A/N#1: *in my best Texan accent* Hey y'all it's me! Remember me?...Anyway, I take this time to thank you guys for all the positive feedback on this collection of stories thus far. It is greatly appreciated. The plot line for this story just sort of popped up and wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it and this is the result. Thanks to charhakids, my awesome beta!

Chapter : Mission: Jason. Words:6905.

And one last thing, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Chuck passed through the dining room, whistling to himself as he made his way to the kitchen for Landon's sippy cup of juice. As he walked by, his eldest daughter, Savannah's laptop chimed, indicating that she had a new email. Not that he meant to snoop, but he was being curious. Since the email page was already on screen, that meant that he didn't have to go through the computer for information. Chuck peeked at the page and saw an email, from Jason. Not being familiar with the name, he opened the email and skimmed over the contents. Apparently Savannah and this Jason guy were to go out this weekend.

Chuck frowned. "We will just see about that." He resolved to ask Sarah what she knew of it and marked the email as unread before continuing on his way to the kitchen.

Chuck carried the cup of juice to Landon who was in the yard with his sisters Savannah and Zachia, playing with their new dog. He left the girls in charge and told them he'd be back soon; he just needed to talk to their mother. Chuck re-entered the house and climbed the stairs two at a time. Bursting into the room, he found Sarah putting clothes into the laundry basket. She looked up at him, quite startled. "Chuck, what's wrong?" She set down the basket and walked over to him. "Are the kids alright?" She asked him when he didn't immediately respond.

"Who is Jason?" Chuck asked bluntly.

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief and went back to gathering laundry. "Which Jason are you referring to?"

"How many do you know?" Chuck questioned.

"Three actually. There's one in Landon's day care class, the President of the PTA at Zachia's school and one that's Savannah's friend."

"Well, I'm assuming the last one is the one that she's going out for pizza with?"

"And you'd be correct." Sarah said.

"And why did no one tell me about this before?"

"Well she told you today didn't she? Honestly Chuck, she was working up the courage to tell you." Sarah noticed the look on Chuck's face. He still couldn't hide his emotions from her. "She did tell you, didn't she?" Chuck was silent. "Chuck, what did you do?"

"I happened to be passing by her laptop when an email came in and my fingers may have innocently opened said email."

"Chuck!" Sarah cried mortified. "You went snooping!"

"Well I wouldn't have had to if I knew what was going on with my own daughter."

"And you wonder why she didn't ask you." Sarah said sarcastically. "You're over reacting Chuck."

"Well maybe if my damn wife had bothered to consult me about such things as our daughter going out with boys I don't know I wouldn't have to over react." Chuck spat.

Sarah's gaze turned icy as she stared down Chuck. She did not like where this conversation was going. With much effort, she managed to keep her voice controlled. "It's only pizza Chuck."

"Pizza my foot." Chuck growled. "Sarah, you know how boys are, especially when they're going through puberty. Their hormones are up to the roof. She's not going out with h-"

"I already told her yes." Sarah cut in.

"Well I guess I'll be the party pooper and tell her no."

"Chuck," Sarah began.

He held up a finger, asking for her to let him continue. "Sarah, come on, you know how this will go, it will start out as only pizza, then he will tell her how beautiful she is and that he loves her. She will be naïve, and she will believe him, and before you know it, he deflowers her, breaks her heart and we'll be helping her pick up the pieces."

Sarah sighed. She walked over to him and grabbed his hand, leading them to the bed. "Deflower? Really, that sounds so Casey." Chuck shrugged. "Chuck, I know you're worried about her, but I know our daughter, she's got a strong head on her shoulders. And trust me, she knows what real love is, I mean she's seen us, and not to sound narcissistic or anything but that's as pure as love can get, so I think she will recognize real love when she experiences it. And as for her being deflowered, we've raised her better than that. She values and respects herself so I know that years down the road, she will make the right choice."

Sarah kissed his lip lightly and stroked his cheek. "I know where you are coming from, but you need to trust her. She needs to have some social interaction with people her own age outside of school. And again, let me remind you that it's just pizza."

"Humph." Chuck sighed. "I just wish either of you trusted me enough to tell me."

Sarah ran her fingers through his curls. "I was giving her time to tell you herself, and if she hadn't by this evening, I was going to. And I admit that I was wrong for not consulting you, but Chuck, she was so excited about it, and she was worried that you wouldn't let her, so I said yes."

