AN: Thanks again to charahkids for his help and to all of you who read, favourited/reviewed/followed.
This would've been out sooner but it needed some minor changes and when I did make them, for the life of me, the site wouldn't let me save the changes to the doc. I tried EVERYTHING (even switching browsers and using Internet Explorer...the horror *shudders*.) :(
Full House part 2: 6717 words.
~/0/~
Flashbacks
Saturday, October 15th 2012
They had agreed. They were both ready to start their family, and neither could wait until their practice sessions were finally successful.
"Sarah, you know this is the fifth morning in a row that you've been praying to the porcelain god." Chuck said as he entered the bathroom. He sat next to Sarah, and pulled the hair from clinging to her face, then rubbed her back.
"Yea, I know." Sarah said, she felt like death "And I'm a few days late."
She saw the hope in Chuck's eyes, the question he was asking. "Do you think you could be pregnant?"
"Honestly Chuck, I think so." Sarah said. "But I don't want to get our hopes up, so maybe we could wait a few more days." Sarah suggested.
"Ok." Chuck agreed, hoping he wouldn't go crazy by the uncertainty. "In the meantime, how about we get you some herbal tea and settle your stomach."
Sarah smiled at his concern for her. Even if she wasn't pregnant, she knew they would eventually, and there was no better man she'd want to start a family with.
Four days later, they decided to go to the pharmacy to but an at home pregnancy test. Ten minutes after they got home, they were both sitting on the edge of the bath tub. After their confusion about if the symbol was an arrow or a peace sign the first time they thought she might had been pregnant, they had gone with the ClearBlue digital pregnancy test.
Sarah held the stick in her hand, while Chuck looked at his watch. According to the stopwatch, they had one more minute to wait until the results came in. When they heard the small alarm, they turned to each other, and then to the stick.
The word 'Pregnant' was displayed in the window. At that moment, both Chuck and Sarah were in absolute bliss. Chuck leaned in and captured her lips in a sweet kiss, pouring the love and hope for the future he had into it.
"I can't believe we're pregnant already."
"We?" Sarah questioned. "Um, correct me if I'm wrong Chuck, but you aren't the one who can't keep anything down, you won't be the one who has feet the size of tree trunks and you definitely won't be the one who has to push an eight pound baby through her hoo hah." Sarah said while staring him down.
"Come on Sarah." Chuck said trying to placate her. "You know what I meant."
Sarah kept her firm gaze on him, before smiling, which lead Chuck to breathe a sigh of relief. "I was just playing with you Chuck. I'm just so happy. I wasn't expecting to get pregnant as soon as we started trying."
"Well then… I guess my boys can really swim. I mean come on, we decided to start trying earlier last month and here we are. Am I good? Or am I good?" Chuck said and wiggled his eyebrows. He earned a punch on the shoulder for that.
~/0/~
Thursay, December 24th 2015
Christmas with the Bartowski family was always a fun affair. It was Christmas Eve and Chuck and Sarah had almost finished decorating the house. Their two and a half year old son was still up, even though it was way past his bed time.
"Chuck, I told you we shouldn't have let him have any of those cookies I baked." Sarah chastised as she saw her son running up and down the house, obviously on a sugar high.
"Come on Sarah. It's almost Christmas, I'm sure just this once we can let it slide." Chuck said. "And besides, with all these bright decorations and him wanting to wait up until Santa came, I don't think we would've been able to get him to bed."
"I guess you're right. Christmas is his favourite holiday." Sarah said looking at the child who was taking in all the decorations. "We're almost finished here. Thank God. Tomorrow's going to be such a long day." Sarah said. They would be hosting Christmas dinner this year.
"It will, so we need to be getting to bed soon." Chuck agreed. "I'm just about ready to crash. How bout we finish the tree, get him to bed and then place the presents under the tree?"
"Sounds like a plan."
For The next twenty minutes, the family of three worked on applying the remaining garlands and ornaments to the tree. It was then time to put the angel on the top. Sarah retrieved it from its wrapping in the box.
"Daddy! Daddy!" CJ shouted, and tugged at his father's pants. "Up." He commanded. "I wanna put the angel on the tree."
Chuck smiled and lifted his son into his arms, and brought him closer to the eight foot tree. Sarah handed it to him. "Be careful." Sarah warned as she placed the angel, which she and Chuck had bought for their first Christmas as a real couple in his hands.
