The Life She Only Dreamed Of

by Barbadiangirl

A collection of stories based on Charah's family life. There's family, sprinkles of romance, the red front door and white picket fence, and fluff. Oh, there's definite fluff! And babies, lots of cute Charah babies/kids! Mix it all together and you get the life Sarah only dreamed of. Read and review :)

10. Hospital Visits and Coming Home

A/N#1: I had planned to have this out earlier, even before school started, but then life intervened... Anyway, here's the latest chapter. It's what charahkids calls a monster chapter, but it sort of took on a life of its own.

Thanks a million for the reviews. Wow! This story hit the 150 mark for reviews and over 9000+ views. I can't describe how much your support means to me. As always, huge thanks to charahkids.

Wow, ten chapters already and 9000+ views! THANKS A BILLION.

I don't own CHUCK, and any errors are mine. When I re-read this and spot any, I'll be sure to correct them.

Chapter 10 - Hospital Visits and Coming Home (aka Full House: Epilogue part 3)

Words: 16,227

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~/0/~

"Chuck, you really should go get some fresh air." Sarah tried to convince him.

Chuck momentarily stopped cooing to the newborn. "No, it's OK. I want to spend some time with you."

"We will be fine Chuck." Sarah promised. "You've barely left the room since he's been born. Don't you want to eat something besides hospital food?"

"You saying that you don't like my company?" Chuck asked with faux offence.

Sarah smiled and hopped of the bed. She then sat down next to him on the couch. "You know that's not what I meant. I just don't want you to go crazy from being cooped up in here."

"But I'm already crazy." Chuck replied seriously. "Crazy about you." He said giving her a smoldering gaze.

"You do know that line is sooooo overused." Sarah teased. "Furthermore, it's actually kind of cheesy."

"Please, I am adorable! You've told me that many times."

Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know babe," she began with a mischievous glint in her eyes "the grey hairs beginning to appear would dispute that fact. Despite what you may believe, they do not increase your sex appeal." Sarah ran her fingers through his hair, a faux-serious look on her face. "In fact, I'd dare say you are losing your touch just the tiniest bit."

He leaned in and gave her a slow kiss, mindful that the small baby was still in his arms. When he pulled away, Chuck smiled at her. "Still think I'm losing my touch?" Chuck asked smugly. He took in Sarah's state- slightly flushed skin, and glazed eyes - and concluded that he had definitely not lost his touch.

"Yuck! I think I'm gonna be sick. Gosh! Don't you two ever stop? Seriously Chuck, you will scar the kid for life and he's even less than a day old." Casey said from in the doorway. The two of them snapped their attention to him. "For crying out loud Bartowski, she just had a baby. Can't you ever give it a rest and keep it in your pants?" Casey finished and shut the door. He then took a seat in one of the vacant chairs.

Both Chuck and Sarah blushed slightly, and Sarah was the first to recover. She got up and said: "So nice to see you too Casey." Sarah gave him a brief hug to which he grunted. "I'm assuming the flowers are for me?" She asked and admired them. The arrangement of flowers was quite stunning. Dazzling white spray roses, happy yellow miniature gerberas, light blue delphinium, and white waxflower were bundled together with a light blue organza ribbon and placed in a clear baby block with a light blue liner. She would definitely be keeping the block.

"Gertrude's idea. She would've come with me, but there was a hiccup with one of her overseas teams. She's trying to sort it out back at the office."

"Thank you. And be sure to pass my thanks along to gertrude as well."

"You know Casey," Chuck having gotten over his initial shock began, "you really do need to knock or find some other way to announce your presence." He'd never quite understood how such a large man managed to be so stealthy.

"You don't spend weeks in the palace of a Premier of a former godforsaken communist country and spilling blood in the process, hence earning the title of Angel de la Muerte by being loud moron." Casey's countenance changed to one of being far away. Oh, what a mission that was. The smell of gunpowder and the sounds of bullets as they left his powerful weapon clouded his senses. He pulled himself, almost involuntarily from his trip down memory lane. "And I did knock. But I guess it's a good thing I came in here when I did. I sincerely hope you weren't gonna get frisky, or should I say friskier than what I just saw." Casey said, injecting the right amount of disgust in his voice.

"Casey!" Chuck cried, offended. "After all these years and you still have no faith in my self-control."

"I think this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. We weren't the ones who got frisky in prison while on a mission." Sarah teased, smirking.

Casey grunted. It wasn't his fault Gertrude found it hard to say no to him. "Whatever. The fact remains that you guys got and still do get freaky practically any and everywhere else! Ergo, anything that Gertrude and I do pales in comparison."

"I beg to differ." Chuck defended. "In fact, I -"

"Thanks for watching the kids yesterday." Sarah cut in, stopping Chuck from continuing the banter with Casey.

"It was nothing." Casey shrugged. "After they finished their homework, we watched an old war movie and they seemed to like it."

"Why am I not surprised, it was either that or a Reagan documentary." Chuck muttered.

"Well somebody's gotta combat all that nerdy nonsense that you and the bearded imp have filled their heads with." Casey shot back.

"Casey, you know Alex doesn't like when you call Morgan any of those nicknames."

Casey shrugged again. He refrained from calling Morgan the nick manes while the children were around, not wanting to have them pick up the habit, but he had realised that Morgan was no longer fazed by it. In fact, Morgan considered it to be his weird form of endearment.

"I hope the movie was age appropriate Casey." Sarah said, giving him a pointed look.

"Of course it was Walker; or Gertrude wouldn't have let them watch it." Casey assured her. "She's real particular about that stuff."

Sarah smiled at his response. With all the violence, sexual inappropriateness and vulgar language permeating the video games, movies and other mass media, she and Chuck had been very careful about what they let the children watch. Casey held the baby, and then they talked for a couple more minutes before he had to leave. "I'm having lunch with Morgan, so I have to head out."

"Would you mind if Chuck tagged along?" Sarah asked, ignoring the look Chuck was giving her. "He hasn't been able to get anything to eat yet and I'm not a fan of hospital food, so that way, he can bring me something back too."

"Sure, I guess he can tag along." Casey said. He handed back the baby to Sarah. "But if you and Moron number two decide to start rambling like fangirls about any nerdy foolishness I will shove my foot up your ass!"

"Casey!" Sarah hissed.

"We do not ramble like fangirls Casey. And if I remember correctly, you loved it when we introduced you to Firefly and you were the one who wanted Emma to knit you one of Jayne's hats since you didn't want to buy one online."

Casey's face reddened a little. Emma had offered. He did not ask her to. Bartowski is definitely gonna pay for that. "Whatever." He gruffly said, wanting the topic to go away from him and his fascination with Jayne -the hero of Canton. But why wouldn't he like the man? He was big, brawny, loved his guns, and witty... Kind of like himself now that he thought about it. "I'll wait for you outside Chuck. See you later Sarah."

When Casey left, Chuck turned to Sarah, a frown on his face. "Do you really want to get rid of me that badly?"

"No, of course not."

"Good, cause you're stuck with me." Chuck told her.

"As if I'd rather be with anyone else." Sarah replied. "Seriously though, you haven't left this room for more than fifteen minutes. I can't wait to go home and be able to share meals with the kids. This hospital food is not my cup of tea. I want you to go have lunch with the guys, you know, get some wind blowing through your hair... " She knew Chuck was going to interrupt, so she held up her hand, asking for him to let her finish. "I'll be fine. Alex will be visiting soon, and I'm sure Ellie and/ or Devon will stop by. Don't worry."

"OK." Chuck relented. "What do you want brought back?"

"At this point, anything seems better than hospital food. So I guess you can surprise me, but I don't want anything too spicy."

Chuck nodded, gave her and the baby a quick kiss and then left to go for lunch.

/\

During the time that Chuck had left, she had a number of visitors. Two of her newest friends whom she'd met in yoga class had been there, followed by some of the stay at home moms from the PTA at the girls' school whom she worked closely with when it came to the fundraisers. After that, her personal secretary/assistant had visited along with one of the members from her legal team. They had brought two congratulatory cards signed by the Orion Technologies Inc. employees. Each visitor had brought a gift, either flowers, balloons or some sort of stuffed animal for the baby.

Alex visited soon after, bringing a fruit basket with her. "Good thing I didn't bring flowers." Alex commented as she took in the room and all the flowers. "You could open a small florist shop with these."

Sarah laughed at that. "I guess so. I'm actually going to talk to Ellie and Devon or the nurse about giving some of them to the other patients." Sarah said. "Not that they aren't lovely or anything, but I hope to be going home tomorrow and if they can brighten someone else up who will be here longer than I am, then they'll be serving a good purpose."

"That's a nice gesture." Alex complemented. "How are you feeling?"

"Still a bit sore and tired." Sarah admitted. "But, you know, it was worth it." Sarah said casting a glance to her son who had fallen asleep a few minutes after Alex arrived.

"I know what you mean." Alex smiled.

"I also wanted to thank you for watching the twins after school. I hope they weren't too much trouble."

Alex waved her hand dismissively. "No, they were fine. It's always a pleasure to have them come over. Cassidy and Adam loved having them over and I even let the four of them help me bake some cookies. They did ask a lot of questions about when you were going to come home though."

"Oh, I would've called last night, but things got crazy. He didn't seem to want to come out, and I was exhausted afterwards."

"My Dad said that Zondra and Carina are in town?"

"Oh yeah, they were the ones who brought me to the hospital."

"Really?" Alex asked. "That must've been interesting. Tell me more."

/\

True to her word, when Ellie stopped by after checking on her patients, Sarah asked her about giving some of the flowers to other patients. She too thought it was a good idea and got two of the nurses on the ward to distribute most of the flowers to other patients.

"Devon had an emergency surgery gunshot wound from a robbery. So not awesome I know, but if he has time after making his rounds later this evening, he will probably stop by. Have my Mom or yours been by today?"

"No, but they called. Said they'd stop by later."

