A/N Thanks so much for the reviews! It's always awesome to see you have mail from fan-fic. I swear, reviews are better than cotton candy! :) I hope this chapter clears up all the confusion from chapter #7. If it doesn't, please let me know, and I'll fix it in chapter #9. Enjoy!

RECAP

Deciding he wasn't going to get any information from her, Chuck said, "The file said Barbie doll was alive."

Sarah's eyes got big, and she looked like she was about to laugh and cry at the same time. "Alive?" she said, almost breathlessly. Shock was taking over her system, making her need to sit down. She tried to sit down, but the chair Chuck had knocked over hadn't been righted yet, and she crumbled to the floor, her head narrowly missing the table.

"Sarah!" she heard her name being called by many voices, but all she could think was, "Iverson," before she gave into the darkness.

"I think she's coming around," Chuck said, minutes after Sarah had collapsed during the brief. "Sarah, can you hear me?"

Sarah's eyes fluttered open. She looked up into Chuck's face, then slowly focused and saw Aaron's concerned face, too. "What happened?" she asked.

"Um… You fainted," Chuck said, offering her a hand to stand up.

Sarah looked at his hand, making a point to stand up without his help. "I don't faint," Sarah venomously, "Ever." She emphasized the last word.

"Well, you did. Maybe you're more of a girl than you thought?" Chuck teased.

Sarah glared at him. "At least I don't faint at the sight of needles," she remarked in a clipped voice, still feeling betrayed by her body's lack of control over her emotions.

Chuck tried to hold in a laugh, but he failed and it came out as a snort-like noise. Sarah looked at him questioningly, trying to decide if he was laughing at her or not, but made a point of ignoring him. "Where's Beckman?" she asked.

"She had an emergency come up while we were waiting for you to come around. She said she'll be back as soon as she got everything straightened out," Chuck replied

Aaron watched the two interact, debating if he should interject or not. Deciding he should, he said, "Whether you admit to fainting or not, Sarah, you have information that can help us. I didn't know Agent Shaw was in on this. I have my own personal vendetta for him," he said, lips pursed tightly. "Who is Barbie doll?"

"Barbie doll?" Sarah said, her face losing color again.

"Whoa, Sarah, you should sit down," Chuck said, as she started to sway again. Sarah let him help her into a chair, which alerted Chuck more than anything else that this was a serious subject.

It was that moment that Beckman decided to appear on the screen again. "My apologies," she said.

Sarah took a deep breath. "This information is classified, just so the two of you know." Aaron and Chuck both nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

She looked towards the General, trying to decide if she could share her personal story with her or not. "Please continue, Agent Walker," Beckman said, as gently as she could.

Sarah took a deep breath and began, "My life, surprisingly, started out normal, without all the spy drama. My mom and dad were happy. Then my dad lost his job..." She absentmindedly began playing with a hang-nail. "My mom and dad started to fight a lot. Mom didn't like my dad's con job." Her eyes glazed, lost in the past. "She put up with it for awhile. On my tenth birthday, Dad took me to do a quick job, and Mom left town, taking my older sister, Jenn, with her."

Chuck's amazing memory clicked. "Jenn," he said. "You were crying out her name in a nightmare you had, right after Devon had fixed your arm."

Sarah smiled, sadly, "That's the one," she said. "My mom, at first, wanted to take me with her, but my dad didn't want to lose my help. He needed me, and I stayed with him. Mom hated me for choosing him, and I didn't hear from her or Jenn for years." Sarah's eyes started to fill with tears, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

"When I turned 16, I got a phone call from a hospital in New York. My mom and Jenn had been in a six car pile-up. Neither survived. Dad didn't show it, but it tore him up. We moved to San Diego, and I took on my sister's nickname, Jenny, as my new alias."

Her voice caught, but she continued, "Dad and I continued to do our work. If it wasn't for mom and Jenn's death, I don't think he ever would have been caught… I don't know if I would have joined the CIA, either. Their deaths were a turning point for both of us."

