A/N: In the early 1960s there was a brief dance craze called the Watusi (waa-too-si). Google it. It has some bearing on this chapter.
Disclaimer: Chuck has been socially distanced from me so to such an extent that it isn't possible for me to own Chuck. Since I don't own Chuck, there is no way for me to make any money from Chuck. My smart aleck is still sleeping off its turkey tryptophan coma.
Chapter 15 – You've Got a Friend in Me
October 26
Sarah looked at her friends and they looked back at her. Everyone had tears in their eyes, crying, but she was crying the hardest. Oh, that poor sweet guy. The pain of that song and those lyrics tore through Sarah, like a knife. What kind of life had he lived that caused him to pick that song to be the one that helped him through tough times? How sad and alone and shunned had he been to find solace in that song? She couldn't fathom a life like that. It was more than she could bear to think of him feeling like that. Sarah cried even harder.
"Oh my God!" Carina sniffed before wiping her eyes and blowing her nose. "What the hell kind of shit has Chuck had to go through to want to listen to that song all of the time?" Even in the middle of her own turmoil, Sarah noticed that her friend was too distraught to bother with her usual 'Chuckles' teasing.
Amy rubbed her hands across her cheeks to brush away her own tears. "Yeah, that's some messed up stuff there, that's for sure," she nodded. "At least, he said he's not listening to it anymore. Not since coming here and meeting us."
"Amy's right," Zondra added, pressing her fingers under her eyes to try and save her mascara. "He smiled when he talked about it. Smiled when he talked like the song was in his past."
"You're right, Z," Sarah hiccupped, trying to force herself to stop crying. "You're all right. He did talk about not listening to it anymore. It didn't speak to him. He doesn't have a favorite song now. Maybe we can help him pick a new one. A new favorite song." Sarah thought back to her conversation with Ellie and what she had said about Chuck's 'theme song'. That it would explain a lot. She wasn't sure about that. It didn't explain stuff as much as it raised more questions. Questions that she hoped to get answered, sooner rather than later.
"Damn right," said Carina. "Find him something happy and uplifting. And we need to find out why he picked that song. Find out about his life. Damn, it must have been all kinds of shitty, I'm telling you."
"Yeah, we do, Red, but not tonight," Sarah said firmly. "We want tonight to be fun and lighthearted. No reason to bring up painful stuff from Chuck's past. Homecoming is all about good times with good friends. Not to mention a good win on the football field."
"I hear you, Blondie," Carina agreed. "Five friends having dinner and hanging out together. It won't hurt Chuck's reputation to be seen in the company of four hotties like us, anyway." Sarah just snorted and rolled her eyes. Carina wasn't wrong, but Sarah was amused how quickly she reverted to her teasing resting state.
"Please, Z, use your PC skills to find us a place to eat that's not packed to the rafters, OK?" Sarah asked.
"On it," Zondra had used the time the others were talking to boot up her PC and was already typing in the search request. It took her a while to locate one that wasn't full of Saturday night regulars or homecoming patrons. After some searching and a couple of phone calls, she had a likely candidate. "OK, I found Mama Coco Cocina Mexicana Restaurant up in San Carlos. It's a little farther away, but the local one in Menlo Park is packed with a long waiting list. This San Carlos location said the wait list was relatively short and the tables are turning over fairly regularly. We've been there before, remember? The food is good and so are the drinks."
"Yeah, I remember that place," Sarah recalled. "So, that's OK with everyone? Meet at 6:00pm? That'll give us all time to fix our makeup," she sheepishly grinned. Chuckles and nods all around. "Fine. I'll text Chuck and double check that Mexican is OK. And the time, too." After typing and waiting for a bit, she had his response. "He says Mexican is great. That he's looking forward to it and will meet us in the lobby downstairs at six." She smiled at her friends. "In the meantime, his birthday is ten days away and I'd like to do something for him. What do you guys think?"
"Absolutely, Sarah. We need to do something," Zondra pursed her lips and nodded. "What do you have in mind?"
"Not one hundred percent sure. A party? Get him a cake? Some sort of present? I don't know." Sarah shook her head. "I just want to do something to let him know that we care and are thinking about him. That he isn't alone like in that damn song." The looks her friends wore told her that they were in agreement.
"How about we sing him a song?" Amy ventured. "Something that's happy and lets him know that we appreciate him being our friend and hanging out with us. Doing all the stuff he's done for us."
"OK, but what song?" Sarah asked. "It's got to be something that we can work on with the girls sometime where he's not around, either at practice or at some other time. It's got to be fairly simple, so we can learn the lyrics in the short amount of time before his birthday." No one spoke for a few minutes.