The two then watched some TV until Ellie's attention was transferred to her nephew when he woke up. When the intercom blared out her name to report to the administration desk on the first floor, she bade Sarah bye and rushed off. After Ellie left, Sarah looked at her watch and tapped anxiously on her leg. Chuck had been gone a while and she missed him terribly.

"Your Daddy sure is taking his time." Sarah told Jonathan. "And Mommy's getting hungry. You know your Grandma Emma is going to bring your brother and sisters to see you this evening. Are you excited?" Sarah occupied herself by talking to him a bit more and surfing through the TV channels until Chuck returned.

Fifteen minutes later, Chuck came into the room. "Hey baby." Chuck greeted her with a kiss.

"Hey. About time you got here." Sarah said taking the bag of food from him. "I was just about to call and see where you are."

"Sorry." He apologized. Chuck looked around the room, noticing the flowers were gone. "There was an emergency at work which needed my attention. Thankfully I was able to get the mess sorted out. Sarah? What happened to the flowers?"

Sarah chewed her food first before answering. "I had Ellie and two of the nurses give them away to some patients who are having extended stays in the hospital."

"That was sweet of you."

"Sweet?" Sarah questioned. "Gee, thanks for making me feel like I'm eight."

Chuck chuckled at her using his line from their first date. "Just shut up and eat your food Mrs. Bartowski."

Sarah saluted him. "Yes Sir!" Sarah followed his instructions and began to eat, thoroughly enjoying the baja black beans, corn, rice and grilled fish, occasionally glancing at the TV. Meanwhile Chuck bonded with Jonathan.

/\

After school, Emma brought the older Bartowski children and Molly to the hospital to see Sarah and baby Jonathan. They'd each gotten to hold him for a while before he began to get cranky. Sarah had then had to feed him and he fell asleep.

"Mommy, when are you coming home?" Shamia asked her.

"Hopefully tomorrow. The doctor says he's healthy and so am I. So far, she's been satisfied with my recovery postpartum so once our last exam goes smoothly, we should be released tomorrow."

"Good, cause the twins have been asking. They were sad that they couldn't come with us." CJ said.

"Well, we will have to make it up to them then." said Chuck.

"Yea, two scoops of Rocky Road and they'll be fine." Emily piped up. "Or maybe you can take them to the live show of Sesame Street when it comes to Burbank."

"I'm so glad he was born while I was on break from college." Molly, who was now nineteen said. "I would've hated for him to come while I was stuck in Washington"

"Remind me again why I let you go so far from home?" Emma said.

"Because Mom, Washington state University has one of the best Criminal Justice programs in the entire country." Molly replied.

"And one of the most expensive." Sarah muttered under her breath. She was thankful that their company was doing well, or else she and Chuck would be in a serious predicament when the time came to send each of their children off to college. With the way things were looking, she only expected tuition fees to continue rising.

"Have you guys decided on a name yet?" Emma asked Chuck and Sarah.

"Yea, he needs a cool name. It's not right to be calling him the baby all the time."

"Actually," Sarah began, "We decided to name him Jonathan. We haven't agreed on his middle name yet though."

"Jonathan..." Emily repeated. "I like it."

"Me too." Shamia added her two cents.

"It's not as great as Han or Anakin." CJ opined. "But I guess it's a good name."

Sarah and Chuck looked at each other with wide eyes. The three of them hardly ever agreed on anything. Usually, it was the girls who had the same views and they would then team up on CJ. All three seemed to have inherited Sarah's stubbornness, and CJ while he had most of the nerdy tendencies, was always ready to challenge his younger sisters, Emily in particular. They constantly found themselves at each other's throats, and Chuck and Sarah had to separate them on one occasion as they had engaged in actual physical confrontation. They had been reprimanded for that and had never done it again, the punishment and threat of even more severe punishment ringing in their ears.

"I never thought I'd see the day when the three of them agreed on anything." Chuck, who was dumbfounded, said to Sarah. "There might be hope in the world after all."

"Chuck, oh no you didn't." Sarah said horrified.

"What?" He whispered, clearly confused.

"Do you not know your own children?" Sarah hissed.

"Well, there comes a time in a man's life when he must put away childish things, such as petty squabbles with his younger, immature sisters." CJ declared, sounding a bit like Awesome when he had given Morgan advice about being a tucker.

"I spoke too soon." Chuck muttered to Sarah as CJ's comment got them bickering again.

"You're not a man CJ!" Shamia said angrily. "You're barely fourteen!"

"And I am not immature!" Emily enthused.

CJ was about to retort when Emma clapped her hands, grabbing their attention.

"Remember your brother is asleep." Molly said, casting a look towards the cot.

"The three of you really need to behave." Emma commanded.

"If you're not careful, I'll leave you in an abandoned place with minimal supplies and you'll have to work together to find your way back to civilization."

"That'd be so cool." CJ said. "It'd be just like that game we played the other day Emily. I can't remember what it was called, but it was awesome."

"I can't either, but Dad, oh my gosh, you should have been there. CJ and I were on the same team and we demolished the other teams. Basically, you started at an abandoned camp site, and then you had to fend off monsters and furies, and block the attacks of the other teams who were trying to steal your already minimal supplies. In the end, you eventually reach this playing field, which has a shield which the monsters can't penetrate and if you get there first, you win. That game is wicked." Emily agreed. "You really do need to try playing some video games Shamia."

"Yea, they're awesome." CJ agreed.

"Meh! No thanks, I'll stick to my movies and books." Shamia said.

OK...that did not go as expected.

"Did you guys have a good time with your Uncle Casey last night?" Sarah asked, attempting to steer the conversation into safer territory.

"Yea!" CJ enthused. "We watched this war movie, it was so sick!"

"And Aunt Gertrude made us dinner." Emily added. "We had scalloped potatoes, and chicken with green vegetables. And Uncle Casey made us Quiche for dessert."

"Those cooking lessons you and Auntie Ellie gave her sure did pay off." Molly told Sarah.

"Oh, and Auntie Carina and Zondra spent the night at our house." Shamia said.

Sarah and Chuck both raised their eyebrows at that. "Really?"

"Yea." Emma responded. "They collected the twins from Morgan and Alex's and then they helped to get the children settled."

"It was so much fun." Emily said.

"Auntie Carina helped us pick out our outfits for school this morning. And she even did my hair in the French braid." Shamia said, proudly showing off her braid.

Sarah smiled. It sounded like the children really enjoyed having their aunts around last night. She'd definitely have to thank them later. "I see. Carina did a really good job. You look very pretty."

"Thanks Mummy."

"You're welcome baby. Anything else interesting happened?"

"Auntie Zondra made us breakfast."

Chuck raised his brow at that; he didn't think the CATs were that domesticated.

"Yea! She made smörgås (type of sandwich). It tasted delicious." Molly commented.

"Well I'm glad you guys enjoyed yourself." Sarah smiled.

"We asked them if they would want to have a pyjama party this weekend."

"But Auntie Carina said we'd have to ask you guys first."

"So can we? Please?"

"Pretty please?"

Chuck and Sarah looked at each other, communicating silently. "Maybe not this weekend." Chuck said and the girls deflated. "We still need to get accustomed to having the baby in the house. Maybe in a little while." Sarah was sure that Carina and Zondra would be in Burbank for an extended period of time so they would eventually get to have their pyjama party.

They had been there for over half an hour when Emma looked at her watch and announced that it was time they should get going. Mary had collected the twins from school and they were all going out for dinner and a movie. She would pick up Mary and the twins from her apartment and would let the children choose where they wanted to eat. If she knew the twins, they'd probably choose Chuck E Cheese. After the visiting party had left, Jonathan woke up.

"You know Sarah, I'm sensing a pattern, I don't think he likes so much attention." Chuck said looking down at his son.

"You might actually be right." Sarah agreed. "He might look like me, but I sense some elements of your personality already coming out in him. He'll probably be shy but that will only make him more adorable and impossible not to like."

"You know, I don't think Emma has reached my Mom's yet. You wanna see if we can video conference with the twins as a sort of substitute for not being able to come?"

Sarah smiled. "That's an excellent idea. I miss them so much."

Chuck quickly set up the link. When the link activated, the twins were already dressed and anxious to go to dinner. Mary talked to the two for a short while, enquiring about their well-being and apologizing for not being able to stop by during the day. Sarah told her they were all doing fine and told her that it was OK. Lisa and Levi, though they complained at first about not being able to come to the hospital with their older siblings, were soon pacified when Chuck promised to make it up to them. Chuck then carried the phone over to the so they could see their little brother who was still asleep. After that, Chuck and Sarah asked them how their last two days at school had been and if they were having fun at grandma's. Lisa had declared that they did, and today was especially good since their Mimi had taken them to the park after school and they had ice-cream afterwards. The video link continued until they heard Emma beeping her horn outside. Mary and the kids wished Chuck and Sarah good night, and exchanges of 'love you's' were done before Chuck disconnected.

/\

Devon did drop by for a visit after he got out of surgery and made his rounds, and Ellie who just couldn't get enough of her nephew had popped by a second time. Zondra and Carina visited later in the evening, about an hour before visiting hours ended. They'd both slept in after they returned to the hotel. Getting ready five children for school was demanding, and they needed the rest. Afterwards, they had done some shopping, mostly for the baby, since that had missed the baby shower. When they arrived, Sarah was nursing Jonathan.

"Carina, Zondra. It's nice to see you. I was beginning to think you weren't coming."

'Hey Walker." They greeted her.

"My Mom, Molly and the kids visited earlier. They told me you two were a big help with the kids last night and this morning. Thank you."

"We were happy to help." Zondra said.

"Walker! Those kids were just full of energy last night. I don't know what Casey did to them, but they wouldn't go to sleep" Carina said, plopping down in a chair. "The twins fell asleep on the way home, so they weren't any trouble. CJ kept insisting that he didn't need a bedtime, and the girls wanted to stay up late so we could have a mini fashion show. But then we let them know we weren't kidding and they straightened up."

"They didn't even want to get up this morning." Zondra added.

