So this chapter was sitting in my computer and was just dying to be published lol. I hope you guys enjoy this installment. Thanks to Wepdiggy for beta editing and Jimmy for reading this over. Thanks guys! :D

And I'd give up forever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
Cause sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight

…

Sarah's footsteps echoed through the empty hall as she made her way towards the cell of a certain CHAOS agent. After all the trouble he'd given them, it was time for some payback. As she reached the door to the cell, a man led her to another room next door. It was a small square shaped room, with a window into Smith's cell. He was strapped to a chair, with a dead look in his eyes.

The sight of the man made Sarah's blood boil. She wanted to slam his head into the concrete walls and leave him broken in a pool of his own blood. He'd hurt Emily. He'd hurt Chuck. He'd hurt Bryce. He'd hurt Sarah. He'd convinced Carina to forsake all her oaths to the country and imprisoned them all. She had never hated a single person more than the one she was looking at right now.

"I want a minute with him," Sarah told the guard who was standing with her.

"Only authorized personnel are allowed in there." He replied.

"This man imprisoned my whole family and sent my child into a two day coma after putting her through torture." Sarah paused, turning to look the man in the eyes, her own blue ones ablaze. "I'm authorized."

She wasn't lying when she said he put Emily through torture. First, it was emotional, then he'd hurt her with that damned Intersect and wouldn't stop. Yes, she was fully authorized to –well --handle some business.

The man studied her face for a moment. "I have a family too," was all he said as he gave Sarah a card to the cell door. "Bring it back." He said motioning at the card. "I'll give you four minutes." He turned and left the room.

Sarah took a deep breath and made her way to the cell door. Sliding the card through the slot and putting her hand on the door handle, she wondered exactly how far she'd let herself go with this. She wouldn't kill him, as much as she wanted to. At least...she didn't plan on ending his miserable existence.

He didn't bring his head up to look at her as she entered, and she confidently walked towards the former CHAOS leader. "Nice cell," Sarah commented. Smith continued to look down.

"But if it were up to me, there wouldn't be enough of you left to hold anywhere." Sarah added.

No reply.

That irritated Sarah. If he wasn't going to acknowledge her presence, she'd make him.

And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When every thing's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
…

As Sarah opened the cell door and stepped out, one could still hear the pained groans of the individual inside. She stepped right up to the guard and placed the bloody key card back into his hands and left without a word.

Now she felt back in control. She'd fulfilled all of her promises and in the end, her family was safe. She made her way to the nearest bathroom, noticing how empty the halls were.

Washing the blood from her hands, she barely heard the door open, barely saw the shadow pass through the opening. Despite the fact that they were completely safe, Sarah still felt a prickle of fear at the base of her neck. Her hands were soapy and still covered in blood, as was the sink.

"Sarah! What happened?" Chuck came forward into the light of the bathroom and Sarah inwardly sighed with clouded relief. Would he approve of her methods of revenge? She hadn't taken his life, she had managed that level of restraint.

"Smith," was all Sarah said. Chuck looked at her strangely. Sarah focused all her attention on her hands. "Chuck, with all he did...I couldn't – I had to do something...he hurt our daughter..."

"Sarah..." Chuck began. "He did do a lot." That was all he said. He didn't chastise her, or say what she did was horrible. He understood. Sarah looked at Chuck through the mirror and nodded. She could tell he'd hardened his heart over the years, and with the pain she'd given him, she wasn't surprised.

She wanted to ask if he'd take her back, the kiss they shared outside his room certainly made it seem so. But after all of this, Sarah wasn't going to be to assume anything. That kiss had been amazing to Sarah; both her and Chuck expressing themselves in a different way than they had with their other one at the safe house. It had left both of them gasping for breath. She still had no idea how long they had stood there.

No, she wasn't going to ask such a question under these circumstances with her washing blood from her hands; it just wasn't right.

Her visit with Emily had been an easy one, despite the fact her daughter looked so worn.

And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything seems like the movies
Yeah you bleed just to know your alive
…

"Hey," Sarah said quietly as she entered Emily's room. The girl immediately looked up and gave Sarah a tired smile.

"Hey, Mom. I'm glad to see you."

"I came as quickly as I could," Sarah began, walking over to the chair beside her daughter's bed, but not yet sitting down. "I had to finish up my release from the CIA."

