A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and PMs about this story and the last chapter. I read them all and respond to all that I can.
Beta thanks go to Captainrick944, as always.
This chapter is a rewrite of one episode from season 2 with the addition of one from season 5.
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Chapter 18: Catching up again
Chuck had spent much of his personal time over the holiday period on his own project. Since Sarah had finally opened up and talked to him about the mission she had been on just before joining him, he had wanted to do something to reconnect her safely with her mom. Safely being the operative word. He had tracked down Kieran Ryker.
Sarah had been with Ellie discussing wedding plans while he was doing this. When she walked into the apartment, he launched straight in. "Sarah, I've found Ryker."
Sarah immediately tensed up. "Why?"
"So your mom can come to the wedding."
She loved this man. Always trying to make her life better. She sat beside him, held his face in her hands and kissed him. Pulling back after that, she said, "It's not as simple as taking him out, Chuck. He will have men working for him, searching for the baby."
"So, we read his mind, find out who and go after them as well. We'll read their minds and fan out further, if necessary."
She thought about that. "Ryker won't want to share with many, so I doubt any will share with others."
"So, shall we do it?" he asked eagerly.
"We'd need time for this, Chuck."
He grinned. "Ryker is not just on the CIA's black list, but was on that Fulcrum list as well."
She hadn't spotted that. "You think we could persuade Beckman to let us go?"
"Let's see," he replied.
Beckman stared at the pair of them. "Ryker is suspected of being the one recruiting Eastern European CIA operatives into an organization called The Ring. We definitely need to stop him. Take Casey as well."
"Thank you, General," Sarah replied.
The redhead looked at her. "This isn't just about your needs, so don't just kill him. We need to know his contacts."
Sarah knew this but also knew she needed to make Beckman comfortable. "I understand that, General. I also want to get the team that helped him when I last saw him."
Beckman nodded. "His lieutenants make sense, but not if we have other missions that take priority."
Sarah had to accept that.
'It just means we have to move fast, Sarah,' Chuck thought.
Surprisingly, Ryker was still in Budapest. Sarah knew this city well, both as a CIA operative and as a "new mom" with a baby.
She still missed that baby. It was a reminder of her first realization that she wanted more than to just be a CIA operative. Leaving the baby with her mom had been painful. Not just because it would mean she couldn't see her mom again but also that small bundle she had come to care for more than she would ever have expected.
Now, they were flying back to the city where she had first held the baby, Amalia. A meeting soaked in blood but which Sarah still clung to as a precious memory.
They booked in to a hotel in the center of the city.
Chuck pulled up a map of the city center and tapped into the street cameras. He had been looking at those with facial recognition while Sarah had been liaising with the general. "I don't think it has anything to do with his work, but he frequents the pastry shop over the road each afternoon. Not at the same time, though."
"So, you are going to be drinking a lot of coffee and eating plenty of pastry," she chuckled.
"Yeah. I'll buzz you when he's there," he replied.
"I'll suss out the location you found for him," Casey said and set off late morning to do that.
Chuck headed down the elevator from their room, straight after lunch, leaving Sarah to observe from there.
The cafe had seating inside and out, but in the cold January climate, no one sat outside. Chuck found a comfortable corner table and sat reading the menu. He ordered a coffee and a slice of Dobos torte.
When his order was brought to his table, Chuck wished that he could share the pastry with his lovely girlfriend. He looked at it as he took a sip of his coffee.
Chuck was lucky that day. Ryker walked in before Chuck had finished his pastry and sat two tables away.
Chuck immediately read his thoughts. Today, a Ring candidate was meeting him here at 2pm. Ryker had read his file and decided he was an appropriate target. Ryker ordered a coffee and sat back to wait. His back was to the wall so he could watch the door. As he often did, sitting here, he thought about that damn woman who had stolen his treasure. Bitch!
Chuck smiled and sent Sarah a text.
He's here, but someone will join him at 2
He quickly got a reply.
Saw him walk in. Will join after 2
Chuck looked at his watch, 1:50. Not long to wait.
Chuck placed a thought in Ryker's mind about how the search for the baby was going.
'Damn Walker for getting in my head again! And damn those three men for still not finding the baby,' Ryker thought. He wondered whether he should bring more people in to help. At least they had tracked Walker down, so he wondered about a trip to Los Angeles to give her a visit.
Chuck was horrified at the torture Ryker had in mind to extract the location from Sarah's mind. Chuck was still reeling from that when another man walked in and, when he spotted Ryker, walked over and sat facing him. Chuck immediately flashed on Adojan Farkas, a Hungarian born CIA operative who had spent many years in the US before being recruited by the CIA and sent back to his native country. He was a killer but also a competent spy. Chuck read his mind. He was loyal to the agency he worked for, and Chuck could read no signs of dissatisfaction. Farkas was genuinely curious as to why he had been invited to this meeting.