CJ nodded, and took the ornament from his mother and with great concentration placed it on the top. Chuck then plugged in the extension, I to which the Christmas lights had been connected. The three stood back as they took in the sight before them. The pine sweet smell of the tree ghosted through the room, the silver flash of tinsel glittered brightly and the twinkle of the Christmas lights all added to the feel of Christmas in the home.
"Pretty Mommy!" CJ opined.
"I think it's beautiful." Chuck said.
"It's missing one thing though." Sarah said pensively.
Chuck looked at her quizzically. "And what would that be Mrs. Bartowski?"
Sarah smiled at him before saying. "I'll be right back." When she returned two minutes later, a small box was in her hands. She handed it to Chuck. "Open it."
"I thought we weren't exchanging gifts until Christmas. We've still got an hour and some change left." Chuck said looking at his watch.
"Chuck." Sarah said, a smile making its way on to her face. "Shut up and open the box."
"Alright, alright." Chuck said and removed the lid from the box. Chuck looked at his wife and back to the contents of the box, confused. Inside the box, he found a baby bootie Christmas ornament which had a crochet pattern.
He held it up to her, his eyes questioning, and darting from her stomach back to her face, His brain connecting the dots. "Are you pregnant?"
Sarah nodded. "Yes Chuck. Merry Christmas."
Chuck smiled brilliantly, wrapping Sarah in his arms and spinning her around in the air. Sarah laughed during this and gave him short but sweet kiss when he put her down.
"I'm assuming you're happy about this?" Sarah asked.
"Are you kidding me?" Chuck said. "This is awesome."
Sarah smiled once again, and pulled Chuck into a kiss again, mindful that their young son was still in the room. "I'm glad you think so. 'Cause I'm really excited."
"When did you find out?"
"Yesterday. I was going to tell you tomorrow, but I couldn't keep it a secret any longer."
"So, a baby, huh? Think we can handle it?"
"With you by my side, I can do anything."
They both smiled at that.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Their son who had stopped playing with his fire truck on the floor interrupted them. They both turned their attention to him. "Cookies and milk for Santa."
Chuck laughed. "How could we forget Santa?" He asked with faux-seriousness. I'll go pour the milk. Sarah, you can get the cookies."
~/0/~
Saturday, July 22nd 2017
Sarah did the 'dead man's drop' on to her bed and Sarah sighed contentedly. She had finally been able to get ten month old Emily down for her nap. Right now, she just wanted to sleep. Lately, she had been feeling extremely exhausted, and sleep was hard to come by especially now that she had a cranky baby who was beginning to crawl and teething at the same time and a three year old who was a ball of energy. Sarah reached across to the bedside drawers and took out her journal.
She flipped through the journal, checking to see if there were any appointments or important events coming up. It was then she noticed it. Her period was late. Panic began to consume her, and her eyes widened. Wait. When was the last time I had my period. She racked her brain, trying to remember. Calm down Sarah. She decided to look through her journal, looking for her last noted period. Her last noted cycle had been in May…. Could she be pregnant again? Doing her mental calculations, Sarah realised she was in fact six weeks late….
Okkk… no problem…. Sarah told herself. It's nothing to get worried about…. She knew that after pregnancy, the body took a while to adjust and return to normal, so maybe she wasn't pregnant…maybe her period was still getting back on track…
She wasn't on birth control anymore. She had discontinued use after they first decided to try for a baby and she certainly could not use contraceptives while she was breast feeding…oh god Sarah thought…
She couldn't go to the pharmacy now, as Emily was asleep. But she didn't want to wait until Chuck and CJ got back from the supermarket before she slipped out. This uncertainty would drive her crazy. She had to find out. She went to the phone and dialled.
-"Hey Maria. It's Sarah."-
-"Sarah. How are you?"-
-"I'm fine. I was wondering if you could do me a favour."-
-"Sure, what is it?"-
-"I really need to step out of the house for a couple of minutes, half an hour at the most. But chuck isn't here and Emily's asleep. Can you watch her for me?"-
-"Yea, no problem. Give me a minute to lock up and I'll be right over."-
-"Ok. Thank you."-
After ending the call, Sarah looked at herself in the mirror and realised she did not look presentable enough to go out in public, even if she was only making one stop. She quickly shed her cargo pants and camisole in favour of a pair of blue jeans, a red shirt and her brown jacket. After that, she washed her face, and applied some of her face powder and a thin trace of lip gloss. Her hair was still a mess, so she took the comb and untangled the few knots and then pulled her hair into a high one. Deeming herself presentable enough, Sarah checked on Emily in the nursery and was relieved that she was sleeping peacefully. She leant over the crib and placed a kiss on her daughter's cheek before making sure the monitors were on. Then she left the room.