Carina, like usual, broke the silence. "I've got it," she exclaimed. "How about 'You've Got a Friend in Me' from that movie, Toy Story? It's simple. It's pretty well known. And it talks about being friends and having friends to help you during tough times." She didn't mention her plan for one of the verses in the song. That was something she'd discuss when Sarah wasn't around.
"Oh, Carina, that's perfect!" Sarah chirped. Amy and Zondra voiced their agreement, too. "Yeah, we can do that. Now what about a cake? And a present? Or multiple presents?"
"How about cupcakes?" Amy asked. "If we get cupcakes, we don't need forks, just small paper plates and napkins. Makes it a bit less fiddly and easier to clean up."
"That's a good idea, Amy," smiled Sarah. "Now, what about a present? Do we want to give him more than one?" She didn't notice the salacious grins her friends shared. They decided not to give voice to the suggestion that they all three had. Instead, Zondra spoke up with another, safer idea.
"What if we take a picture of the Songbirds and include him in it?" Zondra offered. "We could put the picture on the front of a tee-shirt and have the word 'mascot' in all caps on the back. Like one of those tee-shirts some roadies wear for rock bands. We can even give him a framed copy of the picture that he can put in his dorm room."
Sarah laughed at the image. "That's perfect, too, Z. Inclusive and a little teasing, both. I bet he'll love it." Sarah smiled. "Just fantastic." The CATS nodded. "Do we want to do more? Or is that enough?"
"The question is, Blondie, do you want to do more?" Carina eyed her younger friend. "What would Miss Manners say about it?" she teased.
"I'm not sure. Really. I mean on one hand we've just kind of met him and don't really know all that much about him." Carina nodded at her to continue. "But, on the other hand, he's been spending a ton of time with us. Practice. Dinner. Studying in the library. Helping people with their classes," she shrugged. "I'm just not sure. We don't want to do too little and we don't want to do too much."
"Nope, we don't," Carina responded noncommittally.
"Maybe it makes sense to err on the side of caution and just go with what we've already talked about." Sarah tapped her finger on her chin. "After all, we don't want to give him the wrong impression."
"Oh no, we certainly don't want to give him the wrong impression," Carina said sarcastically. "That wouldn't do, at all." She laughed at Sarah's flat look.
Shaking her head and pouting at her roommates, Sarah changed the subject. "OK, now that's settled, we can put our faces back on." She hobbled over to the mirror. "We don't want him running for the hills, which he will do, if he sees us looking like we do now." Her friends shared another knowing look and grinned to each other behind her back. She noticed them in the mirror, but chose not to say anything.
October 28
Chuck needed a break. It was Monday and he'd had his eyes either in a book or on his computer screen almost non-stop since he'd gotten back from dinner with the CATS on Saturday evening. They'd all had a great time. The food at the Mexican place they took him was excellent and he'd had fun spending time with all of them. Well, if he was being honest with himself, spending time with Sarah and her friends. The older CATS had enjoyed their margaritas, but Sarah, claiming to be the designated driver, had stuck to iced tea along with him. He wasn't sure about the designated driver part, since he'd volunteered to drive back to campus if necessary, but he appreciated her not making him the odd man out when it came to their drinks.
Thinking back on the drive to and from the restaurant brought a smile and a blush to his face. They'd all driven together in Zondra's Wrangler. With really only room for four passengers, the girls had insisted on Chuck carrying one of them in his lap on each trip. Her friends had maneuvered so that Sarah had to sit on his lap for the trip to the restaurant. He was glad that they both enjoyed and were embarrassed by the situation. Sarah's face had been just a bit pink the whole time. He could recall the heat of his own flushed cheeks and neck. On the way back it was a little easier since Sarah was the designated driver. They were spared a repeat of their embarrassment, but Chuck had to contend with a tipsy and giggly Amy sitting in his lap on the return trip. He had wondered why she had wiggled and squirmed almost the entire journey. He'd been embarrassed by his reaction and had tried to keep his thoughts on Sarah, it had helped. A little. On more than one occasion, he noticed Sarah looking at him in the rearview mirror. He'd tried to shrug, but it was difficult with Amy smiling in his lap and he wasn't sure if Sarah could tell.
He really appreciated the effort that his friends had put into making sure he wasn't alone on homecoming. Spending time with them had been a much better option than eating alone and spending the night studying.
Chuck wasn't sure why he was nervous about his tests. It wasn't like he'd had issues with tests in the past and it was doubtful that he would have trouble going forward. Chuck gave it some thought. Maybe it was because these tests were, like he'd told the girls, 'make or break' for him. He was in the final stages of his education and he didn't want to mess up this close to the finish. These tests carried a lot of weight. And he was thinking in circles, he realized. That was a sure sign that he really did need a break.
