A/N Once again thank you so much for all of the reviews, alerts, PM's, story hits and the interest in this story. It has truly been an incredible ride. Thanks so much to atcDave for getting me hooked on FF and to BDaddyDL for encouraging me to take my shot at writing. It's added so much to my love and enjoyment of this incredible show and these amazing characters. This story has been building up to this chapter since the beginning. I hope I did it justice. If you can I'd love to hear what you think.
Thanks as always for the read through to esardi. Your encouragement is always a blessing to me.
Still don't own Chuck but if I did the Intersect would never have gone into Morgan, it would have been downloaded into a woman this time.
Chapter 12
The Reunion
Georgetown
Mitchell Townhouse
8:36 pm Eastern
This was a complete and total disaster. Acting Director Fred Mitchell had just had the worst phone call of his life, well worst since he found out his uncle, Attorney General John Mitchell, had been indicted in the Watergate scandal. His hand picked head trainer, his hand picked 'assistant', his hand picked once and future bed warmer, Agent Andrea Saunders, had been arrested for treason by none other than Team Bartowski. It turns out she had been working for the Ring all along and had run a joint op with another Ring Agent and an MI6 traitor to kidnap the human Intersect and deliver him to the Ring.
He was in a world of shit. He had been anxiously awaiting a report from his team in Zuoz about the success or failure of 'Agent Carmichael' and his team to monitor a swap of intel on undercover Agents working inside the Ring for MI6 between a known Ring Agent, Sydney Prince and an MI6 Agent, Simon Grant. The MI6 Agent was to meet with Prince at a gala in St Moritz and Agent Carmichael and his team were then to arrest the two after the transfer had taken place. Agent Saunders was supposed to make sure that Agent Carmichael's plan went off without a hitch. But instead she had developed her own op with the two Agents to grab Carmichael instead. But somehow Bartowski had enlisted the help of his former teammates to both prevent his capture and arrest the other three Agents.
Mitchell had so many questions about how he managed to pull it off but his biggest concern was if he could be implicated in the plot and then arrested for treason. The thought of the Mitchell family suffering through another public humiliation of their 'shining star' being arrested was simply something he had to prevent. It had taken him years to reestablish the family name and he wasn't about to let some two-bit computer nerd and his CIA whore girlfriend take his family down the shitter again. He had to figure out a way to cover his ass on this one. Somehow he had to turn the tables on the duo and their burnout NSA killer, Colonel John Casey and tie them to the Ring themselves and make it look like Saunders was in fact the victim of a giant hoax to begin with. But how could he do that? She was obviously working with Prince and Grant. It was all over the surveillance video.
He had to come up with a plan and he had to do it soon. The easiest plan was simply to make Saunders the fall guy or fall girl as the case may be. He could simply say he had absolutely no knowledge of her actions. That somehow she had been turned long before he came to power in the CIA and he was as much a victim in this as anyone. Somehow during the tenure of Langston Graham she had infiltrated the ranks of the trainers at The Farm and was next in line for promotion. He was just following normal procedure. But his problem was that this wasn't just an ordinary promotion or an ordinary assignment. This was supposed to be his finest hour, his "Manhattan Project". A fully functioning Human Intersect 2.0 that would be the ultimate super Agent. This wasn't just a promotion to the assistant to the deputy to the Acting Director job. This was the one person responsible to make all of his future plans possible and she turned out to be a traitor. He was fucked and he knew it. Even if he was seen as completely in the dark on her true affiliations, he would be viewed as incompetent for not fleshing her out more and for trusting the most important piece of national intelligence to her, someone he had not vetted fully and someone whom he had slept with.
It didn't take long for him to realize he had very few options and none of them still involved him being named permanent Director of the CIA. That bitch Beckman would probably be given control of the Intersect Project once again as it was the team that she had put in place that managed to save Bartowski's ass, but his was screwed. Plus the more he thought about it the more it became clear that Beckman would try to get Saunders to testify against him. That's certainly what he would be doing if the tables were reversed. He had to prevent that from happening. Andrea Saunders could never see the inside of a Congressional hearing room.
