Don't own Chuck

Sarah fell back on the sofa pulling the throw over herself. Suddenly she felt very, very cold as what Morgan said finally sunk in. But even then she couldn't believe it, this wasn't true. No she couldn't accept it, this wasn't happening to them. She was... they were going to have a baby. Tears welled up and she couldn't fight them back.

"What are you saying? Where's Chuck and Zondra?" asked Sarah as what they were trying to say hit her, hit her like a brick wall.

"I'm sorry but we split up when we went in... and well Chuck and Zondra never made it out of the ranch house before it exploded. I think the wet team blew it up to get Ettore and he was with Chuck and Zondra."

No, that's not possible… I talked with Chuck, he had a plan. No… no this can't be… You split up so you left him? John, what happened to semper fi or is that the new name for a one way street. I'm sorry I've got to let you guys go I can't deal with you right now. I just can't..."

"Sarah, I'm sorry but Beckman ordered us to leave before the locals figured out we were there and made things worse…"

"Worse for whom? You two weren't even supposed to be there to begin with. This was Chuck's op and you two went rogue that's the truth. So when it's convenient you remember to follow orders?"

"Sarah, you're upset and I understand... we all understand but you need to calm down for the baby," said Alex. She expected Sarah to bite her head off but she didn't instead Sarah remembered she'd made a promise.

"Oh crap, crap, crap… I told Sam Chuck was going to call to tell us when he'd be home. No I can't deal with this or you guys right now. I'm sorry but I've got to go," said Sarah as she got up and walked out of the room with the monitor still on. They heard the front door open then slam closed.

"No, this can't be it. It just can't be," she repeated to herself as she walked over to the fountain. She looked at the reflection of the moon in the water. "No Chuck had a plan and his plans always work. I need to trust Chuck," said Sarah.

As she looked in the fountain it seemed as though it was raining with rain drops falling in making little ripples distorting the reflection. Then she realized it wasn't rain that was falling in but her tears.

"What's the matter," she heard behind her then felt an arm wrap around her pulling her close. "You're cold let's get inside and warm you up then you can tell me everything." Sarah walked back into her apartment with Ellie.

"I'm sorry Ellie you need to get back to Devon and I... well I don't know how to tell you this. You sure you don't need to go back to Devon?"

"He's sound asleep and will be for the next couple of hours before he wakes up then goes for his run then comes home and makes one of those awful drinks. You're upset so let me make you a chamomile tea."

"You'd better make two you're going to need one," said Sarah as she told Ellie everything she was told. "...so there you go that's what I know and I've violated I don't know how many protocols and regulations telling you this but I don't care."

Ellie was silent as she sipped on her tea this wasn't the reaction Sarah had expected. She thought at the minimum Ellie would be as upset as she was and she was afraid she'd be angry at her for getting Chuck involved with the agency but nothing wasn't an option.

"Ellie are you in shock? It's all right for you to be angry at me if you want to be. I understand if you are I would be if I were you," said Sarah but Ellie just sipped. "Say something please I can't take the silent treatment right now."

"What? Oh right... sorry I was thinking about what you said. So if the guys were out of the compound when the house blew up then they can't be sure if Chuck was or wasn't inside right?"

"Well yes but the last time they had contact with him he was inside and with Ettore so if the wet team blew up the house to get him that means... well you know what it means."

"But that is true only if the wet team blew up the house. What if Ettore blew up the house to cover his tracks? I'm just saying there are different ways to look at this."

"Chuck did say he thought Ettore was playing Casey and Morgan which would make your idea fit. If he lured Morgan in and knowing there was a hit out on him the party at the ranch house makes sense."

"You're losing me," said Ellie as the huddled over the kitchen table. Sarah took out tea bags to represent people on a chessboard. "Okay this is Ettore and the people he gathered at the house. He had to figure someone or all of them would try to collect on the hit..."

"Sounds like there would've been some interesting dinner conversation," said Ellie. "Sorry I'm interrupting please continue."