Chuck mentally pushed his work away and stood up to stretch. He looked down to the floor where the Songbirds were practicing. Sarah was sitting across the room on the risers with her leg propped up on pillows and his cold wrap secured around her ankle. A small cooler sat on the floor next to her with a couple of those freezable ice packs to keep the wrap cold. Her ankle was making very good progress and she expected to be able to start rehabbing it after seeing the doctor on Wednesday. Today was her first day back attending practice after spending the last two weeks studying, with Chuck, having her foot propped up the whole time. She looked so happy to be back with her friends, but still a little frustrated at not being able to be up and moving like they were. Chuck did admit to feeling a little jealous at not being back in the dorm studying alone with her.
Looking over the group, he wondered what he could do to thank them. Thank them for letting him hang out while they practiced. Thank them for being his friends. Thank the CATS for going out of their way to be nice to him and include him in so much. Dinner. Football games. Going for Mexican the other night. All of it. He wanted to especially thank Sarah. Glancing around the room gave him an idea. He needed to call Dr. Beckman. And he needed to keep it from the Songbirds. Pulling his earphones from his ears, he grabbed his phone, and started to walk down the stairs to the floor. Sarah caught his eye and waved him over. He shook his head and held up his phone. Pointing toward the door, he held up two fingers. Sarah nodded her understanding. Chuck exited the building and dialed the advisor's number.
The call with Dr. Beckman went better than he'd expected. After he had promised to make sure everything was cleaned up before the next day and no misbehavior would be tolerated, she'd agreed to his proposal. She'd even sounded enthusiastic about his plan. Now all he had to do was pull it off. Walking back into Helman Hall, he made his way around the edge of the floor, avoiding any interruption to the practice, to where Sarah was perched on the risers watching the other girls go through their moves.
"Hey! What's up?" Chuck smiled. "How's your ankle holding up at your first practice back?" Sarah gave him a frustrated look that morphed into a smile. "That bad, huh?" he teased.
"Yeah, sort of," she shrugged. "My mind is saying 'go, go', but my ankle is saying 'not so fast, sister'."
"Yeah," he agreed. "This is the time when you really have to be careful. You're itching to get back out there, but the risk of reinjuring it is pretty high." He sighed. "I remember when it was me sitting where you are now. Not fun," he shook his head.
"No, it isn't," Sarah agreed. "But that's not why I called you over." Chuck's eyebrows went up with an unspoken question. "We were planning on stopping a few minutes early so we can take a group picture."
"And you want me to take it?" he prompted.
Sarah shook her head. "No, we were thinking about having you be in the picture with us." Chuck's eyes widened and his eyebrows approached his hairline.
"Me? Why me? I'm not in your group," he shook his head in confusion. "You don't want me messing up your nice picture." Sarah gave him a flat look and frowned.
"Now, none of that. You hear me?" she shook her finger at him. He nodded a bit self-consciously. "You're not just anybody. You're our group mascot. Or had you forgotten?" She gave him a teasing grin. It was his turn to frown.
"Oh no, I hadn't forgotten," he shook his head. "I was kind of hoping that y'all had, though."
"No way, Chuck. You're our friend. You're here all of the time. We want you in the picture. All of us are agreed," Sarah said firmly. "We can't very well bill you as 'friend of the group', can we?" She held her breath. If he resisted there really wasn't very much that they could do about it. And she really didn't want to coerce him with the 'do it for me' BS. Unless she absolutely had to, of course.
"I guess not," he twisted his lips to the side as he thought about it. After a few moments, he relented. "OK, I'll do it. If that's what you really want." Sarah let out a soft sigh and smiled.
"Yes, Chuck, that's what we really want." She nodded. "What I really want. Thank you." He beamed at her and she felt that warm funny feeling in her chest again. Chuck nodded and went to go pack up his computers and schoolwork.
By the time Chuck got back down to the floor, the girls had concluded their practice and were packing up their own stuff. He dropped his backpack near the bottom of the stairs and walked over to where the girls were gathering. Amy pulled a digital camera from her backpack that could be placed on a table and get everyone in the same shot. After a short discussion, they decided on putting Chuck in the middle in the back of the group since he could be seen over the heads of the girls. The CATS were arrayed in front of him where they, and he, could hold Sarah steady so she could stand there on one leg without having her crutches in the picture. The remainder of the girls arranged themselves tightly on either side of the senior group with the shorter girls in front. With one final check on the camera to make sure everyone was in the shot and it was centered, Amy rushed back to the group and took her place by Zondra's side. A couple of seconds later, the camera got the shot. Amy passed the camera around and everyone agreed that the picture was a good one, even Chuck thought so, and that they didn't need to take another one. First time's the charm.
