I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway.

They tried to get Kate lonely and seduce her. That failed miserably. Can Kate be seduced in some other way?

I'll be sure to post warnings on chapters that have violent or sexual situations. I'm going to keep this T – but I might dance on the edge for a bit.

If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review.

Bonus Baby

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"Where is he?" Sarah asked as she instinctively stepped in front of Alex to shield him. Never mind the fact that she was herself far more likely to be Shaw's target than Alex was.

"Don't worry," Chuck said. "He's well outside the perimeter that the police set up. He's standing in the crowd of citizens that's watching the festivities. There is no sign of any weapon."

Now Sarah was really cursing the fact that Elise and Joe weren't here. "Can I get to him?" she asked.

"I don't see how," Chuck said. "There are about a hundred innocents between him and you. He's looking right at you. He'd see you coming from a mile away. All you would do is tip him off that we've made him."

Heather finally found her voice. "He doesn't know me," she said. "Maybe I can get close to him. Should I try and arrest him – or just shoot him?"

Chuck looked at Heather with a new found respect. "That's very brave," he said. "But you're not going to have time. Shaw isn't going to attack tonight. He is just looking." Indeed, while they were watching, Shaw turned and disappeared into the darkness.

"Okay, Chuck," Sarah said. "I think we've had enough fun for tonight. Why don't you get Kate to wrap up her current interview and we'll all meet in the van."

Sarah then grabbed Alex's hand and led him to a spot where they could watch Kate and Chuck Junior. Once they were safely in the van, she let Alex lead her to join them.

When Sarah finally was inside, she could see that Chuck was already reviewing the tape. "Anything interesting?" she asked.

"Not really," Chuck said. "He was clearly just scooping out the area. There is no indication that he was with anyone."

"All of this for nothing," Alex sighed. "He got away."

Sarah stepped over to Alex and rustled his hair. "Actually," she said. "Tonight was a huge success. We never expected Shaw to attack tonight. Now we know for sure that he's in the area – and still interested in us." Then she turned to her husband. "How did you ever spot him in that crowd? That's impressive, even for the intersect."

"It wasn't me," Chuck said with a smile and a nod toward Heather. "It was eagle eyes here. She spotted him on the monitor."

Sarah reached out and grabbed Heather's hand. "Sweetie," she said. "Nice job. I'm very impressed – and I don't impress easily. At least someone was taking tonight seriously." Then she turned to Alex. "Alex, will you drive us home? Heather can ride shotgun. I'd like to have a little chat with the rest of the team."

Kate and Chuck Junior just looked at each other. They knew that look on Mom's face. They were about to catch seven kinds of hell. They weren't disappointed. Mom was clearly ready to deliver all seven.

"Okay," Sarah said in disgust. "Just what in the hell am I going to do with you two?"

All Chuck Junior and Kate could do was to stare at her – remorsefully. They knew full well that the question was rhetorical.

"You both know how much I hate it when you two bicker," Sarah continued. "We've talked about it hundreds of times. And yet you continually subject me to it. That's bad enough. But to lose focus on a critical mission with lives on the line, well, that's completely unacceptable. You simply have to be punished."

Kate and Chuck Junior just looked at each other in horror. But then Sarah did something that neither expected. She sat on Chuck's lap and began kissing him. Oh, the kids had seen their parents kiss – lot's of times – but never like this. Chuck himself was clearly surprised when he felt Sarah's mouth open – at first – but the action quickly escalated from there – until they were in the middle of a hot make-out session.

Kate was the first to speak. "Mom," she cried. "What are you doing? That's disgusting."

Sarah broke the kiss just long enough to turn toward Kate. "You ain't seen nothing yet," she said with an evil grin. "You know that I hate having to watch you two bicker - so, I just figured out a perfect way to punish you. Here's our new deal. Whenever you make me watch you bicker with your brother, I'm going to make you watch your dad get lucky – sound fair?"

Kate was simply speechless. Chuck Junior was always the negotiator in these kinds of situations anyway. And tonight was no exception. "Okay, Mom," he quickly said. "We're very sorry. Please. You've made your point – very clearly. What will it take to convince you that we've learned our lesson?"

"I don't know," Sarah said as she buried her head in Chuck's chest and bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Make me an offer."

"How about if we promise to stop fighting in front of you?" Kate asked desperately.

Sarah just shook her head. "That might have been enough before that display outside tonight," she said. "But now you've gone and pissed me off. It's going to have to start with you two cleaning up the van and putting the gear away when we get home."

"Done," Chuck Junior said quickly with a sigh of relief. That was a small enough price. And right now, they would have agreed too much, much more.