Ryker looked up. "Adojan Farkas, I have only heard good things about you."
"George Smith, I know nothing about you. Why do you want to meet?"
George Smith was Ryker's current alias, as Chuck had found.
Ryker was just launching into his pitch when Sarah walked in. Ryker's eyes flicked up to the door, and then he froze on seeing Sarah.
Chuck 'ordered' Farkas to go to the restroom, which he did, apologizing for the urgent need.
Sarah sat in front of Ryker. She was calm and felt in control. She read Ryker's thoughts of pulling a gun on her and 'dissuaded' him. "Hello, Kieran," she finally said. "Miss me?"
"Where's the baby, you fucking bitch?" he snapped back.
Sarah smiled. "Still not found her?"
Ryker thought about the three men hunting and where they were at present. One was in Paris, one in London and one in DC. The one in London was traveling to LA soon, as that was where Walker was supposed to be now.
She cocked her gun under the table. He heard it. "I think you better come with me," she quietly said.
He thought of the five men who now worked for him and were at his base. He cursed himself for coming alone.
Chuck phoned Casey and quietly said, "There's five of them there, Casey."
"Not anymore," Casey replied. "Going after the last two now."
Chuck wondered if it was because those men worked for Ryker, someone who had hurt Sarah, that he didn't care about their deaths or if he himself was changing and becoming blasé about it.
Sarah was walking out of the shop with Ryker in front. Chuck saw some money on Ryker's table. 'I have him under control, Chuck. You deal with his visitor.'
Farkas returned to the table and looked around for Ryker. Chuck waved to him. "The guy that was there had to leave. He asked me to apologize to you for him."
Farkas looked at Chuck. "You know him?"
Chuck happily replied, "Never met him before. I don't even know what his name is."
Farkas believed Chuck, who planted the thought of sitting and having a break with coffee and a pastry. The poor guy sat there completely bemused about the whole situation, thinking a coffee would help clear his head.
Chuck paid for his pastry and coffee and left. He knew Sarah would be taking Ryker to where Casey was. He also knew that Ryker couldn't live or he would escape and could still come after Amalia. He really wished they could remove memories from minds, but that wasn't possible.
Chuck headed to that location too. As he arrived, Sarah sensed him. 'Chuck, I have to kill him. Please don't watch or judge me.'
'I know you have to, my love. I'm just going to sit out here on guard duty.'
Sarah and Casey worked on Ryker. They soon had the details of all his contracts in The Ring in Eastern Europe.
Sarah ordered him to go to his bed and soon had him unconscious. She then set fire to the bedding at his feet. He would never trouble anyone again.
The three Americans left the building, and later that day, caught a flight to Paris.
When they finally returned to the United States, they went first to DC and handed the details they had gained to General Beckman.
"Fulcrum is an American arm of this Ring, then?" Beckman asked.
"That's as much as he knew, General," Casey said.
Beckman looked at Sarah. "So, this Ryker and his men are out of your life?"
"One here in DC and then one left that apparently has gone to LA hunting for me," Sarah replied. "We will tackle him when we get home."
Beckman smiled. "So, you regard Los Angeles as home now?"
Sarah blushed. "Yes, Ma'am."
"And you two will then marry and stay there?" She looked at both Sarah and Chuck.
"We will."
Beckman smiled. A rare sight. "You two seem good for each other."
"Thank you, General," Chuck replied.
Then one in DC took a little while to find, but Casey dealt with him. Taking out the final member of Ryker's team was relatively straightforward. He was in the Buy More parking lot. He'd tracked Sarah to the Orange Orange cover. He walked into the yogurt shop brandishing a gun. "Agent Walker," he started.
She just 'instructed' him to shoot himself, and it was all over.
Like Chuck, she felt no remorse for killing these men. They were a threat to her family and had to die.
The relief that it was all over was almost overwhelming. She slumped down the outside of the counter and sat with her back to it, looking at the dead man near the doorway.
She made a call for the cleanup crew and put up the closed sign then walked over to one of the tables and sat down. Chuck found her still sitting there an hour later.
She at looking at the pile of tissues in front of her. "I can't believe how emotional I am," she said between sobs.
Chuck held her in his arms. "The relief must be amazing," he said.
She buried her face into his chest. "I can get in touch with Mom."
"Give her a call, and we'll go and see her at the weekend," Chuck said.
She gripped him tightly around his waist, and he did the same with his arms around her shoulders.
