A/N: Now that Thanksgiving is over, we can truly give thanks that we can put the pumpkin spice to bed for another year. ( DC) Now it's time to put peppermint or cinnamon in absolutely EVERYTHING now, as Christmas approaches.

No Christmas was mentioned or harmed in the writing of this chapter. That'll come later. ;)

Disclaimer: Don't own Chuck

Chapter 15

The lunch rush was dying down and Sarah was finishing clearing the dishes from her last two tables. She glanced over to 'Chuck's booth', where he was sitting, working away on his laptop. Casey had the kitchen well in hand and, with Alex and Gerty's help, the diner was running relatively smoothly. Knowing how much he was neglecting his own business, having his nights now filled with things other than 'work', she encouraged Chuck to take the time when things were slow at the diner. She grinned at the way he mumbled to himself when he was engrossed in work, his fingers flying across the keyboard. She picked up her tray and headed toward the kitchen.

"Hello, Darlin," came the smooth greeting, soaked in southern charm. Sarah stiffened, sucking in a breath as the tray of dirty dishes in her hands toppled to the floor with a crash. Most of the people around her were startled, one or two people in the back starting to golf clap. Chuck was among those startled, sitting in his booth nearby, his attention drawn away from his work. He could only stare on in surprise, but remained seated. Gerty immediately started cleaning up the mess as Sarah slowly turned around to face the man behind her. "I take it you're surprised to see me." Sarah closed the short distance between them quickly.

"What the hell are you doin' here?" she barked out through gritted teeth. The older man raised his hands in surrender in an effort to calm her, but the look on her face was anything but calm.

"Oh, now Darlin. Is that any way to greet your father?" he chided. Chuck was close enough that he could hear their conversation, and his eyes grew wide as saucers. 'Father?' he whispered to himself, eyeing the man more closely. Sarah had not spoken much about her father. In fact, she seemed to go out of her way to NOT talk about him. Chuck lifted his cellphone, as if checking a notification, and began taking pictures of the man. Given the ordeal that had transpired with Gerty and her ex, Chuck couldn't be too careful. If her father wasn't in her life because of some violent past, Chuck wanted to know about it, even if Sarah wasn't comfortable admitting it. He texted the pictures to a number with the message '411'.

"What d'you want?" she demanded, her fists firmly planted on her hips.

"Oh, come on now. I was worried about my little girl. I heard about your Momma and I wanted to come see how you were doin'." Sarah's nostrils flared and teeth clenched as her eyes bore into the man. Chuck could almost see the steam rising off Sarah.

"Really?" she asked with exasperation. "'Cause Momma died almost two years ago! Where the hell were you then if you're so concerned about how I'm doin'?" Sarah looked around, realizing she was getting louder and trying to school herself. She took his arm and dragged him to the office, closing the door.

"Now, I'm sorry about that Darlin', but unfortunately there was a little… misunderstandin'. See I was -" the man was interrupted by Sarah, who put up her hand to stop him.

"I don't care. I don't need to hear your excuses. I haven't seen or heard from you in what… ten years? And now you just show up expecting me to greet you with open arms? After the shit you pulled?" The questions were rhetorical as she didn't really expect an answer.

"I know I made some mistakes in the past; far too many. But a man gets to be a certain age and it causes him to reflect. I wanted to spend some time with my little girl before… before it was too late." Sarah huffed at his story, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Now, I know I can never make up for the sins of my past, but I'd like to try and mend things so I can at least see you from time to time." He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, as close to a pleading look as Jack would ever come. Sarah sighed in exasperation and started pacing in her office.

"We're the only family we have left. Let's not waste that, Darlin"

"No Dad. I have a family!" she exclaimed pointing at the door. "I have an amazing family that loves and supports me. They're there for me when I need them," she declared, giving him a pointed look. Her expression softened just a bit at seeing a small pang of guilt flash across his face. She was quiet for a moment before continuing. "If you have any hope of being a part of that family, you're gonna have to learn from their example." She stared him down, hoping he was taking her seriously. He regarded her for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"As an olive branch, if you will, let me take you out to dinner tonight. It'll give us a chance to catch up," Jack suggested, flashing her his winning smile.

"I had plans with my boyfriend tonight," she replied, crossing her arms.

"Boyfriend, huh? Well, bring him along. It'll give me a chance to give him a once over. Make sure he's good enough for my little girl," he teased with a wry smile.

"Dad, he's a good man and he treats me with respect. If anything, it's me that's not good enough for him."

"Hey, now," he objected.

"Look, Dad… we'll… we'll do dinner. BUT, you have to promise me you will NOT give him the third degree." She pointed at him sternly, raising any eyebrow. Jack smiled, giving her a shrug.