Washington
General Beckman's office DNI
9:52 pm Eastern
A few miles away from the desperate scene of a man whose career was about to end was a room where the atmosphere was as different as anyone could imagine. General Diane Beckman was celebrating another successful mission by the best team she had ever assembled. Team Bartowski had protected the Intersect from falling into the Ring's hands, exposed a traitor in MI6, recovered a data drive containing the names of MI6 agents working undercover with the Ring as well as other nefarious organizations around the globe. Plus soon to be Agent Bartowski was flashing again. He also had once again shown his unique skills in solving problems and being resourceful in breaking airtight communications blackouts set up by some of the world's finest analysts and operatives.
He was frustrating, prone to not observe proper protocols, and had an affect on those around him that was undeniable. The General could clearly see the changes in both Agent Walker and Colonel Casey. She could even see changes in how she dealt with them as a team. He may not be the classic definition of an Agent like Bryce Larkin was but in many ways he was far better suited to handle the Intersect and use its unique capabilities than Larkin ever was. Even in their compromised state, Team Bartowski was somehow better than any team she had ever assembled. They were the perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
Once again they had come through for her, their country and for their teammates. But they had also uncovered the perfect situation for her to be put back in complete control of the Intersect project. Mitchell was either part of the conspiracy and would be taken down because of it or his incompetence for not realizing his handpicked choice was a double agent would mean the end of his career.
So as long as they continued to have the kinds of success they had been having she could easily look beyond the obvious personal relationship between Agent Walker and Mr. Bartowski. Besides once he completed his training and Red Test he would be officially given Agent status and it would then be allowed publicly.
By morning she knew she would be placed back in charge if nothing else on an interim basis while Mitchell's involvement was investigated and his permanent status decided. She only hoped that he was enough of a patriot to spare the Intelligence Community a formal Congressional Hearing on his involvement. Even if it was completely behind closed doors word of the Intersect Project would have to come out and the security of Congressional staffers was her worst nightmare. They might as well announce it on MSNBC. Clearly Mitchell had to be dealt with ASAP.
General Beckman reached over to her phone about to make a call to the Director of the National Security Council and special advisor to the President, Steven Walsh, when her cell phone rang.
"Beckman secure"
"General, I'm sorry for the lateness of the call but I'm sure you are aware of the special circumstances we are facing."
"Yes Director. I've been briefed on the situation." It seems that Director Walsh had the same idea as she did.
"Good then I expect what I am about to tell you will come as no surprise. Acting Director Mitchell has been suspended pending further investigation of this incident. A team of Agents has also been dispatched to his home to bring him in for questioning. Because of his status in the Agency and the sensitivity of the matters involved this will be done as quietly and respectfully as possible."
"Understood, Director."
"Because of the top priority of this project, the President has decided to put you back in charge effective immediately pending any further developments."
"Yes Director."
"Diane, I just want you to know that the President is fully supportive of you and that the success of this project is critical to national security."
"Thank you Director Walsh. The success of this project has always been my top priority."
"Good. We have a meeting scheduled at The White House tomorrow at 11:00 am with the President. At that point we expect a report on what your immediate plans are concerning the future of this project."
"Yes Director. I'll see you then."
As she hung up the phone a rare smile came over the face of the diminutive General. She was back in charge and her first order of business was to get the team, her team, back together and onto US soil asap. There was much work to be done in the fight against the Ring and Team Intersect was who she wanted leading that fight.
This had been a good day, a very good day.
Badrutt's Palace Hotel
Room 726
Tuesday 8:45 CET
The light of the morning sun came glimmering through the soft white lace curtains and sparkled on the far wall. The smell of fresh cut flowers intermingled with the fresh alpine air and created an atmosphere where anyone would want to take in a deep breath just to fill their lungs with the delicate fragrance. Lying on the king sized bed under a duvet of gold were two people. One was lying on their back still sound asleep or actually more appropriately still probably sedated but somehow with a faint smile on their face. The other was snuggled into the first like they were a kitten snuggled against their mother's body. Like it was the most warm and comforting place they had ever known. The woman had her right leg intertwined with her partner's and her arm protectively wrapped around his chest. Her head lay resting on his shoulder and the soothing sound of his heartbeat calmed her like nothing ever had.