Sarah laughed, like her, CJ and Emily especially were not morning persons, especially if those mornings were school mornings.

"Yea," Zondra agreed. "I don't know how you and. Chuck do it every morning."

"You know, lots of talking, a couple of stern looks and sometimes some threatening and they tend to get moving."

"Where is Chuck anyway?" asked Zondra.

Jonathan had had his fill so Sarah readjusted her clothes and placed him on her shoulder, rubbing his back. "He went to talk to the hospital board for a couple of minutes, we're thinking of donating to their building efforts for a new children's wing, and donating some equipment to help with caring for and monitoring pre-mature babies."

"That's admirable of you." Carina said proudly.

"What did you two get up to?"

"Sleeping in mostly, then we went shopping before coming here."

"Did you guys have fun?' Sarah asked them.

"Yea, we got some nice things for him." Zondra said.

"We got these little outfits that are so cute. There's this one that I fell in love with from the time I saw it. It's a little onesie that has..."

Sarah laughed loudly, cutting off Carina. The two sent her questioning glances. "What's so funny Walker?" asked Zondra.

"I never thought I'd see the day when you two would be gushing over buying baby clothes."

"No need to get the gears turning Walker. You know I get excited about shopping all the time." Carina chided. "Besides, everyone gets excited about babies."

"That may be, but it's still nice to see this side of you." Sarah smiled brilliantly at them. They returned the smiles in tenfold.

They were still laughing and talking when Chuck entered the room with the gynaecologist and a nurse. It was time for Jonathan to go down to the nursery and for Sarah's examination so they left her, promising to stop by the house tomorrow if she was released.

Her gynaecologist had been pleased with how well her body was healing after the birth and Jonathan's health so she declared that they cold go home the next day. Before leaving the room, she reminded Sarah that she would need to set up an appointment with her for her three-week postpartum examination and Johnathan's four week examination. After the doctor left, Jonathan was returned to his mother's room.

"Are you ready to go home tomorrow Mrs. Bartowski?"

Sarah snaked her arms around his torso. "Yes we are. Definitely." Sarah replied casting a glance to the new-born.

---

~/0/~

When Chuck pulled into the driveway, he quickly hopped out and opened the back door of the minivan for his wife. She smiled thankfully at him and looked at their son who was sleeping in his car seat. Chuck released the car seat from its base and lifted it out of the car. He and Sarah walked up to the red door together.

"Welcome home Jonathan." Sarah whispered.

Emma, who had heard them when the car pulled into the drive way opened the door for them and ushered them inside. She greeted Sarah with a hug and kiss on the cheek. Her attention then focused to her newest grandchild, "Hello my precious. " Emma gushed. "Chuck, Sarah, welcome home." They then made their way to the living room.

Sarah smiled and sat down on the couch, Chuck and Emma doing the same. "It feels good to be home. Where are the rest of the kids?"

"The twins were working on a surprise for you and the others and Molly are in their rooms. I'm surprised they haven't come rushing downstairs."

No sooner were the words out of their mouth, than when the six children, including Molly came tumbling down the stairs, a rush of excitement among them.

"Mommy!" Lisa squealed.

"We missed you." Levi added.

"Guys, keep it down, the baby's asleep." their brother cautioned them.

"Sorry." They apologized, looking down at the floor.

Sarah rocked the baby in her arms slightly, and was relieved that he managed to stay asleep during the twins' outburst. "It's OK. You didn't wake him up."

"But in the future, you will have to be quiet so you don't wake up the baby." Emma said.

Molly, CJ, Emily and Shamia had already been introduced to the newest member of their family, so they sat down on the other couch with Emma, while the twins walked over to their parents. With much curiosity, they looked at what was swaddled in blankets in their mother's hands.

"Levi, Lisa, this is your baby brother Jonathan." Chuck introduced them.

They looked at the baby, then to their parents, before returning their gaze to the baby. "He's pink!" Levi exclaimed.

Lisa promptly covered her twin's mouth with her hand, and watched as the baby yawned and stirred slightly in his sleep. "Quiet Levi." She admonished him.

"Why is he so pink Mommy?" He whispered. He wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. He didn't think babies were supposed to look like that...He was tiny and squishy looking and his head was pointy...Jonathan didn't look like the babies he saw all the time on TV or on the diapers selling at the supermarket. Levi saw the blond hair peeking out from under the hat, but besides that, he could not see any similarities between the baby in his mother's arms and the rest of his family. Maybe his parents had made a mistake and brought the wrong baby home.

"Yea, babies aren't supposed to be pink." Lisa added, her eyebrows scrunched. "And he's so tiny."

"Well first off, he's not really tiny. He's actually quite big for his age. But obviously, compared to you two, he'd seem small. He's a newborn, so as he eats more and more time passes, eventually he'll get bigger." Chuck explained. He then further explained that he was pink and squishy looking because of the red blood vessels under his skin. The twins were even more confused by that, questioning what blood vessels were so he just simplified it by saying that he'd grow in to his skin and he wouldn't look so pink but would eventually take a complexion close to theirs. "Well I think it's time for this little one to be put down." Chuck announced after about ten minutes. He helped Sarah to get up from the couch and turned to the others. "We'll be right back."

Chuck and Sarah went into the nursery and Sarah gently laid Jonathan down. Chuck then pulled the blanket over him. He then wrapped his arms around Sarah and she snuggled into his chest.

"He's prefect Sarah." Chuck told her as he gazed at his son.

She lightly ran her fingers through his blond hair. "Yea, he is." She smiled.

Chuck placed a small kiss on her forehead. "I love you."

"Mommy? Daddy?" Levi called out.

They turned their attention to the twins who had just entered the room.

"I told Levi we had to knock." Lisa said, remembering her mother's instructions about knocking before entering a room.

"The door wasn't closed." He defended.

Sarah laughed softly. "It's OK, this time. Just remember to be quiet."

They nodded in acceptance and walked up to the crib, attempting to look inside. Though they were tall for their age, with Levi slightly towering over his sister, they couldn't see inside properly due to the bedding. Chuck decided to lift them both up.

"How long is he gonna sleep Daddy?" Lisa asked.

"Well I don't know, babies tend to have irregular sleeping patterns." Chuck explained.

"So when he gets up, what are you gonna do?' Levi questioned.

"By then, it'll be time for him to be fed, and then everyone else is coming over to see him in the evening." Chuck said. "And you two are definitely getting heavy. Have you been sneaking out extra cookies or something?" He asked and set them down. He pretended to have sore arms from lifting them up and exercised his limbs.

Lisa laughed lightly, the melodious sound filling Chuck's ears and he couldn't stop the smile. "Course not Daddy!"

"But since you mentioned cookies, can we have one?" Levi asked.

"Sure, just let your Grandma or one of the older kids give one to you."

"Yes!" He exclaimed and fist pumped his sister. Excitedly, they ran out of the room.

"Remember I said one." Chuck called out after them.

Chuck looked over at Sarah, who had been quiet for the most part. "Are you alright?" He asked concerned.

"Hmm?" Sarah questioned. She had been watching the interaction between Chuck and the twins and had not heard his question.

"I asked if you're OK. You're not having any pain or feeling ill or anything are you?"

"I'm just a little tired." She admitted.

"Well let's get you to bed then." Chuck said, leading her out of the nursery.

/\

Sleep didn't come easy for Sarah. She just laid on the bed, under the covers, trying to fall asleep. She knew she should get as much rest as she could when she could, as it wouldn't be easy to come by now that the baby was here, but her body just wouldn't slip into a peaceful slumber. She was still trying to will herself to sleep when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." She called out.

The twins stepped in. "Hi Mommy." They called and climbed into bed with her.

"Hey you two." Sarah said. "What's behind your back?" Sarah asked when she noticed that both their hands were behind them.

The twins smiled at each other, and pulled two cards from behind them. "Surprise!" They exclaimed.

Sarah took the cards from them, and examined them. Levi's was a green, and he had painted what Sarah thought was supposed to be a vase and flowers on the cover, with the words 'Welcome home Mommy and Baby.' on the inside and had signed it 'Love Levi'. Lisa's, while conveying the same message was purple, with pink and red cut out small hearts stuck on the cover.

Sarah's heart fluttered as she looked at the cards. Her children were just so wonderful. "Thank you very much. They're very nice." She complimented them.

They smiled at the compliment. "Thank you." They gushed.

"Molly cut out the hearts for me, and CJ stuck them on with the glue." Lisa said.

"And Shamia and Emily helped too. They drawed-"

"Drew." Sarah corrected.

"They drew the vase and flowers, and I painted it all by myself." He said proudly.

"Well, I love them. Thank you." Sarah said, rewarding them with kisses. "I'll put them on my dresser so that they will always be in my line of sight."

"Grandma said to ask you what you wanted to eat." Levi said.

Sarah looked pensive for a moment. "Tell Grandma I'm not hungry tight now, but when I get up, I'd like some tea and maybe a sandwich."

"OK Mommy, " he said and hopped off the bed and left the room.

Sarah then turned to her daughter. "Aren't you going with your brother Lisa?"

She shook her head no, and snuggled under the covers with her mother. "I'm wanna take a nap with you Mummy. Is that OK?"

"Of course that's OK sweetie." Sarah said and pulled Lisa closer.

"I love you Mummy." Lisa smiled up at her and lifted her head slightly to kiss her on the cheek.

"I love you too baby girl, so, so much." The pair was asleep within minutes.

---

~/0\~

Chuck gently shook Sarah awake. "Hey. Sarah, wake up. Someone's awake and he wants to see his Mommy."

"Hey." Sarah smiled. "Where is he?" she asked, rubbing the last vestiges of sleep from her eyes.

"Emma is changing him. But I brought something for you to eat before you started nursing him." Chuck said, gesturing to a tray which he had rested on the other side of the bed.