"Hey, it's just dinner." He held up his hands in surrender. Eventually she relaxed, rolling her eyes, as much at herself as at her father. She motioned with her head toward the door. She opened it and he followed her as she walked toward Chuck's booth, just catching him whip around and pretend to start typing away at his laptop furiously. She also spotted Gerty, wiping down a table nearby with a little more enthusiasm than was generally necessary. She rolled her eyes but couldn't be upset with them for their concern. Sarah stopped at the end of Chuck's booth, shaking her head at him with a wry smile. He was trying so hard to 'act natural' but was failing miserably.

"Chuck," Sarah started, breaking him from his pseudo concentration. He looked up at her with his customary brilliant smile, only sparing a momentary glance at the man beside her. "Chuck, I'd like you to meet Jack Burton… my father." Sarah winced at the declaration, watching his expression closely. Chuck seemed surprised, his eyes widening at the confession, then he stood abruptly, towering over the man, offering his hand.

"Wow. Just like in Big Trouble in Little China," Chuck closed his eyes for a second, cursing himself internally. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir. Sarah's told me…" Chuck paused realizing that he couldn't finish that sentence.

"She never mentioned me, did she?" Jack quickly interjected. Chuck winced, shaking his head slightly. Jack chuckled to himself. He looked Chuck up and down, sizing him up, then eventually took his hand to shake. Jack's handshake was firm but not some sort of test of strength or will. It was more a meter, an instrument to gauge a person. That was Jack's gift; reading people. After a moment, he nodded and released Chuck's hand.

"Dad's asked to take us out to dinner, if that's alright? I know you had plans tonight…"

"Oh, No. No... I mean… yes. Yes, it would be wonderful to join you for dinner, Sir." Chuck stammered.

"Jack. Please," the older man requested.

"Ok… Jack." Chuck smiled, turning his attention back towards Sarah. She looked nervous, which concerned him a little.

"Dad, why don't you come back in about forty-five minutes to an hour and we'll be ready to go," Sarah offered, gesturing toward the door.

"Oh, nonsense. I think I'll have a seat and keep ole' Charlie here company. Chew the fat a little. Whadda ya say Charlie?" Jack asked, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder, a wry smile plastered across his face. Chuck looked between Sarah and Jack and, despite the panicked look on Sarah's face, he didn't want to refuse her father.

"Uh, yeah. That's uh..n-no problem. Please, have a seat and it's uh.. It's Chuck," he gestured to the other side of the booth.

"Oh. Right. Right." Jack smirked, sliding into the booth. "Hey, Darlin? Could you grab me a cup o' coffee? That'd be great." Sarah rolled her eyes but went and got the coffee for her father, setting it in front of him, along with a bowl of half and half cups.

"Thank ya, Darlin. Now, Charlie. Tell me…" he paused to take a sip of the coffee, "what is it you do exactly?" He glanced at the computer and then back at Chuck. Sarah looked at Chuck over her father's shoulder, mouthing "sorry" with a winced expression. Chuck just smiled and went about answering Jack's question.

"Well, I work here in the kitchen as a cook or… whatever. When I'm not doing that I'm a software developer. I write software programs, some games. A little of this and that," Chuck answered matter-of-factly with a shrug.

"I see. Well, all this computer stuff is Greek to me. So you pretty good at it? This 'software developing' ...stuff? Make any money at it?" Jack waved his hands around, gesturing to the laptop.

"Mmm, I get by," Chuck shrugged again, trying not to give away too much. He wasn't sure how much he should tell Jack, so he just kept it low key. The man had professed that reading people was a gift of his, and Chuck knew he was an open book. He needed to throw some truth in there to make him seem more believable. "I suppose if I got a big break, I could start a big software company. Then you're talking big money," Chuck smiled.

"I bet," Jack replied, looking down at his coffee, swirling the black liquid around inside the cup.

"Were you ever one of those… what do they call 'em… 'hacker' types?" Using air quotes to emphasize the name. Chuck gulped a bit involuntarily at the question, apprehensive of where this was going.

"Oh, no. That… that would be illegal Jack." Chuck couldn't help the air of sarcasm in his tone. He had done a considerable amount of hacking, especially in his high school and college years. He had taken a break from it until his recent foray into bringing down Bryce Larkin. He found it was a bit like riding a bike. He considered himself what they call a 'grey hat hacker' for the most part. Never stealing money, secrets or causing havoc, but never really asking for permission to break into a network either. It was mostly for the rush of it, to prove to himself he could do it. He had even gone so far as to 'borrow' some time on selected government servers to do some searches for his biological parents. He would perform similar searches on hundreds of random people as well, so as not to point back at himself in case there might be a log he didn't clean thoroughly. Being the good natured person he was, if he ever found a vulnerability that could be exploited to harm an innocent company or its customers, he would anonymously notify them of the flaw or fix it himself as a 'public service'. In all of his hacking endeavors, he had never been caught.

"Well, naturally, but we're just having a friendly… hypothetical conversation here. Right?" Jack smirked, taking a long drink of coffee.

"Hypothetically, I understand some of the… principles that hackers might use. You know, if I were writing software to try to stop them, that knowledge could prove to be useful." It was Chuck's turn to smirk, but he was getting a little nervous about where this line of questioning was heading.