Sarah called her mom later that day. It was an emotional call for both women.
Emma answered the phone quickly. "How long have we got?"
Sarah burst into tears, hearing those being her mom's first words. Chuck held her to try to give her comfort. "You don't have to worry anymore, Mom," she finally got out. "The threats over."
"Oh, my dear," Emma sounded more upset at how Sarah was behaving than relieved, although she obviously was that as well.
"Can we come and visit you at the weekend?" Sarah asked.
"We?" Emma definitely wasn't expecting that question.
Sarah said, "I will be bringing someone very special to me." She looked at the love of her life as she said that. She doesn't tell her mom that they are engaged. That is something she wants to save for the weekend.
Emma squealed. It wasn't an Ellie squeal, but the joy came through loud and clear.
Sarah laughed. "Yes, me in a relationship!"
"When exactly will you get here and how long can you stay?"
"Probably late Saturday morning, about 11am" Sarah replied. "And then stay until Sunday afternoon?"
"Oh, wonderful. We can't wait!"
"How is Amalia?" Sarah asked.
"Well, I've been calling her Molly, and she is a lovely little girl now. She… she looks so much like you when you were that age."
"I miss you both," Sarah admitted.
Her mom sniffed. "We both miss you too, S- Sarah."
"See you Saturday unless something comes up." She looked at Chuck.
When she ended the call, Sarah embraced Chuck. "Thank you so much for making this happen, Chuck." Then she poured all her love for him into the kiss that followed.
They had only been gone for three days, but in that time, the efficiency guy, Emmitt Milbarge, had managed to piss off most of the staff and was, this morning, doing the same with customers. He had them lined up behind a barrier.
"What the fuck?" Casey said as he and Chuck walked into the store.
"The international rock star, Tyler Martin, is signing his latest here today," Morgan told them.
Casey rolled his eyes and walked off.
Chuck, on the other hand, saw a man slip under the cord of the barrier and carry something over to the stack of games. He saw the tattoo on the inside of the man's wrist. He flashed. The man was a bomber.
Chuck quickly alerted Casey and Sarah. He also commanded the man to freeze as he reached into his coat. The man looked both surprised and somewhat panicked. Chuck read why. "He has a bomb in his coat."
"Keep him there, Bartowski," Casey told him.
Chuck read the man's mind and found out who he worked for.
Casey was about to lead the man away, so Chuck stopped him and ordered the man to sleep. He slumped into Casey's arms. "The timer is already set, Casey."
"How long?"
"Ten minutes," he replied.
"Help me get him over to the Double O," Casey said. "Some frozen yogurt will help revive him."
Chuck realized that the last bit was for their cover.
Sarah was about to enter the store but turned around when Chuck 'informed' her what was happening.
They soon had the bomb, which Casey took a look at, still in its brown box, in a containment unit. It exploded but thankfully safely.
"The singer's manager is involved in this," Chuck told them. "They have been using Tyler to smuggle information around the world."
Sarah contacted the general for a video call while Chuck and Casey headed back to the Buy More to find the singer and his manager. He still hadn't arrived, so they went back for the call.
Tyler Martin was an awful artist, in Chuck's opinion, but that wasn't a reason to kill him. His manager was even more of a surprise because he was benefiting from Tyler's work, but that wasn't enough for him.
Beckman stared at Chuck as he told her what he knew. "I know why he wants Tyler Martin dead," he said.
Beckman nodded for him to tell her. "And what is that?"
"On his back, there is a tattoo. It's a very clear message about a private reactor that's being built in North Africa. His manager is bringing in the tattoo artists."
Sarah knew this as well, but acted as if it was news to her. "Of course. He's a rock star. He travels the world. The manager is using him to move secrets."
"Idiot never even knew what the ink meant," Casey added.
"So, why kill him?" Beckman asked.
"It's not killing him per se, but removing the evidence," Chuck said.
"I've checked the man you captured," Beckman said. His image appeared on the monitor. "He is Achmed Gambir, a top foot soldier in a private army in North Africa. We've been trying to infiltrate their ranks for years." She appeared on the screen again. "You still need to apprehend Mr. Martin's manager, though."
Beckman looked at Casey. "Interrogate Gambir, see what you can find about their plans for this reactor." She looked at Sarah and Chuck. "You two bring that manager in. Maybe Tyler Martin too."
After the call ended. Casey gleefully headed to the cell to interrogate the man.
"We could dig into his mind," Sarah said.
"Nah. More fun this way," Casey replied.
As Sarah and Chuck walked into the store, they saw Martin and his security team. Along with his manager, with all his fans in front of him.