His heartbeat was like the sound of life itself for her. It signaled to her a contentment she had never known before. Its strong and rhythmic tempo was so soothing to her that she had unconsciously synced up her own heartbeat with the sound of the man she loved lying next to her. That subtle yet strong connection between them had allowed her to sleep through the night for the first time since they had last slept together in a dingy motel room in Barstow. It had become abundantly clear that his presence next to her brought her a comfort she had never known. It was the only place she had ever felt completely safe in her life and it was the only place she ever wanted to be.
Sarah awoke feeling like her life would never be the same because of the man who lay asleep next to her. It was a change that though it frightened her was a change she welcomed with open arms. Before Chuck had left for his training she knew she loved him. She had for a very long time. In fact she was now fully aware she had loved him since the first day they met. That all of their will they won't they dance for the past two years had simply been a battle whose outcome was inevitable from the first moment she saw him. She chuckled when she thought of one of Chuck's nerdy pop culture references, "Resistance is futile". It certainly was for Agent Sarah Walker when it came to the man lying next to her.
Sarah unwrapped herself from Chuck and headed into the bathroom so as not to disturb him. He might sleep for another hour or so and it would give her time to check in with Casey and then begin to write her report on the events from the night before.
Casey had volunteered to escort their prisoners back to Stuttgart for the flight back to the US for interrogation. Agent Grant would be kept in Stuttgart till a representative from British Intelligence could pick him up for questioning and incarceration back in London. Prince and Saunders were headed back to Langley before probably heading to an underground CIA facility somewhere where they would spend the rest of their lives however brief that might be. Such was the fate of a traitor to the US Intelligence service.
After Sarah had finished her report she heard stirring coming from the bed. Sarah reached for the water and some Tylenol she had ready to combat the dry mouth and headache that normally accompanied waking up from the effects of a tranquilizer dart. Unfortunately she knew first hand what that experience was like. She had also ordered some coffee, orange juice and fresh pastry for breakfast as she also knew that once the Tylenol took affect and his headache was gone Chuck would be starving. She really hadn't eaten herself since she left Marseille the day before. She was looking forward to sitting across from the amazing man who so dominated her thoughts for the past 2 years and she had been apart from for these past two months.
"Sarah?" Chuck mumbled with a dry rasp to his voice as he blinked his eyes awake.
Sarah then walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge.
"Here Chuck, take these and drink some water. I promise you will feel better shortly."
Chuck lifted himself up slightly and leaned against the soft padded headboard of the king size bed he was in. As he sat up his head began to pound and his mouth felt like it had come from an Arizona desert. He reached for the Tylenol, put two in his mouth and quickly drank the entire glass of water.
"I have some juice and coffee here you can have if you like." Sarah smiled and ran her hand over his ear to try to both tame the curls from his bed head but really more to tame her heart to believe that he was really there with her finally.
Chuck placed the glass on the night table and looked back at the most beautiful sight in the known world, the smile of Sarah Walker. He smiled back, took a deep breath and simply said "Hi."
Sarah sighed and with a love in her eyes he only seen in brief glimpses before she hid it back behind her agent façade. But now it was fully in view and she made no attempt to hide it. In fact she seemed to be relishing in it.
"Hi, I've missed you"
"I've missed you too."
Sarah then leaned in and gave Chuck a soft tender kiss that made both their hearts flutter.
"Where are we?"
"We're in a room at the hotel where the mission was last night."
"Oh, what happened? I remember turning around towards Agent Saunders and she must have tranqed me."
"Yea. A couple of ring Agents were carrying you out to a van when we found you."
"Wait, how did you know where I was? I thought and hoped you two would be there but I never saw you at the party. "
"Well Casey and I felt if you saw us it might compromise your cover so we kept out of sight for a while."
"Probably a good idea. You do have a way of making me react when I see you. You are so incredibly beautiful." Chuck grinned and put his hand on her forearm and stroked it gently.
"Thank you Chuck. Casey had to kind of calm me down too when I first saw you in that suit. You were so incredibly handsome. I wanted to run and jump into your arms right there."
Chuck blushed at the thought that he could actually get that kind of reaction from such an amazing woman.
"So what happened with the mission?"
"Well when Casey saw you being taken out the side entrance he radioed me to go around outside and meet you while he came up behind them."
"So then what happened?"
