Chuck and Sarah babysitting at Josie's
Chapter 9
Friday was hectic. Sarah was glad she had Morgan to help out as she covered her meetings and Josie's. At 3:30 Chuck slid into the passenger seat of his Tesla and she took the wheel. The spare child seat was already installed in the back. It took them a lot longer than Sarah expected to get to the Miracle Mile Kid Korral. Chuck tucked a soft dragon they had taken home from Josie's last night under his arm and buttoned up his suit coat. He looked ridiculous but didn't seem to mind.
As they entered the lobby Sarah automatically noted one regular and one security exit. The door to the children's area was locked and sturdy, opened via actuator from behind the desk. They showed their IDs to one of two harried young women working the desk. The lobby held one mom and one grandma in street clothes, two professional moms, a stay-at-home dad and a kid who was either a boy toy or an uncle. She unconsciously tagged the grandma and the boy toy as the only people whose position in the lobby she needed to be aware of. Then she drifted toward a large window on to an indoor play area. Two panes of low grade safety glass.
"Look at all the rug rats," Chuck smiled beside her. A dozen small children were at play. Sarah couldn't remember ever being that age. Her earliest memories were of her manipulative grandma and the slick way her father navigated around her. She remembered telling Josie the day before that she was no longer a poisonous snake but in her gut that still felt like her identity. Safety glass between her and the children felt reassuring.
One by one children were led through the locked door to be picked up until they saw a familiar little face headed their way.
Chuck got down on his knees and called Desmond over as Sarah signed him out. "Sparkles had fun sleeping over at our house but I think he really missed you," Chuck confided. "He's been asking how much longer until we get Desmond since right after breakfast." He pulled the dragon out from under his coat and gently delivered it into Desmond's waiting arms, then he scooped them both up and adjusted Desmond into the 'Superman' position saying, "OK, let's fly to the car!"
"So what's it like raising twins?" One of the professional moms snarked at Sarah.
"Twice as blessed as I ever dreamed possible," Sarah replied, automatically adopting the persona of a suburban Christian zealot. She repressed the urge to snicker at the mom's eye roll.
As she followed Chuck to the car and unlocked it remotely she found herself idly comparing him with Desmond and asking herself why she was fine being close to Chuck but terrified at the idea of being close to Desmond. She realized it was because Chuck had been deep in the snake pit when she met him. Her fangs were more dangerous to the other poisonous vermin in spy world than to Chuck. Desmond, on the other hand, still had a chance to live in innocence of that kind of nastiness. She could be as protective of a child as she liked but her world had been lies and homicide for so long it stuck to her like a second skin. Wasn't Josie from that world too? Wouldn't Josie's manipulative insticts warp Desmond's world the way her grandmother's warped hers? That terrible thought twisted in her gut but she was able to let it go. Not her circus, not her monkeys.
They got Desmond buckled in with Sparkles and popped in the Sing-a-long CD Josie had given them. Sarah focused on driving defensively as Chuck's rich baritone joined the voices on the CD. Desmond chimed in for most of the choruses. They really should be singing something a bit more spiritual, Sarah thought before shaking off her zealot persona with irritation. Chuck would make an amazing father, but what kind of mother would she be? She could effortlessly assume any of a dozen maternal personae she had put together over the years but the real Sarah as a mother? Complete blank. Whenever she tried to imagine it in the past she had turned into her grandmother (manipulative and controlling), her father (manipulative and irresponsible), or her mother (absent). Mostly it was her mother, which was a refusal to go there. She knew that somehow Old Sarah had found a way to WANT children but she had no idea how.
As they parked behind Josie's West Hollywood apartment, Sarah tried emptying her mind to see if the answer to this impenetrable riddle might return to her. Chuck pocketed the CD and unbuckled Desmond, pulling him and Sparkles against his chest in a sitting position and saying, "OK, we're going to take a helicopter into the house. Don't be scared, Sarah was there the first time I drove a helicopter and she helped me land safe and sound."
