A/N: Merry Christmas Everyone! Many of you wished to see this story turn into a multi-chapter piece, well now it has. Enjoy and have a wonderful day!

December had come to an end and the new year had arrived. With the new year came the return to school. Sarah spent that first morning back rushing around, trying to get all of her children and herself ready. Today also marked Sarah's first day back at work since giving birth to her son.

Being away from her baby all day was going to be very difficult. She had never been away from him since the day he was born. He had hardly ever even been held by anyone else. She had always kept Gabriel close, a large part of which had to do with what happened to Chuck.

Finally Sarah got everyone ready and loaded into the car with just enough time to get everyone where they were supposed to be on time. Sarah heaved a heavy sigh as she started the car's engine. This was a lot easier when she only had two kids and when she had Chuck to help.

After dropping Abigail off at the elementary school and Felicity at preschool, Sarah drove to the home of Mary Bartowski. This would be her hardest goodbye of the morning. Saying goodbye to her son for the first time.

Reaching the home of her missing husband's mother, Sarah grabbed the diaper bag filled with everything her son might need. She then gathered Gabriel himself into her arms and made the painful walk to the front door.

Cradling her son in her arms Sarah hesitated for a few moments before knocking on the door. Mary answered the door far too quickly for Sarah's liking. She wanted to hold onto her baby for as long as she could. Immediately upon opening the door Mary began eyeing Gabriel, but Sarah wasn't ready to hand him over just yet. Instead, Sarah gave her the diaper bag and went over everything she thought Mary might need to know.

When Sarah couldn't stall any longer she reluctantly handed her tiny son over to his grandmother. "I'll be back on my lunch break to feed him. He should be okay until then. Call me if you or Gabriel need me for any reason."

Giving her son one final kiss Sarah told him that she loved him and that she would see him very soon.

The workday was long and Sarah found herself counting the seconds until she could see her son. She couldn't wait to hold him in her arms and kiss his sweet face. On her lunch break Sarah raced over to Mama Bartowski's house to see her baby.

When she saw Gabriel her face lit up. He was perfect, just like she remembered. Just perfect. Taking her son into her arms Sarah's heart melted as his little face split into a big toothless grin. He was just as happy to see her as she was to see him.

After spending some time with her little boy and feeding him, leaving him for the second time that day was even harder. She wished she could spend all day with him, but she couldn't. So after showering him with kisses, Sarah reluctantly said goodbye again.

Back at work Sarah's thoughts once more turned to Gabriel. No matter how much experience she had leaving in one of her babies in the care of someone else for the first time it was always hard. She always ended up thinking about her baby constantly and looking forward to the moment her baby was back in her arms, no matter how busy she might be or how much fun she might be having.

Following a very long day Sarah was finally headed out of work and on her way to being reunited with her son. She couldn't wait to reach him. Images of little Gabriel flooded her mind as she drove to her mother-in-law's house.

Arriving at the house Sarah hurried up to the front door and knocked. This time, though Mary answered the door after approximately the same length of time as this morning, it was far too long for her liking.

Gabriel wasn't in her arms when she answered the door, but right on her heels, jumping with excitement were Abigail and Felicity. Mary had picked the girls up at the end of the school day and added them to collection of grandchildren she was babysitting, which she didn't mind at all. She loved spending time with all of her grandbabies, especially Chuck's kids. Now that Chuck was missing, those children were the closest thing she had to having Chuck in her life.

"Mommy!" both girls squealed upon seeing her standing on the other side of the door.

Hey Abigail. Felicity," Sarah said crouching down to the floor to give her girls a hug.

After hugging her girls Sarah entered the house to find her little boy. Apparently he was looking for her as well, because when she got inside he started fussing. Picking up speed Sarah made her way through Mama Bartowski's house toward the sound of her baby's crying.

Scooping the crying child up into her arms, Sarah kissed his forehead and began trying to soothe him. The mere presence of his mother's comforting arms reduced Gabriel's tears to a mere whimper. After just about a minute of walking around with her son and gently bouncing him, Gabriel had settled down and closed his eyes.

With Gabriel now sleeping contentedly Sarah, along with some help from Mary, got all of her kids and their belongings loaded up into the car to go home. Gabriel was still asleep when they arrived at Casa Bartowski, as Chuck sometimes liked to call home, so Sarah put him down in his crib and got her girls busy with other activities. Once Sarah had all three of her children either asleep or otherwise engaged she went to the kitchen to start dinner.

Things were going along quite well… for about five minutes. Then Gabriel woke up and started crying and Abigail and Felicity lost interest in what they were doing and wanted Mommy to entertain them. To avoid burning the food or burning down the house Sarah had to stop cooking and deal with her kids.

First she got Gabriel out of his crib and sat with him in the rocker to feed him. While Gabriel was busy eating Sarah began telling her daughters a story. She told them a story about the beautiful spy and her nerdy Prince Charming, which were their favorite stories. This one was about how the beautiful spy fought her way through an entire country to save her love from evil, mad scientists.

Eventually Sarah was able to get back to cooking, though not without a few more interruptions. Being a single mother, which Sarah had recently come to realize described her, with three very young kids was quite a tough job. It seemed that all three of them would need her at the same time for something. It was also usually when she was busy with some other task, like today when she was in the middle of making dinner. It was times like these when Sarah really wished that Chuck was around to help tackle simultaneous demands.

Sarah of course loved all three of her babies and wouldn't trade them for anything, not even Chuck's safe return. Though, she would be willing to trade all of her possessions to have him back in her life. Her children were her greatest joy and all that wondrous joy and the precious moments she shared with them made all of the tough aspects of the job worth it.