"But Chuck Junior," Sarah said. "There is still the little matter of you lying to me on the Fourth of July. You know how much I hate being lied too. It's the ultimate sign of disrespect."

"Mom," Chuck Junior said. "I'm sorry. I never intended to make you go look for firewood. It's just that… well, things got out of hand in the boathouse – and I didn't want to tell you the truth – for obvious reasons. I'm very sorry that I lied to you. I hope that you don't think it's because I disrespect you."

"Here's what is going to happen," Sarah said. "You love your sister. I know that you do. You just risked your life to save her. Why don't you tell her? That would make a mother's heart happy."

Chuck Junior groaned. "Mom," he said. "Please…"

"No problem," Sarah said as she resumed kissing Chuck.

"I love you," Chuck Junior said quickly.

"Now see," Sarah said as she broke the kiss again. "That didn't sound sincere to me at all." Then she turned to Chuck. "Did it sound sincere to you?"

Chuck knew that he couldn't speak without laughing – so he just shook his head.

Naturally, Alex and Heather were in the front. They were laughing so hard that Alex was having a hard time driving.

Chuck Junior knew what he had to do. So he turned toward his sister. "I love you," he said softly. "I know that I never say it – but I do."

"That was nice," Sarah said. "Kate, when someone that you love tells you that – what is the correct response?"

Kate also knew what Mom was demanding. "I love you too," she said.

"Nice," Sarah said with a grin as she moved off Chuck's lap and sat next to him. "Now see, was that really so hard? Now, if you two were to actually hug – well maybe I could forget that tonight ever happened. But I hope that you both realize that I'm letting you off very easy tonight. Next time…"

Kate reached over and put her arms around her brother. "I think I'm going to be sick," she whispered into his ear.

"Me too," Chuck Junior whispered back as he held her. "Just don't throw up in the van. We have to clean it."

Chuck turned to his wife. "Hey," he whined. "What about me? You can't light the fuse that this and then just walk away. It's not fair."

Sarah patted his leg. "Don't worry, big guy," she said. "We're almost home. I promise that we'll have a big explosion."

Kate was still holding Sparky. "Now I know that I'm going to be sick," she whispered.

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah knew that she had to let everyone sleep in this morning. After all, yesterday had been a hell of a day. And you couldn't be as alert as she needed them to be when you were dog tired. She knew that she would be taking a bit of a chance only taking Chuck with her to pick up Ellie, Devon, and Bryce from the airport. After all, Shaw knew where home base was. But Sarah knew that he would never attack here. It was far too fortified. Especially since Elise and Joe had arrived sometime in the night and were sleeping in the guest room. Sarah poked her head in Bryce's room and saw Robbie soundly sleeping. That wasn't unusual. Robbie had spent the night scores of times. She went to make some coffee before waking Chuck up. She knew that after last night's – well, explosion – he would need it. But Sarah was surprised to see someone already sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hey," Chuck Junior said as he poured his mom a cup of coffee.

"Sweetie," Sarah said in surprise. "What are you doing up? You should be bone tired."

"I couldn't sleep," Chuck Junior said. "I need to talk to you."

Sarah was alarmed by the tone in his voice. So she sat down across the table from him. "Okay, sweetie," she said. "What's on your mind?"

"I feel horrible about the Fourth of July," Chuck Junior said. "I'm so, so sorry that I lied to you. It wasn't disrespect. I can't stand you thinking that. It's just that there were a lot of people there – and, well, the truth would have been embarrassing. I'm fully aware that you didn't think much of her. But I also know how much trust means to you. I hope that you can still trust me."

Sarah breathed a huge sigh of relief. And then she grinned. If he felt this badly about a little white lie… well, that said a lot about his character – and also the respect that he had for his mom. "You can tell me anything," she said as she reached out her hand to grab his. "No matter how embarrassing that you think it is. I understand why you did what you did. It was a tough spot. You're right – I didn't care for her – and I think that you know why. But, sweetie, if you think that I don't trust you anymore, you're just being silly."

Chuck Junior breathed a big sigh of relief himself. "Thank you," he said. "I won't ever lie to you again."

"Go back to bed," Sarah said with a laugh. "We have a big day ahead. We still have to catch Shaw. I'm going to wake up your dad. We're going to pick up Bryce, Devon and Ellie from the airport."

Chuck was very tired himself when Sarah came in to get him going. "Why do I have to go?" he asked. "Everybody else gets to sleep in."

Sarah smiled at her husband. "If you want to dance," she said. "You have to pay the band."