"I'm not that much of a strict father am I? I'm not that unapproachable?"

"No, you just love fiercely and don't want anyone you love to be hurt, and that's why I love you."

"I love you too." Chuck said wrapping his arm around her.

Sarah smiled, "Am I forgiven?"

Chuck toyed with the hem of her blouse and cocked his head to the side. "Maybe, if you give me a kiss." Sarah inched closer to him, and captured his lips in a slow, sensual kiss. Soon enough, she found herself pinned underneath him and his warm hand resting on her stomach. Sarah moaned into his mouth and ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer to her. She was about to pull Chuck's shirt off of him, or rip it off, whichever was faster, when she heard a groan from outside her bedroom. Chuck quickly hopped off of her and they turned to see all their children standing at the door. Savannah had the younger children's eyes blocked with her hands.

"Zachia and Landon are hungry." She announced. "I'd make them lunch, but I've got homework to do."

The blush was now leaving Chuck and Sarah who had finished rearranging their clothes. "We will be right down." Savannah nodded, and led her siblings away.

Chuck moved to shut the door behind them, but Sarah stopped him. "You shut that door, and we won't leave in here anytime soon."

Chuck grinned at her. "Well maybe we can pick it up tonight?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"I think that's a good idea." Sarah agreed. "But I need you to promise me that you won't do a background check on Jason and that you won't hire someone to shadow them while they go for pizza."

"Who me? Sarah, come on, even though we still do favours for the government, that doesn't mean I would hack into their databases and trace this Jason guy's family history and records to as far back as they stretch. That would be a misappropriation of government resources and I would never, ever, ever do such a thing. Besides, why would I hire someone when I'm sure Casey, Awesome and Morgan would gladly help me out on that spying mission?"

"Chuck, I'm serious!" Sarah warned. "Don't do anything crazy."

"Ok, ok." He held his hands up in surrender. Sarah didn't fully believe him, but didn't have time to dwell on it further as she heard Zachia yelling for her from downstairs. Wondering what the problem was now, she left Chuck in the room.

After lunch, Sarah stepped out to visit a neighbour who was redecorating and valued her input. Meanwhile, Chuck put Landon down for a nap. While Savannah was doing her homework, he called out for his second daughter. "Zachia Emily Bartowski." His voice boomed through the spacious house.

Said daughter rushed from her room and descended the stairs cautiously. The nine year old knew that whenever her parents used their full names, they were usually in big trouble. She racked her brain, trying to figure out what the offense was this time. She found Chuck already at the foot of the stair case. "Yes Daddy?" She said sweetly, swinging to and fro.

"I need to speak to you in the study." Her eyes widened. Man, was she in big trouble. She followed her father into the study he shared with her mother. While Chuck took a seat on the leather couch, she remained standing in the middle of the room.

"You're not in trouble Zachia." Chuck assured her. Upon hearing the news, her face noticeably brightened and she skipped over to where her father was sitting.

"I'm not?" She questioned unbelievingly.

"No, I promise." Chuck said and kissed her hair.

"Oh ok Daddy. So what did you want to talk about?"

Chuck rubbed his hands together. "You know how you like to play Spy with us and when Uncle Casey comes over he gives you missions and a reward for being a good soldier?"

Zachia nodded gleefully. "Well, how would you like to go on a mission for me and gather some Intel on the target?"

"Who's the target? An international warlord, drug traffickers, arms dealers, mercenaries or communist dictators?" Chuck's eyes widened, from the last two suggestions, he was convinced that she had been spending too much time with the good Colonel.

"Do you even know what a communist dictator is?"

"Uncle Casey says that they're one of the worst type of people and that they're the scum of the earth. He also said that they deny every one of their rights and their values go against everything Reagan." Chuck nodded. He'd be having a talk with Casey. Again.

Bringing them back on topic, Chuck continued. "No, it's none of the aforementioned. The target is your sister."

Zachia put her finger up. "Let me get this straight. You want me to spy on Savannah?"

"Yes." Chuck confirmed. "So, can you do it? Will you be an agent for me?"

She hesitated, even though her sister was mean sometimes, she did do her hair pretty when her mother couldn't. She wasn't completely sold on the idea.

"Why can't you do it?"

Chuck scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, this mission requires an agent with your particular skill set. One who is lithe, smart, can slip out of a room reasonably undetected and already has a close relationship to the target. You are my only hope Agent Sparkles."

