Hello. I'm glad everybody is enjoying the show (again, for those of you who weren't). Obviously I'm of the opinion that the show can work great with Chuck and Sarah together and doesn't need the will they/won't they angst that we had to go through to get to the last two episodes.

Here's another chapter in my story. I'm going to try and update on Sundays for now until the season is over, then I'll update on Monday nights. Part of that is because of my synopsis-writing schedule, which is heavy on Mondays in May and will be heavy on Sundays in June and July. But that's neither here nor there.

As always, please leave reviews. Always love to hear what you think.

Echo Park
March 13, 2011
12:15 AM

Chuck and Sarah were looking at each other in shock. They had contemplated this possibility many times before. But they always thought they would have to defy the CIA and run away. Never once did they think they would be given the opportunity to just walk away. General Beckman would actually let someone else be the Intersect?

Jimmy was fidgeting in his seat from the uncomfortable silence. "Um, was I supposed to say the next thing? I'm a little confused here. I thought I had talked enough already."

Chuck was barely registering what Jimmy had told them. "Wait…so…the CIA doesn't want me to be the Intersect anymore?"

"No, no," Jimmy quickly replied. "It's completely up to you. Well, both of you obviously. If you want to stay spies, it's completely your call. Then everybody goes back to what they were doing."

"What about you?" Sarah asked Jimmy. "You said you wanted to do this. You want the Intersect back in you."

"I do. But I'm not going to let you do something you don't want to do just so I have it. If you don't want to do it, I go back to being a spy. If you do, I'm a spy with the Intersect. You're the two with the big decision to make. I'm not involved. My life doesn't change."

"No, stop!" Sarah was getting upset with Jimmy's nonchalant attitude. "You are involved. Everything changes. Don't you realize what you're proposing? Do you realize how much this will affect your life?"

Jimmy gave her an annoyed glance. Had anyone but Chuck or Sarah said those things, he would have been mad as hell. But he knew they were worried about him. "I think I get the concept of the Intersect changing my life. I've already been through it. I'm kind of hoping the experience is a little more positive this time."

Sarah voice softened. "I'm sorry, Jimmy. You're right. I wasn't thinking about that."

Jimmy smiled. "It's OK. You just have this annoying habit of putting other people's lives before your own. You should really stop that. It's disgusting."

Sarah playfully threw a cup on the table next to her at Jimmy, who made a face at her.

"Hypocrite," she snarled at Jimmy before breaking up in laughter.

"Wait, I don't understand," Chuck interjected. "General Beckman is just going to let us go? She never did that without a fight before."

Jimmy turned to Chuck. "I don't know if you can consider it being 'let go.' You're still going to have jobs with the CIA. They're just more of the nine-to-five variety. You'll be transferred to Langley. Beckman needs someone to lead a team to deal with cyber-threats. Nobody can question your skills with the computer. Given half the dangers to this country relate to our computer infrastructure these days, you'd be more valuable doing that than what you are doing now, even with the Intersect in you. You'd be in charge of a team that basically is a quick-strike force, but for the computer. It sounds like something out of a Tom Clancy novel, I know. But the Air Force can only move so fast in dealing with cyberspace because of its many levels of bureaucracy. Beckman needs a smaller team that can respond much faster and is more capable of thinking outside the box. Let's face it: you've come up with some very unusual solutions for your missions. But they worked. She needs someone who can think like that."

Chuck gave that some thought. "Wait a minute. It's all of the thrills of being a spy without all the nasty side effects? Like betrayal, torture, and death?"

"Pretty much, yeah. You won't even have Internet filters on your computer."

Chuck had a devious smirk on his face. "I can go to any site I want and nobody will say anything? I am SO in!" Jimmy laughed.

"Uh, don't you think you should consult with the Mrs. first? I'm thinking she has a partial say in this."

"She doesn't have a partial say; she has the only say in this," Chuck replied with a smile.

Sarah was a tiny bit offended. "Wait a minute. I'm capable of listening to what someone else says. I thought marriages were supposed to be about a team, making decisions together, and being partners."

Both Chuck and Jimmy gave her a weird look before breaking up in laughter. "Men haven't bought that BS since the 70's, Sarah," Jimmy replied with a healthy dose of cynicism. "Guys know who is in charge in a relationship. Hell, I've been with one woman in my entire life and even I know who's in charge."

