Behold, the last chapter. . . .

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I still wasn't going to go back to DC and leave Chuck, and I still loved him just as much, even if he'd never be the same, because this Chuck is my Chuck, and that will never change. . .

The sunlight filled the room and woke me from my dreamless sleep. I looked at Chuck and his beautiful sleeping form, and the look of peace on his face.

I put my hand on his warm cheek and brushed a few soft curls away from his face. I slowly got out of the bed and got ready to take a shower. Once I was in the shower, the only company I had was my thoughts.

It was amazed me how much my life was always changing.

I lived a life on the run with my father, then I became an agent. I lived my life as an agent who pushed her feelings aside constantly, and then I met Chuck, and I fell in love.

He changed me more than any circumstance in my life, because he, unlike anyone else in my life, let me feel like myself.

When we were finally together for the first time, things changed again. We found out that we were going to be parents.

And then, on the last mission we were on, things changed again, but this time in a different way. This time it was Chuck who changed.

My different Chuck has been here for a month now, and yesterday I found out that things aren't going to get better.

And in a few more months, things will change again, when our son comes into the world.

Nothing stays the same for long in our lives. Things are always changing.

But change isn't always bad. Sure, it's hard to endure but in the end the pain is worth it. As much as losing my Chuck hurt, gaining this Chuck has been a blessing. I love him just as much, and he is still the same man I love, even though he's just a boy.

I hadn't realized how long I'd been in the shower until icy water started raining down on me.

I quickly turned the water off and got ready for the day.

Once I got dressed and fixed my hair I walked out into the living room. I saw Chuck sitting on the couch.

He still didn't seem very talkative, and he looked like he was deep in thought.

"Do you want some breakfast Chuck?" I asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Ellie made me some breakfast. She told me to tell you that there is a bunch of waffles leftover in the fridge, and that she finally bought some cereal that didn't taste like grass." He said, still very distant, but he was starting to sound more like himself.

"Thanks. I seriously don't know how Devon eats that stuff."

"Don't ask me. I'm happy with cocoa pebbles." He said smiling shyly.

"Any chocolate cereal is good in my book." I said, smiling back at him.

He sighed and stood up and walked over into the kitchen. He walked over to the refrigerator and poured himself a glass of orange juice.

He took a drink as he shut the refrigerator door and walked over to sit at the bar.

He returned to being quiet again, but broke the silence after a few minutes.

"Sarah, I've been thinking. . . "

"About what?" I asked in response.

"About a lot of stuff actually. It's just because of yesterday really. It made me realize a lotta stuff. You've been taking care of me for a month now. Ellie and Morgan and everyone have helped too, but you've always been with me, because Ellie is at work too much to stay here all of the time.

"And you always promised me 'you'll get better soon Chuck, don't worry' but now we know that isn't going to happen. And even though that makes me really sad, I know you're really sad too. I'll never be the same guy. I'm not going to be the Chuck you knew ever again."

"I know Chuck, but it's okay." I interrupted.

"Let me finish please."

I nodded in compliance.

"Sarah, you need a grown up boyfriend, and the baby needs a grown up for a dad. I can't be that guy. I think that you should be with someone who can make you happy."

I had already decided that nothing was going to make me leave. Not orders, not anything. But I had never expected Chuck to tell me that I could leave. He was being so selfless.

That is one thing that hasn't ever changed.

But I couldn't bring myself to leaving, even though Chuck was letting me go. Because Chuck was my reason to stay. I don't want a life apart from him, no matter what state he is in mentally. I love him no matter what.

"Chuck, I can't. You make me happy, Chuck. No one else can. And the baby doesn't need a 'grown up' for a dad, he needs you. I will always stay with you, I don't care if you're not a grown up."

"Sarah, I don't want you to have to waste your life taking care of me."

"Chuck, it wouldn't be wasting my life. Being anywhere else but here is wasting my life. Chuck, do you understand how much I love you?"

He smiled. "Sarah, I love you too. You're my best friend. And even though I only remember having one, you are the best girlfriend I've ever had." He said, his mood dimming again. "But that's why I think you should leave. I love you and the baby so much, but I don't want you to have to take care of him and me."