Chuck processed this. Sarah had mentioned she had a sister when they played "Know Ya!" all that time ago, but he had thought it was a cover story. A lot of pieces from her life were still missing, but in the past few minutes, he had learned more about Sarah's life than he ever dreamed of getting to learn.

He took her hand, letting her know he was there. Her amazing mask already in place, Sarah smiled at him, tears completely gone from her eyes.

Agent Parker looked sympathetic, his eyes cast down. "I'm sorry for your loss." He softly cleared his throat and continued, "But that doesn't explain who Barbie doll is."

"I always used to call Jenn 'Barbie doll.' We played with them together all the time when we were younger." She looked at Chuck pointedly, "That is the Barbie doll you saw in the file, right? It can't be a coincidence that it had our last name on it."

Chuck flashed. Jenn Iverson. Car accident. Ice cream. A computer mouse. A Coca-Cola can. He shook his head. "Whoo," he stated, "Who would have thought your sister was a CIA agent, too?"

"She what!" Sarah started. "General, did you know anything about this?" Sarah's eyes had turned an ugly shade of angry, which made Chuck want to leave the room.

"I assure you, I had no idea that you even had a sister. It isn't in your file," Beckman said, typing something into her computer. Jenn's picture came up on the computer screen, allowing the briefing room a glance at her. She was a dead-ringer for Sarah, from the green eyes to the blonde hair.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, softly. "We do have an Agent Iverson in the data system. She's…" Beckman stopped.

"What?" Sarah said, impatient. "She's alive, isn't she? How did she survive the car accident? I saw her coffin lowered into the grave myself. Heck, I kissed my mother's cheek before she was buried. How can Jenn be in the system, and I not know about it?" Sarah demanded; her voice clipped with fury.

"Did you see your sister's body?" Chuck asked, quietly.

"Of course I did! I…" Sarah trailed off, realizations lighting her features. She choked out, "They said her body was too mangled to be shown at the burial. I didn't…"

"It's okay," Chuck said, enveloping her in a hug. Sarah closed her eyes, relaxed for all of two seconds, and then began her rant again.

"Why doesn't my file say I had a sister? How does something like that…"

"Agent Walker, please calm down," Beckman said. "Anything that far back in the system was taken to the grave with Director Graham. Your sister, I'm sorry to say, hasn't been heard or seen of in several years, not since her previous assignment in Thailand."

Sarah was quiet. Chuck tried to put a hand on her shoulder, but Sarah moved away too fast. "General, you'll excuse me if I say I need to put this mission on hold and search for my sister."

"Sarah, you can't just leave," Chuck started…

"I don't think you're going to have to look too hard for your sister," Agent Parker said. "Either that, or her identical twin is talking to Alex right now."

The room, as one, looked to where Agent Parker was pointing in the surveillance screens. Their mouths agape, they saw Jenn nonchalantly leave the Orange Orange with a cone. Alex was massaging her temples, trying not to look as confused as she really was.

"Jenn," Sarah breathed. She dashed out of the brief and up the stairs, Chuck close on her heels. Aaron stood there, completely in shock.

He came out of it to Beckman saying, "I trust you can keep everyone in line, Agent Parker? Everyone here is severely compromised with their relationships. Am I doing the right thing, Aaron?" Beckman looked crestfallen, "Will their relationships get in the way?"

Aaron debated how to answer, but finally said, "If I may be so bold, I think that the relationships will help strengthen these spies. True, it's unorthodox for a spy to be tied down, but that's what this operation is: completely and utterly new. There's no other agency in the world that has two agents with memory enhancements. Maybe, in this case, the relationships will help to make Chuck and Alex stronger."

Before Beckman could continue, he said, "However, I think that everyone here could use some basic training. Yes we've gone on a few small side missions, but before Chuck and Alex can help us find Chuck's father, if he is indeed missing, locate Jenn, and figure out the mystery of SPI, they need to learn more. It's dangerous to send two new agents into the field with no training whatsoever."