Sarah quietly growled but conceded the point. "What job does Beckman have for me?"

"Do you remember a Dr. Janet Torres?"

Sarah nodded. "She was my faculty advisor at Harvard."

"I guess she's been keeping an eye on your career." Jimmy turned to Chuck. "If there was a Sarah Walker Fan Club, this lady would be the founder and president of it. I think I heard the word 'proud' from her more times in that meeting that I have in my entire life put together. Basically, this woman was Sarah if Sarah was a spy in the late 70's and 80's."

Jimmy turned back to Sarah. "She thinks you'd make a great faculty advisor, helping the women who are going through the program. You have enough field experience but are still young enough so you know what these students are going through. They need someone at George Mason University. Their advisor is transferring to Florida State to be closer to her ailing parents."

Sarah sat back in her chair. Sometimes, she still didn't think she deserved everything that had come her way in the past four years, in spite of what everyone told her. Dr. Torres was the first person to take an interest in her life and guide her along the path to where she was today. She was the closest thing Sarah had to a role model. She wasn't sure if she could be anything but an agent. But if Dr. Torres thought she would make an excellent advisor, it was certainly something she had to consider.

"George Mason will just let me be an advisor?"

"Beckman and Torres went over your transcripts. You're only 9 hours shy of a Master's in Criminology. I would guess they'll give you the degree based on your work for the CIA and want you to make up those hours on the job."

Chuck and Sarah looked at each other. Both of them were going over the same thing in their head. Jimmy quietly waved his hand back and forth to get their attention.

"OK, I really wasn't expecting an answer tonight. It's completely up to the two of you whether you want or do it or not. And everybody agrees to accept whatever decision you make. Take your time with it."

Jimmy continued to look between the two of them. He wanted to help them clean up, but he got the feeling this would be a good time to leave Chuck and Sarah alone. "I'm going to head back to my hotel. I'll call you in the morning."

He rose, which prompted Chuck and Sarah to return to the present. Both of them gave Jimmy a hug, and he departed. They slowly walked around the courtyard, picking up the remaining cups, plates, and napkins in silence. Their minds were elsewhere.

Offices of the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE), Paris
March 15, 2011
11:00 AM

A tall brunette walked into the office with purpose. It had been a week since she put in her request for extra resources, and she was not happy. This wouldn't be the first time her bosses in the DGSE had stonewalled her. She was regarded as something of a wildcard when it came to the Directorate General for External Security. The reputation was certainly well-earned. She had bucked authority on more than a few occasions. Unfortunately, unlike other agencies, the DGSE preferred to unleash their agents rather than the agents unleashing themselves. It was not something she had grown to accept, even after 15 years as a spy. Her methods were met with resentment, regardless of her success.

Laurent Toupin was at his desk, typing away at his computer, and trying to pretend he didn't see the woman.

"Laurent, what happened to my request for more resources?"

Laurent sat back in his chair. He had hoped she wouldn't press the issue. "I sent it up the ladder and it got rejected."

The woman grew angry. "Did it get rejected for a legitimate reason, or was it rejected simply because I put in the request?"

Laurent shook his head. "You always think it's about you. It may be hard to believe, but there are some people in the offices upstairs who don't despise you, despite that chip on your shoulder."

The woman calmed down a little bit. "This is important. I discovered something at the last exchange on Sunday. I think it might be significant, but without getting more help, I won't be able to prove it."

"What is it?"

The woman lowered her voice conspiratorially. "During the exchange on Sunday, the courier took a look at the papers to see if he was getting what he was supposed to get. I was able to get a picture of one of the documents."

She took out her mobile phone and adjusted the image. "Take a look at the letterhead."

Laurent looked at it intently. "What am I looking at?"

The woman pointed to a small mark that was obscured by the edge of the attaché case. "That looks a lot like the logo for our consulate services. And judging by the words I was able to see in the image, I would say it is for our embassy in Moscow."

Laurent gave her his most doubting glance. "That's some very wild speculation."

"Hence the need for more resources. I need to be able to follow this man. So far, I have not come up with anything on his background. I haven't gotten anything back on his prints or facial recognition. That alone is very unusual. But certainly you could see how potentially far-reaching this is."