"How are we supposed to grab a rock star in broad daylight?" Chuck asked. "I mean, security's crawling all over the place."
Tyler was scanning the store and spotted Sarah in her Orange Orange uniform. His eyes lit up. She stopped, undid her top, showing her chest in the tight orange vest, and waved to the rock star. Tyler's eyes virtually gaggled.
"Oh. This is going to be easy," she replied. Chuck read her thoughts on what she needed to do. 'Are you sure, Sarah?'
She nodded, seemingly at Tyler. He knew she didn't really want to do this. 'We both have tranq guns. Nothing will happen.'
She headed off to the back of the store after winking at Tyler.
Tyler rushed to follow her, muttering to his manager, "Catch you later, Gavin."
Gavin looked confused for a second, then scanned the crowd, thinking Tyler should be playing up to them. He decided to go and drag him back. Chuck followed him.
When Tyler walked into the cage where Sarah was standing, she said, in a simpering voice, "I'm such a fan, Mr. Martin."
"Oh," he replied as he walked up to her. "I'm a big fan of yours, too."
Idiot, she thought. Do lines like that really work?
He continued. "So, are you, uh, a model, actress?" He brushed her hair back off her shoulder. "Massage therapist? Maybe an acrobat?"
She smiled at him. "I can be whatever you want."
"Tyler," the manager called.
"Ugh! Can't he leave me alone!" Tyler said, turning away from Sarah.
She whipped out the tranq gun from the back of her pants and shot Tyler, who slumped into her arms.
She lowered him to the ground, getting ready for the manager, but he never arrived.
'Got him,' Chuck thought at her as he caught the man slumping to the floor with Chuck's dart in his neck.
'Well done, Chuck,' she thought back. She was really impressed with him. Even though the dart wouldn't kill the man, it was still a big deal for Chuck to shoot anyone.
The darts would be easier to explain to the general than commands to fall asleep.
Casey's interrogation had provided results, and the manager and Gambir were taken away.
When Tyler revived, Sarah told him what an idiot he had been, having tattoos at his manager's suggestions.
"But they're cool!" he told her.
She raised her eyebrows and walked away.
"You'll need a new manager," Chuck told him. "Find one that believes you're good enough as a money spinner on your own." He shook his head and walked away, as well.
Their trip to San Diego and beyond to her mom's house started quite tense. Sarah had closed down her thoughts and was seemingly focused on the road. She clearly didn't want to talk, so Chuck let her sit there in silence. On the back seat sat a wrapped present for the little girl.
Chuck had found the details of the girl's original family, and the two of them had read the details, or rather Sarah had read them and translated them for him. Sarah was surprised at how close the birth date she had recorded for Amalia was to the actual date she had been born.
Sarah had thoughts swirling around in her head. She was so desperate to see her mom again, and the thought of being able to spend the weekend with her was wonderful. She knew she was going to spend a lot of time in tears.
She also acknowledged her need to see Molly again. She had bonded with the baby in that traumatic series of events. Seeing her again would also be wonderful.
Thoughts had been creeping into her head of adopting Molly. She had no idea how her mom would react to that suggestion. Would it seem like when her dad had whisked Sarah away all those years ago? She didn't want to do that to her mom again.
Of course, there was someone else in her life now who would be affected by such a decision. She looked over at the man in the passenger seat. How would he feel about suddenly becoming a dad if her mom was okay with it? He was kindly not encroaching on her thoughts. She loved him that little bit more for giving her that space. She would see how she felt when at her mom's place and also assess her mom's feelings before discussing it with Chuck at all.
She drove on in silence and tried to bury thoughts of adoption so she could restart sharing other thoughts with her fiancé, the man who had made this reunion possible.
"I love you so much, Chuck."
He looked over at her. Sarah found the warmth and love in his eyes as breathtaking as ever. "I love you too, Sarah."
She still didn't really understand how he could love someone with a past like hers, but she wasn't going to dwell on that anymore. She reached her hand across and gripped his and drove like as she got closer and closer to the woman who brought her into this world and the child who started her journey back into the light.
She parked outside the house. Last time it had been a hurried stop with lots of information to impart along with a baby. She had cried on leaving the two of them, thinking she would never see either of them again. Now, she was sitting crying outside that house again. This time it was with joy at being able to see the two of them again.
Chuck sat patiently, waiting for her to be ready, handing her tissue after tissue. He looked over at the house. The woman he had tracked down was now standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. She was welling up as well. Her hand was over her mouth, clearly trying to keep the sobs at bay.
"Your mom has seen us," he said quietly.
