SighsEpilogue
Chuck's Apartment
Burbank, CA
"Wow, Chuck, just…wow." She snuggled closer to him. She was very comfortable and it would take an Act of God to make her move, although she was still very aroused. She'd climaxed several times but she still felt her body responding to his. It would always respond.
She nuzzled his neck, sucking and nipping at his pulse point and shivered when he groaned.
"You are insatiable, Sarah, insatiable."
"Yeah, don't you just hate it, too?" She paused, gathering her thoughts.
"I love you, Chuck. Really, really, love you. I don't say it well but I mean it with all my heart."
They didn't talk again for quite a while. She was too busy showing him how she felt.
Chuck looked at the clock on the nightstand. "Shit, Sarah, it's almost 3am and I'm sure Judith is sleeping in her car to give us some privacy. I can't let her do that. I need to go down and roust her out and let her sleep in her own bed. Be right back."
Sarah was almost asleep and answered without thinking. "Don't worry about her, Chuck. She went to Palm Springs to see our Da…d." 'Oh, SHIT!'
Chuck dropped the boxers he was trying to put on and froze.
"Sarah, what exactly did you just say?"
She was dreading this. The MOMENT of TRUTH. She sighed.
"Sarah, I know that sigh. It's the 'oh, crap, I really don't want to do this now' sigh."
"Well, you got that one right at least. You know we could have avoided all of this if I'd just told you how I felt instead of making you interpret my actions, OK, my sighs, since that's all you had to go on."
"But Chuck, I really suck at talking about…feelings. I've never been good at verbalizing. I was so happy with things the way they were and I was sure we were moving forward and…" She stopped at that point. She didn't know how to say what she was feeling mostly because she felt so damned stupid for not just blurting out "Chuck, I love you, too" when she finally realized how she felt.
"Sarah, stop talking and listen to me, please, honey. Just listen."
"I already know how you feel from your wonderful letters. You couldn't say things but you wrote them beautifully. No, I know you love me more than anything and I hope you know I feel the same but that's not what I'm asking."
"You thought they were wonderful? Beautiful? Really?" Delay, delay, delay.
"Yes. That's not what I'm asking you right now".
She admired his naked butt as he walked over and sat down at the desk.
She started to get out of bed but he stopped her.
"No. Stay right there. You're too damned beautiful and distracting and… well, just please stay right there. For just a couple of minutes. I have questions and you have the answers. I ask, you answer, OK, Sarah?"
"Maybe. I can't promise. You know. The job."
"OK. We're done here." He got up and gathered his clothing that was scattered all over the room and began dressing.
"Chuck, what… what are you doing? Please, baby, come back to bed."
He looked at her with the saddest smile she'd ever seen on his face in the two years they'd been together.
"I'm the intersect, Sarah Walker, the damned intersect. There's just about nothing I don't know about you and all your…all your…oh, never mind." He pulled on his pants and tucked in his polo. "Shoes. Where the hell are my damned shoes?"
"Chuck, please stop. Don't leave me, please! OK, OK, I'll tell you everything. It'll be the end of us but at least there'll be no more lies between us." That got his attention and he sat down at the desk once more.
"Judith Lodge is my… my half-sister. We have the same Dad. He lives in Palm Springs and she went down to visit him. She really loves the old womanizer and tries to see him as often as possible since his retirement. She's the baby of the family and she's spoiled rotten, always has been a spoiled little brat."
Chuck nodded and almost smiled. There was no ire or disgust in her voice when she described her sister.
"Fine. How did she happen to appear as my handler? And why was she never cleared for intersect operations until the last month and why couldn't I flash on her?"
"I asked her to do it when you sent me away. I talked to the General and she approved it. Judith came out of retirement and that's why she never was cleared for intersect operations and why you couldn't flash on her, Chuck. She wasn't in the database. She's technically inactive."
"She's retired? Hell, Sarah, she can't be much more that 25! Retired?"
"I take it then that you never saw her in anything other than long sleeves and slacks or a skirt?"
"What are you suggesting, Walker? I stayed true to you. There was never, ever, a thought like that about Judith or anyone else, for that matter. Jesus, Sarah, I'm not wired that way." He was visibly upset and Sarah knew she had to control the conversation or she'd lose him forever. She leaped out of the bed and ran over and sat on his lap, her arms around his neck.
"Chuck, please, I wasn't suggesting anything. Jude said you were the perfect gentleman at all times. She thinks you're 'wonderful'. I'm glad you opted for two bedrooms, Chuck. It might have gotten ugly. She's married to a Marine captain in Iraq."
"So she retired when she got married? Would you have to retire if you got married?"
Sarah sighed a long sigh and he had no idea what it meant. "Chuck, when you got burned in the warehouse, she didn't come to see you, did she?"
"Uh, no, but I was out of it, pretty much. So?"
"And remember how I freaked out when I found out you were burned? I was ready to dump it all and just come home?"
"Yeah, although it wasn't all that bad. No real scarring, just baldness." She rubbed his head and smiled sadly.
"Jude can't say the same, Chuck. Her thighs, chest, back and shoulders are horribly scarred from burns. She was medically retired 3 years ago. We spent a lot of time together in the burn unit. I just held her hand a lot. It was bad. There were operations and well, if she hadn't met Jerry I don't think she would have made it."