Laurent looked at her and assessed what the best course of action was. He picked up his phone. "I'll call Dr. Gauthier and tell him what you found. Perhaps this will convince him."

The woman stood up. There were more than a few people who resented her, but the head of the DGSE wasn't one of them. "Thank you, Laurent." She walked away from him with a more determined pace than how she entered.

Laurent waited until she was gone before disconnecting from Dr. Gauthier. He dialed another number.

Buy More
March 15, 2011
1:30 PM

Chuck walked into the break room of the Buy More. Not surprisingly, Jimmy was passed out at one of the tables with a barely-eaten bag of animal crackers from the vending machine in front of him. Given that was the only healthy selection in the entire machine; it was obvious Jimmy took both his job and his health seriously. The job part didn't shock him; he remembered Jimmy's obsession with working his cover job the last time he was in the Buy More. Any time Chuck tried to reach Jimmy over the last week, other than their engagement party, he was at the store.

He gently shook Jimmy awake. "It's never a good idea to sleep in the break room at the store, Jimmy. Things have been known to disappear off of unsuspecting employees in the past."

Jimmy slowly opened his eyes. "So what's corporate policy on kicking the crap out of someone who does that?"

Chuck was taken back slightly by Jimmy's snippy tone, but he wasn't entirely surprised by it. "I'm sorry about Casey and the computers. But in my defense, I didn't expect you to finish all 75 computers in less than a week."

Jimmy's scowl was permanently etched in stone. "Yeah, it would have been nice for Casey to tell me that the NSA wasn't actually using all of those computers; they were just taking up space in an office basement."

"They won't go to waste. The NSA will probably donate the set to some local after-school club. Just think of it as having done something for charity."

"Way to spin-doctor that, Ambassador," Jimmy growled.

Chuck smiled and put a cupcake in front of Jimmy with a single candle. "Happy Actual Fake Birthday."

Jimmy looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks, man." It was impossible to stay mad at the guy.

Chuck sat down next to him. "My pleasure. Is everything else going OK?"

"Morgan's trying to get Jeff and Lester to pull their weight in the Nerd Herd, but you know how that goes."

"All too well," Chuck replied with a tired sigh. "Sarah and I haven't talked a lot since Saturday night. I think we're both still in a bit of shock."

"I really can't blame you. That's quite a bombshell I dropped. But the two of you will have to talk at some point."

"I know. The only thing we've talked about is a date for the wedding. September 24th. It's just hard for me to get used to everything that has happened in the last month. I'll be an uncle for the first time, I'm getting married, and now I might be able to get this out of my head permanently."

Jimmy shrugged. "The uncle part is out of your hands, and it's pretty obvious that you and Sarah should get married. As for the Intersect, that's really up to the two of you."

"What do you think?" Chuck asked him.

Jimmy quietly laughed. "Chuck, I can't give you advice on what to do. I'm not exactly a neutral party in this. Besides, I don't like telling people what they should do with their lives. I can't even run my own life."

"Stop it," Chuck admonished him. "There are not a lot of people I can ask about this. You know Sarah and me and you also know what it's like to be an agent."

"For only six months, Chuck. I know as much about being a spy as Jeff and Lester know about working for a living."

"I just wish I knew what to do. I mean, I thought I had to be the Intersect in order to be someone. And I've done more with this than I ever could have imagined."

Jimmy shrugged. "But that doesn't change, no matter what you decide. Whether you stay or go, you're still a hero. You've done more in a few years than most people could ever dream to do in their lives. And there isn't a soul on this planet who would say you don't deserve to have what you want."

He paused for a moment. "Look, don't complicate this. That's where you're going wrong. Forget about the Intersect, forget about me, forget about what you think you owe people, and forget about everything else. Keep it to a simple question: what do you and Sarah want to do? Decide that, and everything else will fall in place."

Chuck hung his head. "Making it a simple question doesn't make answering it simple."

Jimmy stood up and put his hands on Chuck's shoulders. "I know. But it's your life and Sarah's life. It's nobody else's life to mess with."

Jimmy gestured to the door. "I have to get back out there. I'm sure Jeff and Lester left me some angry customers to deal with."

Jimmy walked out of the break room, leaving Chuck no closer to a decision.