"Ah. To catch a thief, you need to think like a thief." Jack added.

"Something like that," Chuck chuckled. "So Jack, if you don't mind me asking, what sort of business are you in?" Chuck asked.

"Oh, a little bit of everything. I'm an … entrepreneur you could say. I've done sales, marketing, investing, even dabbled in real estate from time to time. Just depends on how the markets are fluctuating, or how I happen to feel on any particular morning." Jack gave Chuck a wry smile, studying the younger man as if there was something more to the question.

"That sounds kind of exciting. Always doing something different."

"Oh yeah. Always exciting. Well, I'm semi-retired now. Just doin' a bit of traveling." Jack offered, draining the rest of his coffee. There was an awkward silence for a moment, interrupted by Chuck's phone vibrating on the table.

"Sorry about that. Excuse me just a second." Chuck picked up the phone and checked the notification. It was in response to the pictures he sent.

There's nothing. Literally nothing. At least from what I have access to.

Chuck deleted the text, thinking over the ramifications of their findings. Someone had wiped out Jack's face from most law enforcement databases. At least the more common ones. That seemed very fishy to Chuck. Chuck liked puzzles, and so far, this man was definitely a puzzle. He would have to do some digging of his own later to see what he could turn up.

"Sorry about that. One of my freelance contracts asking about my progress. I can answer them later," Chuck waved it off, putting his phone in his pocket.

"Hey. You two ready to go?" Sarah stepped up to the table, looking between the two men.

"Wow. That was quick," Chuck said, checking his watch.

"Yeah, well. I'd rather not leave you two unsupervised for too long." She winked at Chuck.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The three went to the only upscale restaurant in town, Azzarello's. A nice Italian place that was family owned with a homey atmosphere. They started with a bottle of a Red Moscato, a house favorite.

"So, Charlie, what's your story? Tell me about your parents, where you grew up," Jack began, starting off the conversation.

"Dad...," Sarah chastised.

"No. It's... it's OK. I can talk about it." Sarah didn't look pleased with her nosy father, especially given the recent loss of his foster parents." I was born in Connecticut, but we moved to L.A. when I was little. When I was nine, my mom left out of the blue. My father was a wreck and left a few years later. My older sister and I got split up in the foster system. It sucked that we weren't together, but we lived close enough we could visit. Our foster parents were decent people, so it could have been worse. I went to college and then got some work writing software programs. My foster parents died from a car accident a few weeks ago, so now it's just my sister and I." Chuck was giving the abridged version, not wanting to ramble on with the details of his life.

"Not just college, Chuck. You graduated with a dual major from Stanford. That's kind of a big deal," Sarah interjected.

"Almost as big a deal as graduating from Harvard," he smirked, bouncing an eyebrow at her. She shook her head and rolled her eyes with a smile on her face.

'So, wait. You're telling me you graduated with two degrees from one of the most prestigious universities on the west coast and you're here, working in that greasy spoon, no offense. W-Why?" he asked incredulously.

"He did it to help me save the diner," Sarah interjected. "My cook quit and I was close to having to close. Chuck stepped in and offered to be my cook until we got back on our feet. Thanks to him, things are really starting to look up." Chuck blushed a bit, fidgeting with his wine glass.

"So you just threw away what could be a high paying job just to help my daughter out of a bind? What a schnook." Jack shook his head and chuckled. Before Sarah could intervene, Chuck jumped in sounding rather annoyed.

"First off, I didn't throw anything away, I just put it on the back burner. Second, if I had to, I would have thrown it away without another thought. I love your daughter and I'll do anything in my power to be there for her and help her. If that makes me a 'schnook', then I'm a schnook and proud of it," he huffed, taking a large gulp of wine. Sarah just stared at him, mouth agape, taken aback by his passionate speech. The conviction of his words stirred something in her, a small whimper escaping her throat. She began to fidget with the collar of her shirt, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Chuck began to blush as well with the realization, not only had he raised his voice, but that he'd had quite an effect on Sarah as well. Jack looked between the young couple and started to chuckle louder, quite amused with something.

"I don't see what's so funny," Sarah barked, furrowing her brow. Jack continued to chuckle, waving her off as he tried to collect himself.

"Charlie, you're somethin' else. I used to feel sorry for poor saps like you, no offense, wearing your heart on your sleeve, putting other people's needs ahead of your own. You're everything I tried to teach her to stay clear of. Now… now I see that you're probably the best thing for her, so I just found the irony quite amusing." Sarah was rather shocked at her father's admission, unable to come up with a response to that.

"As backhanded as that compliment may be, I'll take it. Thank you, Jack." Chuck raised his glass to Sarah's father, who just nodded in return.

The three ate and drank, Jack sharing stories of his travels, even telling a few tales of Sarah's childhood. Chuck could see her mood darkening as Jack reminisced about Sarah's younger years, so Chuck made efforts to change the subject to other topics when possible. All and all(,) it was enjoyable, the tension in the air between Sarah and her father lessening as the evening wore on. Their waitress brought their bill and Jack insisted on paying. He handed the woman his credit card and she left.