"What about...?" Emily pointed at her head, making a little circle with her index finger.

"It's gone. While you were asleep it was taken out." Sarah replied. "How do you feel?"

"It hurts to sit up still. It's getting better, but I still feel pretty drained."

"You'll get better soon, I'm sure." Sarah wanted to take Emily's hand, but she kept her arms by her side.

"So, I've been thinking," Emily started. "Since I've woken up, there are things I want to talk about. Things we weren't able to last time."

Sarah nodded and took a seat. "Okay," Truth was, she had never gotten comfortable with having talks. Especially the honest ones. But Emily needed some answers, and God knew she deserved them.

"You left to protect me and Dad," The sixteen year old started. "But I just want to know...Why did you leave like you did? I've gone sixteen years thinking it was because you were tired of us...tired of me."

Sarah shook her head quickly. "No. I never saw you that way, Emily. You're my daughter. I care about you." She paused a moment, thinking of the best way to state the rest of what she had to say. "I left like that because I was scared. I was scared they'd take your father away. When I had you, I swore to protect you and I knew that the best person who could take care of you was Chuck. I couldn't let anyone have your father. Also, I was selfish, thinking only of my own pain. I never thought about how the way I departed could continue to affect you two for so long. I didn't come from a family that really thought about others. My dad always took care of me, and I knew he loved me...but he just did his own thing and I had to help him."

"You yelled for Dad to take me," Emily didn't sound accusing, her eyes simply seemed to be revisiting that horrible day.

"Because if you'd stayed in my arms much longer, I wouldn't have been able to leave." Sarah replied quietly. "I'm very sorry for what I did, Emily. I have no excuse for my behavior except that it was selfish, and I if I could change how I did things, I would have done them very differently. I will never leave you like that again, I swear it. I learned a lot in the ten years I was gone."

"I'm going to do my best to forgive you, Mom." Emily replied. "I know you really are sorry. But I went through a lot of pain and I know Dad did too." She paused. "Well, all of us went through a lot of pain I guess."

"I'm not perfect, Emily, that's something I will openly admit. I make mistakes just like the way I left you. I'm sorry for all the birthdays I missed, and the stories, and the life experiences. But, I'm going to be around now...and I'd like to give our relationship a shot."

"Me too," Emily replied, and involuntarily yawned.

"How about you get some more sleep? I'll come back and see you when you're awake again."

Emily nodded and drifted off to sleep.

And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When every thing's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
…

"Sarah?" Chuck's voice brought Sarah out of her reverie.

"Sorry, just thinking." Sarah replied and the couple fell silent. Sarah could tell Chuck wanted to talk to her about something. "What is it?" She asked, drying her hands with a towel off the rack. Finally the blood was off and her hands clean.

"I just...nothing." Chuck responded.

"Talk to me, Chuck." Sarah put a hand on his arm.

"Sarah, the day you left you broke my heart," Chuck blurted. "I've been keeping all of this inside for so long I have to say it now. You broke my heart. I haven't been the same since. I tried moving on, I tried coping with it...but everyday, living without you, not knowing that you were forced to leave and thinking you wanted to leave...and kissing you, I felt all those old emotions coming to the surface. I wanted to set us straight and tell you how I've been feeling for these years, instead of dancing around it."

Sarah stared into the warm, chocolate brown of Chuck's eyes as she raised the hand on his arm up to his chest. "I know I hurt you, Chuck, I know I ruined the happy life we had. Even things done with good intentions can cause the worst harm. Emily and I have made our peace, and for once in your life, think about yourself, not others. Do you want me back? Can you forgive me? I don't expect forgiveness today or tomorrow, but, can we take that journey together? I want to be with you, I'm not going to lie about that, but can you take me back? I know I don't deserve it, I know I hur -"

"Sarah," Chuck cut in, his arms wrapping around her.

"Chuck, there's something I have to tell you. I want us to have a clean slate. No more lies." Sarah said quickly, the realization of a secret she still had coming to her attention. If she didn't say it now it'd haunt her and if they were going to do this they needed to do it right. Chuck stared at Sarah questioningly, and she wondered what was going through his head.