"Well I disabled the van, took out the two guards holding you and then your new British friend found himself unable to walk for about the next 8 weeks. By the way where does MI6 get these guys? He looked like he had just come from the makeup trailer and been summoned onto the set to shoot a scene."
Chuck couldn't stop the laughter at Sarah Walker making a joke with a movie reference.
"Ooohh." His head throbbed a bit from laughing. It was almost like the hangovers he used to get back at Stanford after a Saturday night kegger.
"Sorry." Sarah winced a bit as she had caused him some additional discomfort.
"No I'm fine Sarah. It's nice to hear you make a joke."
"Well you must be rubbing off on me."
"I try my best."
"Well I like the effect you've had on me Chuck and not just with my newfound sense of humor."
Chuck reached out his hands and took hers in his. He looked deeply into the blue pools of Sarah's eyes.
"Sarah, thank you. You saved me…. Again."
"Chuck I told you I would have your back and I always will."
"I know and I will always have yours. I promise."
"Thank you, Chuck." Chuck leaned in this time and placed a warm tender kiss on Sarah's lips that showed her how sincerely he meant it.
Sarah leaned back and re-gripped Chuck's hands in hers.
"Chuck, but it's me that should be thanking you."
"What? I didn't do anything for you." Chuck's eyebrows lifted in confusion.
Sarah looked at him hoping that she could say these words so he truly knew what she meant by them. She never was very good at expressing her feelings verbally but she wanted to get this right. He deserved that effort and she needed him to know what he had done for her.
"Chuck it's actually you who saved me."
Chuck looked at her again with a slight bit of confusion. "Wait… how did I do that? I was unconscious."
"Chuck, I'm not talking about last night in particular but about everything in these last two years. You save me everyday."
Chuck smiled and waited as Sarah seemed to be trying to find just the right words. He knew the best thing to do to help her was to stay silent.
Sarah looked down at their clenched hands and rubbed her thumbs over his palm feeling the electricity between them. She then tilted her head up and refocused her resolve to get this just right.
"Chuck, you saved me from a life of emptiness. A life of no emotion, no love, no future and no warmth. These past two months I would lay awake at night and think about the life I had known before and since I met you. I was lying in a fancy motel in Marseille on the beautiful Mediterranean. I was working with Carina on an important mission that would help the lives of possible millions. It was the type of mission I used to live for. Or at least I told myself I did. It used to give me satisfaction to know that other people's lives were full because mine was empty. That I had helped them have that happier life even if there was no joy in mine."
"Sarah you have helped save thousands and millions of innocent people by what you do."
"Yes but I thought that I had to sacrifice that same kind of happiness because of all of the horrible things I had done in my childhood and all that I had done to give those folks their lives."
Sarah looked back into Chuck's eyes once again.
"I accepted the emptiness in my life as a fair trade for the fullness of theirs. But as I lay there at night I thought about you and how you never gave up on me. How you were always there to comfort me, to know exactly what to say or sometimes simply say nothing when that was what I needed most."
The tears began to well up in Sarah's eyes but this time Sarah didn't care if Chuck saw her cry. These were tears of love and tears of joy.
"Chuck for two years I protected you, The Intersect, because that was my job. But for those same two years you protected me and my heart simply because that is who you are. I can't ever thank you enough for that.
"I realized during these two months that without you by my side I'm nothing but a spy. But with you there I become a better person. A person I want to be because I want you to be proud to know me just like I am so proud to know someone as special as you."
Chuck reached over and gently brushed away the tears that were freely flowing from Sarah's eyes with his thumb. "Sarah, I've always been so incredibly proud to know you. You are amazing and so much more than just a spy. I will spend whatever time you will let me spend with you trying to prove to you just how incredible you are and how amazingly proud I am to have you in my life.
"Sarah Walker, I love you. I've loved you from the first moment I ever saw you and I love you more now than I ever thought possible."
Sarah leaned in but this time she reached out and pulled Chuck towards her tightly laying her head against his chest. "I love you too, Chuck."
After a few moments of silence where they simply felt the connection and bond between them engulf them Sarah leaned back once more and said. "Chuck, these past two months all I could think of was what you said to me at your sister's wedding. How the one thing you knew for sure about your future was that you wanted me in it. Well the same goes for me too. Chuck before you I had never thought about my future. It was simply the next mission. In this job it's a fact of life that any mission could be your last so you shouldn't worry about your future because you may not have one. But now all I think about is a future with you. Chuck I want to be in your future and I need you to be in mine."