She was on her way downstairs when the doorbell rang. "Coming!" she called out, loud enough so the person could hear, yet she was mindful of the sleeping baby. She opened the red front door. "Hey Maria." Sarah said when she was her petite African-American neighbour at the door. "Come on in. I hope I'm not pulling you away from anything."
"No, not at all. Dwayne is off playing golf with some old friends of his, so I was watching re-runs of my soap opera to pass the time. Trust me, it's no big deal."
"Ok. Thank you." Sarah said. "I gave her some medicine to help with her gums, and she was running a fever earlier, so if she wakes up, she might be a bit cranky. She prefers to rest on your shoulder, not to be cradled. The medication is on her bedroom dresser, I've got milk stored in the fridge and the formula is in the cupboard. Oh and if she doesn't want either but is hungry, we have some mashed potatoes and carrots in the–"
"Sarah," Maria interrupted, "I'm sixty-five years old. I've got three children and five grandchildren. I think I know a thing or two about teething babies. Go, we will be fine."
"Ok." Sarah relented. "But if anything pops up, my cell number is on the fridge, and so is Chuck's."
"Sarah, this isn't the first time I've watched one of the kids for you." Maria reminded her. "Just go."
"Ok. I'll see you in a few." Sarah said before heading out.
Thankfully, the traffic wasn't as heavy as Sarah had expected, so she had been able to get to the closest pharmacy and back in twenty-five minutes. When she got back, she and Maria had chatted for a bit, and enjoyed lunch. By that time; Emily had woken up, been fed and fallen back to sleep. After they cleaned up, Sarah bid Maria goodbye, thanking her once again for watching Emily.
Sarah sat on the couch, tapping the box which contained the pregnancy test against her thigh. After ten minutes of hesitancy, she went to the bathroom. The five minutes it took for the results to come in felt like an eternity. She paced the room anxiously as she waited. Her eyes bounced on everything in the room except for the pregnancy test and her phone, you know, that whole thing about time going faster if you don't look at the clock. When the timer on her phone sounded, she took a deep breath before walking over to look at it.
PREGNANT... Well, there it was, she was expecting. AGAIN. She always did think it would be nice to have their children close in age, but she wasn't thinking this close in age. Her hands drifted to her stomach. A baby was in there. Her baby. Chuck's baby, and even though she knew this would be challenging; having three children under five, she was sure she and chuck would be able to find a balance. Now all she had to do was tell Chuck.
/\
"Hey baby." Chuck greeted her when he came through the front door.
"Hey you two." Sarah called out from the kitchen.
"Mommy, we got a costume for Emily." CJ said excitedly.
"Costume?" Sarah asked confused.
"For Halloween." He said simply, Sarah cocked an eyebrow at him and then her husband, wondering why they were buying costumes so early.
"Oh you did." Sarah said smiling at him. "Let me see."
Chuck smiled as Sarah was pulled into the living room by their son as he went to put away the groceries.
CJ sat on the couch and urged his mom to sit. "We got the prettiest costume in the whole store." CJ declared proudly. "Daddy wanted to buy the baby lamb costume, but I told him not to get that one."
"Well it's a good thing you tagged along isn't it?" Sarah asked and CJ nodded enthusiastically. Sarah took the bag rom him, taking the coloured wrapping paper from out of it. Sarah took out the costume and held it up, so she could better view it. CJ had chosen a flower costume, which featured a pink stretch dress with an attached purple layered tutu with pink flower detail, matching flower headpiece, and convenient diaper cover. "It's really pretty CJ."
"You really like it Mommy?" CJ asked; his chocolate brown eyes filled with happiness.
"Yes, and I'm sure Emily will look beautiful in it." Sarah said. "We'll take lots of pictures during Halloween."
"Can she try it on now?" CJ asked.
"No baby. Remember I told you yesterday; Emily's teething, so she's not feeling well. She's sleeping right now, so we will have to do that tomorrow."