He was very quiet remembering all her actions and words after he returned to the apartment. How gentle she was and how she shielded him with Ellie. It all made sense now.
"I didn't know. I never thought… Jesus, does it hurt her to move around? We had mission that required a lot of physical movement. I had no idea."
"Chuck, it's more psychological that physical with women but that's why she kept you at arms length. Well, that and the fact she knew I'd kill her or Jerry would if you two got physical."
"Damn it, Sarah, I told you I never, ever, considered anything with her. Hell, I didn't even like her at first. Then she started crying and… and … well, hell, I just couldn't let Beckman hassle her, Sarah. You should have seen the look on her face. She was terrified of Beckman."
Chuck couldn't identify the look on Sarah's face. He'd never seen it on her and he had no idea what it meant. First she looked shocked and then merely… irritated.
"What's that look for, Sarah? Beckman was on conference and wanted to know where she was. I covered for her. She was all red and puffy from crying and wouldn't have made a very good impression on the General."
"She always did use those damned tears to wheedle out of things. Is that the only time she pulled that crap, Chuck? Did she have a dangling false eyelash and snotty nose, too?"
"Oh, shit. She played me, didn't she? Casey was so right about her and her damned tears. He said it was all an act you women use to break us down and use us."
"Charles Irving Bartowski, I have never, ever, used tears on you, never you. And I have no intentions of starting now. So if you see tears, they're real. Jesus, men!"
"OK, but if you two share a father what about all that stuff about being the daughter of a conman and how you were always on the run and using a zillion different names?"
"Back story, Chuck. A cover for the cover for the real thing. My mom did die when I was 2 and I lived with my Dad and we did travel a lot until we landed in Washington and he started teaching. I think I was almost 5."
"Anyhow, he met and married Jude's mom and we lived together until they divorced. I was 17 then and it was the summer I graduated from high school. I loved my step-mom like a real mom and took her side. My Dad has never forgiven me. Judith just played both of them for all she could get. Little spoiled brat!"
"So, I'll ask the obvious question. Why is this story of yours going to be the 'end of us'?"
"Judith's full name is Judith Beckman Montgomery Lodge. Our mom is Diane Beckman, Chuck, that's why it's the end of us. After all she's done to you, threatened to do to you and may yet do to you, you can't possibly still want to be with me let alone get married."
"I'll pack my stuff and head back to Hungary. At least I'll have this memory to cherish," she said, glancing at the rumpled bed. And then she sighed.
"I don't speak 'sighs', Sarah Walker. Explain yourself. Make it simple so I can understand."
"I – I thought it would be easier if you didn't know, honestly. This changes everything between us, doesn't it, Chuck? My mother is the woman who wants you dead or in a bunker if things get too dicey. My mother is the woman everybody is afraid of and hates. My mother ordered John Casey to kill you once, Chuck. I didn't know. Casey told me about it later."
"Any other skeletons in the closet? You might as well clean house, Agent Walker."
"My Dad's Roane Montgomery, Chuck."
"Roane Montgomery? Diane Beckman? Who was Arthur Graham, your damned fairy godfather?"
She could tell he was shocked. Who wouldn't be if they found out they were in love with the stepdaughter of the Devil in female form?
"So, I guess this is it? We're done? No more Chuck and Sarah? No more us?"
"Is that what you want, Sarah? You want to go back to the way it was? I don't but if it's too hard for you, we can just forget all about the past months and each of us crawl back under our rocks and wait to die or be killed. What do you want, Sarah?"
"I want to get married, Chuck. I want to spend whatever time we have together and to hell with my mother and the CIA and the NSA and all the other A's"
"Fine. But we call your mom, right now, and tell her together. I don't want to live with any more secrets than I have to. And then we go find Ellie and tell her. And Casey. No more secrets from friends or family, Sarah. No exceptions."
"Deal. But does it have to be right now? I want to get cleaned up a bit and be more presentable."
"You mean you don't want her to know what we've been doing to each other most of the night? Secrets, Sarah?" He laughed. It felt good to laugh again.
"That's mean, baby. I just don't want her thinking, oh hell, yeah, let's wake her up."
Castle Facility
Burbank
The NSA logo did its floating thing and then the connection was completed and the austere image of General Diane Beckman made its appearance.
"Mr. Bartowski, is there a reason for this unscheduled meeting?"
"Yes, General. I'm getting married and I wanted to offer you the option of attending since your daughter is my intended."
"WHAT? Who?" Sarah stepped from behind Chuck and smiled at the nonplussed image of her mother.
"Hi, Mom. It's me. I'm the 'intended'. Will you please come?"
The General's lips tightened. The corners twitched. Her eyes crinkled and the lips parted and a full smile appeared, wiping years from her age.
"Sarah, are you sure, baby? I mean… you'll be giving up a career to be with him. And let's be frank, it might not be all that pleasant. Chuck, have you told her about the attempt on your life? It's not going to be the first, I'm afraid."
"Mom, I know all about it. A friend in D.C. told me, and no, I'm not telling you who. Back channels have been an accepted communications practice since even before your time, Mom. Life is full of risks. Besides, who'll watch his ass better than his wife? And I'm not giving up a career, I'm simply changing job descriptions."
"I thought your departure and requested replacement was a bit contrived. Have you two been plotting this for some time?"