"Chuck, we're a family, we'll all take care of each other. Taking care of you isn't a job, it's what I love to do. I love to take care of you. I always have."

I've never felt like our time together was work. My words from a few years ago still remained true. I love every second I have with Chuck.

"And Chuck, you are the same guy I knew before. You're sweet and kind and gentle and a good friend and boyfriend and father. You are every bit the guy I met at Buymore a few years ago. And. . . "

Before I could finish my sentence, I was caught off guard by the movement I felt inside of me. It was the strangest and yet most wonderful feeling I had ever felt. Our son was kicking for the first time.

"Chuck, come here."

He stood from his seat at the bar and walked toward me. "What? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah Chuck everything is fine." I replied, reaching out to grab his hand.

I placed his hand on the spot that the baby was kicking and waited for the response. Chuck hadn't said anything for a few seconds, he'd just looked down at his hand on my abdomen.

I felt the sensation of our hands laced together on my abdomen as the baby moved once more.

"Chuck, can you feel the baby?" I asked.

He looked up at me, and there was a spark in his eye I hadn't seen in weeks.

"Sarah?" He breathed my name. And when he said my name it wasn't the same as it had been these past few weeks. The inflection sounded like my Chuck.

"Yeah, Chuck. It's me."

He wrapped me in his arms and kissed me with force, catching me off guard.

"Sarah I thought you were dead." He said in between passionate kisses.

"I'm fine Chuck. Everything is okay." No more 'everything will be okay' everything was fine. My Chuck was back. I had no idea what miracle had just happened but the hope I'd lost yesterday had just been renewed.

He continued kissing me and we found ourselves walking backwards until I was up against the sink.

"Careful." I cautioned, putting a hand on my abdomen.

He looked down at my abdomen and looked back up at me strangely. My Chuck had been gone for a month and things were very different from before.

He got down on his knees and put both hands on my waist. He gently kissed my abdomen.

"But, I thought I'd lost both of you. . . How are you still alive?"

"The first shot was a misfire, and the second just grazed my arm. You were the one who got hurt the worst. The bullet barely missed your heart."

He put his hand on the spot where he'd been shot and he winced slightly. I couldn't tell if he were in pain or just remembering the pain of the bullet hitting him on that day.

"How long has it been?" He asked looking back up at me.

"Too long." I replied. "Almost a month."

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I was hurt, but I couldn't lose you. Either of you." He said, again kissing my abdomen.

"Promise me you'll never leave me again." I said firmly. I still wasn't sure if this was real. It could have been some wonderful dream, and if it was I didn't want to wake up.

It felt so good to have the man I love back with me.

"I promise." He sighed, standing up. He rubbed my cheek with his thumb, and I realized that I had been crying. I hadn't even noticed that he was crying.

I was so caught up in the moment. My Chuck was back, and he wasn't leaving.

I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him again. I hadn't realized how much I had missed the warmth of his lips, or the way he held me is his strong arms.

My cell phone started ringing and ended our kiss.

"Hello?" I asked without checking the caller ID.

"Yeah, Walker, I'm calling for my daily update on Chuck. General Beckman's getting all perturbed because we haven't been updating her in a timely enough fashion." Casey said, his gruff voice coming through the phone.

"Chuck is fine, Casey."

"Come again?"

"Chuck is back to normal. Everything is fine." I said, and Chuck had a look of confusion cross his face.

"Really?" Casey sounded genuinely caring.

"Yeah, he's fine. He's perfect." I traced his warm chest with my hand and leaned my head against it.

"My moron is back." Casey said, with a slight chuckle. "Tell him I say 'hey moron'. Feel free to use those exact words if you'd like."

I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"I'll let you get back to your, um, reunion." Casey said roughly.

"Bye Casey." I said hanging up the phone.

"What do you mean 'back to normal'? What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"The last thing I remember was what happened on that rooftop." He winced again at the memory.