"Well, while you settle that up, I'm going to the ladies' room. Excuse me." Sarah left the table moments before the waitress returned to the table, a sheepish look on her face. She bent down toward Jack and whispered something, handing him back his card. He looked perplexed.

"Are you sure? Sometimes the magstrip doesn't work on the first couple tries…" The woman assured him that she had even tried typing in the number but it was still declined. Looking a little embarrassed, he pulled out two other cards and suggested she try one of those. The waitress smiled and departed.

"I'll have to call the bank in the morning, get that card replaced." Jack fidgeted in his seat, and Chuck pretended not to notice. A moment later the waitress returned with a similar look and just quietly shook her head.

"You know, maybe it's just the card reader. Tell ya what, I'll take care of this one and you can pick up the next one," Chuck offered as he pulled out his wallet. He quietly slipped a couple of bills to the waitress, instructing her to keep the change. Her eyes widened and he just smiled and thanked her for the meal and the great service. Jack leaned in a little closer to Chuck, seeming much smaller than he'd looked all evening, deflated.

"I'm... I'm sorry about that Charlie. I have to confess, it's not easy for me to ask for help, but I think … I think you might be the only one who can."

"I don't follow. Help with what?" Chuck inquired, leaning in to hear him more clearly.

"You see, I'm in a rather tight situation right now. Myself and a number of other investors put a great deal of money into a high yield mutual fund that was promising an amazing eighteen percent return on investment. At first, it seemed too good to be true, but they started paying dividends. So we kept putting those dividends back into the fund. Well, it turns out that the fund manager was just shuffling payments around. As people would buy into the fund, he'd take a small portion and pay some people dividends and pocket the rest. Before we knew it, he picked up shop and left the country without a trace. All the money we invested, gone." Jack's head was in his hands, shaking his head.

"I can't believe I was stupid enough to fall for his scam. I invested all my savings with him, hoping that I could retire happily in a few years. We were all so sure that it was a sound investment. A little risky but not THAT kind of risky."

"Wow, Jack. That's horrible. So, how can I help?" Chuck inquired eagerly.

"Well, the FTC can't touch him because he fled to a foreign country with a non-extradition policy. So I was wondering… if maybe some of those skills you talked about might not be so… 'hypothetical'. That maybe you could help us find a 'creative' way of getting our money back." Jack shrugged, a hopefully look on his face.

"Wow. Um… so, how much money are we talking about here?" Chuck asked.

"In total, he ran off with just over thirty-five million from his investors. Of that, about eight-hundred thousand of it was mine. If we could even get some of our money back, at least it wouldn't be a total loss. Charlie, can you help us?" Jack was nearly pleading with him and Chuck was having a difficult time saying no. He deliberated for a moment then sighed.

"Give me the name of the guy and the name of the fund and I'll see what I can dig up. No promises, but I'll see what I can do." Jack grabbed Chuck's wrist, a look of excitement washed across his face.

"Charlie, thank you. You don't know what this means. Thank you, but please, please don't tell Sarah about this. It's embarrassing enough that I lost everything and I couldn't even buy my little girl dinner. Can you please just keep this between us?" Jack looked desperate as he pleaded with Chuck.

"I don't like hiding things from her, but I'll keep this between us for now. BUT, when this is over, whether I'm able to get some of your money back or not, you WILL tell her. Otherwise, I will. Got it?" Chuck looked pointedly at Jack, who nodded his approval.

"Got what?" Sarah asked as she sat down. "Sorry it took so long. I ran into Mrs. Fitzgerald and she likes to talk."

"That she does. It's alright, I was just telling your Dad that he should come by the diner for breakfast tomorrow and I wasn't gonna take 'No' for an answer." Chuck replied. Jack just winked and nodded. Sarah looked between the two, narrowing her eyes slightly. Something didn't smell right, but she'd let it go for now. No matter how much she wanted to believe her father was here just to see her, the likelihood was slim. He always had an angle on a con, always. She couldn't really ask Chuck about it without giving away some things about her father's past, and things about herself in turn.

"That sounds like a good idea. Come on, Dad. You can drop us off at the diner to get my car. Thanks for dinner by the way, it was fantastic," Sarah confessed, trying to not let her concerns spoil the evening. Jack looked at Chuck and just smiled.

"Nothin' but the best for you Darlin'," he winked as they walked out of the restaurant.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So, what uh… what did you and my dad talk about when I wasn't around? Did he give you the third degree?" Sarah asked as she slid under the covers. She didn't want to give him any reason to be suspicious, at least not yet, so she was trying to play it off as just innocent conversation.

"Oh, you know. 'What do you do for a living?', that sorta stuff. You want me to turn off the light?" Chuck was trying to deflect Sarah's questions however he could. If she started grilling him, he'd likely fold and tell her all about her father and his predicament.

"Yeah. That's not surprising. Let's just say money has always been important to him," Sarah huffed, punching at her pillow.