Just as Chuck was about to pull Sarah in for a long anticipated, passionate kiss reminiscent of that morning is a seedy motel in Barstow they heard a beep coming from Sarah's laptop sitting on the table on the other side of the room.
"Agent Walker?"
"Yes, ma'am." Sarah said as she walked over to get the laptop.
"I assume that Mr. Bartowski is with you?"
"Yes General, I'm here."
"How are you feeling? I heard from Colonel Casey that you had been tranqed and were almost captured."
"I'm fine ma'am. Thank you for asking and thank you for sending Agent Walker and Colonel Casey on such short notice."
As the General dispensed with the uncharacteristic pleasantries, she got right to the business at hand. "There have been some changes that I need to inform you two about." Chuck and Sarah both grimaced.
"Calm down you two, I'll get to that in a minute but first I need to talk to you both about violating my orders and established protocols while you were at the training facility."
"General…" Beckman cut Chuck off before he could continue.
"Mr. Bartowski, I don't think you are in any position to speak."
"No ma'am." Chuck responded sheepishly.
"Under normal circumstances this type of violation and blatant disregard for my orders would be dealt with harshly." Chuck and Sarah both gulped though Chuck's Beckman could actually hear.
"However as in many cases involving the Intersect these were not normal circumstances. Mr. Bartowski, you and Agent Walker did what you had to do to protect the Intersect in the field. I'm especially impressed with you Chuck for your ingenuity in figuring out a way around all of our methods to enforce that rule. It showed great skill and quick decision making and from what I gather you had no help from the Intersect. It was all you. Though I guess I really shouldn't be surprised knowing your family background and your past missions."
"Thank you, ma'am."
"Agent Walker I also want to say I'm pleased that you reported your communication with Mr. Bartowski and followed procedure when dealing with his protection."
"Yes ma'am. Thank you."
"However, I will not be so forgiving should your team display this kind of blatant violation of established protocols or the disobeying of MY orders in the future."
Chuck and Sarah both looked at each other shocked at what they had just heard. Did General Beckman just say 'your team'?
Chuck spoke up. "General, did you call us a 'team'?"
"Yes Mr Bartowski did the comm. link break up?"
"No ma'am. It's just that we aren't a team anymore. Acting Director Mitchell made that quite clear."
"Well whether or not you are a team is no longer any of Acting Director Mitchell's concern."
Now the looks passing between Chuck and Sarah were not confusion but shock.
Sarah and Chuck's jaws both dropped with that news.
"Acting Director Mitchell has been temporarily placed on suspension pending an inquiry into the events leading up to the mission in St. Moritz last night."
"Wow. So what does this mean for me and the 'team'?" Chuck asked hopefully.
"Well as I am fully in charge again, Agent Walker and Colonel Casey will be reassigned back to Project Intersect and will be heading to Burbank with you following a stop in DC. There you are to have a debrief on your stay in Zuoz and to meet with our analysts and Doctors to see if they can figure out why you were not able to flash for that extended period of time."
"Ma'am I believe I have some idea on that."
"So do I. When you get back to DC we can go into that in more depth."
"So what does this mean for my training? I had not completed all of it yet." Chuck was trying to be professional but inside he was ecstatic to be going back home with his 'team'.
"Well that will be Agent Walker and Colonel Casey's concern. Something I will admit we should have done from the beginning."
"Yes ma'am" They both said in unison.
"One more thing, Agent Walker. I have decided to follow through on the plan we had discussed prior to Mr. Bartowski's downloading of the Intersect 2.0."
This time Sarah was a bit confused as she had been told she would be heading to Washington then so how could she train Chuck in Burbank?
"Agent Walker. You are now the new official Team Leader of Project Intersect. You have shown great ability to both protect and utilize Mr. Bartowski's special skills. No one is more dedicated to this project and no one will protect him better than you."
"Yes ma'am. And thank you."
"Agent Walker I assume there will be no problems with Colonel Casey because of your new status as team leader?"
"No, ma'am."
"Good I will explain that change to him when he gets back to DC with the prisoners tonight."
Just as it seemed like the General was about to break the connection, Chuck spoke up.