Sarah could see that he was disappointed. "Ok Mommy." he said.
"Hey CJ." Chuck said entering the living room. "Do you think I can borrow your Mommy for a moment?"
"Yea Daddy. I have to draw a picture for Mimi." CJ announced. "Where are my crayons Mommy?"
"You left them in the office."
"Oh." He said, before running of to retrieve the aforementioned crayons.
"Nice kid." Chuck commented. "He must take after his father."'
"Oh, you are so full of it Chuck." Sarah joked and slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "Anyway, you what did you want to talk about?"
"What? Can't I just want to spend time with my beautiful wife?" Chuck asked and gave her a quick kiss, receiving a smile from Sarah.
"I'm not complaining. But I do have to ask why you're buying Halloween costumes so early; you do know that this is only July."
"I know that, but CJ practically dragged me into the store when he saw some costumes in the display window."
"Oh. I see." Sarah said, "Well hopefully this costume can actually fit Emily when Halloween rolls around."
"It should, I bought it two sizes bigger, so I figure that's enough room."
"And I hope you didn't buy CJ a costume." Sarah said. Knowing her son, he'd be excited about having the costume and would want to wear it as soon as possible.
Chuck laughed. "No I didn't actually. He was really set on this cowboy one, but I told him we will wait a bit in case any new cartoons come out and he wants to dress like one of them." Sarah nodded; it was a good idea as CJ changed his favourite cartoon character every month.
"And what about yourself? Found anything interesting?"
"I think I'd make a pretty good Frandral the Dashing." Chuck said referring to the Avengers character. "I've already got the dashing part covered. Once I find the costume and a bottle of blond dye, I'll be all set."
Sarah ran her hands through his brown curls. "You're right about the dashing. Cause you are devastatingly handsome, but I think I prefer you as a brunette."
"Hmm..." Chuck mused, "But think about it, if I go blond, I'll finally be able to answer one of the deepest mysteries of the universe: Do blonds have more fun?"
Sarah laughed dryly. "Aren't you the comedian?"
"Ah, but that's why you love me. And of course, cause I am adorable."
'Yes you are."
"So, Emily's gonna be a flower, thanks to CJ and I'm probably gonna go with Frandral and CJ will be whatever character catches his fancy, so that only leaves you. What or who are you going to dress up as? Have you given any thought to it?"
"I don't know Chuck. My mind hasn't really been on Halloween."
"Well I've got some ideas, you can dress up as The Black Widow, I mean you do have that leather suit stored around somewhere right?" Chuck asked her. "Oh! I got it; you can resurrect those wings from Valentines and be an angel."
"While those are excellent suggestions," Sarah began sarcastically, "None can work. I'm sure that leather suit is far too tight by now, I'm not sure I'd be able to move that much in it, and those wings were damaged during our makeup session after that mission with Roan."
Chuck's eyes glazed over at the memory. "Oh right. And if I remember correctly, that red night gown was ripped during that making up."
"Cause you couldn't wait to get me out of it. After all that money I spent on that lingerie..." She trailed off with a pout.
"Come on Sarah! We both know that you didn't expect to wear that thing for more than ten minutes." He said and wiggled his eyebrows. "And besides, with you looking like you did in that thing, I would've had to been insane not to get you out of it."
Sarah blushed at his compliment and inched toward him. "You know you're not so bad yourself."
"Why thank you Mrs. Bartowski." Chuck said, his eyes darting from her eyes to her lips a couple of times.
They closed the small gap between them, crashing their lips together. Sarah parted her lips slightly, allowing Chuck's tongue entrance and she couldn't stop the moan that escaped her lips when Chuck swept his tongue over hers, caressing it. She nibbled slightly on his lip, causing Chuck to growl and that only made the fire in her ignite even more. Sarah ran her hands through his hair, pulling him closer to her, as she tried to maintain physical contact with every inch of his body. They were lying on the couch, Sarah under Chuck and his hands under her shirt when the baby monitor cracked to life, the whining sounds of their daughter breaking the moment.
With a slight groan, Chuck sat back up, and wiped Sarah's lip gloss from his lips. Meanwhile, she straightened her clothes and hair. The crying on the monitor became more incessant.
"I'll go get her."
"Ok. She's probably hungry. I'm going to go check on CJ, so bring her down to the family room."