"I uh… I know it's none of my business, but you didn't seem to be all that happy to see him when he showed up in the diner today. I'm gonna assume, since you never mention him, that you two might have had a … falling out?" Chuck asked tentatively. Sarah snorted in exasperation.

"Yeah. You could say that. We didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things." She was quiet for a moment, but she was twisting a lock of her hair around her finger, a fidget of hers that he had picked up on. He waited for her to continue when she was ready. Though she was facing him in bed, she wasn't looking him in the face. Finally, she continued in a softer tone.

"I went to live with him for a few years. I was young and angry after my parent's divorce. My dad was the 'fun' one. The one to go on adventures, eat ice cream and stay up late. I eventually found out that sort of life wasn't all it was cracked up to be. So I got on a bus back to Grady. It took some time to heal things between Mom and I, but I finally understood what it was that drove them apart." Sarah looked up at Chuck, who was sitting up in bed beside her. He was just looking down at her with a loving smile. No judgement or pity. Just love and understanding. She weakly smiled back at him.

"This is probably not my place to say, but… he may not be the father you deserve, but he's the only one you have. Family is a very precious commodity. Once it's gone… it's gone." He scooted down in bed to lay facing her, taking hold of her hand. "True, we can adopt more family along the way," he smiled at her, squeezing her hand, "but he will always be your father. Now, I'm not saying you should give him a free pass. I just know that if I had just… just one more chance… one more opportunity to spend time with my father, I… I don't know what I would give to have that, but I think you owe it to yourself to give him a chance. At least then you'll never be haunted by the 'what ifs' or 'if onlys'." She lifted her gaze to meet his and could see the shimmering in his eyes. His cautionary tale of loss and second chances tugged at her heart, causing her to reach out and touch his cheek. He closed his eyes, reveling in her warmth before opening them to gaze back into her deep blue eyes.

"Just think about it, OK?" She couldn't argue with those deep brown eyes or his pleading tone, so she nodded her acceptance. She turned off her bedside lamp, rolled over and scooted her back into him, becoming his 'little spoon'. He happily wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to him. "Love you," he whispered into her ear, eliciting a hum from her.

"I love you." She pulled his arm around her more tightly and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Once Sarah had fallen asleep, Chuck carefully slid out of bed, grabbed his messenger bad and crept downstairs. He sat at the dining room table, and pulled out his laptop. The events of the day still swirling in his head, more questions than answers. He began doing some digging for himself. First, he needed to figure out who he was dealing with before he went any further with helping him. Given that the law enforcement databases had nothing on Jack Burton, he needed to look at Big Brother to see what they knew. Much as he had done in college, Chuck was able to access the government databases, exploiting the weaker security found at the smaller regional offices. Many of the same vulnerabilities and backdoors he had made them aware of years ago were still not corrected, so he was able to get in without setting off any alarms. He ran the photos he had taken, along with the name 'Jack Burton' and was finally able to get some hits.

It seemed that Jack had a long history of swindling people out of money. He was an old school confidence man and, from the records the various agencies kept, he was damn good. They had apparently been watching him for a very long time. Reviewing some of the older files, Chuck came across some surveillance photos taken about fifteen years ago. In those photos was a much younger Jack and a young blonde girl. The notes referenced a 'Sam?', indicating they only suspected that to be her name, but Chuck could see beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was Sarah. She was maybe ten or eleven, but it was her. The FBI suspected that she had been an accomplice in some of his schemes, but they could never get enough evidence to charge either of them.

Chuck sat and stared at the photos and wondered if this was the reason she never talked about her father. Was this the secret she was keeping? Chuck couldn't help but conclude that the 'adventures' Sarah talked about having with her father must have been cons. She was just a child, for God's sake, and he dragged her into that world, blindly following the man she trusted. Thankfully, she got out of that life and made something of herself. Chuck was furious at the thought of what Jack had put her through. Was that something that you could ever forgive? He looked at his own life and wondered if he could really forgive his parents if they miraculously showed up one day. Reluctantly, he realized he likely would. His own words from earlier ringing in his ear, '...you owe it to yourself to give him a chance…" He would have to put his personal feelings aside and think of the bigger picture. If she was going to take that chance, he needed to do all he could to make that happen for her.

Chuck couldn't help himself as he looked over the old surveillance photos. This little girl would grow up to be the woman that he loved with all his heart. A sucker for nostalgia, he saved some of the photos and continued to look at Jack's more recent 'adventures'.

The next files he came across were partially redacted, but he was able to get enough information from various files to piece it all together. Four years ago, Jack, or rather 'Bill Lumberg', had been involved in a money laundering scheme that involved a member of the Sinaloa cartel. While it seemed that he never dealt directly with the cartel member, he was still laundering money for a group that was trafficking in not only narcotics, but weapons and human trafficking as well. A joint CIA/DEA task force leveraged 'Bill' to help them bring these members of the cartel down, securing a reduced sentence for himself. Some interrogation transcripts showed that Jack was not fully aware of who or what was going on at the other end of the money train. He did agree to help bring them down once he discovered what was really going on. It seemed he had a conscience after all. In exchange, the government all but erased his cover identity and scrubbed his image from many law enforcement databases, hence why nothing could be found. Jack had then spent the past three and a half years in federal prison. He was released in October of this year and had, thus far, kept clean.