"You are my husband's sister," said Sarah. Ellie smiled but she was talking about was her constant interruptions. "Okay you have to understand these people worked together but none of them really liked each other. Anyway Ettore looked around and tried to find one person who could offer him something, something he needed or something better than what the others could offer."

"And that would be Chuck. That's why he took him out of the room," said Ellie as she was starting to follow along. "This is better than playing Clue."

"Yes," said Sarah as she reconfirmed her prior opinion. "Well this is the tricky part. Ettore had to wait until he was sure Morgan was in the house and that this wet team was attacking then he made his move." She moved the tea bags around to illustrate what she was saying.

"But the question is why hasn't Chuck made contact with anyone if he got out with Ettore? This is all supposition and we really don't have any facts."

"Chuck may not be able to contact anyone if he's traveling with Ettore. He's still playing Juri the Russian and can't risk blowing his cover. There are a couple of things I could do to find out. I could activate his emergency distress beacon but if Ettore has some way to detect it I could be putting him in danger. No I can't do that but I can do another thing," said Sarah as she went back over to the television. She brought the link back up with Castle then brought in images from the spy sat feed from Bogotá.

"What are you doing," asked Ellie as she stood behind her watching the feed come in. "I'm always amazed at the detail you guys can see from all the way up there."

"The General would be amazed at my letting a civilian look over my shoulder. But as Chuck would say what she doesn't know won't hurt her..."

"I wouldn't say that," said Beckman as the General came on half of the screen. "I think I know what you're looking for and I can save you the effort. NSA confirmed they picked up chatter between Ettore's DC 9 and the Control Tower before it took off. Local law enforcement agencies along with the Colombian Military tried to stop the plane from taking off but were unsuccessful. The plane flew through FARC controlled territory so they were unable to give pursuit."

"Can we do voice analysis to see who the Control Tower talked to on the plane?" asked Sarah. Ellie walked up behind her and put her hands on Sarah's shoulders.

"I didn't have to. Major play the recording back for Agent Carmichael," said the General. Sarah listened to Chuck's quip with Tower Control.

"Yes that's definitely my Chuck," said Sarah as she felt her eyes well up. "I guess the next question is do we know where the plane is heading?" she asked as she wiped her eyes.

"Their flight plan has them going into Mexicali but my gut tells me that's a ruse. They're going to fly in somewhere else but the question is where. I've got a bird in the air monitor their progress but I'm expecting a last minute course change. I'll let you two get back to whatever it was you were doing before and as an oh by the way what I don't know can hurt me. Beckman out."

"Well, all in all I don't think the General was that upset," said Sarah as she yawned. Suddenly after all the stress of everything was lifted from her shoulders she felt very tired and the sun was coming up which meant Sam would be up soon.

"Listen, why don't I stay here and wait for Sam to get up then I'll take her next door and make breakfast for everyone. You can go to the bedroom and try to get some sleep. We don't have to be anywhere today so I was thinking about taking the girls to the beach and making a picnic out of it so that will give you some time to get some rest."

"Thank you I don't know what I do without you guys."

"What? You're family and we Bartowski's take care of our own, Sis. Now scoot off to bed while I make a pot of coffee. Your tea is almost as bad as Devon's breakfast yuck."

"I know but Baby Walnut goes crazy if I drink anything with caffeine," said Sarah as she got up then they started walking into the kitchen together.

"You've really got to come up with a better name," said Ellie as she started to make a pot of coffee. "Walnut isn't a walnut anymore."

"Well we could go with Sam's choice and call her Bunny."

"That sounds like a hooker's name," said Ellie as they both laughed.

"What's a hooker," they heard a little voice say behind them. Turning around they found Sam standing there with her two bunnies, one under each arm.

"Your Aunt will explain it to you. I'm going to go get some sleep your mommy's very tired I was up all night. Ellie is going to make you your breakfast next door then you're all going to do something together while I sleep. Okay?" said Sarah then she kissed her. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

Sam nodded her head then threw her arms around Sarah and kissed her back. Sarah smiled then started to head back to her bedroom and just before she closed the door she heard Sam and Ellie talking.