Dinner time with small children was loud and messy. The table was always full of excited chatter and not a single moment was ever left unaccounted for. If you were looking for a quiet meal, you wouldn't find it here. If you were a neat freak this also would not be the place for you, because there was always a mess. Messy table. Messy hands. Messy faces. Sarah always had a lot of cleaning up to do after dinner, starting with her kids before they could spread the mess even further. But the conversations around the table were so wonderful that she didn't mind the mess that came afterward.

Then there was bedtime, and that was always tough because no one ever wanted to go to bed. Before Gabriel was born and before Chuck went missing, this was already true, so not much had changed there. But when Chuck was still in their lives story time before bed was different. That had changed. Before, Sarah would read a story to one of their girls and Chuck would read one to the other. The next night they would switch. Now that Chuck was gone Abigail and Felicity were the ones who were switching. One night Abigail would choose the story and the next it was Felicity's choice.

Life was different now, but the Bartowski girls were starting to settle into a life without Chuck. It wasn't what they wanted and they still missed him, but they were learning to accept their new normal.

Chuck no longer occupied every thought in their minds, but he was far from forgotten. Now when Sarah, Abigail or Felicity thought of him they remembered all the wonderful, happy times they had shared rather than focusing on all the negative aspects that surrounded his departure from their lives. Thoughts of Chuck now sparked more smiles than tears.

Abigail and Felicity would often tell their baby brother stories about all the fun times they shared with Chuck and that he 'was the best daddy in the whole world.' Gabriel may have been too young to understand the stories, but he loved to hear any stories told to him by one of his sisters or his mother. They always sounded so happy during story time which made him happy too.

As the week went on the new Bartowski family started to fall into a routine and their daily lives began to run smoother, especially when it came to getting everyone to school and work on time. It even started getting a little easier to leave baby Gabriel in his grandmother's care during the day. Sarah still hated to be away from him, but she knew that he was in good hands with her. Mary would give him all of the love and care that he needed and would build a wonderful relationship with her grandson.

When the weekend came along Sarah was happy that she would be able to spend two uninterrupted days with all three of her children. Saturday was spent at the park, where Abigail and Felicity ran around in the grass laughing and playing. Sarah and Gabriel sat nearby under the shade of a tree with a few books and toys. The Bartowski family also had a picnic in the park, after which Abigail and Felicity were treated to an ice cream cone.

Sunday was spent indoors at home playing games and watching a couple movies together, due to a mid-morning rainstorm which lasted until the late afternoon hours. Despite being trapped indoors all day, fun was had. Sarah pulled out some board games for the first time in a long while and they even played an indoor version of hide-and-seek. All in all they had a pretty good weekend and everyone was sad to see it end tomorrow when they had to return to work and school.

Getting everyone to bed that night was a little more difficult than usual because they wanted the weekend to last as long as possible, but following story time and a couple delaying tactics, Sarah finally got both of her girls into their beds for the night. Gabriel however was another story. Sarah tried feeding him, changing him, singing a lullaby and rocking him, but nothing worked. Instead, Gabriel continued to cry and fuss as he tried to fight sleep.

Concerned that her son's cries would wake her daughters Sarah carried Gabriel out of the nursery, which was right next to their room and started walking around the house, bouncing the three-month-old. She hoped the act of walking her son around the house and bouncing him gently in her arms would lull him to sleep. It had worked before and so far nothing else was doing the trick.

However Sarah didn't get much of a chance to try. She had only really begun walking and bouncing when she heard the doorbell ring. Glancing at the nearest clock Sarah wondered who would be visiting at this hour.

The chime of the doorbell did nothing to soothe Gabriel, so Sarah headed for the front door as quickly as possible. Juggling her son around until she was securely holding him with one arm, Sarah unlocked the door and turned the knob. As she pulled the door open Sarah prepared to give the evening visitor a piece of her mind for disturbing her so late and upsetting her son, however she was stunned into silence when she saw who was standing in front of her.

The short, redheaded, older woman stood perfectly straight, impeccably dressed in her uniform and was surrounded by armed men dressed in suits, with earpieces and dark glasses. "Good evening Ms. Walker. May I speak with you privately?"

Normally Sarah would correct anyone who called her 'Walker,' informing them that her name was 'Bartowski,' but General Beckman had always called her Walker and besides she was far more interested in what she had to say than discussing her name. So Sarah simply stepped aside, still bouncing her fussy baby in her arms, to allow the NSA General into her home.

Upon entering the house and once the door was shut Beckman took in her surroundings, the furniture, the décor and the family photos depicting two of her former agents and their children. The General tried to hide her feelings regarding seeing Agent Walker as a mom, but having worked with her for years Sarah knew her well enough that she wasn't quite successful.

"General, this fussy little guy is Gabriel. If you'll excuse me for a moment I'll see if I can quieten him down so that you can tell me the reason for your visit."

Sarah left Beckman standing in her living room while she disappeared into the nursery. She returned after about a minute, still carrying Gabriel in her arms, only now he was wrapped up in a blanket and had a pacifier in his mouth, which was keeping him calm… for now. Sarah knew that likely wouldn't last long, but she hoped it would work long enough for Beckman to say what she needed to say.

Bouncing and rocking her son in her arms Sarah stood in front of the General as she waited to hear what she had to say.

"Walker, we found Bartowski."

Sarah could tell from the General's tone and expression that there was more that she wasn't saying. That she didn't want to say.

After a pause, she continued, saying the difficult words. "It's not good."

A/N: Well there it is, the second chapter of this now expanded story. I hope you liked this continuation and look for the next chapter soon.