Sarah propped herself against the headboard and smiled. "Thank you." She said when Chuck placed the tray in her lap. Chuck or more likely Emma had prepared a club sandwich, salad, a fruit salad and a cup of tea for her. "Where did Lisa go?" Sarah asked Chuck upon noticing she was gone.

"She woke up a while ago. Shamia was reading to her and Levi downstairs, but I think Molly took them into the playroom to go through their number and word charts."

She began eating and listened to Chuck as he recounted the recent happenings with their other children. She shared her food with Chuck as she really wasn't that hungry and wouldn't eat it all by herself. When Emma entered with their son, Sarah had finished eating and she and Chuck were laughing about the kids playing blueberry basketball, an idea they had apparently gotten from Morgan. "I think he's hungry Sarah; he's beginning to get cranky." Emma said.

Chuck moved the tray away from her and helped Sarah to reposition the pillows so she could be more comfortable. Once Sarah was set, Emma handed off her grandson to his mom and left the room, taking the tray away.

Sarah smiled at Jonathan, and he looked up at her, his bright blue eyes curious. "Hey baby, it's Mommy." Sarah greeted. "And your Daddy is over there." she motioned to Chuck who was looking for something in the closet. Jonathan however didn't seem to keen on Sarah talking and began fussing in his mother's arms. "OK, OK. You're hungry." Sarah said. "Just give me a minute."

"Need any help?" Chuck asked, having come out of the walk in closet with the nursing pillow. He walked over to Sarah and placed it on her lap, allowing Sarah to prop him on it.

"No, I think I'm good." Sarah said, as she undid the nursing bra and allowed John to latch on. "Ow!"

"You OK?" Chuck asked, instantly concerned.

"Yea," Sarah said looking down at her son "Just forgot how much this hurts at first." she told Chuck.

"Oh yea. I'll go see if I can find the cream for you." Chuck said rising from the bed. "It's probably in that bag of unopened stuff in the closet in the nursery."

"Ok thank you." Sarah said to Chuck as he left the room.

"Anything for you babe."

Just as Chuck had guessed, the cream was in the closet. When he returned, Sarah had finished nursing Jonathan and was rubbing his back. "I found it." he announced.

"Oh great. Do you mind taking him?"

"Sarah! Come on, do I mind? It'd be my pleasure."

Chuck took Jonathan from Sarah, and smiled down at him. "Hey little guy."

"He hasn't burped yet Chuck." Sarah cautioned him.

"Oh." He then took the burping cloth and tossed it over his left shoulder, then rested the baby against his shoulder. "Are you sure you're up for company?" Chuck asked Sarah who was now applying the cream. "Cause we could totally kick them out."

"Yea I'm sure." Sarah laughed. "It should be um, interesting, considering that Carina and Zondra are also coming over."

"And there's never a dull moment with the CATS." Chuck agreed. "I must admit though, they do seem very taken with him already."

"Yea, they most definitely do." agreed Sarah.

/\

While Chuck and Sarah were upstairs, Carina and Zondra arrived earlier than they had been thinking. When they arrived, they were bombarded by the exuberant younger Bartowski siblings who dragged them off into the playroom.

"Auntie Carina! Do you want to play with our new Lego set? Daddy bought them for us last month." Levi told her.

"You always want to play with Legos Levi. Legos, Legos, Legos all the time." Lisa bemoaned. "We should put the puzzle with Bert in the park together."

Zondra and Carina looked at each other, eyes wide. Apparently the twins were taking after their older siblings with the bickering. Carina cocked her head to the side, and motioned with her eyes to Zondra to do something.

"Nuh uh." Levi insisted. "We put the Star Wars puzzle together at Uncle Morgan's yesterday, we shouldn't play with puzzles again."

Lisa placed her hands on her hips defiantly, and tried to imitate the mental image of her mother when she was trying to get her point across. She still couldn't figure out how to arch one eyebrow like her mother did, so she omitted the raised eyebrow. Lisa stared down her older twin- not literally as he was a bit taller than her- and tried to look as serious as she could. Her chestnut brown eyes had a flair of ire building up in htem and she pouted her lips. "Auntie Zondra, don't you think we should put the puzzle together? Or play with Legos?"

Three sets of eyes turned to her. Zondra shifted on her feet slightly. "Um, I think that we should do something that both of you would enjoy. OK? How 'bout we watch a movie?" Knowing Chuck, there had to be quite a collection somewhere around the house.

"Yea!" came the twins' enthusiastic reply. Thankfully for the two spies, the twins had the same two favourite movies and knew where they were kept. After a couple of minutes discussion choosing between Fozen and The Lion King, they settled on the latter.

"Do you know the words to Hakuna Matata?" Levi asked them in the middle of the movie when Pumbaa and Timon began singing the song.

Both Zondra and Carina shook their heads no. "We could teach you." The twins told them excitedly, eager to teach their Aunties something new.

*Twenty minutes later*

Sarah entered the living room, with Chuck holding Jonathan. From the staircase, they could hear voices singing Hakuna Matata and that had intrigued them. They stepped back, observing the scene before them. The twins had somehow managed to get both Zondra and Carina off of the couch and dancing. Emma was sitting in the one-seater, laughing and enjoying the impromptu performance and clapping along.

"Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase." Lisa began in a high-pitched voice.

"Hakuna Matata, ain't no passing craze." Levi continued.

"Sing Auntie Carina!" Lisa told her.

"It means no worries for the rest of your days." Carina managed to say despite the laughter which bubbled in her throat.

"Now you Auntie Zondra." Levi said.

"It's our problem free philosophy, Hakuna Matata."

They skipped the other verses and went straight to the chorus. "Hakuna Matata!" They shrieked repeatedly, dancing clumsily and bumping into furniture pieces occasionally. Chuck who surprisingly had managed to keep his laughter from spilling over, cleared his throat. Only Emma noticed him, and the others continued their performance.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day where you two would be singing Disney songs." Sarah said, walking further in to the room. She paused the DVD player and looked at them. That got their attention as they turned to find the source of their interruption.

Carina and Zondra blushed slightly. "Chuck, Sarah? How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." said Sarah cryptically.

"Looks like you guys are having fun." Chuck smiled. He sat down with Jonathan and the twins climbed up next to him. Their faces were flushed and their eyes were dancing with amusement.

"We were Daddy!" Levi enthused.

"Didn't we sound awesome Daddy?" Lisa peered at him.

"Both of you were. If I didn't have Jonathan in my arms I'd be leading the standing ovation for you and shouting 'Bravo' and sending flowers at your feet." Chuck complimented.

"What's a standing ovation Daddy?" Lisa asked.

"It's where members from the audience- that means the people who have been watching your performance- stand and clap for you because your performance was excellent." explained Chuck.

"But why would they throw flowers? When you give Mommy flowers, you don't throw them at her feet." Lisa, always curious asked.

"If seems kinda mean to throw them at someone. Why wouldn't you just give them the flowers in their hands?" Lvi added, just as curious. "That way, the person couls put them in a vase and look at them all the time; just like when you give Mommy flowers. "

"It's just a practice that developed over time. It lets people know that their performance was really enjoyable." Zondra piped up.

"Oh okayyy." the twins drawled as they processed the information.

"Now do the two of you clever bots have any more questions?" Emma asked them. They replied no.

"Carina, Zondra, I didn't know you could break it down like that!" Chuck teased.

Carina plopped down on the other couch next to Sarah. "Take me up on my offer to go to a club and I'll show you some real dance moves."

"Aren't you a little old to still be going to clubs Carina?" Zondra chided. "On second thought, don't answer that, I forgot who I was talking to for a minute. You're the self-acclaimed 'Life of all parties." Zondra busied herself by fanning herself with her hand. "I think I'll sit the next one out. I don't know where Levi and Lisa get all of that energy from, but I'm tired."

"Well, you were doing that chicken feet dance for quite a while and you are getting old, so I guess that explains it." Sarah laughed at her.

"Hey!" Zondra cried affronted. "I do not dance like a chicken!"

"And dancing like a chicken is way better than those awkward nerdy movements, snapping and side-to-side stepping thing you used to do way back then. Limbs flailing everywhere...I was embarrassed for you. Good thing you took me up on my offer to teach you some moves or I don't know how you would've turned out!" added Carina.

Sarah threw a throw-cushion at her, but Carina dodged it at the last minute. She stuck her tongue out and laughed at Sarah. "Aye, Walker, you're getting soft." Zondra mused.

"Oh shut up!" Sarah glared at them, but the smile did not leave her face.

Carina threw back the cushion, and Sarah caught it mid-air. Sarah smiled satisfyingly and the twins giggled at seeing their Mom and Aunties having a pillow fight.

"I może jeszcze kopnąć zarówno swoich osłów. (I can still kick both of your asses)." Sarah growled in Polish.

"Sureeeeeeee." Carina drawled in a tone which conveyed that she didn't believe her. "Time and place Walker. That's all I need. Time and place. "

"You know we can hold our own against you. Think of it this way, when we do beat you, you can blame it on being a bit out of sorts considering you just had a baby." They weren't being completely serious. Both knew of Sarah's prowess when it came to fighting- whether it be her hand to hand combat skills, her deadly ninja assassin or her knife skills. But they did love to tease her about losing her edge.

Zondra looked over to the baby in Chuck's arms, whom the twins were now singing to softly. "We didn't wake him did we?" asked Zondra apprehensively. "I didn't think we were that loud."

"Oh no." Sarah said. "I think little Jonathan over there enjoyed your performance quite a lot. Don't you agree Chuck?"

"Yup. I just wish we'd recorded though." Chuck said forlornly.

"It's better that you didn't. I'd hate to destroy a cam recorder over such a petty incident." Carina said trying to inject malice in her voice.

"Mom, where are the rest of the kids?"

"CJ said he was going to do his homework in his room. Molly, Shamia and Emily went to take Chazzie for a walk."

"OK. I hope they don't go to far." Sarah said a tad concerned.

"I told Molly not to go any further than two blocks. They should be back soon." Emma assured her. "It's almost time for lunch anyway, and knowing them, they won't miss lunch. I really don't know where they put it all."