/\
Chuck and Sarah had tucked in CJ and were now in the nursery, watching their baby girl sleep.
"Are you sure we shouldn't call Emma? Or Ellie? Or even my Mom?"
"Chuck, she's fine. Remember her paediatrician said it was normal for babies to be cranky when they're teething. I guess we got lucky with CJ 'cause he only had the cold when he started teething."
"But she keeps rubbing her gums." Chuck said concerned, "She must be in so much pain."
"That's why there's the teething ring and medication." Sarah said. "Chuck you're worrying about nothing. I'm sure she'll be fine."
"Yea, you're right. I just don't like seeing anyone that I love in pain."
"I know, and that's one of the many things I love about you." Sarah said. "Now come on, let's get some sleep. She probably won't sleep through the night, so we will need the rest." She then turned on the night light and led Chuck out of the room.
When they got to their room, Sarah decided it was time to tell Chuck. She tried to decide a good approach for broaching the topic. Chuck was busy picking a suit for a business meeting in the morning.
"Not that one." She said when he took out a blue shirt and a blue and white striped tie. "The red tie goes with that shirt better."
Chuck smiled at her. "What would I do without you?"
Sarah walked over to him, "Oh I don't know. Make poor wardrobe decisions the majority of the time."
Chuck leaned his forehead against hers and wrapped his hands around her waist. "Have I told you I loved you today?"
"Probably a couple of times." Sarah said coyly. "But I never get tired of hearing it."
"Well, Sarah Lisa Bartowski, I love you with my heart, being and soul."
"And I you." Sarah said. She kissed him and then stepped out of his embrace. She sat on the bed and motioned for Chuck to join her. When he did, she said, "So I was thinking about Halloween. And I've actually got a few ideas for my costume,"
"Really? Care to share them with me or is it a surprise?"
"Well, I was thinking I could wear a box made to look like an oven." Sarah said. From Chuck's reaction, she could tell he was not expecting that. "Or maybe a mummy or a stork."
"Um wow...those are three interesting options...the first one is definitely one that's not over done." Chuck commented.
"I know. I think I would stand out. And if we go with the first option, you can wear a chef's outfit with 'The Bun Maker' written on the apron. "
Chuck still looked at her confused, as his brain tried to figure out what Sarah was trying to subtly tell him.
"Chuck, I'm pregnant." Sarah said deciding to cut to the chase.
His eyes bulged out of his head, and the proverbial light bulb went off. Ohhhh….that's what she was trying to say. "Oh! Yo- youu-, you're preg- pregnant?" Chuck stuttered.
"Yup, I found out today." Sarah said. "Surprise."
"Oh my goodness. This is so fantastic. I can't believe I didn't notice the symptoms. I must be the worst husband in the world! How are you? How's that baby? Are you feeling ok? Can I get you anything?" Chuck rambled.
"Chuck," Sarah shushed him by placing her forefinger on his lips. "You're rambling." Sarah said. "I'm fine. I didn't even have most of the symptoms I did with the other two, there wasn't any morning sickness or anything. I was just feeling tired and this morning I realised I was late, so I decided to take the test to be sure." Sarah said, trying to dispel any potential guilt Chuck might have for missing her symptoms. "I'm going to call my doctor tomorrow and set up an appointment."
Chuck smiled and rubbed small circles on Sarah's belly. "I didn't think we would be expanding our family so soon. But I'm really excited." Chuck said and placed a kiss on her stomach.
Sarah was glad that he was so happy about the news. "You do realise what this means don't you?" Sarah asked.
"Yea I know, changing diapers for at least another three years."
"Sleepless nights." Sarah added.
"Midnight and early morning feedings."
"Having various bodily fluids on our clothes."
"How do you feel about this?"
"I guess it's going to be nice to have them close in age and I'm happy. But I admit, I was a bit upset when I found out earlier. For some reason I thought you wouldn't be happy. I mean Emily's teething and crawling all over the place, CJ started preschool a while ago, we still have to manage CI; we already have a lot on our plate as is."
"Sarah, hey. Yes we've got a lot going on, but we will find a way. We always do."
~/0/~
Present time.
She was pulled from her trip down memory lane when she heard the twins come running back upstairs, having gone to tell their grandmother goodbye and bidding the others good night. They rushed into their room and climbed into their beds, anxious for story time.
