"Mail call, Bro!"

Chuck looks up from the book he's reading. It's a week after Clara's birth, and the Bartowski clan plus Morgan has done little else but coo over how adorable their new addition is, and lend Ellie and Devon a helping hand around the house while they get used to the baby.

Chuck frowns and takes the small envelope. "I've lived in London for seven months, you'd think people would stop sending post here."

"Post?"

"Yeah the- oh the mail," Chuck says quickly. "Right, right, it's still funny that Chuck says British things instead of American things. Don't you have a diaper to change or something?"

Devon smirks and walks off, but not before giving Chuck's shoulder a teasing shove.

He shakes his head and pops the envelope open, pulling out the only thing inside: a napkin with a circular green and brown logo with a steaming coffee cup in the center, and the words "Herrlich Kleiner Kaffee" arched above it.

"What is that?" Mary asks over Chuck's shoulder as she leans on the back of the couch.

"A napkin," Chuck mutters, narrowing his eyes at the logo.

"I can see that," Mary says. "That translates to Small Wonderful Coffee. It's German. Have you been there?"

"I...maybe. I don't...I don't really remember." He looks at the envelope, which is blank aside for his name and the Echo Park address. He looks back at the napkin and attempts to flash on it but nothing happens. "It looks familiar."

"I remember that place," Morgan says, as he plops down next to Chuck. "That was the little coffee shop in Switzerland. Casey and I tracked you down on that train and you and Sarah tried to run away from the spy life together, and then you came back because you knew that Casey and I were in trouble, and you guys...you guys kicked some serious butt. I mean, you were a hell of a team. Remember? You sent that cute little scooter right through the window of that place! It was awesome!"

Realization dawns on Chuck and his eyes widen, staring at Morgan and then the napkin.

"That's...oh my god you're right. You're right! That's the coffee shop!"

Mary shakes her head. "That...sounds like quite a story."

"Okay!" Morgan says excitedly, turning to his best friend's mother. "So there was this guy named Shaw, and-"

"It's a long story," Chuck cuts in quickly. He doesn't want to relive that. He doesn't want to go back to that; to how relieved and how elated he was at Sarah wanting to be with him. He doesn't want to. He can't. He's terrified he'll fall apart.

Morgan looks at him and gets it quick. "So...so who woulda sent you a napkin from that place?"

Chuck swallows hard, gripping the napkin.

00000

Castle is relatively empty. The government has taken back most of their equipment, probably transferred it to another operation that needs the tech now that Operation Bartowski is officially no more.

It's been a long time since he's been down here. He tries not to think about how long.

Chuck hooks his phone up to the video screen (just about the only thing left in the place) and dials up General Beckman's video line. She's obviously confused when she sees him.

"Agent Bartowski? Are you in Castle?"

"Yes, General."

"Well?"

"I need information on Agent Walker's whereabouts."

The General narrows her eyes. "Agent Walker's current mission is classified, Agent Bartowski. I can't discuss that with you."

"Please, General Beckman," Chuck persists quickly. "I think she sent me something, a keepsake, and if I could just talk to her-"

"I'm sorry, Chuck. The answer is no."

His jaw and fists clench.

"I know you've gone through some...unsavory channels to try and find her, but it's best right now-"

"Yeah, of course," he cuts her off. "Right. It's for the best. It was for the best that when I was trying to bounce back from a month of being Alexei Volkoff's plaything and two more months of crippling Laudenol withdrawal the love of my life was nowhere to be found. It was for the best that when I went into rigorous rehab so that I could be a functional field agent, she was completely absent from my life. Never mind that having Sarah around would have made reconnecting with the life I knew so much easier. Never mind that her presence probably would have nixed a lot of sleepless nights of wondering if I should just end it all."

Beckman's face sours. "May I remind you, Agent Bartowski, that you are the one who went rogue from you reconnaissance mission at Volkoff Industries to save your mother."

"With all due respect, General, you sent me in knowing that she was there!" Chuck cries incredulously. "What the hell did you expect that I was going to do? Shrug it off?"

"Yes!" Beckman bellows. "Yes! Because that's what spies do, Chuck! They get put into difficult situations and they shrug them off! That is their job! That is your job!"

"Man, I am so glad I don't work for you anymore."

"The feeling is entirely mutual," Beckman snaps. "An asset as difficult to control as you is not particularly worth all of the aggravation."

"Oh hey!" Chuck laughs. "That must be why you tried to have Casey kill me like forty times!"

Beckman has never given him such a sour look and that's really saying something. She disconnects them and Chuck is left standing in the empty Castle, alone.

00000

Fighting with General Beckman galvanizes him.

He's gonna find Sarah, one way or another.

He turns the Tron Poster in his flat over once again and places Sarah's photo in the middle, along with everything he knows about her. Jobs, family members, the envelope and napkin from Herrlich Kleiner Kaffee.

It's not much to go on and Sarah just isn't one to leave a trail, but he has to start somewhere.

A lead is a lead and he takes a day trip to Miami Beach to meet with Sarah's father.

"She did tell you I'm not her actual father, right?"

Chuck gapes at Jack Burton. "Wh...but..."

"It's a cover, kid. I do some work for the Agency, they stay off my back, keep the cops and the feds at a distance..."

"But..."

"Sorry, Chuck. I haven't heard from her."

He really is at a dead end. There is no place to start. Sarah Walker is a ghost, Samantha Lisa is not much of a name to go on if that really is her real name, and most of his information pertains to nearly four years spent in Burbank where she apparently mostly lied to him.

Chuck sighs heavily and slumps down on his bed, staring at the desktop computer.

"I'm so gonna get fired."

Hacking into the CIA database is easy and yields no real results; a couple of files about Project Bartowski and a couple of missions with Bryce.

He stares sourly at the computer screen before pulling out his phone. "Hey, Gerald. It's Chuck. I'm gonna need a couple days. I'm just not feeling well, I don't think I'll be much use in the field."

He gets to Reagan National Airport and gets a hotel room mostly to plan the break-in.

The knock on the door makes him grab for his tranq gun, but he lets it fall when he looks through the peephole.

Casey steps in when Chuck swings the door open.

"Casey, Casey who told you I was here?"

"Beckman."

Chuck stares. "Beckman? What? Beckman knows I'm here?"

"Course she does, Moron. The United States watches your every move, you're the Intersect."

"So you're here to stop me."

He grunts and sets a briefcase down, opening it up to reveal weapons and equipment. "Actually I'm here to help you. Beckman doesn't want you to get caught. Frankly, neither do I."

Chuck nods and sits down, slumping back on his chair.

"What is it that you think you're gonna find?" Casey asks, glancing at him.

Chuck shrugs. "A lead. A clue. Something. There's gotta be something."

Casey just grunts. "Let's get to work."

The CIA raid proves successful and fruitful.

Sarah Walker's file is enormous, filled with names, dates, places; it even has her birth certificate.

"Sarah Lorraine Singer," Chuck reads quietly. "Born May fourteen nineteen-eighty. in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Robert and Karen Singer. They might know where she is."

"Could be," Casey says. "Let me know if you find her."

"Wait...wait! Casey you...come on, Buddy I need your help on this."

"No can do," he says, heading for the door. "You've got my number if things go too far south."

"But..."

Casey grips his shoulder. "You're a good spy, Bartowski. The second best I've ever worked with. Now stop bein' an idiot and go find the first."

Chuck watches him head for the door.

"Oh, and just in case it slipped your notice, according to those files, we've always known Walker's real name." Casey gives him an almost evil grin. "She lied to Shaw."

Chuck can't help the slightly smug look he knows he's wearing. "See ya, Casey."