"So you were going to tell me what a hooker is?"

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There was another powwow going on behind closed doors. Some of the council of Terror Inc had called an emergency meeting requesting all its members be present. The location of the meeting was strategic where the previous meeting places had been in areas controlled by Mr. Big this time the location was in neutral territory. This for Mr. Big was a sign his power over the board was slipping and even his ability to lead was being called into question.

"Where is everyone? I thought we were supposed to meet here at eight. Where's the rest of the council? I count only half present."

"Don't worry Marcus I asked you all here early to discuss the way our illustrious leader is running things. He made a big speech how he was going to deal with Ettore and even eliminated some of our friends to put himself at the head of the table..."

"The truth is none of us could really stand the guys he took out and the rest of us don't trust each other. Now Cassius if you want to argue he took advantage of our... well animosity towards each other I'll grant you that."

"Whatever. What I'm saying is he made some wild claims but hasn't delivered on one. If anything things are worse than they were before. My sources in Bogotá tell me Ettore gave his men the slip and he is in fact on a plane right now heading north. Our friend, Robert Scoglione, was a causality of this botched attempt to get Ettore. How many more of us is he going to sacrifice?"

"Are you sure about Bob? What was he doing down in Bogotá? At his age and with his spread he had no business trying to do this kind of job."

"Yeah his glory days had long since passed. What was he thinking unless this was some sort of suicide mission? Anyone know if he had any health issues?"

"The only health issue he had was called Mr. Big. He strong armed him into going because during the last meeting he dared to question Mr. Big. Is this the kind of guy we want leading us? You simply question one thing he does and you get sent off to die."

"Okay we're listening to what you have to say. What do you propose we do about Mr. Big? He's too strong to take on head on..."

"Not that any of you have the attributes to do it," said Cassius. The others looked at him. "Okay I know that was a low blow and I'm sorry but it does seem true. You guys run and quake every time he walks by."

"We're not hearing anything constructive. Right now you're just attacking us and that's hurting your case more than helping it. So one last time what do you want us to do Cassius?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing I'll take care of him and the situation. I've got contacts in Homeland and they're feeding me sat imagery of Ettore's flight. I've got a crew waiting with a stinger in Chiapas ready to bring his plane down. If that doesn't work then I've got an unmarked PC-9 standing by and on my orders he's going to bring Ettore down. My friends one way or another Ettore's days are numbered."

"Okay so you take Ettore out, what then? Mr. Big isn't just going to step aside and bow out. You may have won the battle but the war for his chair will be just beginning."

"Maybe yes and maybe no, after all I'll do what he promised he could do but couldn't deliver. That's got to count for something with the council. If I do this can I count on your support I don't care about the rest of the council but if you guys come with me then I'll be able to pull the others over with me too. Marcus what do you say can I count on you?"

"If you take care of Ettore before Mr. Big like you say then okay I'll think about it but no one speaks of this to anyone and when I say anyone I mean anyone. That means not to your wives or girlfriends, if Mr. Big finds out we went behind his back the council will be missing even more members," said Marcus. Everyone nodded in agreement.

[A few hours later]

The smoke filled room was even more smoke filled as the rest to the council came together. The last half arrived to find the first half already there and some couldn't help but feel like they had missed something. The ashtrays were filled and there were empty glasses on the table it didn't take a rocket science to figure out they'd been there for a while. Mr. Big was the last one to arrive taking his place at the head of the table.

"I'm glad Cassius called this council together today. Some of you might be thinking that things didn't go the way I planned in Bogotá when that could be the farthest thing from the truth. Sure it would've been nice if we'd taken Ettore out there but I knew from the beginning that would be nearly impossible to do. I had to flush the rabbit out into the open to take him out and that's what I did. I knew he had this emergency escape plan in play if ever he had his back against the wall..."

"So what was Bob," asked Cassius as he looked at the other members of the council. "Was he some sort of pawn on your chessboard to sacrifice for the greater good?"