"No, General. I was sincere in requesting her reassignment. We just had a communications breakdown for a bit. I thought she was unhappy and it turns out she was very happy and I just screwed it all up sending her away."
"Your intentions were good, Chuck. And honorable. And Judith tells me your conduct and personal deportment was impeccable. In fact, she said if she wasn't happily married… well, never mind that. She also had glowing comments about your performance and your concern for the security of the intersect. Like when you hung up on me. That was the correct action although it had to be explained later by Major Casey."
"In any event, where and when, Sarah? And Chuck, could I have a word with Sarah in private, please?" Chuck nodded and went in to get a cup of coffee.
"We'll have to let you know. I just got back last night."
"Yes, that was quite a performance at the airport. He was seriously going to take out the NSA team sent to protect him because he thought they were there for you? Really?"
"Yeah, and because Jude wasn't in the database he didn't flash on her but finally recognized her. She disarmed the situation but yes, he was prepared to take them on to allow me to get off the plane and escape."
"He's serious about this, then? It's not just some handler/asset thing, you're absolutely sure?"
"I love him and he loves me. No doubts, no questions. Explaining about you and Dad almost broke us up though. You and Chuck have an interesting 'history'."
"Well, he's not marrying me, Sarah, is he? Then if you're sure, you have my blessing. Let me know where and when and I'll be there. Umm, are you going to invite your father?"
"Of course. He's my Dad."
"Then I'll definitely be there." And Diane Beckman smiled and disconnected.
Casa Bartowski
It was a lot easier with Ellie and Devon.
When Ellie was told the news every dog in the county howled. Her shrill shriek of joy went from the sonic to ultrasonic and beyond. The windows rattled dangerously in their frames and two wineglasses at the local Catholic Church's refectory shattered causing several elderly Hispanic worshippers to collapse into prayer at the miracle.
"So when and where? Oh, Sarah, aren't you excited? Let's see, a dress, bridesmaids, and the reception. Hey, little brother, you seem to have forgotten something. Your betrothed is naked-handed. Didn't you realize that a ring is required?"
"Uh, well, you see, uh, well…" He stammered because he hadn't thought that far ahead and secondly because he hadn't said yes until a few hours ago.
"Ellie, the second letter you gave him last night was written 4 days ago in Hungary. In it I told Chuck I was coming back last night and he had zero time to do much more than pick me up from the airport and take me home. Besides, I asked him in the letter and he only said 'yes' a few hours ago. I suppose since everything else about our relationship has been 'non-traditional', I should be giving him a ring, right?" They all laughed at that. Chuck was deep in thought, wondering how he would slip away and buy one without her hanging on him.
"So when and where? There's so much to do and so little time for it." Ellie was thinking that Sarah could borrow her 'Bride's Book' and use it as an outline and resource source. And she'd be right there to guide her along. If she hadn't been a doctor she was certain she'd opt for an 'event planner' instead. She loved the planning and organizing.
"Ellie, calm down. We've only been engaged a few hours. And he didn't say 'yes' officially until sometime after 4am this morning." She had the good sense to blush.
"Ellie, we'll be staying at my apartment for the time being until things shake out at work. Judith's gone home but you'll see her at the wedding. And Ellie, I'll send Sarah over sometime later this week to explain her family situation to you guys. It's … complicated."
Ellie turned and faced Sarah so that neither of the guys could see her face. She looked at Sarah with sad eyes and mouthed 'complicated?'
"Don't worry Ellie, it's not like that at all. It's just that my folks are divorced and living on separate coasts so it's difficult getting everyone together at the same time in a mutually convenient place." She knew what Ellie had been thinking. She'd apologized through tears when she'd talked to Sarah about Chuck's mission injury and mentioned 'complicated' as the basis of their relationship.
After agreeing to plans for the Mystery Meal Dinner on Friday, they walked across the courtyard to Casey's. Again, the door opened with the 'almost knock'.
"Well, I see she's back and you're together. That's great. Come on in and let's celebrate. I already opened up the house's best whiskey to breathe a bit. Whoa, it appears to have evaporated quite a bit. Here, you two finish this and I'll get another."
It was pretty obvious that he'd been drinking steadily since Chuck's departure. He looked over at Sarah and whispered "He's having a real problem with someone in or out of his personal life but he won't talk about it. He just keeps saying that he's lost his one chance. Know anything about that?"
Sarah looked at Casey and whispered, "Carina. He wanted to get married and she blew him off. One of these days I'm going to beat her ass for how she's treated him. He's nuts about her and has been ever since Prague. She floats in and out of his life, always taunting and teasing him. It's damned unfair but she's always been a tease and a bitch."
Chuck went off to find his other handler who was fast becoming an older brother figure and found him asleep on the floor beside an open carton of whiskey bottles. He looked on the wall at Casey's BuyMore schedule and saw that he was on vacation for the entire week and it looked like he planned to spend it drunk.
He couldn't do much except straighten him out, put a pillow under his head and make a mental note to check on him several times a day by phone to ensure he hadn't died or gotten alcohol poisoning. He'd cover his ass with Beckman, too.
Fenemann Jewelers
Los Angeles, CA
"Chuck, you don't have to buy me a ring. It's stupid to blow money on something I won't be able to wear as often as I'd like and I'd feel horrible if something happened to it on a mission – like some scumbag steals it."