Haverford, Pennsylvania
March 17, 2011
10:30 AM

Alex ascended the stairs to her father's room. No matter how many times she had seen her father in his bed since he returned home almost a month ago, she still felt a chill go through her to see her father like this. His speech was strained by the stroke, and he needed assistance getting around. That was the thing which affected him the most. He spent an entire lifetime being a pillar of strength for the neighborhoods he served. Having to rely on someone else for anything, especially the most basic functions, grated him like nothing had before. Alex could certainly sympathize with it, given that she never trusted a single partner until Las Vegas six months ago. But he took care of her when she needed it, both as a child and after 9/11, and now it was time to return the favor.

She peeked inside the door. "Hi, Dad."

Michael Forrest II turned slowly towards her. His left arm would occasionally move of its own accord. He also needed help with his meals, which Alex, Danni, and Mikey would do. They also hired a healthcare worker to assist them, and a local nurse visited every other day to make sure everything was working properly with the bed and the various machines helping her father.

"Hi, Alex," was her father's very weak reply, even though he put in every effort to greet his children and grandchildren. "Do I want to know how the Flyers did last night?"

Alex shook her head and smiled. "If it's any consolation, they'd have to completely choke not to make the playoffs."

"Don't put it past them," her father replied with some ire behind that statement. Alex continued to be thankful they blocked the cable box from showing ESPN. He probably would have had two more strokes by now if he got to see SportsCenter every day.

Alex sat on the chair next to her father. "You never trusted any sports team to do the right thing."

Michael gently shook his head. "And how many championships has this city seen in your lifetime?"

"Three. The Phillies twice and the 76ers once."

"I rest my case."

Alex smiled. "No wonder everybody at the Bureau thinks I have a cynical streak."

Michael Forrest II chuckled. It was an odd sound to hear from him these days, and it took Alex completely by surprise.

"What?"

"I was just wondering when you were going to give up that BS about working for the FBI. Could you at least not insult your old man by telling me before I'm in the grave?"

Alex looked at him in shock. "What? I don't know what you're…"

Michael Forrest reached out for Alex's hand, which she gave him. "I've known for a few years that you work for the CIA, honey."

Alex could feel a few tears coming. It was never something she was proud to do, but she thought she was doing the right thing by not telling her parents her real job was infinitely more risky than just being an FBI agent. But nothing will ever get past a good cop.

Alex gripped her father's hand tightly. "I'm…I'm sorry I didn't…"

"It's OK, Alex. I figured you had good reason for doing it. You didn't want us to worry about you, so I played along to make sure you didn't worry about us, either."

"When did you find out?"

"Back in '05. Do you remember Willie Jackson?"

"He was your partner in the 80's and 90's."

"His son, Malcolm, is a technician at Langley and saw you there one day. He gave some thought of saying hello, but you didn't look like you were in a good mood that day."

"There weren't a lot of days when I was in a good mood back then. Did you tell Mom?"

"I didn't want to worry her, and her cancer was starting to spread out of control by then."

The tears Alex felt before were increasing. "I'm so sorry, Dad. I tried to come back for her funeral. I wanted to badly. They couldn't get me out of where I was."

Michael put his other hand over hers. "It's OK, Alex. I figured it was something like that. I tried to tell Mikey that, but he wasn't having it. He was too upset to have to watch Mom pass away like that. I tried to talk to him a few times, and so has Danni. But you two are too much like your old man."

Alex wiped away a few tears. "I can't argue that, Dad."

"Hey, I don't have any regrets. Your mother and I had to work hard at it, but we were able to carve out a good life. I must have done something right, because I've got two beautiful, successful kids. That's the secret: always try to get what you want in life and leave things better than how you found them."

Alex nodded. It was advice she was certain more than a few parents told their kids, but it was still very solid advice.

"How is that guy you told me about at Christmas? You said he was really cute. Is he another agent in the CIA?"

Alex had to smile. There was little point in lying to her father now. "Jimmy. We actually worked on a second case in San Diego two months ago, right before I came home."

"And?"

"I…I was worried about you and I kind of left things up in the air with him."

"Haven't you talked to him since you last saw him?"

Alex hung her head. "No. He left me some messages, but…"

"Is he anything like John?"

Alex paused for a moment. "In a lot of ways, he's even better."