"I don't know what you want me to say. The answer is yes and I'll tell you why. Because the same way Bob gave his all for this council we all should be willing to make the same sacrifice. Bob represents an ideal and should be held up as a true brother. Yes, he might have had his weaknesses but in the end he came through for the rest of us."

"But the reality is Bob's dead and Ettore is still at large," said Cassius. "I don't know about the rest of you but that's what I'm hearing. How much longer is Ettore going to elude you and make fun of us?"

"He's not eluding me at all and if he's making fun of you that's in your head. I know exactly where he's at and am taking precautions to deal with him when he lands. I'm through toying with him now I'm getting ready to move in for the kill."

"So to be clear you're going to wait for him to land then take care of him once and for all," said Cassius as he looked at his fellow conspirators.

"Yes I think that's what I said. I guess for some of you I need to bring illustrations you seem to have a hard time comprehending English or is it that English isn't your first language? If there's nothing else I think we all can go home. I'm sorry if I have to run but I need to get back to my office," said Mr. Big as he got up and left.

"You handled that quite well," said Mr. Big's Lieutenant as he followed him out of the room and into a waiting car. "Who does that Cassius think he is questioning you like that?"

"He's just one of the wolves at the door. We need to find out who else is in on his little plot. I have no intention of getting whacked on the Ides of March. Discreetly go around and see who was at the first meeting today then give me their names. I'm sure I can find a weak link in one of them."

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Casey was flying the Lear cruising at an altitude of thirty thousand feet passing through Guatemala then entering the air space of Chiapas on their way back home. They'd just gotten off the horn with the General who was not at all pleased with them but reserved judgment until she read Chuck and Zondra's reports.

"...I won't make a decision on what to do with you two until I've read the reports by the only two agents who were authorized to participate on this mission. And if I were you two I wouldn't push it because originally I was leaning towards a court martial followed by time at Leavenworth for insubordination, conduct unbecoming and anything else I could come up with to throw at you."

"Thanks Becky," said Morgan as Casey and Alex looked at him. "What? You heard her Chuck's all right. Everything else will come out in the wash."

"I'm glad to hear you're that confident Mr. Grimes," said the General. "If there's nothing else and I can't see why there would be Beckman out."

"Don't get your hopes up too much Moron. She still hasn't cleared us yet and remember what happened to me after my run in with Keller. We could easily be back working at the Buy More full time again."

"Well I can see how that would be a problem for you being a green shirt but I'll still be the manager and your boss," said Morgan. Casey started to growl. "Well in theory at least. Maybe it would be best if I left you alone for a while. You know I think I'm going to go back and get me a cup of coffee."

"I think if you'd like to keep up that nasty habit of yours called breathing that would be a good idea," said Casey as he adjusted their heading.

Morgan left leaving him and Alex alone in the cockpit. John looked over at Alex and she sat quietly there staring out into space. He waited for a while and it became obvious she was thinking about something and he had a good idea what it was.

"If you ask me this whole talking things over is over rated," said John trying to break the ice. "I mean what's done is done and there's no going back."

"Excuse me I wasn't paying any attention," said Alex as she turned to Casey. "I'm sorry what did you say about not being able to go back?"

"Talking things over is over rated. You know what you did and so does he. If he cares about you he's just got to learn to live with it. There's nothing that can be done about it now and fixating on it isn't good."

"Well you're right and you're wrong. Yes nothing can undo the past but bottling it up and pretending it didn't happen won't work either because sooner or later it's going to come out. It will become like a dormant volcano that everyone knows will one day erupt."

"You can't stop a volcano from erupting."

"True, but I can defuse a bomb before it explodes. However, you knew that when you started talking trying to get me to see this. Thanks Dad you're the greatest," said Alex as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going to go back and talk to Morgan."

"What can I say I try," said Casey but as they were talking a warning light came on and an alarm sounded. "Sit down and hold on we've been locked on by a fire control radar. Discharge chaff and hang on commencing evasive maneuvers."