"Nope, I want you to have a ring. No ifs, ands, or buts. Please, it's important to me."
"Fine, but nothing gaudy. Something simple and understated, like… me." Chuck looked at her from the corner of his eye.
"Yeah, like you're simple; and there's nothing understated about you? You'd stand out in a crowd of blonde look-alikes. I'd know you anywhere."
"Let's find one we can both agree on. And we'll need wedding bands, too. Might as well check another item off Ellie's list."
Chuck's Apartment
"Let's not fight about it, OK? We can keep on looking. I just didn't like any of the rings." In truth, she found them horribly expensive and wasteful. She much preferred the wide platinum band that looked so elegantly simple on her hand and so masculine on Chuck's. She was happy he'd bought those without complaint.
"We must have looked at 50 rings, Sarah, 50, and you didn't see one you liked? Unbelievable. Must be a girl thing."
"I don't need a big ring to know you love me, Chuck. The wedding band is what's meaningful to me and I love the ones you picked out." She kissed the corner of his down-turned mouth and smiled.
"I was thinking, maybe we could hold off the wedding until Jerry comes home from Iraq? And you'd have hair by then, too. You don't want to be hairless in our wedding portraits do you?" She giggled and ran her hand over his stubble.
"Ha ha ha, Sarah. But at least I won't be gray by 50, will I? Not so funny now, is it, Blondie?"
"I never should have told you about that. You're going to bug me about gray hair for the next 21 years, aren't you?" She really didn't care but liked the playful Chuck she'd missed so much.
"Of course I am. It's my duty in life."
"How about a nap, husband-to-be. I could use a little cuddling and maybe a little…"
"I don't know about that, Sarah. I don't think little Chuck's recovered from your insatiable lust fest of a mere 10 hours ago. He needs some recovery time."
Sarah walked over to where he was standing and put her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a mind-blowing tongue fest. Then she let her hand wander down and palmed his crotch.
"Oh, I don't know Big Chuck, but Little Chuck seems up for the challenge…" And giggling and tearing off her clothes she ran to the bedroom.
'Insatiable. The woman is insatiable. Thank you, God. I owe you big-time,' he thought following her trail and picking up the discarded t-shirt, bra, jeans, thong and socks…
Sarah called Carina on her cell and it went directly to voicemail. She left a brief but biting message and told her to return her call. Then she went to find Chuck and molest him again. Being engaged and 'engaged' was a lot of fun.
She was discovering that talking to each other about things was helping her get over her agent-inspired reticence. And that was why she found herself talking to her father for the first time since the divorce on a personal level instead of hanging up on him when he answered Judith's phone.
"So, Sarah, going to take the plunge? And with him? Well, I always said you had the biggest balls in the family next to your wicked step-mother."
"I really didn't call Jude's phone to talk to you, Roane. I called to talk to her. And I left the information on her voicemail, HER voicemail. Since when do you listen to your daughter's voicemails? And since when do you even care about any of us?"
"I've always cared about my girls, Saraboo, always."
"Don't call me that, Roane. You lost Saraboo when you decided to screw your way through the secretarial pool at Langley. You broke Mom's heart and betrayed her trust. You made her bitter and I consider it your personal responsibility to at least show up and be polite at my wedding and when you have to stand next to her. And no, you may not 'bring a date'." Sarah knew her father too well. And she almost cried when he called her his pet name for her as a little girl. She missed her Daddy but loathed Roane Montgomery. In her mind there was a distinct difference between the two.
"And please don't refer to Chuck as 'him'. He has a name. Use it. And learn how to spell it because it's going to be my name, too. And if you embarrass him at the wedding, Roane, I'll medically retire you, understand?"
"Yes. See? Biggest balls in the family. So, how's your, Diane these days?"
"She's fine although she has her hands full between the grandbabies and your daughter the Evil One, the Daughter of Darkness, the Witch of the Western World…"
"Enough. She's your sister. She has issues. With men. Large issues. You could show a little more empathy towards her, you know? It's hard for her to follow in Big Sis's footsteps and then have to listen to your mother go on and on about Jude this and Jude that. Going home was the hardest thing she's ever done, Saraboo. Your stepmother is not an easy person to get along with. Ask your future husband about his future mother-in-law and watch how his lips thin and his eyes seem to narrow and his nostrils flare and his blood pressure skyrockets."
"You know, I think I like this one better than Larkin although you did stay engaged a year, why I don't know."
"Fine, I'll cut her some slack. But please have Jude call me. Don't mention him and my fiancé in the same breath. He's a pale shadow of a man compared to my Chuck. Good bye, Roane."
"Roane? You call your father 'Roane'? But you call the General 'Mom', why the distinction, Sarah? I remember he seemed quite taken with you in Palm Springs when I was being umm, er, you remember. And I don't think I could have stood there while we did what we did if I'd been him and known you were my daughter. I mean I loved the kisses but if I were your father, I'd have kicked my ass."
"That's because you're a decent, kind, loving, honorable man, my darling. He is a scumbag who thinks with his little head and whose goal in life is to plant the Roane Montgomery seed into every available garden on the planet. I mean, sleeping his way through the entire secretarial pool on the 2nd floor at Langley was bad enough but when he started working his way through the NSA and my Mom found out, that was the end. I took her side and never spoke to him again, except in Palm Springs and that was strictly business, until just now. I disowned his ass."