Later that afternoon, Lilly came by the CATS suite just before they were going to head down to the dining hall for dinner. She'd tried to talk to them at practice, but Chuck had been there the whole time and the end of practice was taken up with taking the group picture and then the CATS rushing off somewhere before she could get their attention. She swallowed nervously before knocking on their door. A voice told her to come on in since the door was unlocked. When she stepped into the room, the four seniors looked at her wide-eyed, surprised to see her come to their room without there being a Songbirds meeting scheduled. She explained why she was there and their eyes got wider and their surprise grew.
October 28 Overnight
Later that evening, two people made their way around campus. They entered various dorms, located certain rooms, and slid envelopes under the doors before returning to their own room for the rest of the night.
The next morning a number of students were surprised to discover the envelopes under their doors and even more surprised when they opened them and read the invitations they contained. Zondra was the first up the next morning and found the envelope addressed to their room. She tore it open and looked inside. Her laugh woke her roommates and brought them to her side. She showed them the invitation and what was printed on it.
The 4 denizens of this room are cordially invited to attend
The Monster Bash
to be held in Hellgate Manor (formerly known as Helman Hall)
this Thursday, Halloween, from 7:00pm to 11:00pm.
Costumes are optional, but encouraged.
Clothing is required (We're looking at you, Carina)
Alcohol will be allowed, with proper ID.
Come together as a room and bring your invitation, they will be cross checked.
The comment about Carina had been hastily written by hand. Carina pouted while her friends laughed.
"It looks like our hosts know you all too well, Red," Sarah snarked.
"It was only that one time," Carina grumped. "And I was tricked into thinking something else was going on." The other CATS just shook their heads and giggled. They'd all heard her excuse before. More than once.
"Well, whoever our hosts are, they deserve a medal. People need to blow off some steam. This couldn't be happening at a better time," Zondra declared.
"You're right about that, Z," Amy nodded. "It'll be a fun time. Do you guys have any idea what costumes you want to wear?"
October 31 - Halloween
The CATS arrived at the doors to Helman Hall, just before 7:00pm, to find a fairly large group of costumed students milling around and two very big men standing in front of the doors, blocking them, with their arms folded across their chests. At Dr. Steenlage's insistence, Sarah was wearing an ankle brace and using a single crutch for extra support. Those requirements had changed their initial costume idea from the 'Four Musketeers' to pirates. Of course, her friends insisted on outfitting and making her up to be 'Captain Jack Sparrow'. They must have done a good job, given the reaction she received from many of the people waiting by the doors.
Sarah was limping over toward the bouncers, to ask them when the doors were going to open, when one of them looked at his watch and turned to say something to his partner. Nodding, they turned and opened the double doors leading into the building. Turning back, Mr. Watch spoke up.
"The doors to Hellgate Manor are now open. Please line up with your roommates and be prepared to present your invitations. We'll check your names against the list we have," said Mr. Watch. Sarah could see the other bouncer had produced a clipboard and pen. Since she was already in front of them, Sarah motioned for her fellow CATS to join her, a move which earned her a few dirty looks from people who had been waiting there longer. Given the circumstances, she couldn't do much but grin sheepishly.
The CATS showed the invitation to the bouncers and had their names checked off the list that they held. Walking past the two men, Sarah noticed that there were two prop trees on either side of the doors, hung with cobwebs and spiders. When they crossed over the threshold, the roommates saw that Helman Hall had been transformed. Small machines were covering the floor in low lying fog. Tendrils of Spanish moss and spider webs hung from the ceiling and festooned the walls. Upon emerging from the short hallway, they saw that the risers had been pushed closed to create more floor space. Off to one side was a graveyard of crooked tombstones with silly names on them. Arrayed around the room were more of the prop trees, spiders, and webs. Some of the trees had big black birds on them or owls, complete with soft sound effect caws or hoots. In the back of the room, near the closed risers, were two drinks tables. One with beer and wine, accompanied by the required Office of Student Engagement staffer ready to check ids, and the other with soft drinks, bottles of water, and some sort of punch that was bubbling. Opposite the graveyard, on the right side of the room. was a table with snacks. Just up the stairs next to the snacks, a DJ had set up a small table containing his digital player. Speakers were arranged around the room and 'Monster Mash' was playing, appropriately enough. It all looked amazing.
What caught most of their attention were the four people standing in the middle of the room, three men and a woman, waiting to greet them. Dressed as Frankenstein and his bride were Drs. Montgomery and Beckman. Standing next to them, dressed as a very tall 'Han Solo' and a much shorter 'Chewbacca', were Chuck Bartowski and Morgan Grimes. All four of them wore huge grins, but Chuck's was the biggest. He pulled out all the stops and gave the arriving students the full Bartowski smile treatment.