A memory of Chuck landing a helicopter DID return to Sarah but in her memory she was absolutely terrified. She remembered wanting to beat some sense into his thick skull so he'd never do anything that stupid again. Trust Chuck to turn a moment of terror and violent intent on her side into a comforting security blanket on his.
In Josie's apartment Desmond gave Chuck the complete tour while Sarah made his dinner. "Here I go again, putting a safe distance between me and the kid," Sarah thought ruefully. Dinner ready, Chuck brought Desmond into the kitchen and got him settled in his chair, then gestured at her to supervise dinner. Sarah gestured back at Chuck to finish the job. Chuck held up his hands and stepped back. He was being deliberately difficult. Sarah didn't want to fight in front of Desmond so she relented and sat next to him, putting bits of food down for Desmond to choose from, trying to get him to sample everything. Before she knew it he had cleaned his plate. Chuck swooped in and cleaned him up, then took him back to his bedroom to change into his PJs. Per Josie's instructions he got to pick out one video. He instantly chose the one Josie told them he was obsessed with. When he was settled and watching Chuck came back to where she was finishing tidying the kitchen.
"Damn woman, I knew you could talk grown men in to pretty much anything but who knew you were just as effective with small children?," Chuck said appreciatively.
"Maybe Desmond just has a healthy appetite," Sarah replied dismissively.
"I wish I had tape of dinner, it could be part of a master class," Chuck retorted, clearly not having it. "That kid does NOT like the taste of broccoli. If I were feeding him he would have finished his applesauce and been done."
Sarah shrugged, uncomfortable with the idea that she was some kind of toddler whisperer but not certain WHY it bothered her so much. They joined Desmond on the carpet to watch the rest of his video. Chuck got up to put the video away saying, "OK, Desmond, time to pick out a book."
Desmond ran to a low shelf packed with story books and picked one. Then he ran back to her. "Sarah read," he said eagerly. Sarah received the book solemnly and went to the couch. Desmond did not follow but went to a comfy chair with a reading lamp. "Story chair," he explained patiently. Sarah looked to Chuck for help in coaxing Desmond to the couch but he just knelt on the floor next to the chair. She glared at him.
"Story chair," Chuck repeated, shrugging helplessly. Sarah reluctantly went to the chair and turned on the reading lamp. Desmond climbed into her lap.
"This kid has no idea he's snuggling up to one of the top assassins in the world," she thought with fearful wonder. She started telling the story about a bear named Winnie who was trying to get honey from a tree by pretending to be a rain cloud. She added embellishments about Winnie's desperate attempt to fool a particularly suspicious queen bee. In her version the queen wasn't fooled but stung Winnie who had to be quiet because rain clouds can't say 'Ouch!' but he could cry as much as he liked. The other bees saw the tears fall and thinking it was rain were convinced he was a rain cloud after all. They flapped their wings to blow him away. When she finished the story she glanced over at Chuck and was surprised to see that he appeared to be as riveted as Desmond was.
They finished getting Desmond ready for bed together and each gave him a kiss on the forehead, then found their way back to the couch.
"You are an AMAZING storyteller," Chuck gushed. "This has definitely been an evening of surprises."
Sarah shrugged, "I just imagined the bear was on a mission that was starting to go south."
"Maybe, but you broke it down in terms Desmond could understand," Chuck shook his head in wonder. "In your version the queen wasn't just stinging because she was mad and the bees blowing away the cloud instead of threatening to sting Winnie was much gentler than the original. You found a way to soften all the hard edges. Did you just make all that up on the spot?"
Sarah nodded and thought about it for a moment before replying, "So do most kids just hear stories with lots of casual violence and get taught to laugh at it?"
"I guess so," Chuck sighed. "Cartoon violence desensitizing children has been a thing for as long as I can remember."
"That's messed up," Sarah said quietly. "Kids shouldn't have to THINK about violence let alone be taught to use it as a normal way to resolve conflicts."
Chuck opened his mouth to say something, then censored himself. He gave Sarah a kiss.
"What's going through that head of yours, Mr. Bartowski?" Sarah asked after kissing him back.