"So maybe we should not invite your father to his daughter's wedding? How's that going to work out? Here's a chance to reconcile things. I mean, you love your Dad, you just don't like him. See what I mean?"
"I need to talk to Jude. I really want him there, and I think so does my Mom, the General."
"So, Chuck, any second thoughts on marrying the General's daughter?" Her father's comments were fresh on her mind. She really wanted to be sure Chuck understood the ramifications of marrying into the Montgomery/Beckman coalition.
"None. Why?"
"Chuck. Look me in the eye and I want you to think hard about the General, not my Mom. Do it, please, Chuck, it's important to me."
Chuck knew that whatever he did was going to be wrong. This was a lose-lose situation. He just let his emotions flow and thought about General Beckman, future step-mother-in-law.
If he had been looking in a mirror instead of the ice blue eyes of his girlfriend he might have noticed a dilating of the pupils, and narrowing of the eyes, how his lips pressed together, and lastly, the slightest flaring of his nostrils.
"Oh, God!" whispered Sarah as she dropped all pretense of agent control and threw herself into the arms of her fiancé. "I had no idea how you felt about her. We can't do this. I won't put you in such a position. I'm sorry, honey, I love you more than life itself but I – I – can't marry you, Chuck. I'm sorry. I didn't think it through. I'm sorry."
She went into the bedroom and closed her bag, grabbed her car keys and left him standing there, still warm from her embrace.
Chuck wasn't sure what just happened except that his engagement of less than 24 hours was now broken by the woman who asked him to marry her. And over her mother. Well, he damned sure wasn't marrying her mother.
He knew where the source of the problem lay. Roane Montgomery. Everything was just peachy until Sarah spoke with her father, the philandering scumbag according to the two daughters that Chuck knew about. He had yet to meet or learn about Alison's mother.
He opened his iPhone and called Judith's phone, just as Sarah did. And Roane Montgomery answered, totally suave and sophisticated and unnervingly telepathic.
"Well, hello, Charles, I mean Chuck. How's the used-to-be-future-son-in-law? I take it you're calling Judith's phone hoping I'd answer so you could ask me the question. Go ahead, ask it."
"What the fuck did you say to Sarah? Do you delight in fucking with your daughter? Is this some perverse punishment because she took sides in a divorce? And what right do you have fucking up my life? Oh, silly question. You're Roane Montgomery. I forgot."
"That's four questions, Charles. But considering the situation, I'll let it pass. I simply asked her to look at you when she asked you what you thought about General Beckman, future mother-in-law, and watch for the signs. I suppose she did. That's why she broke off the engagement after what, a record for her, less than 24 hours. The last guy, well, Bryce had bigger balls I guess, he lasted nearly a year. I always liked him. Reminded me of, well, me!"
Now Chuck was pissed at Sarah, at Beckman and at Montgomery. Engaged to Bryce? And she never told him. That meant, that meant she loved him enough to get engaged. Would they have married? It didn't make any difference, really. Another betrayal, courtesy of Bryce Larkin, although indirectly and not really.
"Thank you, Mr. Montgomery, for taking my call. Your daughter is safe from the likes of one so pitiful as me. Your mission has been accomplished. Bravo! and goodbye."
The monotone delivery rattled the normally unflappable Roane Montgomery. He hadn't intended that she break the engagement just that she should be aware of how her intended actually felt about her mother - frightened. Chuck had hung up before he could respond or even acknowledge his comment.
"Hey, Sarah, what's up?" Ellie was so thrilled that she was going to have a sister-in-law she actually liked.
Forty-five seconds later she revised her opinion.
"Leave, Agent Walker. Don't come back. My God but you're a piece of work." Ellie slammed the door and went in to find her cell and call her brother.
"Sarah, I don't care whether he likes me or not. I'm not marrying him, you are. Now get back to that apartment and make this situation right. I can't believe you listened to your father, for God's sake. Charles Bartowski is the best man you could ask for, Sarah. He has all the decent qualities Bryce Larkin lacked. He's a man, Larkin was a tool. You fell for Larkin because like it or not, you saw your father in him and that was enough. Ask yourself what you saw in Chuck. My God, you girls would screw up a wet dream."
"Chuck, where are you? I'm so sorry. I'm so stupid. I let my father… I came back here but you've gone somewhere. Please call me. I-I-I let someone else do my thinking for me and … please come back. I need to make this right."
"Jude, let me speak to that son of a bitch of a father of mine. No, don't even try to defend him. I did something stupid – I listened to my father - and now my engagement is off and the man I love is gone from my life because I listened to that vindictive, stupid son of a bitch. Yes, I know I should have told him about Bryce but Bryce is a lightning rod for trouble with Chuck. They have history and it's one of deceit, betrayal and envy. Sounds like Dad. Tell him to call me and tell him the wedding's off and I said he can eat shit and die."
"Chuck, Chuck, please call me back. I really need to talk with you. I'm sorry, I overreacted to something my father said and you got it with both barrels. Please call me back, baby. I'm so sorry and please marry me. Please? "
"Chuck, it's Ellie. Please call me back. Walker told me about the engagement. I'm so sorry, Chuck. I'm here if you need to talk. Listen, when things calm down maybe you should reconsider that intern I introduced you to. I guarantee you there's none of this baggage and drama where Joy is concerned. She thinks you're cute, too. So call me back if you need to talk."