"SURPRISE!" he yelled. "Welcome to Hellgate Manor, monsters, ghouls, ghosts, goblins, and assorted meanies! And pirates!" he winked. "For the next four hours you can leave Stanford behind and enter into our diabolical lair. Have fun, but behave yourselves or you'll find yourselves in the clutches of these two ….," he jerked his thumb toward the two advisors, "and their fiendish experiments. This is my way of saying thank you to all of you Songbirds and your assorted friends for making these early weeks at Stanford so amazing. Thanks! But the clock is ticking, so have some fun. We all turn back into college students at 11:00pm sharp." His words were met with cheers and some good-natured grumbling toward the chaperones.
As people began to move around the room, helping themselves to drinks and snacks, Sarah just stood looking at Chuck open-mouthed. Her friends stood next to her grinning like idiots. What had he done? How had he pulled this off? Where had all of this stuff come from? The props? The fog machines? It was Chuck. This was all Chuck. Of course, he would know that everyone needed to blow off some steam to take the pressure off. This was wonderful. He was wonderful. She wanted to hug him, so she did. Her three friends joined her in pulling both Chuck and Morgan into a joyous group hug.
When she released her grip on him, Sarah was giggling. Before she should say anything, Alex walked up dressed like a Marine drill sergeant. She put her arm around Morgan.
"At ease there, Marine," Alex grinned. "You look like you need a trip to the barber." Morgan gave them his best Chewbacca warble. Everyone in the small group laughed.
"Careful there, sergeant," Chuck warned. "It's tough to know where the costume ends and Morgan begins. I wouldn't want my best buddy to get all cut up."
"Don't you worry, Han," Alex smiled, "I'll take good care of Chewbacca here. I'm a girl on a mission." Morgan squeaked.
"Help me, Han. You're my only hope," Morgan begged.
"No can do, Chewy," Chuck shook his head. "I never come between a Marine and their target." Alex started to drag Morgan away. "Good luck, buddy," Chuck called, laughing. The CATS joined in.
"Are Ellie and Devon coming?" Sarah asked, once they calmed down a little.
"I gave them an invitation, but they've got a big test tomorrow, so no celebrating for them tonight. Unfortunately," Chuck frowned. Sarah squeezed his arm and they shared their electric feeling.
She looked around and tried to change the subject. "Chuck is this amazing! When did you set all of this up? Where did you find the time?" Sarah exclaimed, excitedly.
"Eh, I know a guy who knows a guy, ya know wut I mean?" he said in his best wiseguy accent. Laughing at the skeptical looks he was getting, he shrugged. "I got permission from Dr. Beckman to do this and I made a few calls to get some help. They did most of the work and will do the clean up afterward. Morgan and I were on drink and snack detail. Dr. Montgomery picked out the adult drinks for the bar. Simple."
"Simple, my ass, Chuckles," Carina scoffed. "This is down-right fantastic. Thank you." Chuck's cheeks began to redden.
"It's my pleasure, believe me," Chuck replied. "After everything that y'all have done for me, this is the least I can do. Just a small token of my appreciation." He gave them another of his full force smiles.
"Well, what I'd appreciate is for you to dance with me," Zondra requested.
Chuck's eyes widened. "Are you sure you want to risk your feet around my clodhoppers? I don't dance. Not really."
"We'll figure it out. Don't you worry, Curls," Zondra retorted.
"Me, too!" Amy chirped, grinning almost as much as Chuck.
"Make that three," purred Carina.
Sarah looked crestfallen. "I'd love to dance with you, but I'm supposed to take it easy for a little while longer," she frowned. "I've still got physical therapy and the doctor doesn't want me to overdo it." Chuck thought her eyes looked glassy.
He smiled gently at her. "Don't worry about it. I'd be happy to chair dance with you." That got him four dubious looks.
"Chair dance? What's that?" Sarah wondered.
"Oh, come on! Chair dance?" Head shakes. "OK, I'll show you." He tucked his elbows into his sides and held his fists up next to his chin, then he started to sway his torso and shoulders back and forth while keeping his feet still. "That, but sitting down. Chair dancing." They were all grinning.
"You're a goof," Sarah grinned at him. "Thank you. I'd love to chair dance with you." She looked up at him through her lashes. Her insides were so warm she was surprised that she didn't just melt all over the floor. A thought struck her. "I've got another question; how did you and Morgan know about Carina to write that note in our invitation?"
"What was there to know about Carina?" Chuck shrugged. The CATS gave him a wide-eyed 'we've got nothing to hide' look. "We just figured she'd try something like that to freak everybody out, so we wrote that note in there," he grinned. The roommates all burst out laughing, again, and Chuck joined them.
"He's not wrong," admitted Carina. They all just laughed harder. It took them a little bit before they were able to talk again.
"First, I need a drink," Zondra declared, "and maybe a snack or two." They agreed and followed her to the drink tables.