"Yeah," Chuck said with his head still under the pillow. "But the way I remember it, you did all of the dancing. Why do I have to pay the band?"

"Because," Sarah said with mock sweetness. "If you don't pay them, they might not come back for a long time. Is that really what you want? Besides, aren't you anxious to see your son? Don't worry. We'll get a nap in later."

Clearly Sarah was bouncing off the ceiling with excitement at seeing Bryce. The second that he walked past the security gate she wrapped him in a huge bear hug.

Bryce normally wouldn't want Mom hugging him in public – or in private, when it really came down too it. After all, he was at that age where your mom hugging you wasn't that cool. But today he clearly was willing to make an exception. He hugged Sarah back – at least as hard as she was hugging him.

"How was your trip?" Chuck asked Ellie – as soon as he could pry her off of him. "Did our guy give you any trouble?"

"He was perfect," Ellie said with a grin. "Absolutely perfect. Now, hurry up and get me home. I want to meet the new two members of our family."

x-x-x-x-x

Heather had never been so comfortable in her life. She knew by the sun streaming in through the curtains that it was well past their normal oh six hundred wake-up call. But she simply couldn't open her eyes. Sparky was spooned into her back. She had grabbed the hand that was looped over her and held it firmly to her stomach. So she was effectively surrounded by him. It felt so warm, so safe – so incredible. And honestly, she would probably still be in bed if it wasn't for the incredible aroma that had drifted into the room. "What's that smell?" she asked, more to herself than anybody. After all, Sparky had shown no sign of waking up.

"Pancakes," Sparky said groggily as he took a deep breath. "Aunt Ellie must be here. She makes the best pancakes."

Heather rolled over to face him. "Good morning," she whispered as she touched her lips to his."

"Good morning, beautiful," Sparky said. "Are you hungry? Come on. I want to show you off to the rest of the family."

x-x-x-x-x

When Sparky and Heather came out of their room, the first thing that they saw was Ellie. She was clearly in her element. Her face was positively beaming. "Hey you two," she called. "Come and sit down. I have some pancakes just getting ready to come off the griddle."

Sparky stepped up and hugged her. "Thanks," he said. "I'm starved."

Ellie paused for a moment. "You must be Heather," she said.

"Yes, ma'am," Heather said as she stuck out her hand. "I'm Heather Moore. Dr. Woodcomb, it's such an honor to meet you. I just read your article in the Journal. It was very impressive."

Ellie just ignored the outstretched hand – and threw her arms around Heather. "The name is Ellie," she said. "It's my honor to meet you. Anybody who could tame Sparky here is most impressive."

Heather's eyes sparkled. "Thank you," she said. "I'm not sure that he's totally tamed yet – but I'm working on it."

"Good for you," Ellie said with a laugh. "I understand that you want to go to Medical School. I want to talk to you about that later. I really hope that you'll consider UCLA. But for right now, your pancakes are getting cold."

x-x-x-x-x

Kate couldn't keep the grin off her face as she sat in her new office – in spite of the fact that she had more work to do than could possibly get done. After all, this morning had been perfect. First she got to see Bryce. She hadn't seen him in almost two months. And where she treated Sparky like a punching bag, Bryce was – different. She treated him like the baby of the family. Aunt Ellie and Devon also made a big deal about seeing her again.

But most of all, her good mood was due to her new guy. Could Alex possibly be any sweeter? First, he fit in with the family like he had been there for years. Breakfast was an absolute blast. They were all laughing and joking. Kate's only worry was to not insult Sparky in front of Mom.

But best of all, was how Alex acted with Robbie. Kate was frankly, concerned about that. She knew that Robbie had a huge crush. And the last thing that she wanted was to hurt him. But the very, very last thing that she wanted was to make Alex jealous in any way. But her amazing guy popped that apparently silly concern like a soap bubble. He even encouraged her to spend some time alone with Robbie. That made both of them feel great. And she could tell by Elise's face that she was very grateful.

Naturally, they were still on full alert. Mom and Dad were currently in the van. Elise and Heather were guarding the entrance to Kate and Alex's offices. Joe and Chuck Junior were outside, looking for possible threats.

There was a lot of work for Kate to do. Fortunately, the media madhouse had calmed down – a little. There were still all of the network trucks – but now it was just a steady request for one-on-one interviews. Kate actually did a couple – for organizations that she liked. But most she was able to beg off by saying that she wanted to wait until after Janice's announcement.

First, they had to hire an office manager for the California Office. After all, she and Alex were going to be in Washington most of the time. Fortunately, Alex was currently interviewing candidates in the other office.