"What did we say about running in the house, especially on the stairs?"
"That we shouldn't." Lisa said.
"Cause we could fall and hurt ourselves." Levi added.
"Right. So I don't expect to see either of you doing it again." Sarah said. The twins nodded in agreement and snuggled further into the covers. "So, what story do you want me to read tonight?"
"The Princess and the Frog." Lisa suggested.
"No, not that one Mommy. I wanna hear Pinocchio."
"That's boring."
"No it's not." Levi argued.
"Yea it is. And it's stupid. People aren't made out of wood."
"Well Princess and The Frog is stupid too! People can't turn in to frogs." The older twin shot back.
Sarah laughed softly at their arguing. Though the twins were a lot alike and usually enjoyed the same things, for example swimming, finger painting, and thanks to Chuck the Marvel animated series, they could never agree on a bed time story, so she or Chuck usually had to play mediator and choose for them.
"OK. OK. No need to argue. I'll choose the story." Sarah said and went over to their bookcase. For their age, the twins had quite a collection of books already, thanks to their grandmothers and the older Woodcombs who tended to bring encyclopaedias for the children whenever they visited Burbank. She shrugged, when Ellie had shown her the encyclopaedia Honey had bought for Clara, she was a bit baffled. She shook her head Honey Woodcomb did have a unique thinking when it came to gift-giving. Needless to say, it had become sort of an expectation from the Woodcomb matriarch. Mary had taken it upon herself to have the Frost Queen story reprinted and re-backed after they had CJ and the book had now become a sort of family heirloom.
"How about The Gingerbread Man?" The children conveyed their acceptance and Sarah sat down again on Levi's bed. "Once upon a time,"
"Why do all these stores begin with once upon a time Mommy?" Levi asked.
Sarah smiled at Levi's curiosity, "Well sweetie, it's a stock phrase which has been used since around 1380, especially for fairy tales."
"What's a stock phrase?"
"It's a phrase that's been used for a long time."
"Ooohhh."
"Now can I carry on with the story? Or are you two gonna bombard me with more questions?"
Levi made a motion of zipping his mouth and throwing away the key.
"Carry on." Lisa said.
"Ok." Sarah said surprised, she had expected them to ask her what a phrase was. Oh well she shrugged and began reading. "Once upon a time, there was..."
/\
"Daddy." Emily said running up to Chuck who was searching the cupboards for the microwaveable popcorn. "Shamia got her head stuck in the banister again."
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me. I told her not to do that." Chuck lamented as he followed his other daughter.
When Chuck came to the staircase, he shook his head. "Sweetie, why do you keep doing this to yourself?" Chuck asked.
Shamia shrugged her shoulders- well tried to. "I thought I could get out this time."
"You're not Houdini." Chuck said. "Emily, go get the baby oil from your Mom."
"Ok Daddy." she said and ran up the stairs, her long legs allowing her to take two at a time.
"Hey!" Chuck called out after her, "What did we say about running up the stairs?"
"Sorry!" she yelled down.
Hearing footsteps approaching, Chuck turned to the top of the stairs, to see both CJ and Emily coming down.
Emily handed him the bottle of baby oil. "Here you go Daddy. But Mommy said to keep it down, she's trying to get the twins to fall asleep."
"Thanks Emily." Chuck said taking the bottle.
"I'm just gonna say it right now. She needs psychological help." CJ quipped as he took in the scene. "It's just not normal for someone to be so stupid."
Shamia growled from her position. She's hanging out way too much with Casey Chuck thought. "Hey, be nice to your sister." Chuck warned. "Ok, Shamia, promise me this will be the last time that you do this ridiculousness." Chuck said turning his attention back to his daughter.
"Fine." She agreed and Chuck got to work, rubbing the baby oil along the staircase. "Ow!" she whined when she was set free.
"There, be free Excalibur." Chuck joked. "Now, will the three of you please behave? I'm going to pop the popcorn; you guys can choose the movie."
/\
When the movie finished, it was well after eleven. Chuck and the children cleaned up. Then he sent them to bed, reminding them to brush their teeth first. Chuck then activated the security system before turning the lights off and climbing the stairs. He checked on all of his older children, and wished them good night after making sure they were settled. When he came to the twins' room, he entered and watched them for a while. Their nightlight cast a soft glow on their sleeping forms and Chuck was filled with an intense love for them both. He smiled as he stared at them, they were still so innocent and curious about the world, always asking questions and ready to learn, and always joyful.