"Chuck, you woke up at the hospital, and because of the trauma you suffered your brain almost shut down because it couldn't take it. So, your very unique brain used a coping mechanism. . ." And as I said the words 'coping mechanism' his strange reaction caught me off guard.

He made the same face he did when he flashed. It was like the words had caused a flash.

He exhaled heavily and then caught his breath.

"I was eight years old. . ." He mused monotonously. ". . . I was eight years old for a whole month?"

"Yeah, Chuck." I nodded.

"You stayed with me the whole time?"

"Mmhmm."

"Sarah. . . I'm sorry." He said, kissing the top of my head.

"It's fine Chuck. As much as I missed you, it was great to see what you were like as a kid. You were always the perfect guy for me." I said, looking up into his brown-green eyes.

Chuck smiled and blushed softly. His reaction made me realize how much of eight year old Chuck was in my Chuck.

"Where is Ellie?" He asked.

"She's at work. I need to call her." I could only imagine the screams I would hear when she realized that her brother was back to normal.

"I'll do it." Chuck grinned smugly.

.............................

Chuck walked over into the living room and sat on the couch. I sat down beside of him and l rested on his chest. His warm arms wrapped around me and resting on my abdomen.

Chuck grabbed his phone out of his pocket and hit Ellie's speed dial number.

"Hello?"

"Hey sis. I just thought you might like to know that I'm, uh, back to normal." He said awkwardly, apparently unsure of how to tell his sister the good news.

And then we heard an ear piercing squeal, which I was sure had to be intelligible words in some language.

Chuck held the phone away from his ear and shook his head and smiled. He pulled the phone to his mouth and covered up the earpiece.

"Ellie, I know you're excited, and I am too, but in order to talk to me, you're gonna have to bring it down a few octaves." He laughed as he calmed his sister.

Chuck explained everything that had just happened in the past few minutes, but before they could have much more of a conversation, Ellie had to scrub in for an emergency surgery.

Chuck decided that he should call Morgan, but got his voice mail. So he left a message and hung up the phone.

I sighed and we sat there in peaceful silence for a few moments. Being together was enough that we didn't need words.

"Chuck, I take back what I said a few months ago. . ."

"What did you say?" He asked.

"When I told you that I thought that we should wait to be together."

"Oh, that." He said sadly.

"Chuck, I've had to wait a whole month to be with you now, and I don't know that I can wait any longer to be with you."

"But what about Beckman and all the rules that you're breaking?" He asked.

"Chuck, I don't care anymore honestly. Beckman knows we're having a baby, and the worst that the CIA can do to me for breaking rules is dismiss me from their services, which wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."

"Sarah, you would give up your career just to be with me?" He said it like being with him was less important than my CIA career.

"Chuck, I just want a normal life. With you, and our son. My career isn't as important as our family."

"Our son?" He asked, his eyes lighting up and his smile widening.

"Mmhmm." I nodded. I had forgotten that Chuck didn't know that we were going to have a boy.

"Our son." He repeated under his breath, tracing circles on my abdomen.

He held me tighter and kissed me on the cheek, his lips slowly pulling away.

"I love you." He whispered, kissing my cheek again.

"I love you too, Chuck." No matter what.

It was here that I realized that I had made the right choice in deciding that if I had to, I would leave my spy life behind, and stay here with Chuck.

Because here, I have all that I need: The two boys that I love, with all of my heart.

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The End

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I want to take this time to thank every loyal reader and reviewer, you guys completely floor me. I had no expectations for this fic to be as well received as it has been, and the fact that people want to read something I wrote, is unfathomable to me.

Thank you to every person who helped in any way. (Ikantdance05, chuckaholic, joujou, SM93STARBUCK, in the world of my favorite aliens "you have saved my life, I am eternally grateful")

I do in fact plan a followup, but it's not gonna be an angst fest like this was, this followup will probably be one a the fluffiest things you've ever read. I won't spoil anything but the one thing I will promise you is lots of romance, the birth of a baby, and JEFFSTER.

Thanks again! Rockchick4JC!

Well here you have it ladies and gents, the end of my first chapter fic.

Love it? Hate it? Want me to do a followup? Lemme know what you think. R & R