Both Beckman and Parker thought of the minor missions they'd been on. They had thought they'd had a tip on a Frank Henry, but after prepping the team and raiding the donut shop in the next state, they decided it had been a false lead. Alex had dutifully stayed in the car, much to Chuck's disappointment.

"What do you suggest, Agent Parker?" Beckman inquired.

"Well, since you have involved Chuck's brother, Devon, have him train them in the cardio portion, Casey can train on weapons, and Sarah can teach hand-to-hand. I'll monitor their work, and start teaching them the finer aspects of how to be a spy. I know we're in a time crunch, but they need time to train. Just because they have a great brain doesn't mean they're in shape to take on someone like Agent Shaw."

Beckman pursed her lips. "I agree with your assessment on them needing to train; that is something I have neglected. You have my permission to begin immediately. Please keep me informed," and with that, she was gone.

Aaron was briefly pleased that she had liked his idea. He had wanted to suggest it to the team for some time now, but he wasn't comfortable with them yet. If Sarah had been single, he would be trying harder to woo her, but it was obvious the two love-birds were head over heels for each other. The on-off couple was just one example of how everyone in this tiny Burbank setting had known each other for years. He wasn't going to get in their way.

Agent Parker sat down. Shaw had been his mentor, his guide. Everything he learned he had learned from Shaw. The CIA had recruited both of them out of Yale, and Daniel had convinced Aaron to join. Aaron considered Daniel a brother, and they both had become model spies. It wasn't until Dan met his sister, Evelyn, that things started to turn sour.

Shaw had loved Evelyn, and Aaron could see nothing wrong their relationship. Soon after, they were married, and Aaron and Daniel were even closer friends than before. The two of them went on missions together, often leaving Evelyn behind, much to her displeasure.

He had witnessed his sister and brother-in-law's fight. He and Daniel were on their way to Brazil, and Eve wanted to come with. She had had a heart transplant when she was younger. Dan was against her joining, and he told her the CIA didn't want someone with that severely compromised of health in the field. She had stormed out of their apartment, and went walking down the street.

Aaron hit his fist on the table; she had been innocent…

Aaron closed his eyes, willing the memories to go away, but he was too late. He saw his sister being lowered into the ground, shot just for walking down the street. The shooter hadn't taken anything from Eve; it was totally random.

He remembered punching Dan's nose at the funeral, breaking it, sulking away from the man who had failed to take care of his little sister. It was the last time he had spoken to his brother-in-law.

He had seen him since, briefly, on television as a bodyguard for the President of the United States. He knew his brother-in-law had been honored for his work in the field, several times over in fact. Why on earth would he have turned rogue? Could it be possible Chuck had flashed wrong? Aaron sighed, and looked over at the computer screen, inspiration hitting him like a semi-truck. He leaned his neck this way, then that, popped it, and started to look for the truth.

"Jenn!" Sarah screamed, chasing after the girl who had just left the store. It was no use, though. She had disappeared into thin air. Sarah stormed back into the store, and started to pace. Chuck, who was trying to figure out what had happened from Alex, watched.

"What did she say?" Chuck asked her, for the second time. Sarah's pacing was distracting him to no end.

"She ordered a vanilla cone, and then she left. It was horrible, Chuck. How do you always act like you have no idea who they are, when really, you know so much about them?"

Sarah stopped pacing, much to Chuck's relief. "You knew about her and didn't tell me?" she said accusingly.

"I… I didn't know I knew about her. I read all the files you guys give me, and I guess she was in one of them. She married an Agent Shaw, but she kept her maiden name so that people wouldn't get confused."

"There's that name, Agent Shaw, again!" Sarah said, frustrated. "Who is he?"

"According to the files I've read, he's a body guard for the President. He's a decorated spy for the US, and he hasn't ever done anything that would raise suspicion. He had several missions in the past, but none of them were anything major, just your basic under-cover jobs. I don't understand what he's after."