Sarah looked up and saw her mom. She leaped out of the car and ran to the door. Chuck slowly climbed out of the car and watched as the two women embraced each other. He could feel his own eyes start to water on seeing this emotional reunion.
He locked the car and walked toward them. The joyful sobbing was what he'd expected, but not on the doorstep. "Would you like to take this inside?" he asked. "The neighbors might think there's something wrong."
Sarah separated from her mom and took a step back. "Mom, this is Chuck."
Her mom looked at him through watery eyes. "Hi, Chuck." He nodded and then realized he didn't know what to call her. She recognized his confused look and helped him out. "Call me Emma."
He beamed at her. "Hi, Emma."
She smiled and grabbed both their hands, and pulled them into the house.
After closing the door, she led them into the living room and sat them down. "I hope you like lemonade."
They both agreed, and she rushed into the kitchen to get it for them. Once she sat down opposite them, she said, "When she said she was bringing someone very special, I hoped it wasn't just a special agent."
He shook his head. "I'm no special agent."
Then Emma spotted the ring and gasped. "You're engaged?" Her hands suddenly covered her mouth.
Sarah had wanted to make a big speech about it before showing her mom, but she wasn't used to hiding it and had forgotten how observant her mom was. "Yes. This wonderful man is my fiancé," she replied, giving him a loving look.
"When I last saw you, I thought you would disappear into the CIA once more, and I would never see you again. I never expected you to find someone to love." Emma looked closely at Chuck. "Tall and handsome," she said.
Chuck blushed but looked at Emma. "I can see where Sarah gets her beauty from."
Emma smiled. "Charmer. She gets her height from my father."
He smiled back. "So, she gets everything good from you and your family."
Emma grinned. "You can dial it back. Just the fact you make Sarah happy enough to want to be with you is good enough for me."
Sarah clasped Chuck's hand. "Mom. This isn't Chuck putting on an act. He's like this naturally."
His blush deepened. "Just being honest."
"I want to know all about you, Chuck, and how you swept this tough cookie off her feet," Emma said to him.
Sarah looked around the room. Emma guessed what she was looking for. "Molly's asleep."
Sarah smiled. Her mom always had been good at sensing what people were thinking. Her next words rang true. "You've missed her, haven't you?"
Sarah's eyes misted up again, and Chuck handed her another tissue. "When I first picked her up, I was terrified of her. Having her bawling her head off shook me more than anything I had experienced before. Bringing her to safety was the hardest thing I had ever done, but by the end of it, I think I loved that little girl. That scared me even more because it was so far from my comfort zone."
Emma gazed fondly at the two of them. "I think you'll make a great mom, Sarah."
Sarah looked sharply at her mom. Had she read her thoughts?
Emma put her hands up. "I'm not saying you should take Molly, just that you will one day have kids of your own." She looked over at Chuck. "And I can see someone else thinks you'll be a great mom, too."
Sarah looked at Chuck. He nodded. "I've not seen you with kids, Sarah, but you are the best at everything you do."
As they sat together, Chuck felt it was wrong to read Emma's thoughts much, so tried to avoid it. Sarah stopped herself for two reasons. One because she felt her mom's thoughts should be private, but she also didn't want to see the pain she has caused her mom.
"Tell me about yourself, Chuck," Emma said.
"I'm not much of a catch for your brilliant daughter, I'm afraid. I am an Assistant Manager at a Buy More."
Sarah glared at him. "He is so much more than that, Mom. I can't tell you everything we do, as you know, but Chuck was asked to help the CIA and NSA and was so good at it that he was offered an NSA role as a Field Analyst." She faced her mom. "Chuck was the one that found Ryker, the man who made me go and find Molly and has been such a threat. Chuck also found all of Ryker's men. He is brilliant and the best man I have ever met."
Emma looked at him with even more respect. "So, more than just a handsome face, huh?" She stood and walked over to him. She bent down and gave him a hug. "Thank you for everything, Chuck."
As she pulled away, he replied, "Thank you for bringing such a wonderful woman into this world, Emma. She means everything to me."
"I can see that is mutual," Emma replied.
They all heard a cry from down the hallway. Emma looked at her daughter. "Shall I get her, or do you want to?"
Sarah stood quickly. "Can I?" Emma nodded, and Sarah rushed down to Molly's bedroom.
"She's been desperate to see both of you," Chuck commented.
"If she gave up this life of yours, I think she'd make a great mom for Molly."
Chuck looked at Emma. He read her thoughts. "Emma, she's not here to take Molly from you. She really does want you to have the life that Jack stole from you."
She smiled fondly at him. "I know she does, and I love her for it."
Sarah, meanwhile, had just pushed open the door to Molly's room and looked in.
