Author's Note: I apologize for the delay with this chapter. For unforeseen reasons, things just didn't work out the way I had planned. It has taken me this long to find the time to get some writing done. I've neglected this chapter but now I've finally finished writing it. Well, this is the end of the second arc, as I said last chapter. That means we're five chapters away from the end of this story, hope you guys are still interested. For now, here's chapter 15:
-0-
Thirty-Five
Walker/Bartowski Residence
September 18, 2016
6:45 am
The day had arrived: September 18, the occasion of his thirty-fifth birthday. Chuck awoke to the smell of bacon wafting throughout the room. Sarah had cooked breakfast.
"Good morning," Sarah greeted him brightly.
"Good morning." Chuck nodded to the tray of food. "What's with this?"
"It's your birthday," she replied. "Breakfast in bed seemed like the thing to do."
Chuck smiled at her. "Thank you, Sarah."
She grinned. "Don't get used to it."
"But you're such a great cook," he protested in jest as he moved over. "Sit," he told her and patted the empty space next to him.
Sarah came to lie next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Chuck took a forkful of food and brought it up to her mouth. "Come on, open up," he urged her.
"That's supposed to be your breakfast," she reminded him.
"And I want to share it with you, so eat up."
They ate the plate of food in silent companionship and it dawned on Chuck that he hadn't felt this comfortable with someone else in many years. It brought a smile to his face realizing that maybe he wasn't as lost a cause as he had thought.
Sarah noticed his smile. "What?" She asked him, curious as to what he was thinking.
"Well... it is my birthday," he started, "and you've already brought me breakfast in bed..."
"Uh-huh..."
"What are my chances of getting birthday sex here?" He waggled his eyebrows. "Because, I'm telling you, it would help me out a lot in getting through that stupid party."
"Well... since you put it that way," Sarah began to nibble on his earlobe. Chuck shut his eyes to enjoy the sensation... until he felt Sarah pat him on the cheek and laugh. "Maybe later."
"What?" Chuck's eyes flew open. "Oh, come on!" He objected.
"Sorry, Chuck," she said as she sauntered off. "No time, gotta get to work." She stopped at the edge of the door. "But... if you behave yourself at the party tonight, you just might get rewarded after," she enticed right before exiting the room.
"I'll hold you to that!" He shouted at the empty doorway.
In that empty room, Chuck had time to reflect; it was glaringly clear that he wasn't where his college-aged self had imagined he'd be at that point in his life. Of course, compared to where he had spent his last seven birthdays, he couldn't complain.
Chuck had been home for almost a month and things were moving in a positive direction, albeit slowly. He and his dad had finally gotten around to starting their business and his relationship with Sarah had progressed farther in that month that it had in the first year and a half he knew her.
There was still his mom, his sister, the talks with the doctor... but that could wait; for now, he'd take the win where he could. He cradled the back of his head with his interlocked hands, leaned back onto the pillow, and stared at the ceiling with a smile on his face. For a couple of minutes, he allowed himself to revel in the feeling of contentment. It gave him hope that he could get back to having a sense of normalcy about him.
-0-
Walker/Bartowski Residence
September 18, 2016
5:50 pm
"Hi, Ellie." Chuck opened the door to find Ellie with a cake in her arms and Clara at her side. "Hi, Clara." He smiled at his little niece.
She smiled back. "Hi, Uncle Chuck. Happy birthday!"
He was about to bend down to pick her up when Ellie pushed her way through. "No time, Chuck," she called out over her shoulder. "Go help out Devon with the rest of the bags; we have a party to get ready for."
Chuck gave a little apologetic shrug. When he saw Clara pout, he assured her, "We'll play later, okay?"
Clara nodded and went chasing after her mom. Chuck straightened back up and walked towards the minivan where Devon was about to unload bags of groceries and party supplies.
"Hey, Devon, need a little help?"
Devon looked back at his brother-in-law. "Birthday Boy! Hey!"
"I turn thirty-five today, Devon. I'm not exactly a boy anymore," Chuck offered.
"Come on, Chuck! It's how you feel inside that counts," Devon replied, cheerily.
"In that case, what does it make me if I feel like I've been run over by a train... multiple times?"
"Ouch! Everything okay, Chuck?" Devon inquired. "You and Sarah doing alright?"
Chuck sighed. "Actually, Sarah and I are finally in a good place," he answered. "Carina sort of opened my eyes when she was here a couple of weeks ago."
Devon's brow rose. "She did? Uh... didn't you try to... you know," Devon mimicked a choking motion with his hands.
"Yeah," Chuck admitted regretfully. "Luckily, she cares about Sarah a lot more than she dislikes me. She told me some things I needed to hear."
Devon nodded. "Well, I guess that's good then," he added. "But, if it's not Sarah, then what's bothering you?"
"Being back," he started. "It's a lot harder than I thought it would be to re-adjust."
Devon nodded sympathetically but he honestly couldn't relate to what Chuck was going through.
"It's been hard to figure out exactly where, how, or if I even fit in here anymore."
Devon looked at him incredulously. "Chuck, come on, of course you fit in! Here, with your family."
"Thanks, Devon," Chuck smiled weakly. "What I meant is, I knew I changed in the time I was away but it never crossed my mind that everyone else had changed too." He started to unload the bags from the car. "I've had to remind myself a couple of times that I'm not talking to the same people from eight years ago; it just makes the changes I've gone through that much more obvious."