Zachia frowned. "That's not my alias anymore Daddy."

"OK, then what should I call you?"

"The name's Carmichael. Zachia Carmichael." She said seriously.

Chuck smiled at her. His daughter sure was something special. He was very impressed by her Bond impersonation and it was endearing that she used the last name of his first alias. At least unlike Morgan, hers wasn't ridiculous. Because really, who in their right minds would name their child Michael Carmichael? "OK Agent Carmichael. You are the A-Team, well not team since you work alone, but you know what I mean. You are the best and I need you to complete this mission. Do you accept?

"Ok, you've sold me." Zachia smiled. "But what's in it for me?" She asked while twirling her blonde curly hair around her index finger.

"Really? You'd take money from your old man?"

"Sorry Daddy, but this is a sensitive mission, it could even be life threatening since Mommy was teaching Savannah how to perfect the roundhouse kick the other day and thus I need money for occupational hazards."

"Fine." Chuck relented. "Twenty dollars." He didn't think Savannah would physically attack her sister. Sarah had specifically told her that she should not use any of her fighting techniques on her siblings or peers but should resort to it in situations only when her life was in danger.

She arched her brow, much like Sarah did. "One hundred."

Chuck bit his tongue from saying no way in hell. "That's too high for my pockets."

"Come on Daddy, you and Mom own a multi-million dollar software and security company, I'm sure it won't hurt."

"Forty."

"One hundred."

"No. Forty-five."

"One hundred."

"Fifty."

Zachia sighed, her father was being stubborn. But considering that she'd gotten him to raise his bribe by thirty, she decided to quit while ahead. "Fine."

"You really are your mother's daughter." Chuck grumbled. He took out his wallet and handed five ten dollar bills to her. After inspecting them and finding them to her satisfaction, Zachia pocketed the money.

"So, what exactly do you want me to do Daddy?"

"Gather whatever intel you can on this guy called Jason, I'm thinking we should check her diary first and then her phone and laptop if that is a bust."

Chuck knew he was wrong, and maybe even acting a bit of paranoid, but he reasoned that his was normal for any parent, especially fathers of teenaged girls.

"I'll try my best not to let you down Daddy."

"That's all I ask. We're operating on little time, so I need the Intel as soon as possible. And remember, you've got to be stealthy about it. Whatever you do, please try not to get caught." Or it will be the death of me.

Zachia gave him a salute and bolted from the room.

/\

Sarah was in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Little Landon was in his high chair, mostly playing with the cereal in his bowl rather than eating it. She held up a carrot to him. "Do you know what this is?" She asked the little boy.

"Orange!" replied the two and a half year old excitedly.

Sarah smiled at him. "That's right. This is the colour orange, but it's a carrot. Can you say carrot?"

After a few attempts, Landon was able to say the word. Sarah smiled at him. "You're the smartest little boy in the entire world aren't you?" Sarah tickled him under his arms and the toddler laughed, making Sarah smile even more widely. She kissed him on his chubby cheek and ruffled his dirty blond hair.

She was washing the rice in a bowl when she heard her daughters upstairs yelling.

"Mom!" Zachia screeched as she ran down the stairs, with Savannah trailing behind her. "Mom, you've got to help me." Zachia cried breathlessly. Her face was flushed and she was panting for breath.

"What's wrong now?" Sarah asked exasperated. Upon hearing Savannah's footsteps inching closer, Zachia ran to the sanctuary behind her mother's body.

Savannah marched into the kitchen, her chocolate eyes hot with rage. "I'm going to kill you! You little wicked, conniving, snooping, disrespectful, stupid, -"

"Hey, stop with that name calling right now." Sarah silenced her older daughter with a scowl.

"Mommy, she wants to kill me." complained Zachia.

Sarah shook her head. "I know that your father and I raised you better than this, so you two are going to calm down and tell me what's going on. And no one will be killing anyone." Zachia took that assurance and moved over to Landon's night chair, coaxing him into eating his cereal.

"She was snooping into my stuff." Savannah raged. She then noticed that Zachia was no longer hiding behind their mother and in one swift motion, lunged for her. She was able to grab hold of the collar of her shirt and refused to let go. While Zachia screamed, Landon laughed, finding the scene to be funny. Despite Sarah's orders to let her sister go, Savannah's grip remained strong. Finally, Sarah had to pry her fingers away from the little girl. Zachia was now crying, claiming that Savannah had stretched out her mission shirt.