Molly was standing in a full-sized single bed, holding onto the rail that stretched across the side of it, protecting her from falling out. She looked adorable.
Sarah gasped, and her eyes misted up again.
Molly looked up at her and reached her arms out toward Sarah.
Sarah swept her up in her arms. The thoughts of a child this age were not possible to understand, but feelings were. Molly somehow seemed to recognize her as someone safe.
The two in the living room both looked up to see Sarah walking toward them, carrying Molly. They saw the tears in her eyes. "I love my little sister," she told them.
Chuck had never seen pictures of Sarah as a toddler but could imagine her looking just like the little blue-eyed, blonde beauty in her arms. He could see this as an image of their own future with her carrying their own child.
Sarah could see that Chuck's thoughts matched her own. 'One day, Chuck. One day.' She stopped in front of him. "Chuck, this beautiful little girl is my sister, Molly."
He stood, and the toddler looked up at him. "Hi, Molly."
Molly reached one hand toward him, and he held it gently.
Emma gasped. "She doesn't like strangers."
"Well, I am not going to be a stranger," he simply replied.
"So, you met because she was sent to find you?" Sarah had told her mom that much, just not why. "And someone from the NSA came too?" Chuck nodded.
"Wow! What you have in your head must be something special if both agencies wanted you."
Chuck nearly burst out laughing, as did Sarah. 'If only she knew,' he thought at Sarah.
Sarah said, "That was last September, Mom."
Emma looked at her daughter. "And you fell for him immediately?"
"I certainly felt something but didn't recognize it immediately," Sarah replied.
"I fell for her immediately," Chuck chipped in. Both women looked at him. "How could I not? The most beautiful woman I had ever seen walked up to me. Thankfully she gave me a task I could focus on or I would probably have stayed tongue-tied and just stared at her."
Both women laughed. Sarah knew this wasn't completely true, but probably how her fiancé saw the events. "He showed me what a wonderful man he was when he walked away from me to help a young girl fulfill one of her dreams." She blushed. "What he did for her made me really like him. It unsettled me because I didn't feel in control. I left at that point and grabbed him when he left that night."
Her mom had been fascinated by their story but chuckled at that last bit. "So, you took back control?"
"Boy, did she!" Chuck said.
Sarah grinned. "I told him I worked for the government and we desperately needed his help."
"Like the young girl had?" Emma asked. "Playing to his helpful nature?"
Sarah grinned. Her mom interpreting things that way helped the story. "When the NSA got involved, Chuck helped more than anyone can know. And he agreed to keep helping us. I was assigned as the CIA representative to a joint CIA/NSA team working with Chuck. It wasn't long before I knew he was not only very different to men I had met in my years in the CIA, but also he'd worked his way into both my heart and my thoughts."
Chuck gazed fondly at her. "And I couldn't get her out of my head if I wanted to." Sarah had to stifle the chuckle at that.
"And now you're engaged," Emma said. "I need to see that ring." She walked over to her daughter and held her hand. "This ring is beautiful and doesn't look like one a Buy More Assistant Manager could afford."
Chuck grinned. "It took all my savings and money from my NSA salary."
Emma looked at him. "So, two jobs?"
He nodded. "My Buy More one is now just a cover."
Emma looked at her daughter, who shrugged. "My cover is as the manager of a yogurt shop on the other side of the parking lot from the Buy More."
"And you go out on missions together?"
"Yeah. With our NSA agent who also works in the Buy More," Sarah replied.
"Why the cover jobs?" Emma asked.
"Because we are a secret," Sarah replied. "The people we are up against can't know who we are."
Emma nodded. "I wish you could leave this life you lead, but I understand."
After lunch, Chuck cleaned up the little girl and started to play with her. Sarah and her mom were in the kitchen having just cleared the table. The two women looked out at Chuck and Molly.
Emma leaned toward her daughter. "Joining the CIA and giving up everything, did you ever think it would lead you here?"
Sarah replied without having to think. "No." She chuckled. She looked at her mom. "My life went on pause and stayed that way until I met Molly. After I left you two, that pause button was pressed again. Then, I met Chuck, and he pressed play."
"Looks like he's doing the same with Molly," Emma observed.
They both watched Molly pulling at Chuck's hair, and Sarah laughed. "I like running my fingers through his hair, too."
They walked back to the pair of them.
"Rescue me!" Chuck said while grinning. "She's a bully, like her sister."
"Oh. Bully, am I?" Sarah teased.
"Well, you can hurt me in so many ways," he replied. 'And make me do unspeakable things in the bedroom.'
"True," she said and thought, 'Make?'
'Hmm. Maybe that's my desire for your body.'