"See Chuck, I told you they have your appetite."

"Grandma, can we have PBJ sandwiches for lunch?"

"And milk?"

"Hmm, I don't know." Sarah said thoughtfully, "You two have been eating it too often in my opinion."

"But it's our favourite." Lisa complained.

"But it isn't very healthy." Chuck told them.

"Please?"

"I think your Grandma has something else in mind for lunch." The twins pouted and groaned. "But maybe after you eat and take your nap, you can have the sandwich as a snack when you wake up." Sarah placated them.

"Yes!" The twins high-fived each other.

/\

By the time Molly, Emily and Shamia returned from walking the dog, Emma, with the help of the adults, minus Sarah had finished preparing lunch which consisted of baked sweet potato, lamb chops and salad. Jonathan had fallen asleep, so all of them been able to sit down together to enjoy it.

"Sarah, stop playing with the salad and eat." Emma instructed.

"Yea Mom!" CJ piped up. "Eat your salad" He held up his fork with his serving of salad up to Sarah.

She laughed and waved his hand away. "I'm not eating yours too CJ." She played with her salad a bit more, before taking a forkful of it into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed it quickly, making a happy moan afterward. Carina had made baby spinach salad with roasted red onions, pecans, dried cranberries, crumbled goat cheese and citrus dressing...She hated spinach but decided the salad wasn't all that bad. Who knew Carina could be trusted in the kitchen to do more than boil a pot of water?

"Happy now Mom?"

"Ecstatic." Emma deadpanned. "Carina, Zondra, the same goes for you too. Eat your salad."

The children and Chuck giggled at the adults being ordered to eat, in a similar fashion that they often were.

"I'm more of a meat kind of gal." Zondra said looking at her almost empty plate, save the salad. Carina had already begun to eat hers. Emma shot Zondra a disapproving look so with a groan, she began eating too.

"Carina, the salad was wonderful." Emma complimented after everyone had finished eating. "Sarah, it wasn't so bad, was it?" Emma asked.

"I guess not." Sarah muttered. "And I need to stay healthy while nursing him, so as they say, mother knows best."

"Mother knows best is from Tangled Mommy." said Shamia. "You want to go outside? Oh why, Rapunzel?"

Emily began singing. "Look at you, as fragile as a flower. Still a little sapling, just a sprout. You know why we stay up in this tower. That's right, to keep you safe and sound, dear."

"Oh not this again!" CJ wailed. The girls continued to sing, going louder just to irk their brother. "Mom, Dad, Grandma do something!"

"Don't you think your sisters have lovely singing voices CJ?"

"More like nails being scraped on a chalkboard."

"CJ, that's not very nice." Zondra commented.

As was to be expected, his comment set them off into and argument. Sarah decided to intervene. "OK, Emily, Shamia, and CJ can't be so loud. Stop all the arguing before you wake your brot-" She didn't get to finish as the incessant wails came from Jonathan in the living room, letting everyone in the room know he was awake. Sarah sighed. "Before you wake your brother up." Sarah finished and left the room to tend to her son.

"CJ! Look what you did." Emily accused.

"Me? What did I do?"

"You made him wake up. It's all your fault that he's crying now."

"No it isn't." He glared at his younger sisters and folded his arms. "It's more your fault than it is mine."

"The three of you, get upstairs now." Chuck commanded them. With little hesitation, they obeyed their father. From his tone, they knew they were in trouble.

"Oooooh someone's in trouble." sang Levi after hearing his father's tone.

"Big trouble." agreed Lisa.

"We will stay down here and help Emma clean up." Zondra said.

Chuck thanked them and headed upstairs. He found the three children in his and Sarah's room, sitting on his bed. Chuck entered and closed the door behind him. He looked at each child, his gaze penetrating, which caused them to avoid contact. After pacing a couple of times, Chuck stood in front of them. "The three of you and myself need to have a serious conversation." Chuck told his oldest children.

"What about?" CJ asked uneasily. They already had a pretty good idea about what his father would be talking about, but hoped to play coy.

"Would the three of you like to tell me what on God's green earth is wrong with you? What's with all this constant bickering and insults You three are the oldest, and you know the twins look up to you. If they see the three of you always quarrelling and insulting each other, then they will start to do that too. And that is not OK. I will not have a house full of children who are rude to each other and bickering all the time. Do you understand me?"

The three muttered fine.

"I know sometimes you won't agree on everything. But please, try to behave yourselves. There are better ways to communicate without hurling insults at each other and yelling. That brings me to my second point; what happened just now will not happen again. You know that babies are easily offset by loud noises so yelling is a no-no. It makes him unhappy, it puts your mother under more stress and then she will be unhappy. The snowball effect would continue, and then I'd be unhappy because I don't like seeing your Mom upset. Honestly, I don't think any of you like seeing your Mom upset or stressed. Do you?" They shook their heads no. "Good. So neither of you should be yelling or carrying on with such behaviour from now on. If it happens again, you will be punished. So here's what's going to happen: you three will behave, if you want to yell, I suggest you go outside."

"OK Dad." CJ relented contritely. He knew his father was serious when it came to punishments and he did not want any of his gadgets taken away.

"How do you guys like having another baby in the house?" Chuck asked as he wanted to make sure there wasn't any resentment.

"It's OK." CJ shrugged.

"Well, I hope you enjoy it, because he is the last baby your Mom and I are gonna have."

"I can't wait until he's a bit older though, then we can teach him all sorts of cool stuff!" Emily enthused.

"Yea, I'm sure he's very lucky to have you three-all five of you for that matter as siblings." Chuck told them. "I love you."

"Love you too Daddy."

"Now, can I get a hug?" Chuck asked. Hugs and kisses were more forthcoming from the girls, but CJ eventually gave his father what he considered to be a man-hug. Chuck smiled at them before leaving the bedroom.

"Sooooo," CJ drawled. "You guys know I actually like you. Right?"

"You mean that you love us?" Emily corrected.

"Yea, yea, whatever." CJ replied. "Anyway, I don't really mean any of the mean stuff I say to you. You are pretty cool sisters."

"We don't mean most of the stuff we say about you either CJ." Shamia smiled. "It's just you're pretty bossy and mean sometimes."

Emily took a pillow and hit him around his head. "Oh, you are so gonna get it." CJ threatened and took another pillow, and lurched at Emily. She was hit lightly on the forearm and stuck her tongue out at her brother.

"Pillow fight!" The youngest of the three decreed before attacking her sister with another fluffy pillow. Soon, the sounds of heavy breathing, pillows making contact with skin and high pitched shrieks were coming from the room. They were breathing heavily and laughing. After a couple of rounds, they flopped down onto the bed. "I think I won." Shamia said as she tried to catch her breath.

CJ huffed. "Let's agree to disagree."

"You're actually a nice big brother CJ." Emily complimented.

"Thanks." He smiled at them and got off the bed. He then began to pick up the pillows. "You guys are gonna help me straighten the bed aren't you? You know how Mom gets when they aren't made up. I think it'd be worse if it's her bed that we rumple." He'd never quite understood why his parents' bed needed so many pillows anyway. But Ellie had said something about more pillows giving the room something extra when Chuck and Sarah had changed their Queen sized bed to a King sized.

"Sure." Emily offered. "Besides, we do it better anyway." She smirked and pushed her honey coloured hair behind her ear.

Working together, they were able to tidy up the bed in a few minutes. CJ thanked them. "So, it's agreed we'll be nicer to each other and try to make things easier for Mom and Dad with the baby and help out with the twins if we can?" The girls agreed and smiled at him.

"Oh, and by the way, I love you too." Shamia told her brother. She then kissed him on the cheek before skipping out of the room.

"We both do." Emily said and gave him a kiss as well before going to her room.

CJ smiled when they left. His sisters weren't all that bad he thought.

/\

"You picked a good one Walker." Carina commented.

"Yea, you did good. Really good actually." Zondra agreed.

I really did. Sarah looked across the room to see Chuck and the children sitting on the floor and playing a game of Ludo.

Usually, when it came to board games they would have been playing Monopoly, but when the twins wanted to be involved, it was either Ludo, Twister or Snakes and Ladders. A temporary ban had been placed on the older Bartowski children from playing Monopoly since they usually got too loud and accusations of cheating- mostly about someone stealing money from the bank- would run rampant. In Sarah's mind, the other board games were safer bets.

"I'm very happy for you."

"Group hug." Zondra said and pulled her two closest friends together.

"I'm really happy you guys are here...sharing all of this with me." Sarah told them when they stepped out of the embrace. Her mind briefly recalled a conversation with Chuck in the Buymore

"I could've been more sensitive before about your friendship with Morgan. It's just... It's difficult; I don't really have anyone in my life like that who cares about me..."

"Yea you do.."

Making and keeping friends had been an issue for her, but she was glad that she had both Carina and Zondra. They might not have lived close to her, though that could soon change, and they might have been her best friends since childhood, but that didn't matter. Their friendship had grown stronger and they all cared deeply for each other. Sarah was glad they got to show this side of them sometimes- the mellow side which proved they were so much more than spies. They were two of her best friends, and her sisters... They were family. Sarah was interrupted from her musings when CJ came into the kitchen.

"Mommmmmm!" CJ drawled. "Jonathan is awake and I think he is hungry again."

"Your Grandma said she got him to fall asleep a couple of minutes ago."

"He's beginning to get restless, but then again that could be because Emily and Shamia won't leave him alone. Seriously! Grandma barely put him down for a second and those two rush up to the bassinet." CJ finished and shook his head.

"CJ, you know they're just excited about him finally being here." Sarah defended the girls.

"Pft! Well so am I, but that doesn't mean I have to be up in his face twenty-four seven. Gosh, can't the little guy get a break?" He muttered to himself. He then went to the fridge and took out an apple before leaving the kitchen.