Then there was Janice's announcement speech to polish up. Fortunately, Alex had helped her with a pretty good draft in Kentucky. All that she needed was to clean it up and add some current events. But it simply had to be perfect.

Then there was that. Soon, Janice would be a formal candidate for President. That meant she and Alex would be working full time on the campaign. And it wouldn't be appropriate, or even technically legal, to do that out of the Senate offices. They would have to open campaign offices in each state.

But with all that, Kate still felt herself always drawn to the same subject. How soon could they get married? She surely wanted it to happen as quickly as possible – tonight would work if it was up to her. But they certainly couldn't take any time right now for a honeymoon. Maybe they should just go to Vegas. Maybe on their way back to Washington after this was all over. After all, if it was good enough for Mom and Dad…

Kate was smiling at her daydream when there was a knock at her door. "Yes," she called.

A staffer that Kate had just met last night popped her head in the room. "Excuse me, Miss Bartowski," she said. "But a gentleman is asking to see you. His name is Alan Gold from Volkoff Industries and he is saying that it's very important that he talks to you right away."

In the van, Sarah could see the flash hit Chuck right away. It was one the longest flashes she had ever seen – so she didn't wait for it to end. "Red Alert," she said so that the entire team could hear her. "There is a bad guy trying to get in to see Kate."

Sarah could plainly see that the flash had taken a lot out of Chuck. That alone told her that there must be a ton of information. "Sweetie," she said urgently. "Who is this guy?"

"The intersect has never heard of any Alan Gold," Chuck was finally able to gasp out. "I doubt that's his real name. But Volkoff Industries is very bad. They are a semi-legitimate Russian company. But they are also the funding for The Ring."

Sarah paused for a moment to think through what to do. Fortunately, the State Police had been searching everyone before they allowed them into the building. So she knew that this guy couldn't be carrying a weapon. "Okay, team," she finally said. "Let's be alert. Heather, Elise, move into position to get into that office quickly. Kate, this guy is bad. See what he wants – but if he does anything the least bit aggressive, scream for help. Elise and Heather will come in with guns blazing."

x-x-x-x-x

One thing that Kate had to admit – Alan Gold was a very, very attractive man – but he clearly also knew it. He was one of those pretty boy types like Hunter from the club – the kind that Kate usually chewed up and spit out. "Hello, Mr. Gold," she said as she struck out her hand. "It's nice to meet you. Are you a supporter of Senator Casey?"

Gold flashed a perfect smile as he grabbed Kate's offered hand. "First off," he said. "Please call me Alan. I'm not currently formally a supporter – but I admire her very much."

Okay – so the first thing was that he wasn't letting go of Kate's hand. She didn't want to appear rude by jerking it away – so she let it slide for the moment. "Perhaps you'd like to make a campaign contribution?"

"Perhaps," Gold said. "But that's not why I'm here. I'm here to talk about you."

"Me?" Kate questioned. "I'm not a candidate."

Gold finally let go of her hand. "No," he said. "But you're truly remarkable. We would like to talk about your joining Volkoff Industries as our head of Public Relations."

Kate just smiled. "I'm sorry, Alan," she said. "I already have a job. One that I love."

"I don't think that you understand," Gold said. "We've had our eye on you every since you first started working on Senator Casey's Senate campaign. You've been nothing short of brilliant. And while public service is a noble endeavor, we would like that brilliance – and frankly, that fresh face to represent Volkoff Industries. Don't sell yourself short, Kate. We think that you have what it takes to be a superstar. We want to lock you up. If everything works out well, we're talking about a five year contract in the ten-million dollar range. That would put yourself in a secure financial position for the rest of your life. Surely, you owe it to yourself to at least consider this, am I right?"

Mom's voice crackled in her earpiece. "Tell him that you're interested," she said. "Let's see what he has in mind."

"Okay, Alan," Kate said. "That sounds very attractive. Of course I'd like to hear more."

"How about dinner tonight?" Gold asked. "We can discuss specifics of the job – and maybe even get to know each other a little better. I'd like that."

Mom's voice came quickly. "Katie, I know that you don't want to do this," she said. "But this is our big break. You need to accept. Smile. Flirt with him a little. He is testing you. The man just offered you ten million dollars. You have to act like you're interested. He won't buy that you're interested if you're cold. We need to see what they have in mind."

Mom was right. Kate didn't want to do this. Hopefully Alex wasn't listening to this part. But she forced the smile on her face. "Okay, Alan," she said. "I'd like that as well. I'm looking really forward to it - especially the getting to know each other better part."

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