"I remember you being completely in love with John. It was scary. I think you were more in love with him than I was in love with your mother. If Jimmy is even better, well, I think lightning has struck twice for you."

Alex gripped her father's hand tightly. "Thanks, Dad." She stood up and gave him a gentle kiss.

As she walked downstairs, she realized it was the first time she gave a lot of thought to Jimmy since returning home. Sarah was absolutely right about not letting him slip past her. She regretted not telling him in San Diego, and she regretted not returning his messages. But at this point she was too worried about her father to think about how she felt about Jimmy.

She could only hope it wasn't too late.

Castle Underground Facility
March 17, 2011
10:30 AM

Chuck, Casey, and Morgan were hiding out from the Buy More. The store was quiet, but a lack of customers simply meant that Jeff and Lester would try to organize something to cause trouble. As a result, shopping cart races made their annual return to the store. Since Jeff came into the store already hammered to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, the trio decided to let Big Mike handle it this time.

Chuck talked about having the Intersect removed with Casey and Morgan. "So Sarah and I would move to Washington and work for the CIA there. No more spying. No more missions. No more constant danger. At least I hope not."

"Dude, that sounds kind of boring, doesn't it? I mean, look at what you've done all this time," Morgan said with a hint of disappointment. "I mean, you've been like James Bond. But, you know, with friends and a job at the Buy More. And you have the same woman at the end of each movie."

"It's a job where I'd still be dealing with threats. I'd just be stopping people from, you know, crashing the stock market or messing with the national power grid. That sort of thing."

Morgan got wide-eyed. "Wait, does that mean you could just type something into a computer and send a bunch of nukes over to China? I was wrong; that would be AMAZING!"

"I seriously doubt they'd entrust Nerd Boy with starting World War III, moron," Casey replied with considerable annoyance.

"So what are you going to do?" Morgan asked with the enthusiasm of a puppy waiting for a treat from his owner.

"I don't know, Morgan."

"You're at least going to skip past the part where you try to guess what Walker wants and just ask her, right?" Casey said, his annoyance continuing from before.

"Of course. It's just, I don't know. What would happen next?"

"Not my department," was Casey's curt reply.

"Come on, big Case," Morgan replied, further vexing Casey. "You're part of the team. You have a say in this."

"It's nobody's business but theirs, Grimes. Let them decide for themselves."

Chuck put his head on the table. "Great. That's two people who refuse to tell me anything."

"Who was the other?" Casey asked.

"Jimmy," Chuck replied. "He keeps saying it's entirely our decision, too." He desperately turned to Casey. "Please, just throw me something here. Anything."

Casey audibly growled. But he had to admit a certain pride for being asked for advice of this magnitude. "I don't like telling people how to run their own lives. The only thing I can tell you is to make sure you don't get to be an old man and regret the things you did or didn't do. It's very hard to live with regret. That's all I know."

Chuck looked at Casey for a moment. Casey may not have thought of it as much in the way of advice, but Casey was certainly someone to have experienced having to live with tough decisions. He left a fiancé and daughter behind. Chuck knew it hurt Casey, even though neither of them had spoken of it since that day. But he did know that Casey appreciated Chuck stepping up to bat for him when she was taken hostage. Casey looked at Chuck in a different light after that day.

Orange Orange
March 17, 2011
2:00 PM

Casey walked into the Orange Orange with the same surly look on his face he wore when Jeff and Lester starting causing trouble earlier that morning.

"Are the shopping cart races over?" Sarah asked, trying not to smile.

"Yeah, and now the cleanup begins. That is why I'm over here."

She gave a slight laugh and poured some frozen yogurt into a cup. She brought it out to Casey.

"Thanks," he replied with a grumble. "Non-fat?"

"Would I ever give you the regular stuff?"

Casey nodded in acknowledgment. "The weight only goes one way when you get to be my age, and it isn't down."

"You're not that old," she chided him.

"I've been in this business 23 years, Walker. And you don't start basic training in kindergarten."

Sarah sat down at the table with Casey. "You heard about what they want to do with Chuck and me?"

Casey sighed. "Great, now I've been roped into two discussions about someone's lady feelings. Should I just go full bore and start watching The View every day?"