Sarah turned to her friends. "You see what I have to deal with?" She joked. Sarah finished the rest of her juice before going to see if she could get him back to sleep. In the living room, Chuck and the other children were trying to calm down Jonathan. The twins had tried singing their favourite nursery rhymes- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Little Boy Blue- but that didn't work. The girls had tried shaking the rattles in front of him, but that also failed. Chuck was now walking around the room and rubbing the baby's back.

"Maybe he needs changing." Emily suggested.

"I did that before he fell asleep." Chuck said.

"Then maybe he's hungry."

"But Mommy fed him not too long ago." Shamia offered.

"I'll take him." Sarah said already walking over to Chuck. "Maybe he wasn't finished nursing."

He turned to her. "No, no, it's fine. we've got it under control. You can go back with Carina and Zondra."

Sarah quirked her eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. I don't think he's hungry. He probably isn't accustomed to the bassinet yet. And that, added to all the foreign noises down here, wouldn't do well for his sleeping patterns."

"OK fine."

"Great, I'll just take him up to the nursery since it's quieter up there." Chuck said and left humming to the child on his way upstairs.

*Fifteen minutes later*

Emma knocked softly on the nursery door and popped her head in. Chuck was sitting in the rocking chair softly humming to the baby. He's had gone upstairs over ten minutes ago to put him down. "He's not asleep yet?" she questioned when she saw Jonathan's bright blue eyes staring back up at her.

"Ah, no. I think he's fighting sleep so it might be a while until he falls asleep." Chuck replied, smiling down at him. "I know I shouldn't let him get so accustomed to falling asleep in my arms but..." Chuck trailed off. He and Sarah had learnt that lesson early on with CJ when he refused to sleep in his crib. They had let him sleep on either of their chests; mostly Chuck's or in between the two of them. Whenever they had tried to put him down, he would immediately start crying and fussing. It had taken them a while to break that habit.

"I could try to get him to fall asleep if you want to go back downstairs with the others." Emma offered.

"OK. Thanks." Chuck said. It would be nice to spend some more time with his other children, considering that a lot of his and Sarah's energy would be going to the baby in the next couple of weeks. Chuck gently handed the baby over to her Mom. He fussed and stretched his arms back out, as though he missed the comforts of his father's arms. "Shh, shh" Chuck soothed. "Grandma's gonna hold you." Emma sat down in the rocking chair and adjusted the blankets.

"I hope you don't think I'm smothering you." Emma said.

Chuck, who had been tidying the top of the dresser shook his head. "No, not at all." He smiled at his mother-in-law. "I'm glad that you're here. I know it can't be easy with Molly being off at college. Besides, the kids love having you around so often, and Lord knows Sarah and I are gonna need your help around here."

Emma smiled. She was very thankful that she and Sarah had reconnected and that she was in her grandchildren's lives. "I'm glad to chip in wherever I can. You know I love you guys."

"And we love you too Emma. I'm gonna go downstairs. If he gets hungry again, I'll let Sarah know."

Emma looked down at her grandson, whose eyelids were already beginning to droop. "Don't worry. I think we have everything covered."

Chuck smiled appreciatively at Emma mother and kissed both her and the baby on the cheek before leaving the nursery. Before heading downstairs, Chuck stopped by CJ's room, to find him playing a computer game. after making sure he had not neglected his homework in favour of playing on the computer, he checked his Math and English homework. There were a few errors so Chuck pointed them out to him and he did the corrections. before kissing him on the cheek. Downstairs, chuck found the kids were watching a cartoon with their two Aunties, three large bowls of pop corn sharing among them.

"Where's Sarah?' Sarah asked the assembled party.

"She got a call from the office and went to the study so she could take it." replied Zondra.

Chuck had given specific instructions not to disrupt Sarah while she was on leave, so he knew the problem would've had to been major for the office to disobey his instructions and on a Saturday no less.

"What was the problem." Chuck asked Sarah when she returned a few minutes later.

"Theres a problem with the land we wanted to build the new store in North Carolina. They wanted an extra fifty thousand, but I convinced the contractors that what we are paying them is already way more than they would get otherwise and told them not to be greedy or we'd take business elsewhere. They saw my reasoning and construction should begin next week Monday.

"Mummy, I'm thirsty." Levi moaned.

"Me too." Lisa piped up.

Sarah looked at her watch. "You just had a glass of juice."

"But my teacher says we are growing children and if we wanna be strong, we need to drink lots and lots and lots."

"Yea, she said drink lots of milk and we will be strong."

"Oh really?" Sarah rose her eyebrow. "And didn't she also say to eat your vegetables? I don't hear you two asking for lots and lots vegetables."

"That's because vegetables don't taste that good Mommy." was Levi's quick retort.

"Yea, but milk tastes really, really, good."

"OK. OK." Sarah relented. "You can have a glass of milk. But after that, it's nap time."

/\

The children had retired to their rooms for a bit. The twins had, after much insistence that they didn't need a nap since they were not babies, but big children, finally drifted off to sleep. Zondra and Carina had gone back to their hotel to shower and change before coming back later in the evening. Chuck and Sarah were in their room, lying down in bed just watching their son in the middle.

"Chuck, you're staring at me." Sarah giggled even though her eyes remained in her son.

"No I wasn't."

Sarah looked at him, a smirk already on her face.

"Fine, yes I was." Chuck admitted. "But not in a stalker kind if creepy way. It's just that you're so beautiful. Who could blame me for staring?"

Sarah blushed. "You're not so bad yourself."

"Please! I'm fantastic."

Sarah looked at him with love and adoration. "Yea you are."

Sarah leant over and brushed her lips across his before pulling away. Chuck sighed contentedly. "Sometimes this seems so surreal."

"I know what you mean." Sarah agreed. Sometimes she had to pinch herself to make sure it wasn't her brain playing her dreams before her. She had everything she wanted, a wonderful husband whom she loved immensely, wonderful children and a large family unit though unconventional which was just as strong as any, in addition to a job which she loved and her dream house.

"I'm very thankful for you, the kids and the life we have created."

"So am I." Sarah said. "I love you."

"Love you too." Chuck smiled. They spent more time looking at Jonathan with smiles on their faces, Chuck dozed off as well, and Sarah laid there watching him. He was so peaceful when he slept. She leaned over and lightly brushed her fingers over his face and smoothed back his hair. Gosh she loved this man. Jonathan who seemed to delight in taking short naps woke up and peered quizzically at his mother. He yawned again and stretched his already long body out on the blanket.

"You can't be hungry again. Are you?" Sarah asked him. His face scrunched and Sarah knew he would soon begin to cry. "Just give me a minute." Sarah pleaded. She didn't want his crying to wake Chuck up so she quickly unbuttoned her blouse and undid her nursing bra. Taking the fussy baby in her arms, Sarah cradled him against her chest, allowing him to feed and rested back against the pillows. "Shh, shh. There's no need to cry, Mummy's got you now."

After what seemed like forever to Sarah, Jonathan was full and released her. Sarah knew she would have trouble with this one. Though he was hungry, he would refuse nurse and Sarah would have to coax him into nursing. If he was so resistant to nurse, Sarah wondered what would happen when Chuck did the early morning feedings with a bottle. Sarah burped him and laid him back down on the blanket, covering them all with a thin sheet since it was the middle of the day. She and Jonathan dozed off a short while later.

Chuck awoke a short while later to find her shaking a small rattle over Jonathan's head. "Hey." Sarah greeted him.

"Hi." Chuck yawned. "I can't believe I feel asleep."

"It's OK, so did we. Besides, we will need to take the rest whenever we can get it." Sarah informed him.

Chuck nodded. With the new baby and their other children, he was sure he would not be getting much sleep in the near future. "Hey little guy." Chuck talked to his son. He took another rattle from beside Sarah and shook it. Leave it to Beckman to find an America-themed mobile and baby rattles which had the flag of America on them.

"I'm gonna have a shower before everyone starts to arrive." Sarah said and hopped up from the bed and began undressing.

"You know what? I've got the perfect idea for how to introduce Johnathan to the rest of the family." Chuck said, Sarah stopped what she was doing and gave him her full attention. "We can do a re-enactment of that scene from The Lion King when Rafiki holds up Simba to the entire kingdom. I'm sure I can find either the DVD or the soundtrack easily.

"That's assuming the twins haven't knocked it around somewhere." Sarah told him knowing that the kids tended to be careless at times. "And you forget most of the family has already met him. It's only Ellie's and Morgan's kids and Gertrude who haven't yet."

"You're missing the whole point Sarah." Chuck exasperated. "It's the circle of life. And Jonathan has completed our circle...Now that I think about it, Casey could fit the part of Rafiki...He takes great delight in hitting me upside the head. Only thing it's not to give me some life lessons like: 'The past can hurt, but the way I see it, you can either run from it, or, learn from it'. He just does it to rile me up."

"Or Maybe Morgan would make a better Rafiki." Sarah mused.

"That's so true. He is the hairiest out of all of us." Chuck agreed, pondering the idea.

Sarah laughed at him. "Um, OK Chuck. You think about that idea some more. I'm going to shower."

"What? You don't like my idea? Tell me." Chuck called out to her. Chuck then reverted John to the position in his arms. "You like my idea don't you little guy? Lion King is a classic." Chuck said.

Jonathan looked up at his father, his blue eyes filled of wonder, but then his countenance changed. Chuck took a whiff and shrugged. "Well I'll take that as a no." Chuck said, making his way to the nursery to change his son's diaper.

---

~/0/~

Sarah entered the bedroom to find Jonathan lying on their bed, boxed in by four pillows while Chuck was finishing getting ready. Chuck turned momentarily to look at her. "Hey beautiful."

"Hello handsome." She replied sweetly. Sarah then stepped over to the bed to her son. "And hey sweetie." He kicked his feet and blew small bubbles with his mouth in response and Sarah smiled down at him. She then went to her chest of drawers and began taking out her under clothes.

"You realise that in the time it took you to shower, I wiped Jonathan down, your Mom dressed him and I showered." Chuck commented.