"Chuck, it's Sarah. Please, baby, please. I know I screwed up but I'm scared. I'm not like you. I don't see the shades of gray, Chuck. I wouldn't have stormed the plane to save you; I'd have done the spy thing and been so wrong. Please, call me Chuck.
"Mr. Bartowski, Diane Beckman. Please return my call. This is my private number. You and I have something personal to discuss and I promise it's just between a mother and a man she thinks would make a fine son-in-law. You might think, considering the assassination attempt and all that this is an alternative but I'm not so sure I can agree. Call me, please, Chuck?"
"Charles, Roane Montgomery. I need to speak with you. I've done you a great wrong and yes, I was being petty towards Sarah. Please return my call. [Damn it Judith, it's his voicemail.]"
"Please call me back. Please. I'm begging you. Casey won't take my calls and I can't use his GPS or I'd track you down. Please? Chuck, I love you, you know that. I was just so afraid of telling you about Bryce and then you finding out the General is my mother, that it would just be too much for you to handle. Please, don't throw us away because of my stupid reaction to my Dad."
"Chuck, it's Judith Lodge. I'm probably the last person you want to talk to but I think you need to hear what I have to tell you. Chuck, I love my father but he's an ass most of the time and this time was no exception. You didn't know about Bryce, did you? [sigh] Call me back, partner, I'll fill you in and maybe you'll reconsider."
"Chuck, John Casey. Man, I'm sorry. The women in that family are whack jobs. Chuck, I know where you're headed and running is not the answer. Call me back, Chuck. It's not worth being sanctioned and the pain will still be there no matter where you are. I'm not answering their calls but I've gotten two from the General and more than I can count from Walker so either drive faster and get over the border or call me back. If she calls again, Chuck, I'll have to answer. Good luck and watch your ass."
"Chuck, this is Carina Hansen. Stop being an idiot and stop running away from people who love you and care for you. She made a mistake, Chuck, a big one and she hurt you but that wasn't her intention. But you're doing the same thing, Chuck, you're running and you're making a mistake that will hurt a lot of others. Casey can't duck the General forever. Sarah loves you and I don't think she's strong enough to survive your death if you're sanctioned, Chuck. Please call her."
"Chuck… it's Sarah. I should have told you about Bryce Larkin. I was afraid you'd never consider even being my friend let alone my lover or husband. It was a cowardly thing to have done and I'll regret until the last second of my life. I'm at the apartment and I'm waiting for your call."
"Chuck, it's Carina. I can't believe I missed your return phone call. I was busy with something I couldn't avoid and I had my hands full. Please call back, please. Yes, I've got the hots for John Casey, Chuck, so what? He thinks I'm some kind of slut and there's no future there. He's too closed off and [Ali, just a minute, the bottle's heating, Arli, please…] sorry about that, and he's never given me the slightest indication of wanting more than a roll in the hay and he's the only guy I've been with in forever. On second thought, call Sarah back, butthead, not me."
"Chuck, what do you mean I'm a father? Of who? And why the hell did you have to call when I was on the horn with Beckman. I got you some time, son, but not enough to get you off the grid. Call me back. I can't believe you drop a bomb like that and then hang up. 'Casey, you got twin daughters.' And who's the lucky woman? You WILL call me, Chuck or I'll give that Predator crew your exact coordinates. Chuck, watch your rear view mirror. I already gave them to Sarah."
"God damn you, Bartowski, if I have to issue a sanction on your ass I will. And I'll lose and asset, a son-in-law, and a daughter I've loved as if she were my own. Turn around or I'll give 'weapons free' to that Predator operator. You're 108 miles from the border. You're 107 minutes from dying. Turn that vehicle around and marry my daughter. She doesn't understand what you're doing and she's not taking my calls. We can figure out another way…it's too soon and all the pieces are not in place yet. I know you think this is a solution but I don't agree."
"Chuck, Carina. Thank you. I don't know how you figured it out but thank you. John called and he's flying up here to meet his daughters and I would consider it a great honor if you'd be their Godfather. Please don't do anything stupid, Chuck. I did once and being a Hansen for four months was enough to drive me straight. So many people care about you. Including, believe it or not, my Mom. So, thanks again and please call my sister!"
"Chuck, I'm flying up to Maryland to meet my daughters. By the way, if she'll have me, I'm going to marry into that crazy family. Carina is Jude's sister and Sarah's half-sister or something. Hell, I'm a father. Imagine that. Call Sarah, asshole. Don't end up like I was. Thanks for…helping me. There, I said it. Now let me help you and give you the same advice you gave me: 'quit being a stuffed shirt and look at what's right in front of you'. Asshole, call the girl. She loves you."
"It's me. I'm about 20 miles behind you, honey, and I'll run you off the road if necessary to stop you from breaching the border perimeter and being Predator food. That was nice what you did for Carina and John. She wouldn't tell anyone who the father was and Mom was having a fit. More dot connecting? Anyhow, I'm going to be a Godmother. How about being the Godfather? I know she's asked so don't be difficult. Just tell her yes. Chuck, about me and Bryce. He's like my Dad and I love my Dad so I guess I loved him. I'm sorry I never told you. It was a mistake and I compounded it with ignoring it until it rose up and bit us in the ass. Chuck, I want babies, too. I'm so jealous of Carina. And Jude's going to be popping puppies as soon as her Marine gets home."