'Shut up! Don't think about things like that now!'
Emma prized Molly's fingers out of his hair and picked her up. The other two read the love she had for this little girl and saw Molly press her face into Emma's neck. The love returned could be felt clearly.
Emma's hope that Sarah wouldn't separate them was a clear thought, too. Sarah's love for her mom and her promise to her override her desire to take Molly back.
'Our lives are too fraught with danger anyway,' Chuck thought at her.
'I know. I just miss Molly so much,' she thought back.
'So, we visit regularly,' he replied.
Sarah hugged her man tightly. 'I'd love that.'
Emma watched them. Her happiness at seeing their love washed over her.
They moved back into the living room, and Emma sat with Molly in her lap and said to Sarah, "Could you get her soft toy dog? It will be somewhere on her bed."
Sarah hurried down and brought it back. "So, who's this?"
"This is Rex," her mom replied.
Sarah brought the dog up to her face. "Hi, Rex." She handed Rex over to the grasping hands. Molly hugged the dog to her.
Sarah sat beside them and talked to her sister. "You know, I used to have a stuffed dog, too, when I was little, and I named him Bunny."
"Bunny?" Chuck said.
Sarah looked at him. "I know. A funny name for a dog. I was a strange kid."
"I bet you were adorable," he replied.
"Oh, she was," Emma said. "There are pictures of both these two lovelies on the walls."
Chuck wanted to leap up to look, but Sarah placed a hand on his arm to stop him. She looked at the older woman. "Mom, the Ryker threat is over. We can see each other, and others can see you and Molly with us. It means my wonderful mom and sister can come to our wedding."
Emma misted up. "I know. I can't believe it is going to happen, but as soon as I saw the engagement ring, I vowed to be there to see my precious first daughter get married."
Sarah's eyes started to water as well. "I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, hon."
Sarah proceeded to tell her mom about the plans they had so far and how she wanted to involve Emma in the pre-wedding organizing as much as possible.
"Do you have a spare room in your apartment?" Emma asked.
They had both read her thoughts. "You are welcome to come and stay as much as you can," Chuck told her.
"Please come soon," Sarah said. "You can then meet Chuck's sister, who will be my bridesmaid."
Emma sat quietly for a while. "I wasn't thinking that quickly. This is all quite overwhelming, but yes, of course we will come as soon as we can."
Sarah could see that her mom was nervous about meeting others her daughter spent time with in her job, but also the long journey with Molly. Sarah looked at Chuck. They shared their thoughts, and he agreed with what she was going to suggest, even though the two of them would be apart because of it.
"Mom, what if I stay the week, and I come with you when you drive up?"
Emma looked surprised. "Can you just take time off like that?"
"Not normally, but I haven't had a vacation for a long time." 'It's a white lie, Chuck.'
"You should save that for your honeymoon," Emma asserted.
"What if I drive Sarah down at the end of the week and then we travel back together?"
"How about I come in the mid-winter break in February?" Emma suggested. Sarah 'read' her panic at the fast arrangements. "But you are welcome to come here before that."
Sarah gripped her mom's hand. "I want to see the two of you every weekend that I can."
Both women had to wipe the tears away.
By that time, Molly was starting to fuss, getting bored. The attention of all three adults shifted to her for some time.
Chuck loved the time they spent with Sarah's family that day. The plan for the next day was a trip to the beach. Molly loved splashing in the water, so that would definitely be part of their time there.
Emma only had two bedrooms, Molly's and her own. So, the hotel Sarah had booked was still needed. Her mom felt awful about this, but Chuck was secretly pleased. They still needed to make love each day to avoid the dream sex. As they had no control over their bodies when the latter occurred, they wanted to avoid it. However, had they stayed at her mom's and slept on the couch, sex of any sort would be a problem.
As it was, when they entered their hotel room, both were desperate for more contact and soon tumbled into bed and there was no chance of sleep sex occurring.
In the morning, they quickly showered and headed over the Emma's for breakfast. Molly had been up for a couple of hours by the time they got there.
Sarah was a bit disappointed. Emma couldn't mind read but recognized the expression that very briefly appeared on her daughter's face. She chuckled. "It's one of the things that is different about your sister. Unlike you, Sarah, she is an early riser and at her best in the morning."
The chuckle from her fiancé earned him a glare from Sarah. "I'm good in the morning!" she said.
"Oh, you're good all the time, Sarah," Chuck said. 'In every way,' he thought. "But certainly not a lover of an early start."
The thought he added and the images he supplied of things she was good at in the early hours meant she really had to school her expression. 'Cut that out, Mister! Stop making me want to drag you back to that hotel room.'