"I wouldn't do that to you, John." Sarah was a bit annoyed, although she had to admit she wasn't one to talk about her feelings before arriving in Burbank. Damn Chuck, anyway. "But this is better than running away, isn't it? Getting to walk away on our own terms?"

"Unquestionably. Not a lot of people in our business get to walk out the door like what they're offering you two."

"It's just…I keep thinking where I would have been had Graham not found me that day."

Casey took a guess as to what Walker was thinking. "If you think you owe anybody, Walker, you don't. They got everything they needed out of you and more. The government got along fine before we joined and they'll do fine after we're gone. Believe me, they never worry about us."

Sarah looked at him. "I don't owe anybody anything? Not even you?"

Casey shook his head. "You probably saved my ass as many times as I saved yours. You've been a damn good partner. The best. You never owed me anything more than that."

She gave a gentle smile. "Thanks, John. You definitely made this job much easier to do. I never worked with anyone better."

"Glad to do it, Walker."

She looked at him for a moment. "So, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"You said you've been doing this for 23 years. You can walk away, too. Isn't there anything you want to do?"

Casey quietly growled in annoyance. "You and Devon. I guess blondes do think alike."

"What are you talking about?"

"He asked me the same question at Grimes' wedding. I don't think I'm capable of doing anything else."

"Of course you are. You just have to decide."

Casey shook his head. "I think you get to a point where you just have to accept who and what you are and be done with it. Fortunately, you and Bartowski aren't there yet. You can still do what you want."

"Oh, that's not true. Look at Jimmy. He finally decided what he wants to do. If he can do it, so can you."

Casey gave her a disbelieving glare. "Do you really believe Slade would do something only for himself? There's no way he wasn't thinking of Chuck when he decided to do this."

Sarah exhaled slowly. "You're right. He's not capable of being selfish."

"But you better consider that you may never get another opportunity again to walk out on your own terms. Most times, agents either leave by mental ward or coffin. If you want out, maybe you should let Slade do this."

"Not before I talk with him first."

Sarah still wasn't 100% certain if she didn't want to be an agent anymore. She only knew that she wanted to be with Chuck. But Casey was right in that these opportunities almost never came along in this business. She just wasn't sure she could live with what would have to happen in order for Chuck and her to walk away.

Westin Bonaventure Hotel
March 18, 2011
8:15 AM

Jimmy was packing his clothes in anticipation of his 1 PM flight to Washington, D.C. General Beckman was ordering him to return to the DNI to go over some information regarding the Intersect project. He had to pack quickly, as he needed to check out of the hotel and stop by the Buy More to say goodbye to everybody. He wasn't certain how he would explain quitting the Nerd Herd after only two weeks, but he guessed more than a few employees have quit that place after only a short time. It was a rather scary lot employed there.

Sarah knocked on the door to his hotel room.

Jimmy opened the door. "Hey, Sarah. What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

Jimmy never liked those words. He was still a rank amateur when it came to dealing with others. "What kind of trouble am I in now?"

Sarah entered the room, and Jimmy went back to putting clothes in his suitcase.

"Are you sure you're uploading the Intersect for yourself? That it is something you really want to do?"

Jimmy looked confused. "Uh, yes? Did I not make that clear earlier?"

"You're doing this strictly for you and not so Chuck and I are safe and sound out of the spy business?"

"Yes."

Sarah put her hands on her hips and continued to glare at him.

Jimmy turned a bit sheepish. "OK, part of it is that."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You have no right to do that. It's not your job to protect us."

"Wait a minute," Jimmy countered, his voice taking on a bit of an edge. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't I say it was purely Chuck's and your decision to make? I never said you have to do it. I said it's completely up to you."

"And if we said no?"

"Fine. But are you saying no because both of you really want to be spies for the rest of your life or are you saying no because you think you'd be dumping all of this in my lap?"

Now Sarah was the one to hesitate while Jimmy glared and had his arms crossed.

Jimmy's voice softened. "Look, I'm still going to be a spy either way. I'm still in the same danger, whether I have an Intersect or not. And the CIA still wants someone to be the Intersect. If you don't want to be a spy anymore, this might be the only chance you and Chuck have to walk away from it on your own terms. So just forget about everything else and talk to Chuck about what you want to do, not what you think will happen to anyone else. You two have more than earned the right to think about yourselves first for once."

Jimmy closed the suitcase he was packing and sat down on the bed. Sarah sat down next to him.