"Chuck, Diane. Thank you for making Carina so happy. She wouldn't tell us who the father was. Looking at them I can see Casey's features. Poor girls. Will they have an Uncle Chuck to teach them to smile? Her father sure won't. Stop the damned car before it's too late. You are not to leave the US. At least not alive. Chuck, I have to order weapons-free on the drones. It's not my decision any longer."
18 Miles North of US/Mexico Border
He was out of gas. Casey's pigmobile gulped gas at a prodigious rate and he'd filled up midway between LA and San Diego and he hadn't looked at the gauge since then. He was used to the 36mpg Herders. He was driving a 20mpg land yacht. Sighing, he let the big pig drift over to the side of the road and let it come to rest as far from the road as possible. Maybe he'd get a break and the blonde in the 135mph Porsche would miss him as she flashed by.
He was only 18 miles from the border and he had planned to cross it before midnight. If he could get into the crowds on either side, he would be protected from the Predator's Hellfire missile by being surrounded by innocents.
He walked down the interstate towards Mexico and freedom. A tractor trailer hauling a flatbed of grass sod slowed and stopped. The driver got out to check his rig and Chuck took the opportunity to dump his GPS-laden watch up onto the very back of the load. He figured that the sod would offer minimum shrapnel and maximum opportunity for him to get further away. He grinned as he saw Sarah's Porsche shriek by going well into the triple digits.
He didn't make it to the border before midnight. Apparently there had been an explosion on a truck headed towards Mexico and traffic was backed up for miles in both directions.
He hitched a ride and rode south in the back of a pickup truck.
US/Mexico Border
9:30am
He was only yards from the border, being herded into a queue by US Border Patrol and US Customs Agents to pass through the screening area when he saw her, his beautiful blonde, holding a cup of coffee and watching a monitor with two NSA agents in full gear.
Well, it had been a good effort. He reached under his jacket and touched his shoulder rig and then looked around and saw at least 3 more NSA look-alikes scanning the crowd. Both sides of the sidewalk were walled with chain-link fencing leaving the pedestrian traveler no choice but to go forward.
His iPod vibrated and he looked at the ID display: Sarah Walker.
"What?"
"It doesn't have to be this way. There is still time to make this turn out right. Just put your hands in the air and walk towards the screening kiosk." He heard the ragged sigh and knew what it meant.
"Why? Why should I make it easier for you to take me out and drop me in that damned hole of your precious General's? Oh, wait, it's too late for that, isn't it." She heard a repeat of his sigh she'd heard over the same phones in a similar situation in an airport mere days ago. Only there was no Jude to stop him, no Jude to stand down the agents, there was no misunderstanding now.
He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a spare magazine for his 9mm. Using his thumb, hit pushed the cartridges off the mouth of the magazine and onto the ground. He did the same with the 2nd magazine and it's contents.
Turning slightly he ejected the magazine from the Beretta and thumbed clear it's contents and cleared his weapon and reinserted the empty magazine, pulled back the slide and cleared the chamber. It was an empty weapon, harmless but only if one knew it now was simply a collection of highly machined parts. To the casual observer, he'd just loaded a round from a full magazine.
"Please, don't do this. Don't do this to me, to us. Don't…"
"Seems to me, Agent, that it's you and your friends who are the doers, not me. I'm just an American citizen about to be murdered by his government because he knows something he never wanted to know and because an embittered woman wants revenge on a adulterous husband for something that occurred 15 years ago."
"That's not what this is at all. There are rules and you've broken them. Surrender now and you won't die, I promise. Surrender now and there won't be a hole in the ground, I promise. Surrender now and we can go back to being Chuck and Sarah and forget last night ever happened, I promise."
She pushed her finger into her ear and then touched her throat mike and uttered something unheard. A follow-on agent reported a pile of cartridges at the feet of the target. Their target had unloaded the spare magazines and put them back in his jacket pocket. He'd done the same thing to his weapon. He'd disarmed himself and he was counting on procedures to ensure a clean, quick kill.
"You're good at making promises, Agent Walker. It's the keeping of them that seems to be your problem. Shoot straight, you NSA pukes." He terminated the call and walked toward the border. He never took his eyes off her, not even when his phone vibrated in his pocket.
"Good morning, this is Chuck."
"General Beckman. I've been monitoring the situation. I know what you've done. She doesn't by I do. You're unarmed and she doesn't know that. She'll do her job, Mr. Bartowski, and then she'll find out what you did and it will kill her just as effectively as if you'd shot her yourself. So many good things have happened since yesterday, don't spoil the good you've done with this – this – this evil act."
"Evil act? Oh, please. What do you call that hellfire explosion last night?"
"That was…unfortunate but required by circumstances. The situation is much clearer now and this doesn't have to end badly for anyone, Mr. Bartowski."
Chuck hung up the phone and shook his head. The spy world bred some interesting interpretations of 'ending badly' depending on your point of view. Last night 'ended badly' because she missed. This morning might 'end badly' if he didn't die and would 'end badly' if he did.
Sarah touched her throat mike and whispered 'Take the shot'. She turned away and slowly drank her coffee.