'Can't go there, anyway. We checked out,' he thought back.
"You know, it's almost as if you can talk to each other without words," Emma said.
Sarah was tempted to tell her mom everything but decide it was best not to for her safety.
'She's obviously good at keeping secrets, Sarah,' Chuck thought. 'But I think that may be too much information this weekend.'
It took longer than Chuck expected to get everything ready for Molly to go out. Sarah wasn't surprised after what she had gone through to bring her out of Hungary. She still shuddered on thinking back to that time, even though it changed her views on life and brought this wonderful little girl into hers.
Sarah sat in the back of her mom's car with Molly, and Chuck sat in the front. It didn't take them long to reach the beach, and they were soon down on the sand.
Molly was desperate to get her legs in the water, so Sarah quickly rolled up her jeans and walked down with her.
After setting everything up, Chuck and Emma sat on the towels and watched the two at the water's edge. Sarah really should have taken off her jeans, which were now soaking wet from kneeling to be down with her sister. Probably both should have changed into swimwear as each was splashing water at the other.
Looking at her eldest, Emma said, "She was always a tough little thing, you know, but I worried about her. Growing up mostly with her father, she always kept to herself; she wouldn't let people get close. I know I don't know you really well yet, but thank you for bringing her out of her shell. For making her happy."
"She helped me, too," Chuck replied. "I was lost, and she guided me back to a happy place."
Emma gazed at him, thinking about that. "You're each what the other needed?"
"Very much so, Emma. I have never been so happy as I am with Sarah, and she tells me she's the same."
Emma chuckled. "She tells you? You don't know it?"
He smiled, "I do know it. I just find it amazing that someone as perfect as your daughter could want to be with me."
Emma smiled at him. "Seems to me that you've done plenty to show why. Thank you for what you've done for her and for Molly and me."
He nodded. "I thought I was going to be alone in this life, but then Sarah appeared, and her smile lit up my life for me." He looked at Emma. "But I don't want you to think it is just because she's the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. She is a wonderful, caring person who was trapped in a thankless job."
Emma nodded. "I think she wants out of that life. I can see her as a mom of her own children… of your children… within the next two years."
The thought of being a newborn's dad terrified him, but he found he wanted it. With Sarah, anything was possible and desirable. He focused back on the two soaked individuals in front of him. He loved the older one beyond belief, and seeing her with Molly, made him realize that having a child of their own would be a wonderful new adventure for the two of them.
By the time they needed to leave, Sarah and Molly's clothes had almost dried out. When they got back to her mom's house, Sarah collected some dry clothes from Molly's bedroom and led her to the bathroom to wash. Chuck went and brought Sarah's case in from her car so that she could change too.
When Molly was clean and dressed, he took her back into the living room while Sarah had a quick shower.
"You are both good with Molly," Emma told him. "I think you will make great parents. So much better than what Sarah had back in the day."
"From what she has told me, she made a mistake choosing to be with her dad rather than you. She idolized you now, Emma."
She looked at him. "Thank you, Chuck." She turned back to what she was preparing for lunch. He read the wistful thoughts of what could have been if Sarah had made that different choice.
Sarah emerged, looking stunning as always. She had her hair up in a messy bun, but that just added to her beauty showing off he long neck. He gasped as he often did.
Emma chuckled. "You really do have it bad."
"I find him just as lovely to look at, Mom," Sarah said as she walked up to them.
She reached for her sister, and Chuck handed her over.
After another emotional farewell, the two set off for Los Angeles.
Sarah was sad to leave, but knowing she and Chuck would be returning at the weekend made up for it.
"They are both lovely, Sarah."
She glanced at her fiancé and beamed at him. "They are, aren't they?"
Having looked at all the photos, Chuck said, "Molly looks like you did when you were that age. You definitely could be sisters."
She looked at him questioningly. "Or mother and daughter?"
He looked fondly at her. "Or that, but I think it would break your mom's heart not to be able to bring Molly up like she wanted to bring you up."
She sighed. "I know. That's why I won't suggest taking her from Mom." She was conflicted about Molly but had decided she should let her mom have what she had promised to her. Besides, they couldn't take her while still in the spy business.
"Maybe we should plan to have our first child fairly quickly after we marry?" he suggested.
Sarah had started to think this too. It was a crazy idea, but after this weekend, so appealing to her. "Apart from the reduced time for sex, I like that idea."
He laughed out loud. "We'll have to make time or maybe just learn to sleep less."
She grinned. "Less sleep, more sex, sounds pretty good to me now."
"Do we need to find a motel en-route?"
Her eyes lit up. "Yes!"
A/N: Back to season 2, next chapter.
Thoughts?