Chuck stood up from the table and paced the dining room, running his hands through his hair. He was floored with the revelation about Sarah's father and her hand in whatever cons she was part of. He couldn't hold that against her, she was just a child at the time. He couldn't tell Sarah he knew any of this. After all, accessing this information was highly illegal. He knew he wouldn't get caught, but that wasn't the didn;t want her to think he was going behind her back to get this information on her. He really wanted her to tell him on her own. The pangs of guilt were twisting his stomach. He needed to push on, so he sat back down and collected as many records as he could and created a highly encrypted backup of the data. He then focused his sights on the charlatan that took Jack's money.

The man's name was Wesley "Wes" Copeland, and he managed the Pinnacle World Fund. Chuck looked through the FTC databases for anything on Copeland or the fund. The deeper he dug, the worse it seemed. He was able to get a listing of all of the people that reported having paid into the fund, based on the legal filings against Copeland. Of the eighteen names, Jack Burton was not one of them, nor were any of Jack's known aliases. He pulled identify information on all of the investors and none of them bore even a passing resemblance to Jack. Chuck began to get a sinking feeling. Looking through the list of investors, there were only two that had invested roughly the same amount that Jack claimed. They all seemed to be legitimate.

He looked through each of the other sixteen investors more closely. Many of them were retired small businessmen, teachers, and doctors. These people had invested everything they had in the hopes of making that small nest egg that much bigger. The last name he came across stood out, Yerik Shulaya. The name sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place it. Doing some FBI and DEA searches on Shulaya was like hitting the jackpot. This guy was positioned nicely in Shulaya Enterprise, a highly influential and extremely violent Russian organized crime group. Google told him all he needed to know about them and more. These were very bad people. Shulaya had invested over five million in the fund. If Copeland had swindled this guy out of his money, Copeland was in some serious trouble. If Chuck went through with helping Jack in the way he was insisting, there could be a major blow back. Chuck couldn't let that happen. He was beginning to formulate a plan, but first, he needed to find that money.

He ran Copeland's name through the other alphabet soup agency databases and came up with plenty of hits. He was a person of interest, in part due to his FTC violations, but more importantly, because of those links to Shulaya. It seemed that he was recently spotted in Dubai, living in the lap of luxury at the Atlantis, The Palm resort. It made sense that he would go someplace warm where he could live a lavish lifestyle and not have to worry about being extradited. Much like he did to bring Bryce to his knees, Chuck began the scavenger hunt for the stolen money. He was able to locate four accounts in as many banks throughout the Caribbean and Southeast Asia. In total, they amounted to forty-three million dollars.

Chuck began the arduous task of returning all of the money that had been taken. Transferring funds from four different banks to eighteen separate accounts was no simple feat. Leaving no trace while you did it was even harder. While it felt like a game, he knew there would be very real and dire consequences if he made a mistake. He just kept telling himself why he was doing it, who he was really doing it for, and it made it all worth it. By 3AM he had all of the money returned and the accounts were cleaned. His last bit of karma was a picture to be sent to Copeland's personal email account. It was from the CIA surveillance photos taken of him in Dubai, the name of the resort clearly visible. Chuck crafted an anonymous email that alluded to the fact that if he didn't turn himself in, the Shulaya Enterprise group would learn of his whereabouts. Chuck had no intentions of doing any such thing. He didn't want the man to die, but he'd settle for either bringing him to justice by surrendering or scaring the hell out of him.

Before he quit for the night, Chuck dug up all of Jack's financial records. Unless he had some money that was really well hidden, Sarah's dad was broke. When he was imprisoned, they seized all of his assets, so Jack was telling the truth, sort of. Sure, he hadn't really invested that money, but he was broke nonetheless. Now Chuck just needed to come up with a way of helping him, but making it look like he got the money back from Copeland's fund. He'd have to sleep on it.

Ensuring that all of his tracks were covered and logs erased, he shut his laptop down. Stowing it in his messenger bag, he crept upstairs and crawled back into bed with Sarah, reprising his role as the 'big spoon'. She stirred, snuggling back into him.

"Where'd you go? My feet are cold," she complained in a groggy voice. He dutifully placed his feet on hers, warranting a contented moan.

"Sorry, Babe. I had to do some work. Try to go back to sleep." She didn't reply, only nodded slightly as she drifted off to sleep. The warmth of her body against his and the calming aroma of her shampoo lulled him into a deep sleep as well.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Chuck had a strange feeling he was being watched. It was still dark in the room, but as he cracked one eye open, he could see that Sarah was propped up on her elbow, watching him sleep.