To the casual observer he seemed to stumble then slowly collapse on to the sidewalk like a marionette with its strings suddenly cut.
No one said anything to the blonde agent in charge. Words were unnecessary. The medical team walked with stretcher and body bag carefully through the panicked crowd to the body and quickly put it in the body bag and onto the stretcher. The ambulance left without the necessity of emergency lights or siren.
Cancun, Mexico
"Walker, secure."
"Beckman, secure. Sarah, I can only give you five days. Your new job starts then. I'm sorry but life has to go on. You did what had to be done. It was the only way it could have ended."
"You didn't see the look on his face, the surprise and betrayal. You don't have to live with it. I do. Jude was right, I am my mother's daughter."
"Can you, I mean, would you please explain this to Casey? I don't think he'll, I mean, oh, Mom, you don't know how I felt to have to stand there and be all 'professional' while they put Chuck's body into the bag. And you can't imagine how hard it was to order the shot."
"I'll speak to Casey. I'm sure he'll understand. If he doesn't I'm sure Carina can make him see how this was the way it had to play out. He's a professional. He's had to make hard calls in the past. He'll get over it. Make sure you're free for the wedding."
"Jerry will be home just in time for it and Judith's happier than I've heard her in ages. Your father…he won't be at the wedding, Sarah, so feel free to bring a date if you… I'm sorry, that was incredibly thoughtless and insensitive of me. I have a meeting. Good bye, Sarah."
"Five days? Only five days?"
"Yeah. I start my new assignment in five days. It's going to be quite an adjustment after Europe. And long term, too. I've never done protective services before. I'll probably need to spend a lot of time with this Montgomery mark."
"All sacrifices for the greater good. Was she, did she, um, the way it went down at the border. I was totally surprised. Is she pissed?"
"Yeah, but she's over it, mostly. I think she's mostly about missing the opportunity to see Roane at my 'wedding'. We don't talk about that. By the way, John Casey's getting married. Want to crash the wedding?"
"Any regrets? Second thoughts, Sarah?"
"No, you?"
"Just that we only have five days. Five days isn't long for a honeymoon, Sarah."
"Well, if you hadn't pushed the issue with Mom we'd have had a lot longer in Fiji, but Cancun works for me." She admired the wide platinum wedding band on her finger.
"Sarah, Fulcrum had me dead to rights. The last upgrade was a killer program. I had to die in order to live. Besides, getting paid to have sex and make babies while guarding the nation's prime intelligence asset, that's a big plus."
"Shut up, Chuck. I'm still pissed because I wasn't in the loop. I was terrified you were really leaving me over that Bryce engagement. And you wouldn't answer any of my calls or my sisters'. Well, OK, you did respond to Carina's and worm that info out of her. That was smooth, by the way."
"Hey, the plan was for the guys on the perimeter to fire blanks and the electronic blood bags would have provided a good graphic for the news. You, my loving wife, almost screwed the pooch when you had the sniper hit me with the tranquilizer dart. Good thing it didn't hit a blood bag. That would have been… freaky for all concerned."
"And I am sorry about the abruptness of it all. I was pissed about the engagement. I figured it was another thing you figured you'd leave out of your bio. It wasn't in the intersect data. So, yeah, I let my imagination go wild for a bit but I still felt it was the perfect time to modify and advance the plan."
"Well, Mr. Montgomery, we have the rest of our lives to work on our communications skills. It's going to feel weird being Sarah Montgomery again. My Mom's got a perverse sense of humor sometimes."
"Yeah, well, her daughter's pretty perverted, too."
"You weren't complaining last night, Chuck. If I remember correctly, you weren't saying much at all, just moans, groans and sighs. And baby, I knew exactly what you were trying to tell me."
"Sarah?"
"Yes, Chuck?"
"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if Carina and I had…"
"Do not finish that thought if you want to keep these attached."
"I do. I do. But seriously, that would have made me a …"
She kissed him just to shut him up and to wind him up and then to have her way with him. Being married was infinitely better than engaged.
23 Months Later
"Beckman, secure."
"Montgomery, secure. Um, General, uh, Diane, jeeeeez, would you please talk some sense into your daughter before she rips off necessary portions of my anatomy? [I'm going to tear that thing right off you, you son of a … oh, how long was that one, an hour?] 30 seconds, honey, just 30 seconds… This was her idea. You know how competitive she is. [You're sleeping in the garage, you're getting snipped, I'll use a hatchet… oh, how long was that one, had to be 20 minutes at least] still only 30 seconds, sorry, here's your Mom…"
"Chuck, it takes two to Tango. And I don't think she planned on twins, Chuck, especially not so soon after Ben was born. By the way, are you the one who taught him the one-fingered salute whenever he sees me in uniform?" She loved her grandson but he was too much like his father for his own good.
"Nope, that would be his Uncle John. You still scare the shit out of me, Diane. I haven't forgotten our last 'disagreement' that resulted in my enrollment in the SERE school. Escape and Evasion, my ass, General. I have Sarah to keep me safe. Didn't need to learn to resist torture, eat bugs or spend days hanging by my thumbs. No, ma'am. My Sarah keeps me safe. Now Casey, yeah, John could benefit from SERE. Now please talk to your daughter. I think she needs her Mom more than me right now."
EpilogueEnd