had takeout delivered to the surveillance van.

I thought it was amusing, Casey wanted to kill him. He told Chuck that the purpose of a stakeout was to be inconspicuous. Dad was immensely proud when he explained that he knew that which is why he used a fake name. I had a hard time keeping from laughing, Casey didn't want to laugh at all. Chuck was saved when Ben Lo Pan, a wheelchair-bound local businessman who reputedly owns half of Chinatown comes out of the Bamboo Dragon and gets into his stretch limo, immediately followed by Mei-Ling who climbed on her motorcycle and took off after the limo, we followed her.

Our tail led us to a nightclub, and Chuck flashed on Mei-Ling's pistols and got the impression that she was there to kill Ben Lo Pan. Remember what I said the flashes weren't always easy to interpret, and this particular time that was true, but we didn't know that. Casey and I went into try and stop her and we told Dad to stay in the car. We had a huge firefight in that nightclub, but because this wasn't a mission and we had it wrong we couldn't shoot anyone, I told Casey, no kill shots, he was pissed. We shot our way out of there to find Chuck on the sidewalk. He stops us from shooting at Mei-Ling allowing her to get away, he fills us in on what she told him that Lo Pan is a Triad leader, and he is holding her brother, Lee, hostage. She wasn't trying to kill Lo Pan she was trying to rescue her brother.

The following morning, we catch Chuck in the courtyard when he leaves for work, we let him know that DC confirmed Mei-Ling's story, that her brother Lee is a low-level bureaucrat from Beijing who was kidnapped by Lo Pan to force the release of a Triad captain. The Chinese government was not going to help him, so Mei-Ling went rogue to rescue him. Plus, DC told us to stay out of it, they didn't want us causing an international incident

Now all of that is extremely exciting right, yeah but here's the weird part. While we were filling Dad in on the situation, I couldn't keep my hands off of him. I was pulling lint off his shirt, straightening his tie, smoothing his hair. Then I put my arm through his and walked with him. Just a cover act, wrong, there was no one there to playact for, I just couldn't keep my hands off him and I wasn't even aware I was doing it, but he was, he gave me a weird look. It's different now, I still can't keep my hands off him, but I know I'm doing it, Sarah gets a wistful look in her eye then realizes she is on camera, clearing her throat she carries on with her story.

This next part is rough for me, back to being miss perfect spy, Dad was terribly upset that he had interfered in Mei-Ling's rescue attempt, he felt responsible and tried to talk me into helping her. Whew this is rough, I so admire Dad's heart, he is so caring and willing to take responsibility for his actions, But I had to say no. It was hard, I had to look into those sad puppy dog eyes and say no Chuck, I explained, it was hard for me too at first, we can't save everyone. Then I just walked away and left him to deal with those feelings alone.

That alone part didn't last long, later that morning Chuck brings Casey into the Wienerlicious, he asks me and Casey, if he can convince Mei-Ling to defect, will we help? Casey says sure, if Chuck gets her to defect, he'll rescue her brother personally. I get suspicious and I ask Chuck why he's asking. He informs us that Mei-Ling contacted him by phone at the Buy More and told him the Triads put a deadline on Lee's life and demanded his assistance and she could even see the stain on his tie. Casey and I instantly jump up and run out to the Buy More to search for Mei-Ling, but we don't find her.

While we are searching for Mei-Ling we go into the backroom where we find her holding Chuck at gunpoint. Chuck thinks quick and brokers a deal that if Mei-Ling agrees to defect, we will help rescue her brother. Mei-Ling is hesitant, Casey asks if this is out of loyalty to her government, the same one that abandoned her brother. Mei-Ling is distraught and insists that if she does this, she'll never be able to go back to China or see her brother again. Chuck points out that if she doesn't do something, she'll lose him forever. Being the person, he is Dad gets through to her and convinces her that without her government's support she is out of options.

I gotta tell you kids, I wasn't sure what I was feeling for Chuck Bartowski but one thing I knew for sure I admired him as a person, he was scared by that gun pointed at his head, but what he cared about was doing the right thing and helping Mei-Ling.