"General if I may, what is going to happen to Agent Saunders?"
"Mr. Bartowski, she is none of your concern."
"Excuse me General but I learned some things from the Intersect file on Agent Saunders that may be relevant here and I'd like to talk with her if I may."
"What 'things' might be relevant?"
"General it concerns Agent Saunders past and her relationship with Acting Director Mitchell."
"Interesting." The General contemplated the news for a few seconds "Very well, when you get back to DC I will set up a meeting with you and Agent Saunders."
Now it was Sarah's turn to delay the General from leaving. "General. As team leader I'd like to request that you allow Chu.. Mr. Bartowski to accompany me back to Marseille for a day or two at the most."
"For what reason Agent Walker?"
"General, Agent Miller and I are convinced that Pierre Marchon has a mole on the task force. He always seemed to know exactly what we were doing and was one step ahead of us. I could set up a meeting of the task force and have Chuck monitor everyone coming in and out of that meeting. Maybe he could flash on someone and we could find the mole."
"Excellent idea Agent Walker. You should leave for Marseille as soon as Mr. Bartowski is ready to travel."
"Thank you ma'am."
"I'll see you both back in DC." Now this time the General was gone.
Chuck immediately turned to Sarah and picked her up in his arms and spun her around.
"Sarah, you know what this means? We're getting the band back together!"
"Goofball." Sarah was smiling and kissed his neck as he spun her one more time.
"But do you know what it also means Chuck?"
"What?"
"I'm officially your boss now and you better not disobey any of your 'bosses' orders or you will pay severely!"
"Oh really now? And what might that entail?"
"Well for starters there will be none of this." She began nibbling on his ear. After a few seconds she added "And definitely none of this." She then crashed into his lips with a wanton passion built up over two months apart.
After coming up for air Chuck answered. "Well I better not disobey my 'boss' now should I?"
Sarah chuckled and hit him on the arm.
She then snuggled herself deeply into his arms. It was heaven and they both felt it.
Chuck then picked her up and carried her back to the bed. His headache and the stress of the last evening completely faded away. He lay her down on the bed and looked upon the glorious face of the woman he loved, his partner, his boss and his life and never felt so happy. As he did Sarah looked back at him and softly caressed his cheek. Then she smiled and he knew she felt the same way. This was their moment.
"Chuck, I.. we have waited so long for this. I can't wait any longer."
The famed Bartowski smiles that she loved so much had just added a new favorite. A smile full of love she had never seen or felt before from anyone. It was the most amazing thing she had ever witnessed. If she thought about it, it might have frightened her but she decided for the first time in her life to not think but to just feel. And what she felt was pure, undying love.
Chuck saw back from her the same glorious image she saw in him. He knew right then and there that this was where he was meant to be. All of the joy, pain, sorrow, and disappointment in his life, Stanford, Bryce, Jill, his parents leaving, all of it had led him to this place, to this incredible moment. He had found his place in the world finally. There would be no more need to pick a font. His place was with the woman before him and hers was with him. He knew that now and so did she. The road ahead would be long, hard and many times frightening but there was one thing for certain. Though they still would have to figure out how they would make this relationship work with their spy lives, they knew they would do it together.
"I love you Sarah with all my heart."
"I love you too. Chuck."
Chuck slowly lowered himself down never breaking contact with her eyes till just before their lips touched. Both their eyes then closed as they kissed. It was soft, tender, and loving. As their mouths explored each other their long deep passion began to arise in both of them. They pulled back and gently began to remove each other's clothes never breaking eye contact. They took their time and savored every moment, every button undone, every clasp opened, every article removed was something to relish in. There would be time in the future for lust to drive their passion but this time, this first time was something they both wanted to cherish every second of. Every feeling, every smell, every sound all of it meant something. All of it needed to be remembered. All of it needed to be held on to and honored.
As Chuck and Sarah made love for the first time something magical happened in that hotel room in the Swiss Alps. Two halves of the same heart found each other and became one. It was electric and it was home.
A/N2 I know this chapter was shorter than my norm of late but I felt that if I added the next scene it would take away from their moment I hope I created. This concludes act one of this story at a perfect point I believe. Next chapter begins act 2. Thanks again for reading this engineer's drabble.