Chuck was clearly torn. He finally said, "OK, I REALLY don't want you to take this wrong way. I don't want to put pressure on you to go there or work though your issues before you're really ready. This is just an honest observation with no ulterior motive. You'd make an amazing mother. Take it as a sincere compliment and file it away, no need to say another word on the topic of parenthood."
Sarah felt she had a LOT to say on the subject but there were strong conflicts within her and Josie's apartment was not the place. She closed her eyes and nodded, saying, "Thanks for the complement. I can honestly return it, you'd make an amazing father. File that one away too."
They chatted about less charged topics until Josie's return.
"Dahlings!" Josie said, spreading her arms and motioning for a group hug. Sarah and Chuck obliged.
"So," Sarah asked expectantly, "How are you feeling? Relaxed or ready to kick some ass?"
"Both!" Josie replied, laughing. "I'm SO glad you didn't take me up on my surly invitation to choke on my spa day."
Chuck's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "You never mentioned that, Sarah."
"Never attempt to insert yourself into the complexities of female communication, Chuck," Sarah wagged a finger at him. "We will tell you as much as you need to know."
Josie went back to check on Desmond. They heard a few sleepy words from Desmond and some soothing ones from Josie. She came back looking well satisfied.
"Thank you both so much for looking after my little prince," she said with feeling. "Did he give you any trouble?"
"None," Chuck said with satisfaction. "Sarah got him to clean his plate and told him a wonderful story."
"He's a sweetie," Sarah said. "If you're ever in a pinch, feel free to call us."
"I may just do that," Josie replied, seeming surprised at the realization. "And I'd like to formally accept your generous offer with regard to the holding company."
"I'm glad to hear it," Sarah said warmly. "Although I mentioned it earlier as one possibility, I'd like to also formally invite you to be part of our family."
Chuck was surprised. Josie frowned thoughtfully. After an awkward silence she said, "You must realize you've just put all my suspicious instincts on red alert?"
Sarah nodded. "I don't expect an answer any time soon. We all know dual relationships are fraught with peril and discouraged by the CIA and corporate America. The change in our own personal relationship is also very recent."
"But I trust my gut and my gut says there is no doubt that I want to be your sister and Desmond's aunt," Sarah finished.
Josie nodded slowly. "My gut wants you for a sister too," she admitted. "For my own and for Desmond's sanity I need to learn new instincts. So I accept that offer too. From this moment on we are sisters."
Josie embraced Sarah and hugged her tightly. "Thanks for letting me into your family," Sarah whispered into Josie's ear, her voice thick with emotion.
"Thanks for being the big sister I never realized I needed," Josie whispered back. They held each other tightly for some time. Eventually Sarah noticed Chuck standing there looking awkward and started letting go.
"This is your new brother-in-law, Chuck," she told Josie. "He's a huge nerd but I love him."
"Hi Chuck," Josie extended her hand. Chuck took it and used it to pull her into a hug. This one was much shorter.
"I can definitely see the family resemblance," he said sincerely. "We're going to have to fly you out to Chicago some time soon to meet my side of the family."
"So now that I'm part of the family are you going to read me in to what you two are up to in AG2," Josie asked mischievously. "Or do I not need to know?"
Sarah opened her mouth to answer but Chuck jumped in first, "One thing you'll probably figure out pretty quickly about the Bartowskis, we have a lot of secrets. All too often family is the last to know."
Sarah smirked and added, "THAT is a very long and oh so complicated tale for another day."
Chuck nodded in agreement saying, "BUT in this case there are cyberintelligence aspects of the situation that you should definitely be made aware of."
"Seriously, guys, I was just teasing," Josie backpedaled. "You don't need to read me in to prove we're really family."
"I'm sorry, sis. When I married Bartowski here I made our family a LOT more complicated. It's best you hear the whole story," Sarah replied.
"What have I gotten myself into," Josie muttered to herself.
"Honestly, it's nothing more than you were already into," Sarah grinned. "The only real difference is that now you're not in it alone."
"That's probably going to take some getting used to," Josie admitted.
"It is, but once you DO get used to you'll realize it's SO worth it," Sarah replied knowingly.