This was an incredible moment in my life, I was terrified that Daddy had a gun pointed at his head. I watched as he stayed calm and true to himself. He was able to be himself, caring, connected to another person and he still got the job done. Nobody had to die, no shots were fired, just one person truly and sincerely caring about others. Something was happening, a new perspective, a different way of doing things. Your Dad saved my heart in so many ways.

We got together at Casey's place and mapped out a plan to get into Lo Pan's mansion and get Mei-Ling's brother out. We called Chuck over to if he had any info to help, turns out he knows the security camera setup at Lo Pan's place. I just sat there feeling helpless, I knew all this spy stuff was messing with his life, and his mind. He had to lie to Ellie over and over and he hated that. He said he couldn't help, that he had to be home to be with his sister, but then he realized, that he was the one responsible for Mei-Ling not being with her brother, and he gave in, but he said he had to be home by eight. Once again, we pulled the poor guy away from his life, and his commitment to his family. It would be a long time before I truly understood that connection to family and friends. I am very lucky, your dad and his family are great teachers, then you guys came along and really nailed the message.

That night we worked our way into the Mansion, Dad was in the surveillance van guiding us using the security cameras that we tapped into. Then everything goes sideways, it was a trap, Lo Pan and his men were waiting for us and he planned on trading captured American agents to China to get his man freed. Casey tells Chuck over comms to go home, he can't help, don't call the police, just go home.

Lo Pan's men take us to the Bamboo Dragon and lock us in the freezer, all of a sudden there is a commotion outside, and the freezer door opens, guess who's standing there, that's right Dad. Surprise, surprise Dad put the people he cared about ahead of national security and his own safety, he ignored Casey and followed us to the restaurant then set off fireworks in their van, when they ran outside to see what was going on he ran in and set us free. Unarmed, no backup, all Dad had was his brains and more bravery than I have ever seen. While Casey, Mei-Ling and I dealt with the returning bad guys, it was a great fight, those guys really knew their martial arts, Chuck stopped Lo Pan from escaping.

Mei-Ling's brother Lee is safe and getting sent home, she thanks Chuck for his help. I just about wanted to laugh when Chuck, to preserve his Buy More cover, asked her to sign his off-site service customer satisfaction report.

Your Aunt Ellie invited me to come for dinner, when I arrived at Chuck's place, he was kind of surprised. You see I was invited to celebrate Mother's Day, but it wasn't May. Dad explains to me that they celebrate Mother's Day in October because it was the anniversary of the day their mother left them, and since their father "was here but never really here", it was when they learned to take care of each other.

It seems that your Dad and I had something in common, parents who weren't really there for us. That's why Aunt Ellie raised him, being the older sister and all. Now you know why Mother's Day is so important to Daddy, he wants me to know how important I am to him and how much he loves me, and he wants you to appreciate that you have a mom who loves you so very much. So, you might be asking yourselves how a guy who went through all that can love so large, to be honest kids I don't know. I do know that I consider us to be truly fortunate that he does, and he is ours.

Whew this is kind of rough on me, but kids it's gonna get rougher, and I want you to know all this, I want you to know how brave and smart your dad is, what we went through to be together and have this family. I'll be back in a while. The screen goes dark.

Stephen reaches up and turns off the playback, he slumps back in his seat, "shaking his head, how many kids can say that their parents were secret agents who saved the world?"

Molly laughs and in a bad English accent says, "my name is Bartowski, Molly Bartowski, I'll have a martini shaken not stirred." The trio laughs. When the laughter dies down Molly suggests, "let's go out and grab some sandwiches for dinner and come back to watch Mom some more." They all get up and leave the house.

I just wanted to give my loyal readers a heads up. As I have mentioned before, this series is extremely hard to write and takes a lot out of me. That energy is replenished when I read my reviews and feel connected to you. Problem is I don't get many reviews, which leads to lower energy for me. So, I want to apologize if there are long spaces of time between chapters and the possibility that there may be fewer future chapters.