Sarah finished clasping her bra and laughed lightly. She then walked over to Chuck and wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his hairy chest. Chuck slipped his hands around her waist and pulled his wife closer to him. "I love you Chuck." Sarah said.

"Love you too." Chuck replied earnestly. The two stayed in the embrace for a while, before deciding they should finish getting dressed and join the rest of their family together.

Sarah stepped out of the embrace and went over to her side of the walk-in closet. Sarah huffed loudly as she looked around her closet. It was difficult deciding on something to wear. Her stomach was still a lot more pregnant looking than she would've liked, so most of her pre-baby clothes were not an option and the maternity ones, though fashionable and comfortable were not appealing to her at the moment. Shuffling through the dresses on the hangers, she came upon a cute patterned frock with a flared skirt. Thankfully, the sleeveless dress featured a smocked button down bodice so she would be able to breast feed Johnathan easily during the evening.

She slipped it on quickly and then went to her makeup counter. After applying a faint hint of facial powder and a thin trace of lipstick and brushing her hair , she was ready to head downstairs.

"You ready?" She called out to Chuck who was enthralled with babbling to Jonathan.

He looked up at her and smiled widely. "You look absolutely gorgeous."

Sarah walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you. You don't look too shabby yourself."

"Careful, I don't think my wife likes it when other women flirt with me." Chuck warned.

"Oh really?" Sarah played along. "So if I had a sudden urge to kiss you right now, would that be a problem?"

"I guess not." He smiled at her. Finally giving up the charade, Chuck pulled her down in to his lap and kissed her passionately.

"Wow!" Sarah finally managed to breathe after the kiss ended. "That was um, that was, wow!"

Chuck smirked. "I'm glad I still have some effect on you after all these years." Chuck said.

Sarah leaned her forehead against his, and looked deeply into his hazel eyes. "Have I told you how much I love you today?"

"Maybe a couple of times, but I'll never get tired of hearing it. So if you want to say it again, feel free."

"Chuck Bartowski, I love you, and only you with my entire heart, my soul and every fibre of my being."

Chuck said: "Well after you saying that so eloquently, how do I even match up to that?" He joked. "Sarah Bartowski, I love you with everything in me. My love for you is an appetite which can never me satisfied or surfeited."

They smiled at each other again, before leaning in again for a brief kiss. Sarah got off of his lap, intending to go reapply her lipstick.

"But before we go downstairs, I've got something for you." Chuck got up and crossed the room, going to his drawer. Sarah claimed his position on the bed and began cooing to Johnathan. Chuck returned with a small box in his hands and knelt before her.

"It's a bit late for a push present isn't it?" quipped Sarah.

"Just take it." Chuck urged.

"You bought me jewellery?" Sarah said taking in the box. "Chuck you didn't have to."

"We do have a tradition to maintain." Chuck said and handed her the box. Sarah traced the outside and hesitated. "Go on, open it." Chuck encouraged.

Smiling, Sarah lifted the top from the box. Inside, she found a charmed number six. Chuck took the charm from her and after a moment of fumbling, attached it to her silver charm bracelet which rested on her right hand. Sarah held up her hand, looking at the bracket before Sarah pulled him closer to her into a loving kiss. "Thank you Chuck."

"You're welcome. Now my knees hurt, so can I please get up?"

"You must be getting old!" Sarah joked when he sat next to her.

"You forget that you're older than me." Chuck laughed.

She glared at him momentarily before joining in with his laughter. "Only by a couple of months Chuck." Her eyes once again drifted to the charm bracelet, and her finger traced each charm. Over the years, she had come to own a substantial collection of beautiful jewellery, but she treasured some pieces more than others. Her wedding and engagement rings and the charm bracelet were three of those. The bracelet was a staple of her wardrobe and now housed about twelve charms, including the newest one.

"It's beautiful Chuck." Sarah admired it.

"See, I told you I've got a little shopping sense. Though the girls may tend to disagree." He smiled also looking at the bracelet, glad that he had given it to her all those years ago in the Buy More. Sarah loved the bracelet, and so did his children. They had always asked the meaning or significance of each charm and now they knew them well. Jonathan, unhappy with the lack of attention, began kicking his sock-clad feet in the air. Chuck cradled him to his chest. "Well Jonathan, are you excited to meet the entire family?"

/\

Since it was a Saturday evening, no one was feeling the desire to cook, not even Ellie, so they decided to order four large pizzas.

Alex had brought over a chocolate cake and Gertrude had made a fruit salad, so dessert was taken care of. After eating, the older kids helped the guys to clean up and put the plastic plates and cups in a garbage. meanwhile, the younger children had slipped out into the family room to watch a movie.

The ladies were now in the living room. While Sarah was sitting on the couch, Carina and Zondra plopped down besides her, each with a shopping bag in hand. "Since we didn't make the baby shower, I figure this is a sorta make-up."

Sarah took the two bags and began going through them, examing the pieces. Zondra and Carina had bought a variety of cute clothes and in different sizes. The last item to come out of Carina's bag was a lace nightie set. Sarah held it up to her, blushing slightly. "And this looks like a gift someone would give out at a bridal shower." Sarah said.

"Nah Walker." Carina shrugged. "It's a little too tame for that don't you think? Seriously, remember the one I gave you for the honeymoon...It had half as much fabric and what little fabric there was was sheer."

Sarah blushed again. That piece of negligee hadn't stayed on her very long during the honeymoon. "You're incorrigible Carina."

"You will thank me later, after this little outfit helps you and Chuckles get back in the swing of things. But a word to the wise, use some protection unless you want to be the re-incarnation of 7th Heaven. You will probably need a walker when Chuck is through with you."

That sounded oddly like something Casey would say. "Ok!" Sarah said loudly and clapped her hands, trying to pull the conversation away from delving further into her and Chuck's sex life. "Thank you." Sarah pushed the clothes back down into the bags, slightly embarrassed.

"I'm sure Chuckie will thank me later too."

/\

Sarah excused herself from her conversation with Mary and went to answer the door. "Just a minute." She called out. She smiled at the kids as she made her way to the door. The smile remained on her face when she opened the door. When she saw the person on the other side, surprise overtook her. The man in his late-sixties shifted on his feet slightly, betraying that he was a bit nervous despite the calm exterior he was trying to portray.

"Hey Darlin'." Jack greeted her.

"Dad?" Sarah said still surprised. She stepped aside and let him enter the home, closing the door behind her. "What are you doing here?"

Jack scratched the back of his head. "You're not happy to see me?" He asked a bit dejectedly.

"Oh no, I am. Really." Sarah smiled. She then pulled him into a hug. "I'm really glad you're here." Sarah whispered in his ear.

When they stepped out of the embrace, both smiled. "I missed you and when Chuck called and said you'd had the baby, I wanted to see how you were doing...I'm sorry I missed the birth."

Sarah smiled sadly. She was a bit sorry too. "That OK. The point is you're here now. And I, missed you too."

"I've got some stuff in the car for the kids...I wasn't sure what to bring for the baby though...I hope a stuffed animal is OK." Remembering that Sarah had had a stuffed dog called Bunny when she was younger, Jack had picked up a stuffed Dalmatian from the store. For the other children, he'd brought back souvenirs from his trip to San Diego earlier for them. "I contemplated buying clothes but you know I've never been that good with fashion, even if it is only baby clothes. "

"That's fine. He has quite a few already, but it doesn't matter."

"Sarah?" Emma called out. "We were wondering what's taking you so long. Who was at the d-" The words died on her lips when she saw Jack standing there.

"Hello Emma." Jack greeted her.

"Jack." She curtly nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"Daddy came to visit us."

"Oh, I see."

"Can I get you anything Dad? I think there's some pizza left over if Morgan or one of the kids haven't gone back at it."

"No olives?" Jack asked hopefully.

Sarah smiled. "Is there any other way to order a pizza?" As if I would order pizza any other way.

"OK, you sold me. I'll take a slice."

"Do you want something to drink too?"

"Just water would be fine."

"Are you sure?" Sarah prodded. "Casey brought over some scotch...it's not your favourite, but he swears to Reagan that it's good."

"Well if Cop-Face swears by it, then I'll give it a shot." Jack laughed.

"Great!" Sarah smiled. "Come on, I know the kids will be glad to see you, as will everyone else and you can meet your newest grandson."

"I'll be right there." Jack told Sarah.

Emma turned to Jack, her arms folded across her chest.

"From her surprise when she saw me, I'm assuming you didn't tell her I called to say I was coming."

Emma didn't flinch at the accusation. It was a reasonable one to make. But she had learnt early on, not to always hold Jack accountable to his promises. "It wouldn't be the first time you said you'd do something and not do it." Emma scoffed. Jack's face fell and Emma immediately regretted her words. She hadn't realised that she had vocalized her thoughts.

"I'm sorry Jack. That was mean of me."

Jack shrugged, not wanting to make a big deal out of it. "It's OK. I know my track record of keeping my word is far from spectacular."

Emma smiled sadly. Jack had always tried to hide his emotions. He made it seem as if her comment just now was like water off a duck's back- totally insignificant, but she knew it hurt him. "I really am sorry. I know you're trying to be different...to be there for Sarah and our grandchildren. It wasn't fair of me to bring back up the past." They'd both made mistakes when it came to Sarah's childhood, but since Jack had re-entered their lives a little over two years ago. she saw a change in him.

"I guess a leopard trying to change its spots isn't easy."

"I didn't not tell Sarah on purpose." Emma told him. He looked at her questioningly. "When you called this morning, I was dealing with the kids, helping them get ready for when Chuck brought Sarah and Jonathan home, and after that, things got a bit busy. So it slipped my mind. I'm sorry."

"I understand."

"Now come one, everyone is in the living room. I'm sure Sarah is wondering what's keeping us."

"She'll probably be out in a couple of minutes to see if you haven't killed me yet." Jack mused.

"You drive me up a wall sometimes, but If I didn't do it while we were married, I wouldn't now." Emma told him.

Jack laughed. "Lead the way m'lady."