"Look, Chuck," Devon said as he started to grab some bags too, "We don't think you've changed all that much. It's mostly that thing in your head," he nodded. "So stop worrying about it and just enjoy your party." Devon smiled encouragingly.
"You're right," Chuck smiled back, "I guess I'm just blowing things out of proportion."
"There you go! It's really not a big deal."
He didn't like lying to Ellie or Devon but it was times like these that told Chuck he was doing the right thing. There was no way for them to understand and he didn't want to burden them anyway. It was better this way; besides, he had Sarah and she was all he needed.
-0-
Walker/Bartowski Residence
September 18, 2016
8:10 pm
There was a knock at the door. For a moment, Chuck wondered why no one ever bothered to use the doorbell, but it was a fleeting thought. "Ilsa! It's good to see you again," Chuck greeted her warmly, "and without the whole bullets flying all around us thing, too."
"Hello, Charles" she smiled, "I'm glad to see you made it home safely, happy birthday." Ilsa handed Chuck a gift-wrapped box.
"Thank you."
"Hey, moron, I'm here too, you know," Casey interjected from beside Ilsa.
"John, that was rude," Ilsa reprimanded. "Apologize."
"What?"
"John..."
"Sorry."
"Not me, him." She nodded towards Chuck, who was visibly enjoying the exchange.
"Sorry, Bartowski," Casey reluctantly offered.
"It's cool," Chuck replied. "Please come in and make yourselves at home." As they began to walk by, Chuck spoke again with a wide smile on his face, "Hey Casey, didn't you say something about pants recently?"
Casey growled softly and spoke out of the side of his mouth. "Keep it up, moron."
"What was that, John?"
"Nothing," he quickly turned his attention to Ilsa, "just saying that I can't wait to see his mother and sister again... they are both going to be here, right, Chuck?"
The smile left Chuck's face instantly. "Yeah... right."
Casey smirked triumphantly, he won that round.
-0-
Walker/Bartowski Residence
September 18, 2016
8:20 pm
"Okay, that's mom and dad," Chuck turned to look at Ellie. "Can you please just try to be civil tonight?"
Ellie was tightlipped but finally spoke. "It's your day, Chuck" she started, "if you want them here, I promise I won't say anything to them that will ruin your party." She then added, "As a matter of fact, I won't say anything to them at all."
Chuck sighed in defeat but went to answer the door.
"Mom, dad, hi."
"Hello, Charles." His dad greeted him with a hug.
"Happy birthday, Chuck." His mom handed him a gift with a small smile.
Chuck's relationship with his mom wasn't as bad as Ellie's but there were abandonment issues to be worked out between them. Still, he was sure they could get past them. "Well, come on in, everyone's mostly here."
-0-
Walker/Bartowski Residence
September 18, 2016
8:35 pm
"Chuck, buddy! Happy birthday, man!" Morgan went in for a hug as soon as Chuck opened the door.
"Thanks, Morgan." They had gotten off with a rough reunion but things had settled down between them. They just had to learn how to be best friends again after so many years. "And, you must be the awesome wife he keeps talking about," Chuck said as he turned to the pretty brunette standing beside Morgan.
"Awesome, huh?" She responded as she turned to Morgan with a smile.
"Well..." Morgan shrugged and blushed under the watchful eye of his wife.
She leaned in for a kiss as Chuck chuckled at his friend.
"It's nice to finally meet you," Chuck offered his hand.
"I can't believe that I'm actually meeting you," she responded. "Up until about a month ago, I thought you were dead."
"Yeah... case of mistaken identity... long story," Chuck deflected.
"Well I, for one, am glad you're back," she shook his hand. "I know how hard it was for Morgan to lose his best friend."
Trying to ease the somber mood that was slowly creeping into him, Morgan spoke. "Well, you're here now, it's your birthday, so let's party!" He raised the bottle of champagne he was holding in his hand and made his way into the room. "Hey, everybody! Time to party!"
-0-
Walker/Bartowski Residence
September 18, 2016
11:00 pm
Everyone had taken off, it was just Chuck and Sarah left sitting in the living room. Sarah cuddled up to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Chuck, in turn, rested his head on top of hers.
"So did you have fun?"
"It was okay," he answered. "I still would've preferred just the two of us doing something," he admitted.
"I never thought I'd say this, but thank god for Morgan."
Chuck let out a soft chuckle. "I know what you mean... for once, his antics actually worked in my favor."
"Your mom and sister didn't even get the chance to fight, the way he kept talking and telling stories about you guys."
"Yeah... I think Casey was a little disappointed."
"I'm sure he'll get over it." Sarah smiled.
"I suppose it was a good night even though it wasn't just the two of us," Chuck remarked.
"The night's not over yet, Chuck." Sarah started to get up off the couch. "You know, Carina got me my own pair of cuffs," she said seductively as she walked away.
Chuck looked up confused. "But I haven't needed— oh... oh... oh!" Chuck scrambled off the couch and raced after Sarah.
The cleaning up could wait for a night.
-0-
Author's Note: Hopefully, more is coming sooner rather than later. Also, no, you didn't miss anything; I didn't give Morgan's wife a name. Why? 'Cause it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of this story.