"Six months after I left, I was assigned a mission." Sarah exhaled deeply. Chuck's arms tightened around her, almost possessively. "It was a seduction," she added quietly, as fear spread through her chest. Would he still take her after this? "I slept with a mark, Chuck. I didn't want to, and I was sick for days afterwards. I refused to do another one, Chuck," Sarah watched his eyes carefully and saw the smallest sign of pain there. She had to make this better. "Chuck, I'm so sor -"

"You slept with another man?" Chuck cut in, heavily. "Why?"

Sarah swallowed hard. "He had connections with CHAOS. I had to retrieve the intel he had."

Chuck's eyes went to the floor. "Did you get the intel?"

"Yes," the word seemed to stick in her throat, and Sarah wondered if Chuck heard her. His mind seemed somewhere else. "But that was the only time, Chuck. I never did it again, and I've never forgiven myself for doing it the first time." She began to pull away, sadly. "I'm sorry. But I understand if you can't forgive me. I told you because I didn't want anymore secrets between us. I don't like keeping things from you." Sarah paused. "And when I hit you, it was only because you struck so close to home. I'm sorry about that too, I shouldn't have done that."

Chuck nodded gently, the pain still visible in his eyes. He began to speak, "I don't know when Emily and I will go home, but I do know one thing...I want you to go with us. We've worked through bigger things before, and we'll work through this too. I appreciate the honesty." He swallowed, as if he was trying to swallow back the pain. His brown eyes held a hardness around them, and yet, he seemed to be struggling to get past what he felt.

Sarah understood Chuck's pain. They had to work things out and they could get through this development too. She felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and despite the regret she still felt towards what happened, there was a peace that she felt as well. She felt peace because Chuck knew now, no longer did she have her action hanging over her head.

"You don't have to forgive me, Chuck. I understand if you don't want me anymore."

"I want my family back, Sarah. No matter what you've done, I once said I'd always love you. While it really hurts to hear you did that, I'm going to do my best to move past it. I have you in the end, right?" There was just a hint of doubt showing on Chuck's face, as if he weren't completely sure she wasn't going to change her mind.

"Chuck," Sarah started, quietly. "You've always had me."

With that Chuck leaned in and pressed his lips to Sarah's. Their mouths began a slow rhythm that their bodies had never forgotten, even after so long. Sarah brought her hands into Chuck's hair, tugging gently at the ends as his hands pulled her closer to him. It had been so long...and yet it still felt like Sarah had been doing this her whole life. It felt like freedom. It felt like love. It felt like comfort.

It felt like home.

Their surroundings seemed to disappear around them, and neither one cared that they were in a bathroom; they only saw, tasted and felt each other. One word beat again and again through Sarah's head. Chuck. This was her Chuck.

Slowly, they pulled away from each other, breathing hard. Their eyes met and the intensity of their moment left both without words. Chuck took Sarah's hand, and Sarah knew then; everything would be alright.

"Come home, Sarah." Chuck's words filled her ears and she felt her lips tug up into a small smile.

I already am home.

I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When every thing's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
…

A black car stopped in front of Chuck Bartowski's house. The day was windy but gently warm and the streets were quiet, save for an occasional car horn in the distance. Two doors opened and a girl who looked about sixteen hurried out of one. She paused on the sidewalk and a smile crossed her lips as she examined the pretty home.

A tall, dark haired man stepped out of the other, turning and waiting for the next passenger to join him in the street. As the blonde exited and stood to her full height beside the man, both shared a quick smile, a new understanding and love passing between them.

The girl turned and waited for the couple to join her. As the man and woman reached her, the man took the blonde's hand and wrapped an arm around the girl. Together they entered the house and to an onlooker it would appear nothing special, but to the trio walking, this was very special.

This was their new beginning.

I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
…

So what did you think? Has IBA lived up to your expectations? Was it disappointing to you as a reader? I'd love to hear what every one thought of this story as a whole, even if it's just "Good job on the story" or "That was so horrible I regret I wasted time on it" lol. Thanks for reading, guys, and to everyone who helped me along the way. IBA was a lot of fun to write, but now it comes to a conclusion. I hope you guys enjoyed this and like what I did with this story, it was all you readers that kept me writing so thanks for sticking by this fic! :-)

Starbuck, out.

P.S. There will be a short epilogue coming soon.