"Then could you please forget about being involved in any of this and tell me what you think?"

Jimmy sat there for a minute. "I don't know. I mean, there's always someone else who can be a spy. And obviously other people can be the Intersect. But there's only one person who can be married to Chuck Bartowski. And there's only one person who can be married to Sarah Walker. And there are a lot of people who are willing to help the two of you make that happen. I guess it's a matter of whether you can think you can make it work for the rest of your life."

"But what about you?" Sarah asked Jimmy. "Isn't there anything you want?"

Jimmy looked down at the floor. "I never asked myself that before. I mean, you spend all of those years with people saying you're worthless and pathetic, eventually you start to believe it. Before you know it, you're hurting yourself before someone else has a chance to do it. Sometimes I still think I'm worthless and pathetic. Maybe not as much as I used to, but…"

Sarah took his hand. "Just for the record, we never once thought you were worthless and pathetic. We always knew there was something special about you. We have so few people we can rely on to step up when the pressure is on."

"I know. You're fighting forty years of me thinking I wasn't any good. But obviously you got through if I did all of that work to be an agent. Who knows? Maybe 20 or 30 years from now, I'll even be good at it."

Sarah growled at him and hit him with a pillow from the bed. Jimmy laughed.

"You do that just to annoy the hell out of me, don't you," she said.

"These days, yes."

"But what about Alex? What will she think about you being an Intersect?"

Jimmy shrugged. "I don't know. I wish I knew what she was thinking, if she's even thinking about me."

"Do you love her?"

Jimmy froze at that question. "I…I don't know. I don't even know what being in love is like. How are you supposed to know?"

Sarah was surprised to see Jimmy so uncertain. But then, it was easy to forget there was so much to life that Jimmy never experienced. She could remember her days growing up, how she was teased mercilessly in school, and the detachment from her family. But Jimmy had it much worse and for twenty years longer than her. In a way, it was still a miracle that he turned out the way he did. For all that he did, it was hard not have an affinity for him.

"There's no easy answer to that question, Jimmy. You just know. I mean, I think a part of me was always in love with Chuck. I tried to deny it and not think it was possible. I didn't think I deserved to have someone like him."

Jimmy turned to her. "Come on. Nobody deserves someone like Chuck more than you. You two are the best things to ever happen to each other."

Sarah gazed into his slate blue eyes and put her hands on his face. She placed a gentle kiss on his lips and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you. I need all of the friends I can get, and you're one of the best."

Jimmy hugged her tightly as well. "Always glad to be one, kiddo."

Jimmy stood up and grabbed his briefcase and traveling bag. "Just talk to Chuck and decide what you want to do. Either way, you know I got your back."

"Thanks Jimmy."

They walked to the door and headed down to the elevators.

Dulles International Airport
March 26, 2011
5:00 PM

Mr. Diaz was not happy. It was, literally, a wasted trip. He got no information out of Cole Barker. Sometimes the fact someone was willing to kill themselves in order not to divulge information was a telling sign, but this was already a high-priority mission for The Ring; they would not have hired him otherwise. For the moment, he had to wait for a phone call for his next move.

He sat in the bar and watched the second round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. He wasn't much of a basketball fan, although he certainly could appreciate people going nuts over this tournament. But he had work to do, and sitting idly by in an airport bar was the not the way he liked to conduct business.

His mobile phone rang. He checked the Caller ID for the person he needed.

"Talk to me."

"It took a lot of effort, but I located her," the female voice on the other end of the line said. "She works in a sports bar called Fullerton's in Tempe, a few miles from the Arizona State campus."

"Very well," Mr. Diaz replied. "Be ready to execute the plan once I get the information from her."

"I am also working on a few items regarding one of the other people on your list. If my theory is right, you can double your price with The Ring."

"Sounds interesting. But I'll believe it when I see it."

He checked his watch and did some research on his phone. There were a few flights that would get into Sky Harbor International Airport later that night, but he wasn't in a hurry. He'd do some reconnaissance first. Next Saturday would be the best bet. She would be exhausted after working during the Final Four, and she would be vulnerable enough to need a friendly face to talk to.

If this really was Jill Roberts who worked in Tempe, she could use a friend. Mr. Diaz thought he could be a good one.