"That's kinda creepy, watching someone sleep," he groaned out, his voice gruff from sleep. "You OK?" She snorted but didn't move.

"You were up late again. You keep burning the candle at both ends and you're gonna make yourself sick," she chastised.

"Well, in my defense, I was sleeping…" Sarah let out a 'Tsk' and huffed, shaking her head.

"Yeah, well, it's time to get up. We need to open the diner," she said as she lightly poked him in the chest.

"Mmmmmmm," he groaned with a pouty face, both eyes closed. "Do we haaaave to? You know, you could just take my offer and we could stay in bed and snuggle for a few more hours…" he trailed off, then he could hear her sigh. Finally, his brain caught up and his eyes shot open.

"Oh, Sarah, I'm sorry. That was a really crappy thing to say. I promised I wouldn't bring it up. Please just forget I said anything," he pleaded as he started to sit up to climb out of bed. She placed a hand on his chest to still him.

"Chuck. It's OK. I know that this is something you're excited about and I don't want you to be afraid to talk about it. I just need a little more time to figure things out." She ran her fingers through the unruly curls on his head.

"I get that, I really do. I was just being selfish. I'm sorry. Let me go hop in the shower real fast and I'll be ready to go." He kissed her on her nose as he jumped out of bed and grabbed a change of clothes before heading to the bathroom.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Wow, Darlin. I don't remember the breakfast bein' this good the last time I was in here," Jack confessed as he took another bite of biscuits and gravy. "Mmmm. Now that right there takes me back. I don't think my Momma coulda made better than that."

"Glad you like it, Dad. The biscuits are made from scratch, in house, every day. That gravy and the pancakes are both secret recipes. All thanks to Chuck." Sarah beamed at him but Chuck just ducked his head feeling a bit embarrassed.

"What? The Schnook? Nooooooo," Jack questioned incredulously.

"Yep. The kid's got a knack for comfort food, I gotta give 'im that," Casey interjected before taking a huge bite of pancakes.

"Well I'll be… Who'd a thunk it? A California city boy, cookin' up some southern comfort food. I think I've seen it all." Jack huffed and chuckled to himself, indulging in more of the breakfast food. Chuck covered his mouth with the back of his hand, masking a yawn. It didn't go unnoticed by Sarah, who gave a concerned look.

"So, Chuck, what was so important that had you up most of the night?" Sarah asked while looking at him over the rim of her coffee mug.

"Oh, that. I was uh… just working on some projects… you know, just stuff." He couldn't keep his eyes from darting to Jack before they settled back on Sarah. Sarah's gaze narrowed as she looked between Jack and Chuck, this time she was not going to let her father get away with it.

"Mhmm. Mhmm. Hey, uh, that reminds me. Dad, can I talk with you in my office for a minute?" She asked, placing her coffee mug on the table before standing.

"Sure thing, Darlin. Just let me finish-"

"Now, Dad," she barked, the seriousness in her voice didn't offer room for argument. She was marching toward her office, Jack trying to catch up. Once he was inside she closed the door and spun on him.

"What the hell's goin' on?" she hissed through gritted teeth.

"I'm not sure what you mean? I was just enjoying my breakfa-"

"Cut the bullshit, Dad. What did you do? Did you … did you con him into helping you with a job? Did you?" She was fuming as she stared daggers at him.

"Now, listen. It's not what-"

"Oh. My. God. You did, didn't you? Dammit, Dad! He's a good man," Sarah chastised as she pointed towards the door. "He's probably one of the best I've ever known. He helps people because that's who he is, and you came in here and used that against him. God! And I was too stupid to see it. You've never come here to see me. You could give two shits about me-"

"Now YOU hold on just a minute," Jack jumped in, derailing Sarah's rant. "I did come here to see you. Sure… I was also hoping you might be able to help your old dad out, since your mom left you all this, but I can see you aren't doin' much better than I am. I know I've never been good at showin' it, or sayin' it… but you're the only family I got and I love ya." Sarah was speechless. Growing up, Jack had always preached that love was for suckers. She could never remember him saying he loved her. Something was wrong. Definitely wrong.

"Now, yesterday, when the schnook and I-"

"Chuck! His name is Chuck, Dad." Sarah spat.

"Fine, fine...when 'Chuck' and I were talkin', it came to light that he miiiiight have some computer skills that could help me out. So…" Jack shrugged.

"What did you do? What did you tell him?" Sarah was getting more concerned by the minute, pacing like a caged animal.

"Meh, I was reading about some guy that ran a bogus Mutual Fund and ran off with a bunch of the investor's money. Your boy out there seemed like the gullible type, a real boy scout. So I just told him that I was one of the ones the guy stole from, that I was just looking for my investment back. I still stand by my earlier title… he's a schnook." Jack seemed to be almost proud of himself.

"So you sent him to steal money from criminals? Are you insane?" Sarah threw her hands in the air, beyond exasperated.

"Oh, come on. He knew what he was gettin' into. He had to expect it. Knowing what kinda team you and I used to be, the cons we pulled on people. He's not that naive." Jack chuckled.