The party was a spectacular success. Chuck danced with anyone who asked him, laughing at his own clumsy efforts and apologizing for any damage to any toes that he caused. Everyone played by the rules and behaved themselves. He was so happy that there weren't any incidents requiring either the chaperones or the bouncers. Chuck had no idea that no one in attendance would have even considered causing trouble for him. They all liked and respected him too much. All the evidence anyone else needed to confirm that fact came when he was 'chair dancing' with Sarah. Jesse Swanson danced over with Beca and asked what they were doing.
"Chair dancing," Chuck explained, while Sarah blushed with embarrassment. "All the cool kids do it," he laughed happily. Sarah's embarrassment faded and her laughter joined his.
Jesse and Beca eyed one another. "Looks like fun. Mind if we join you?" he asked, smiling.
"Not at all. Grab yourselves a couple of seats and have fun."
Jesse and Beca followed Chuck's instructions. In a few minutes, more couples wandered over and joined in. Soon all of the party goers were sitting in the lecture seats and 'chair dancing'. And just like that a trend was born. In the coming days, the story of Chuck and Sarah and the reason for the dance would spill out from the Halloween party to sweep the campus and beyond. During football games, the entire stadium, friends and foes alike, would be 'chair dancing'. Like 'the wave'. It wasn't new. Chuck didn't invent it, but his huge heart and unashamed joy in being silly to help a friend feel better was contagious. It even got a name. A TV show may have created 'The Carlton', but Chuck Bartowski, inadvertently, created 'The Bartusi'. The name was a play on a dance craze from the early 1960s called the Watusi.
Dr. Roan Montgomery leaned over and whispered to Diane, "The boy has no idea of his impact on people, does he?" he smiled.
"No, none," Beckman agreed. "Outside the classroom or the baseball field, he just doesn't see it. He's a natural leader. That big heart of his just pulls people in."
"Well, it certainly has pulled in your Miss Walker," Roan nodded in Sarah's direction.
"Without a doubt. She's a goner. Best thing that could have happened to her, if I'm being totally honest," Diane smiled. "He's a goner, too, but he doesn't recognize it, yet," she shrugged. "He will, at some point. Once he can open up about his past, so he can have a future. I certainly don't envy the choices Mary and Stephen had to make." She shook her head.
"I agree with you there," Roan nodded, then he smiled. "Care to join them?"
Dr. Beckman laughed, "I thought you'd never ask." The two professors went to find some seats.
November 2
The baseball team was the field for their first inter-squad game. It was the freshmen versus the juniors and seniors. The sophomores were divided between the two teams to make them almost equal, eighteen to seventeen. The freshmen team was wearing last year's white jerseys and the upper class team was wearing the traditional cardinal jerseys, so even though they were sharing the same dugout, it was easy to tell the two groups apart. Since it was the first game, the field was closed to spectators. The players didn't need that distraction the first time out of the chute.
The plan was to take it slow during the fall games. Only let the pitchers go about three innings each game and rotate the players in the field. No reason to get anyone hurt during these fall games and risk losing them for the season in the spring. The coaches had collaborated to create scouting reports on all of the players. Last year's statistics and information for the returning players and the scout reports from the recruiting trips for the freshmen.
Coach Graham huddled with his staff outside the dugout. Chuck put down the upper class scouting information, grabbed his glove, and made his way out to the pitcher's mound. As he began to warm up with Grimes, Graham spoke to his coaches.
"Let's see what your boy, Bartowski, can do, Bradbury," Graham grinned. "This should be interesting." Bradbury winked back at him.
"Ten bucks says Shaw and the seniors take this kid to town," Mark Klein cracked.
"You're on," Casey smirked. Graham and Bradbury shared a look and shook their heads, but kept quiet.
After he was finished with his warm up pitches, Chuck motioned for the whole team in the field to meet him on the mound. The coaches looked at each other, curious what he was doing. He spoke to the players for a couple of minutes and they ran back to their positions. Graham noticed that Larkin had a bewildered look on his face and was shaking his head. Chuck settled in to pitch.
When he promptly walked the first batter, Coach Klein barked out a laugh. Chuck got the next batter to hit a weak pop up to shallow right field, denying the guy on first base any chance of advancing to second. Daniel Shaw was the next batter.
"Here we go," Klein gloated.
Shaw worked the count full, three balls and two strikes. Klein expected to see Bartowski sweating, but he was disappointed. Chuck didn't look any different in that moment than at any other time during the half inning. He took the sign from Grimes, nodded, and let fly. Shaw swung and hit a weak grounder right at Larkin, who scooped it up, threw it to Mike Millard at second, who tossed it to Rico Linsalata at first to complete the easy double play to end the inning.
As the players trotted off the field, Graham called out to Morgan, "Grimes. That last pitch was a split-finger fastball, wasn't it?"
"Yes, coach, it was," Morgan replied.
Graham nodded, "Thought so."
"That's ten bucks, you owe me, Klein," chuckled Casey. Coach Klein just grumbled under his breath.