And his mind drifted to when they decided to try for a fourth...
~/0/~
Flashback
Friday, October 21st 2022
The Bartowski home was unusually quiet, as none of their children were currently home. Chuck and Sarah had returned from a night out, which consisted of dinner, a walk on the beach where they stargazed, the two pointing out constellations to each other and then a stop for some ice cream. Now, upon returning home, both were tired but happy. Sarah was in the bathroom applying her night cream when Chuck called out to her. "You know Sarah, I'm still not sure that we should've allowed CJ to go camping with Casey."
"Chuck, I'm sure they'll be fine, and besides, Morgan went with them." Sarah said. When she came out of the bathroom, Chuck was pulling down the covers.
"Yea, cause that makes it better." He said dryly. "CJ is seven years old and even though Morgan grew up plenty in these last couple of years, he's still pretty much a kid in Casey's eyes."
"Chuck, Casey knows his boundaries. I think it's good that they're having some bonding time."
"Yea yea. Well when he comes back grunting and with a love of all things Reagan and hatred of all things communist, AND recounting Casey's 'Angel de la Muerte' stories, don't say I didn't warn you." Chuck retorted.
"Chuck." Sarah said walking towards him. "The girls are spending the weekend with my Mom and Molly and CJ is camping with Casey and Morgan. Do you realise we have the whole house to ourselves? You know how rare that is. I'm sure we can find better things to occupy our time." Sarah said, playing with the bow on the front of her nightie suggestively.
Chuck grabbed her by her waist, and attacked her lips. When he pulled away, he said, "I like the way you think."
Chuck didn't need any further encouragement as he closed the small distance between them, attacking her lips...
Later that night
"Sarah...Sarah...hey honey...wake up, love." Chuck said, shaking her awake.
"WA...what happened?...Chuck?...What's wrong?...THE KIDS! Are they alright?!" OMG! The old Sarah came out. Her defensive mechanism sprang to life. She jumped out of bed and was running to the door, when Chuck called her.
"Sarah! Honey, everything is fine. The kids are not here. We have the whole weekend to ourselves." Chuck reminded her.
Relief washed over Sarah and she walked back to bed, only to see Chuck smiling.
"What's so funny, buster? Do you enjoy seeing your wife scared?"
Chuck felt bad and he went to hug her, but she was having none of that. "I'm sorry. You reminded me of old, kick ass ninja Sarah."
"OLD?"
Uh, oh. "FORMER." Chuck stressed. "What I meant to say was former."
"That's more like it"
Chuck was relieved. He knew she could kick his butt...BAD. Chuck cleared his throat. "Sarah, it sounded you were having a bad dream."
Good catch, Sherlock.
"Mind telling me...please."
Sarah's weakness was his puppy dog eyes. Oh, how this man has so much control of me.
Chuck was waiting patiently for Sarah to collect herself and tell him the dream. With a deep sigh, she said: "I dreamed that I was pregnant again and it was kind of, I don't know." She trailed off, shrugging her shoulders. "I guess that's why you were concerned and woke me up".
Chuck smiled again. "You dreaming of having another baby. Sarah, that's so cute. "
Cute? Sarah was trying very hard to not snap at him, but all of a sudden, she had an epiphany. "Chuck"
"..and we have three beautiful children, a successful business..."
"Chuck"
"...and everything we ever wanted...oh, did I tell you? Morgan and I came with a new program that..."
"CHUCK!"
He stopped his babbling and looked at his wife.
"Chuck, I want another baby."
He did a double take. "Wha...what...huh?
"You heard me. I want another baby."
Chuck was dumbfounded. He then started to laugh. "Oh, you're good, very, very good. You really had me going there for a while, honey."
Sarah gave him her patented Walker steely blue eyes of certain death glare and frowned slightly. Chuck's laughter melted away...oh boy. "Chuck, my dream told me something. I want another baby and if my recollection is correct, you said that the only thing you want is to see and make me happy. Are you backing out on that promise?"
Chuck could see his wife's plea and his heart melted. If his wife wanted another baby, then by gone, she'd have it. He cared so much about this woman. "Sarah, I'm so sorry for laughing, I thought you were joking, I can be so dense, that I didn't see it."