"I should've done worse than that. I should've rung your neck." She spat.

Sarah's head snapped toward her daughter, horrified and shocked. "That is no way to talk to your sister Savannah. Apologise." She kept mum. "I said apologise." Sarah said through gritted teeth.

Savannah rolled her eyes at her and Sarah resisted the urge to slap her upside her head. She didn't know if it was the water or the air, but something had turned her daughters into maniacs. Sarah sent her an icy glare and Savannah finally muttered an empty sorry.

"Go to your room." Sarah commanded.

Savannah looked at her incredulous. "Are you serious right now Mom? She's always messing with my stuff. She went into my diary!"

"No I didn't." Zachia defended.

"Now you're lying too." Savannah fumed.

"I only read about three lines, not even a paragraph ." Zachia admitted. "I don't think that amounts to going in, it was only a peek.

"I've had enough of this. Mom, you're clearly taking her side."

"I'm not taking anyone's side."

"Yes you are! You always do!"

"Listen, I have had it up to here with your bickering." Sarah told her, stretching her hand high above her head.

"She just does that sad whiny voice and those stupid puppy dog eyes and all of a sudden, she's nothing but an angel who can do no wrong in your eyes!"

"Do not raise your voice at me, and I suggest you take your tone down a notch or two." Sarah warned.

"Or what? You're gonna ground me? Take away my electronics. Do your worse Mom, see if I care. I'm done here; I'm going to my room." She turned on her heel and muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Sarah asked, daring her to repeat.

"I said I hate you. I hate all of you. And I especially hate Zachia for being a snotty little brat."

"Go to your room now! And don't come back down again!"

"I was going there on my own anyway. Besides, it's not like I want to be with you guys." Savannah huffed and left the room, stomping on the stairs as she went. The slam of her bedroom door came next.

After the door slammed, Sarah was assaulted by the sight of her younger children crying. Zachia's tears were pooling in her eyes again, following her sister's verbal assault and Landon, being startled by the slamming door, was now crying too. Sarah washed her hands and dried them before lifting Landon from his chair and hoisted him on her hip. She then took Zachia by the hand and led her into the living room. Dinner could wait. Right now, she needed to deal with her children. That and have a few words with Chuck.

Landon was much easier to settle than his sister. Sarah gave him some porridge and he soon fell asleep. Zachia on the other hand was still melancholy. When Sarah finally managed to abate the tears, she wiped the snot and tear stains from her face.

"Zachia, baby you've got to be honest with me. Did you read Savannah's diary?" She nodded. "Why? You know that such things are private, don't you?" She nodded again. The little girl couldn't bear to look at her mother, so she kept her eyes transfixed on the floor. "Baby, I want you to look at me." said Sarah. Reluctantly, she obeyed and Sarah's heart broke at the sadness and regret in her hazel eyes.

"I- I didn't mean to…I- I wasn't gonna read all of it. I just wanted to see what kind of stuff she wrote down." Zachia sniffed. "Do you think she'll hate me forever Momma?"

Sarah pulled the little girl onto her lap and wrapped her arms around her in comfort. "She doesn't hate you. She's just very angry. What you did was wrong and you will have to apologize."

"Mommy, I hope you're right. I like having her as a big sister. None of the other kids in my class have a sister as old as I do, so they think I'm the coolest one, and she does my hair so pretty when you don't have time and she helps me with my homework sometimes so I hope she doesn't stay mad at me forever."

Sarah chuckled and stroked Zachia's blond hair. "She'll come around. Most of what she said was in the heat of the moment."

"I love you Mommy."

"I love you too sweetie."

"And I really am sorry."

"I know baby, I know."

When Chuck came home from Ellie's house, it was after nine. Being a weekend, he expected at least the girls to still be awake and driving each other insane or watching a movie. All of the lights were off in the house and he found it strange. Alarm bells went off in his head and he briefly entertained the notion that someone had abducted his family. He shook the thought from his head though because if such had happened, the security system he had designed with Sarah's help would have activated. Upon reaching the master bedroom, he blindly reached for the light switch. However, as he did so, Sarah turned on her bedside lamp.

"Chuck."

He whirled around to face the bed. "Gah! Sarah you scared me." He said placing his palm over his heart. "I thought you were somebody deadly." The yellow light cast a soft glow on her frame and really accentuated her beauty. Chuck did notice though that she was frowning and her arms were folded across her chest. I'm in trouble. From all the movies he'd watched , he knew too well that when a man came home and found his spouse waiting up for him and in that position, it usually didn't end well.