Chuck's second inning went better than his first, after another team meeting on the mound. Three strike outs on three straight pitches to each batter. None of them even came close to putting their bats on the ball. All three players shook their heads as they walked away from home plate. Three up and three down on nine pitches. This time, Larkin was laughing out loud as he approached the dugout.
"What's so funny, Larkin?" Graham wanted to know.
"It's Bartowski, coach," said Larkin. Graham motioned for him to continue. "Those mound visits he called?" Graham nodded. "Well, he told us what he was going to get the batters to do." Larkin shook his head and laughed. "Damned if he didn't do just that. Down to the pitch. Never seen anything like it." He looked at Graham and around at the other coaches. "I'm not ashamed to say it. Boy, was I wrong about him." Graham nodded and waved him into the dugout.
Graham grinned at his coaches. Even Klein was smiling, a little. "Now do you understand, gentlemen, what Coach Bradbury and I have been saying? Hold onto your butts. This is going to be some sort of season coming up."
"Sounds like some of the shit that Greg Maddux used to pull back during the Atlanta Braves run in the 1990s," Casey marveled.
"My thoughts exactly, Casey. The PAC-12 won't know what hit them." Graham chuckled.
"Outstanding. Oorah." Casey barked.
Graham leaned over to Casey and spoke in a low voice, "And Bartowski is just getting warmed up. You watch." Casey grinned and nodded his understanding.
November 5 – Chuck's Birthday
Chuck walked up to Helman Hall, mildly surprised that he didn't see any of the Songbirds jogging up to the doors when he reached them. Usually, there were two or three of them rushing to get into the hall, when he arrived, trying to get inside before they were late and incurred the wrath of the senior foursome. He assumed that the girls had been especially anxious to arrive early today for some reason. The thought never crossed his mind that today was special for his friends. His thoughts were too consumed with his work.
Pulling open the door, he walked inside. Chuck wasn't worried, because he was a few minutes early, so he would be able to get set up before the practice started. He didn't want to interrupt them and risk getting kicked out. Hanging out with the Songbirds was an important part of his day. As he walked the short hallway into the room, he was surprised that he couldn't see anyone. That was strange. Chuck pulled out his phone and checked the time. Yup, he was early. Then he checked his messages. Nope, there wasn't anything about practice being cancelled today. He put his phone away and was scratching his head when he entered the room proper.
When Chuck turned to go up the stairs to his normal spot, he finally saw the Songbirds. They were standing in the four aisles, smiling down at him. The smile on Sarah's face caused his heart to skip a beat. As soon as he saw them, they began to sing 'Happy Birthday' while walking down the aisles toward him. No one had ever sung the birthday song to him the way the Songbirds were singing to him now. They imbued the song with such affection and happiness that it took his breath away. A goofy smile was plastered on his face. His backpack slid off his shoulders onto the floor and it took all his willpower not to follow it down as his knees began to weaken. He was sure his knees would give out entirely, just as the song ended.
Sarah stood before him smiling. "Happy Birthday, Chuck!" she said by herself.
"Happy Birthday, Chuck!" All of the Songbirds said, in unison.
"Ah … um … T-Thanks," Chuck stammered as his face reddened. No one took the opportunity to tease him. Today sure was different.
"You're welcome," Sarah grinned. "Now, come over here and sit, please," she took him by his elbow and led him over to one of the desks on the bottom row. Placing his backpack next to the desk, he sat down.
"We wanted to celebrate your birthday at the start of practice, so you wouldn't have to rush off to yours if we waited until the end of practice."
"That's very thoughtful of y'all. Thanks," Chuck said.
"You're welcome. Again," she smiled. "Now, we've got some presents for you."
"Aw, you shouldn't have," Chuck demurred. "You taking the time to sing to me was more than enough."
"Can it, Curls," Zondra growled. "You're getting presents whether you want them or not. So, sit there and like it."
"Well, how could I refuse an invitation like that?" Chuck teased back, smiling. Zondra nodded her head emphatically.
"OK, Chuck, here's your first present," Amy put a nicely wrapped box in front of him.
Chuck tore the paper off of the box and opened it. Inside was the framed picture of the Songbirds and him that they had taken the previous week. He gave the assembled girls a knowing grin. "Thank you for this, truly. I'll find a good place for it in my room." He closed the box and put it on the desk next to him.
Zondra gave him a second box. It was lighter than the first. He gave it a test shake.
"It sounds like clothes," he faux-pouted. "It better not be socks," he grinned to let them know he was teasing. Opening the box, he saw the tee-shirt folded up inside with the same picture on the chest. "I'm sensing a theme here," he giggled and bobbed his head from side-to-side.
"Look on the back, smarty-pants," Zondra commanded. Chuck took the shirt out of the box and turned it over. He laughed when he saw the word 'MASCOT' printed there.