You got that right, DENSE. "Chuck, I want this so bad and if I can still make us more beautiful babies, then I will. This is what makes me happy. And the kids have been asking for another sibling, preferably a brother. Think we can work on that tonight?"
Chuck was heart warmed and felt very lucky to have such an incredible woman as his wife and the mother of his children. He sometimes had to pinch himself.
"Yes." said Chuck.
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, I think we can work on that all weekend Mrs. Bartowski." Chuck said and climbed on top of her. Sarah giggled. "I love you." He said earnestly.
"I love you too." Sarah said. "Now let's make baby number four." With that, she pulled him down on top of her.
/\
Two months later, after Sarah realized her bras were getting tighter, her libido was out of control (not that Chuck minded), she was late and she was constantly hungry, she went out and bought a pregnancy test. Chuck and the children had gone to the Farmer's Market to get some fresh vegetables for dinner, so it was the perfect time for her to go the pharmacy. Subconsciously, she knew she was pregnant, but seeing it on the pregnancy stick made it more real.
She smiled to herself; a new life was growing inside of her. She looked at her stomach, the smile growing wilder. "Hey baby." She said, and then she remembered ear drums didn't develop until week twelve, but she didn't care. "I'm so happy that you're in there, and wait until I tell your Daddy, he's going to be so excited." Sarah said. And I think I have the perfect way to tell him.
Two hours later
"Dinner was fantastic babe." Chuck said.
"Yea Mom, it tasted really good." Shamia added.
"Thank you." Sarah said. "I'm just a little surprised I got Emily and Levi to eat their carrots."
"Did you notice anything about dinner tonight Chuck?" Sarah asked coyly after while they were doing the dishes, the kids having gone to do some reading in the family room.
"Um" Chuck began, wondering if there was a catch. "That it was very good."
"Thanks for the compliment." Sarah smiled. "But that's not it."
"The kids ate all of their servings?" He tried again.
"No again." I'll just tell you, "Chuck, we had baby carrots, baby potatoes and lamb chops. Do you see a recurring theme?"
Chuck's eyes widened as he connected the dots. Baby. Baby. "Are you trying to say that you're -?" He asked, motioning to her stomach. Sarah smiled brightly, non-verbally answering chucks question. He lurched towards her, and lifted her up into his arms, twirling her around, his smile as bright as hers.
End flashback
/\
When he and Sarah had decided to try for a fourth baby, he was hoping for a boy, but when they went for the first ultra sound, they were surprised when the sonographer pointed out two babies. And no, he did not faint; fainting was reserved for the delivery room when Sarah threatened his manhood in thirteen different languages.
After his trip down memory lane, Chuck placed kisses on each of his youngest children's foreheads, before leaving their room. Chuck tiptoed into his bedroom, careful not to disturb Sarah. He slipped into the bathroom, washed his face and brushed his teeth, before getting into bed. Sarah inched closer to his warmth, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her. Chuck smiled. He was looking forward to spending time with Sarah and the children. He was going to take them to the beach tomorrow. It had been far too long since they had been to the beach. Yes it was difficult to find time to spend with all of them sometimes, and work was usually demanding. But he and Sarah had made a promise to themselves and to each other, never to let anything come before their family and so, they had maintained a balance between family and careers. He was sure that Sarah especially would be glad, as she hadn't been surfing in a while, and since she wasn't feeling well lately, a sea bath should do her just fine.
AN: Thanks for reading. Feel free to review, even if it's as a guest.
I did some major editing and tweaking and the story is now 21,000+ so I will probably have to split it into four parts, rather than three as I had planned. That being said, the remaining parts will probably be longer than these two, especially the last one.
Oh, and it's the climax of Crop Over and I'm excited, so I may not have time post in the next two/three days, but I'll try my best.
And yes, Chuck will found out next chapter, I just wanted to explore a bit of Sarah's previous pregnancies announcements.
Since y'all are so wonderful, I'm gonna do something I've never done before...*drum roll please* Here's a preview:
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Sarah took a deep breath. "I've been thinking of a way to say it, but none of them seemed good enough, so I'm just going to come on out and say it."I'm pregnant." She breathed. There, I finally said it.
"You're what?"
"I'm pregnant." Sarah repeated.
/
"But you're so old!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Intrigued? Good! Until next time...
~xoxo. Barbadiangirl.