"No, he doesn't know, Dad. I never told him. He knows nothing about any of that. You think a guy like that would want to be with me if he knew the sort of stuff we did … I did? The cons we pulled? All the lives we ruined just for a few bucks?" Sarah huffed, running her hands through her hair. They were both quiet for a few moments before Jack finally broke the silence.

"Boy, you got it somethin' awful for this kid, huh?" It didn't sound nearly as accusatory as she'd expected it to. She let out a long sigh in resignation.

"Yeah Dad. I do. I … I love him." She groaned out in exasperation. "And the one thing that could ruin all of it, bring it all crashing down around me, and you have to pull him straight into the middle of it. If he finds out, it could mean the end of it all, Dad. I just finally found him, I can't lose him now. I love him." She buried her face in her hands, letting out a long, exasperated sigh.

"That's a damn shame," he chuckled. "I'm happy for ya though, whatever that's worth. Look, I haven't said anything to the kid and I won't. But take it from an old con with a lot of regrets, don't keep it from him. The longer you do, the worse it'll be, for both of ya." Sarah nodded, now staring at the floor, running her hands through her hair.

"I'll do what I can to keep the kid safe. I'll see if I can call it off." Jack didn't sound too happy about that thought, but he knew he owed her that much.

"If I know Chuck, he's probably already done what you asked," Sarah sounded sad, defeated.

"Come on, Darlin. I highly doubt that. I mean, this guy has money stashed all over the place, plus he's dropped off the face of the earth. Nobody knows where this guy is." Jack was confident that he had time to stop the schnook before he got too far.

"You'd be surprised what he can do when he sets his mind to something," she glared at him then rolled her eyes. "Look, I need to get back. Please. Dad, I'm begging you, please don't tell him about us. I'll tell him. I just need to do it in my own way. OK?"

"Sure thing, Darlin. Whatever you need." He gave her a side hug and a kiss on the head, something she hadn't received since she was a kid. Sarah started toward the office door but spun around at the last second.

"If anything, anything at all, happens to him, so help me…" The icy cold expression on her face was not lost on Jack, who put his hands up in surrender as a cold sweat formed on his brow. He never realized how intimidating his daughter could be, which made him oddly proud of her.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Throughout the morning, Chuck had been lost in thought. The routine nature of working in the kitchen afforded him time for contemplation. There were so many things swirling in his mind. He wanted to help Jack, he was Sarah's father after all. Sure, he didn't seem to be the model parent, but at least he was here, which was more than he could say for either of his own parents. Chuck was pretty certain that if he just gave Jack a pile of money, he'd take it and bolt, never to return unless it ran out. If there was some way that he could help him, but tether him to Sarah somehow, make him want to stay in contact. What incentive would Jack need to stay present in Sarah's life? Money? From reading his government files, money, or the acquisition there of, seemed to be his life's work. Then the government took it all from him, leaving him with nothing. Had he been truthful about wanting to retire or was that just part of the con? Did conmen get pension checks? Chuck chuckled inwardly but finally inspiration struck. Chuck now had a plan.

After the lunch rush, Chuck took his laptop to 'his booth' and got to work putting his plan into place. The beauty of it was that everything was already in place, he'd just have to transfer some of his own money as seed for the plan. If it meant that Sarah would get to have a parent in her life, it was well worth the investment. When he was finished, he hit the 'Enter' key on his keyboard with a flourish, raising his arms into the air in triumph. He was so caught up in the moment that he didn't think that anyone had seen him, let alone that Jack was sliding into the booth across from him.

"Playin' some video games there Charlie?" Jack smirking at Chuck's small victory celebration. Chuck turned beet red, stumbling over his words.

"Uh.. um… a game, yeah. You could uh… you could say that." Chuck closed his laptop, clearing his throat, trying to regain his composure.

"Listen. I was thinkin' about the … 'work' you're doin' for me. I… I don't want you gettin' into any trouble on account o' me. So, let's just forget the whole thing. Alright? I'll be fine. Jack Burton always lands on his feet." Sarah was coming out of her office, walking up behind Chuck when she heard the conversation. She slowed her pace, coming to a stop just behind their booth.

"Oh, hey. No worries Jack. I already took care of it. In fact, I got you a little extra for the trouble." Chuck grinned, feeling rather proud of himself, though not for the reasons they were probably thinking. Jack sat, mouth agape, in shock that the kid had apparently pulled this off in less than 18 hours. Sarah, overhearing Chuck's revelation couldn't help but gasp. Chuck turned around to see Sarah standing there, a look of shock and, perhaps, disappointment coloring her face.

"Sarah?" He called out, turning to face her, not entirely certain what she'd heard.

"Chuck? No. No. Oh my God, Chuck. What... what have you done?"

A/N2: You'll have to stay tuned for the next chapter to get all the answers to that question and more.

I really enjoy all of the reviews and PMs. Please keep them coming. They really are encouraging, especially on those tough days.