"I love it. Absolutely. Love. It," he enthused. He looked around at the girls. "Could I pay for a second shirt just like this one?"
"Why would you want two of the same shirt?" Zonda asked, confused.
"I'd like to have one to wear and a second on to frame in a shadowbox to hang on the wall," Chuck said sincerely.
"You'd really want that?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah, I really would," Chuck confirmed. "Can I get a second one? I'll pay for it. I promise."
"Sure, we can get a second one made," Carina nodded. "We're just glad you like it, Chuck." Not Chuckles, but Chuck. Apparently, Carina believed in not teasing people on their birthday.
"Great. Thanks," Chuck nodded. "Just let me know when it's ready and I'll pay for it." He smiled at each of the girls. "Thank you, everyone. These are great presents."
Carina said, "oh, we're not done, yet, Chuck. There's one more present."
"Ah, OK? You really didn't have to buy me anything else. Really."
"This isn't something we bought," Carina shook her head at the confused look on Chuck's face. "Hello? We're singers. We're going to sing you a song."
"Wow! Another song? Is it one I know, do you think?"
"Oh, we're pretty sure you know this song," Amy giggled.
The girls took a few moments to arrange themselves in front of Chuck. Some of the girls started to sing the melody, while others started on the harmony. After the first few notes, Chuck recognized the song and began to smile. And blush a little. It was "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story. As the initial notes finished, the CATS started singing the words. One by one, the other girls joined in. The words were slightly different from the original song.
You've got a friend in us
You've got a friend in us
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pals said
Boy, you've got a friend in us
Yeah, you've got a friend in us
You've got a friend in us
By now all of the girls were singing the words and beaming at Chuck. He had another goofy grin on his face and he was staring at them as hard as he could to prevent the tears forming in his eyes from sliding down his cheeks.
You've got a friend in us
You got troubles, and we've got 'em too
There isn't anything we wouldn't do for you
We stick together and we see it through
'Cause you've got a friend in us
You've got a friend in us
The girls looked at Carina as the third verse began. She nodded slightly. Sarah, being front and center didn't see it.
Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than we are
Bigger and stronger too, maybe
At a signal from Carina, all of the girls, except for Sarah stopped singing. They were all grinning like fools. Chuck was confused.
But none of them will ever love you the way we do
Sarah realized that she was singing alone. She also realized what she had just sung. To Chuck. Alone. She blushed furiously, but her chest filled with warmth. She didn't regret singing those words to him, so she kept on singing. She would be having a word with Carina later, though. For his part, Chuck was captivated by her voice. His eyes softened as he gazed up at her smiling face as she sang. All of the other Songbirds got a good look at the look in his eyes and on his face.
It's we and you, boy
The Songbirds all resumed singing the last verse of the song.
And as the years go by
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in us
You've got a friend in us
You've got a friend in us
They finished the song by having girls drop out by class: freshmen, sophomores, juniors, until only the CATS were left singing the last line. When it was all over, they all said 'Happy Birthday, Chuck' one more time.
"Thank you. That was wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to sing that song to me and for my presents. I don't know what else to say, so Thank you." Chuck gave them a tightlipped smile and widened his eyes in one final attempt to keep from crying in front of them.
"There's one last thing, Chuck," Sarah gently smiled at him. She held out a box and opened the lid to display the thirteen cupcakes inside, each bearing the initials 'CB'. "Time for cupcakes."
"There's always time for cupcakes, I'm thinking," he grinned at her.
Carina stuck a small candle in one of the cupcakes and pulled out a lighter to light it. Handing the cupcake to Chuck, she grinned, "Make a wish, Chuck."
Chuck took the proffered cupcake. Screwing his face into an exaggerated look of concentration, he closed his eyes. After a couple of seconds, he opened his eyes back up and blew out the candle.
"Whaddya wish for, Chuck?" Zondra asked.
"Can't tell you that or it won't come true," he shook his finger, grinning at them, his eyes shining.
Sarah knew what she hoped he wished for, because she wished for it, too.
A/N2: Chapter title comes from the song by Randy Newman for the Toy Story movie. The song title and the song lyrics are meaningful. The overall context of the song is meaningful, too.
A/N3: My thanks go out to WillieGarvin, again. Thank you for being a sounding board, helping me to hone my ideas into something interesting and fun (hopefully) for people to read.
A/N4: Thank you for reading. Please drop me a PM or leave a review. Let me know what you think. For those of you who have left reviews or PMs previously, thank you. I appreciate each and every one of them.
A/N5: If you enjoy Chuck fan fiction here on the fanfic site, go over to Facebook and join the Chuck Fanfiction group that's there. You'll find nice folks who share your interest in our favorite spy couple. You are not alone.