When they hit the archway leading to the living room, the sounds of laughter emanated from the room as the occupants continued to watch a movie. Emma turned to Jack and said: "For the record, I'm glad you're here too." She smiled.

Sarah came up behind them, with the scotch in hand. "Dad, I put the pizza in the microwave." Sarah said as she handed a glass of scotch to her father.

"Thanks Angel."

"You're welcome." Sarah smiled. "I think we've spent enough time out here. Don't you agree?"

"Ok, let's go meet the rest of the family." Said a grinning Sarah.

"Do the honours Sarah." encouraged Emma.

"Look who's here!" Sarah announced. Chuck paused the movie and everyone turned to see their newest guest.

The Bartowski children rushed from their seats to greet him, shouting "Grandpa!" Jack set his glass down and hugged his grandchildren first then greeted everyone else.

Emma lingered back, looking at the scene before her and a small smile began to tug at her lips. Sarah had always been a tough little thing. But she worried about her...growing up mostly with her father, she always kept to herself. Looking at her now, so happy and content, she'd give anything to preserve that. Thankfully, Jack who was now blowing raspberries in Lisa's stomach seemed to be on the same page as her.

/\

The laughter of everyone in the living room melded to create a sweet melody. Looking at her large family, Sarah smiled widely. She was thankful she and Chuck had bought such a large home as they were all able to sit comfortably. The kids, minus Levi and Lisa who were on Mary's and Emma's laps respectively were all sitting in the floor, listening with rapt fascination and attentiveness as Jack showed them how to play the shell game. She snuggled closer to Chuck and he kissed her on her temple. Zondra and Carina, who couldn't seem to have enough of the newest addition were fawning over Jonathan. She looked over to the clock, it was 8:45 and she thought that he would soon be hungry and ready for bed, but for now, she was enjoying the time with her family.

The night was drawing to a close. Around nine-thirty, the crowd had begun to dissipate. Oliver had fallen asleep and Ellie had an early shift in the morning, so the Woodcomb family had been the first to leave. Next were Casey and Gertrude, followed soon after by Morgan, Alex and their two children. Since Zondra and Carina were staying for a long while, they accepted Mary's offer to stay with her in her apartment as she had two rooms which were unused unless any of her grandchildren came over. Sarah was glad she would have them around and hoped that they would really follow through on her earlier discussion about retiring from field work. It would be nice to have them around more often or better yet, permanently. Mary had read the Frost Queen to Emily and Shamia, while Zondra and Carina had helped the twins change into their pyjamas, made them brush their teeth and then taken turns in reading them a bed time story. Meanwhile, Jack, Emma and Molly had straightened up downstairs. The five women were the last to leave.

After everyone left, Chuck activated the security systems, and let the dog into the yard for a few minutes before heading back upstairs. He checked on each of his children, making sure they were OK and resting comfortably. Following that, he checked on Jack to make sure he had settled in to the guest bedroom.

"Schnook, Chuck" Jack amended. "I wanted to thank you."

"Getting the guest bedroom ready was nothing Jack."

"Not that. It's no secret I haven't been the world's #1 father. But you are seriously in the running for that. I wanted to thank you for loving Sarah. All I ever wanted for her was to have all the adventures she ever wanted with a man far better than me."

Chuck did not see the point in telling Jack that he could and should have done things better when it came to Sarah's upbringing, so he let it slide. Jack had acknowledged that he had made his mistakes and Sarah, and probably to a lesser extent, Emma, had forgiven him.

""Jack, for the family's sake, Sarah and the kids' especially, I hope you're serious. I know this has been hard for you, adjusting to this sort of family structure, but I do appreciate the effort that you've made, and I know Sarah does too. " He remembered the time, after Jack had helped them pull of the mission with with the Russians. He had came home to the apartment, with the intention of preparing chicken pepperoni. But Sarah had informed him that her father was gone. 'It's what my Dad does Chuck. He just leaves. Once you know all the cons, you can never be a sucker.' Sarah had tried to hide her sadness but he had seen right through her. "She always tried to downplay the effect you had on her when you left, but I saw how much it hurt her. I'm glad that you didn't let her reach her breaking point, or I don't know if she'd ever have let you into her life again."

Jack set his jaw in a firm line, as determination coursed through his veins. "Trust me Chuck, I don't plan on letting my family down ever again." They bade each other good night and Chuck existed the room, leaving Jack to himself.

/0\

Chuck began making his way to the bedroom, when he saw the faint glow from the nursery light cast a shadow in the hallway. Chuck walked over to the room and peeped inside to find Sarah sitting in the rocking chair, singing a lullaby to Johnathan. She seemed to sense his presence and looked up, smiling at him. Chuck smiled back and stepped into the room, coming to stand next to her. Wordlessly, he smoothed Johnathan's hair and smiled down at both him and Sarah. He was extremely thankful to have her in his life, granted their relationship had started rocky at first, but now, they had a loving family. He loved her with every fibre of his being and the same went for their children. They meant the world to him. He would do anything to protect them and to make sure they were happy.

Sarah was looking down at her new-born who still had his tiny hand clutched in a fist around her thumb, holding her tight even though he had fallen to sleep. She thought back to her life before Chuck- the scams with Jack, CIA training to be an emotionless spy, Graham's Wild Card Enforcer and the countless missions and shuddered. Since she had met Chuck, she was the happiest she could ever remember. But if she were to choose ten of her best days, the day that she walked into the Burbank Buy More and met the most caring, loving person in her whole life would definitely be number one. Because it was on that day, that she begun a new life. The mission became more than a mission and it was then, that she began to feel as though she was actually living. Coming back to reality, she looked up at her husband, a contented smile on her face and a few tears in her eyes which she quickly blinked away. Chuck crouched down next to her so that they could look into each other's eyes better. Oh, how she loved this man to death. Chuck moved to cup her face in his hands and she gladly leant into his touch, not minding the little tingle of the cool metal from his wedding band on her face. Chuck leant in and kissed her.

They soon decided it was time to put Jonathan in his crib and for them to go to bed. Chuck kissed Jonathan good night and Sarah then walked over to the crib and laid him down. Chuck meanwhile turned on the baby monitors. Afterwards, the parents made their way to their room, with Sarah leaning into Chuck. In their room, Chuck placed the monitor on his side of the dresser before joining Sarah in the bathroom so they could brush their teeth tandem style. Then they went to their sides of the bed and pulled the covers down before sliding in. They turned to face each other and Chuck intertwined his warm feet with Sarah's smaller ones. His hands came to rest on her waist, rubbing small circles on her hip.

"What?" Chuck asked self-consciously when he noticed Sarah staring at him.

"Nothing." replied Sarah. "I just really love you."

"Say it again...and again...and again." Chuck pleaded, punctuating each again with small kisses on her nose, her forehead and the edge of her mouth as a tease. "I'll never get tired of hearing you say that."

"One more time, because it feels really good to say it: I really, really love you Chuck." Sarah says. "You and I, we're perfect for each other."

"Really love me? Or really, really, reallllyyyyyyyyyyyyyy love me?"

"I love you more than Casey loves Reagan. I love you more than anything else in the entire world."

"Wow! I feel so honoured. That's a whole lot of love." Chuck laughed. "Well that's a good thing, because I really, really love you too."

"You know this is one of my favourite times of the day." Sarah told Chuck as she played with the hem of his grey pyjama shirt. "It's my special time of the day. Everything is quiet; even though now that Jonathan's here that quietness will not be regular. The children are asleep and I have you all too myself."

"I know what you mean. I love our kids, but they are a handful."

"Mhmm." Sarah agreed. She bit her lip nervously. They should probably go to sleep soon, considering that she'd have to feed the baby at regular intervals during the night, but she was not that tired at the moment. It was probably because she was still so excited from seeing the entire family earlier. Sarah pressed her body closer to his, reveling in the warmth that Chuck's body provided. Chuck wrapped his arms around her and they began kissing slowly, lovingly. Both knew that anything further would be out of the question until Sarah's body recovered from the birth but that didn't negate the level as to which they enjoyed being close to each other. Just being close to each other was enough intimacy for them right now. Chuck rolled them over so that she was pinned beneath him as they kissed. "Chuck!" Sarah yelped in surprise. He brought his lips to her neck and laughed into her skin, his teeth nipping her slightly. Sarah giggled in between the make out session as they caressed each other. At one point, Chuck bit her lip playfully and she nibbled on his tongue and raked her nails along his back in response.

"Wow, who knew making out could be such fun." Sarah mused. Both were now grinning and their lips well kissed.

"You underestimate the power of the Bartowski charm."

"Nope, I've learnt to never underestimate you." Sarah said truthfully. She trusted him completely and knew he could do basically anything he put his mind to. He liked to say 'You're Sarah Bartowski...You can do anything!' but she thought the same went for him. It was their deep-sated love for each other which made stronger. "What was with all that nipping though?" Not that I minded.

"Well I figure if you can be a tigress, it's only right for me to be a tiger at some points.

"Good night Chuck."

"Good night Sarah." Chuck kissed her hair. Now that she had given birth, they were finally able to go back to their favourite sleeping position, with him on his back and Sarah lying on her side, using his chest as a pillow.

A couple of minutes later, when the low-frequency sounds of Chuck snoring disrupted the still of the room, Sarah lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him. "Thank you, Chuck." she whispered softly. Thanks to him, she now had a warm, loving family. She cherished each and every one of them from the innermost recesses of her heart. The Sarah Walker from years ago would have never been able to have this, but as Sarah Bartowski laid her head against her husband's chest, her hair sprawling all over him, a smile tugged at her lips. Just before she finally surrendered to sleep, one last conscious thought went through her mind: I'm living the life I only dreamed of.

---

A/N: Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated, so feel free to do so (even if it's as a guest). I'm working on some others but school assingments are knocking...more like pounding on my door and demanding my full attention so it'll probably be a couple of weeks before I update this collection.

Until next time

~xoxo

Barbadiangirl.

10/25/2014