The trio was silent, digesting what Alex had said. Just then, Casey could be seen running across the parking lot, his face an ugly shade of purple. He didn't slow down fast enough, and he would have run into the glass door of the Orange Orange had Sarah not jumped up and opened it for him. Alex was trying very hard not to laugh at his demeanor.

His eyes wild, he looked around until he saw Alex was safe, sitting on the floor by the counter. "What happened?" he demanded. "I just got a code Orange from Beckman." As though he just realized his daughter was on the floor, he asked, "Are you hurt?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Dad. Trust me, you didn't miss anything. Sarah's supposedly dead sister came and ordered some yogurt, but other than that…"

Casey's face changed from anger to surprise. "You have a sister?"

"It's a long story," Sarah curtly replied. Chuck, sensing that Sarah didn't want to spill her guts again, started to fill Casey in on what he had missed, Alex adding in what Chuck forgot.

Sarah tuned them out. Jenn wouldn't have just come in here for yogurt. There had to be something else.

No one noticed Sarah walking around the Orange Orange, retracing the steps of her sister. It was then Sarah saw what she was looking for. Something had been stuck in the front of the counter, sticking up just enough for someone to see. As if it was a dream, Sarah walked over to it, and pulled out an envelope.

Aaron had come upstairs by this time, and was watching the group from by the door. He was as surprised as Sarah was that Jenn had left something. He walked over to her, making the rest of the group notice their movements. Everyone watched as Sarah opened the envelope. A picture floated to the floor.

Chuck reached down and picked it up, his face turning ashen.

"Chuck?" Alex asked. "What is it?"

"My dad," he answered. "Your sister has my dad." He handed it off to Alex, and it became obvious that Chuck's father really was missing. In the picture, Mr. Bartowski was tied up, and Jenn was standing to the side of him, pointing a gun at his head.

Sarah pulled out a piece of paper, cleared her throat, and read aloud:

Sam,

I've missed you. I wish better circumstances had brought us back together, but life isn't always like we want it to be. Chin up, Lemon. You'll see me soon enough.

As you can see, Mr. Bartowski is with us. We won't hurt him as long as he cooperates. You won't find him unless you play by our rules. I'm sure your intersect can translate the rest of the letter for you. Don't worry, Chuck's little intersect secret is safe with me.

Your Barbie doll,

Jenn, SPI

Sarah handed the letter off to Chuck. "Sarah, are you okay?" Chuck asked, taking the letter from her hand.

"I'm fine, Chuck," she replied. If she hadn't crossed her arms, Chuck would have believed her. Sarah always did that when she was trying to hold herself together. Realizing that everyone was still staring at her, Sarah said, "What are you waiting for? Read it, Chuck."

Chuck looked at the letter, a slight scent of lemon wafting up to him from it. "What a pleasant smell," he thought to himself. He gazed at the symbols. They were the exact same as the ones on the letter Sarah had given him that first night. He gave over to the flash, his face contorting awkwardly. A pen cap. A china hutch. Ritz Crackers. A mirror. A white picket fence.

"We're supposed to show up at Jeffster's audition. We'll get our next clue there." Chuck's mouth was drawn into a straight line. "That's almost a month from now!" he exploded. "What if she hurts my dad before then?"

"They said they wouldn't hurt him, Chuck," Casey said. "We have to take their word for it." Alex, suddenly needing reassurance that everything would be okay, reached over and put her arms around her dad in an embrace, her face buried in his side. Casey was surprised, but after his shock wore off, he hesitantly put his arm around his daughter, pulling her in tighter for the hug.

No one knew what to say. Finally, Aaron broke the silence and said, "I suppose, if we can't do anything else, we should start training." The group looked at him, and he continued, "It's not like we can send Chuck and Alex on a mission without self-defense skills." They looked at each, conversing silently, and as one, agreed.

A/N So, confusion cleared up? I hope so! Next update Friday/Saturday. Have a lovely week! :)