"I am somebody deadly." Sarah stated in a matter of fact tone.

"But you wouldn't actually kill me... Would you?"

Sarah cast him a sideways glance. "I was thinking about it actually." She muttered softly.

Be afraid, be very afraid. Chuck looked at her sceptically. "What's wrong?"

"You are unbelievable." Sarah said.

Chuck tugged on his collar. "I do believe that's why you married me." Chuck joked, attempting to remove the tension in the room. "I'm unbelievably smart, charming, handsome, caring and loving."

Sarah glared at him and frowned. She was not in the mood for his jokes tonight. "What's wrong?" Chuck asked. "Is it because I missed dinner? I'm sorry. OK? I didn't expect to stay over at Ellie's so long, but the virus was corrupting their entire home network and it took me longer than I would've thought."

Sarah ran her fingers through her hair furiously and sighed. Chuck climbed in the bed and leant over to her. "I really am sorry." He murmured and kissed her softly. "But I promise, I can make it up to you." He whispered in her ear. "If you'd let me."

Chuck placed kisses on her jawline and then went down to her neck, paying the most attention to that one spot he knew drove her wild.

"Mhmm, Chuck, baby wait." Chuck brought his lips back to her, and devoured her lips in a luscious kiss. "Chuck, I -" She could barely form a proper sentence as Chuck continued to kiss any exposed flesh of her body. He then returned to her lips, kissing her thoroughly. His tongue traced the outline of her bottom lip, asking for entrance and she allowed it. Meanwhile, she grazed her teeth along his lips and he returned the action by gently nipping at hers. "Chuck" Sarah moaned. She was quickly loosing all comprehension and her body was begging for all of him. His hands slipped under her shirt, and he raised them higher until he reached her breasts, massaging them. He quickly removed her shirt and Sarah did the same, wanting as much contact with his skin as possible.

Something in her snapped though, when she saw Chuck's black shirt on the floor. It reminded of Zachia's black mission wear and the anger came back. Even though her body ached for him, she forced that desire down and pushed him off of her. Understandably Chuck was surprised by her sudden withdrawal. Sarah hopped from the bed and picked both shirts from the floor. She put on hers and tossed the other to Chuck. It would be much easier to stay angry at him if he had his shirt on.

"Sarah, what's wrong?"

"I'm not mad about you missing dinner. Not really anyways." She hadn't even bothered to finish dinner. Her children had been her main concern and she had lost the desire to cook. Consequently, she put everything back into the fridge and ordered a pizza. So while she was mad that she had to deal with the pandemonium before dinner, she was more pissed at Chuck's actions which had resulted in said pandemonium.

Sarah walked over to the love seat across the room and picked up Zachia's mission wear. Walking back over to the bed, she threw the black T-shirt, the black leggings, the ski mask and her black boots on the bed. "Would you like to explain to me why our daughter was spying on her own sister?" asked Sarah furiously.

Chuck sighed. "To which daughter are you referring to? Who spied on whom? Last time I checked, we had two, so a bit of clarification would be appreciated." Chuck said cheekily in an attempt to stall. The dirty look Sarah sent him let him know that she was already pissed and he really shouldn't piss her off any further. How was he going to talk his way out of this one? I'm dead! "Um, well-" he began, only to be cut off by a raging Sarah.

"I specifically told you not to spy on her or do anything outrageous Chuck! You agreed to that Chuck. And now look what you've done! You used our daughter to spy on her sister Chuck. That's not fucking funny and it was wrong of you, on so, so many levels. Do you have any idea of the damage you've caused? You invaded her privacy and now she feels betrayed and she's angry at the whole damn world, but especially her sister and I. And Zachia, Chuck, you know I hate to see any of my children crying but I couldn't get her to stop crying after Savannah verbally assaulted her, telling her that she hated her and that she was a brat. Chuck, can you possibly imagine how I felt having to deal with that? Can you imagine how Zachia felt when her sister told her all those awful things? Can you imagine how Savannah felt knowing that her privacy was invaded?" She almost choked on the anger.

Chuck breathed deeply and his shoulders sagged. He then buried his face in his hands and groaned.

Sarah sat down next to him, her face still flush with anger. Chuck took her left hand his and massaged it, occasionally playing with her wedding ring. "Don't try to worm yourself out of this."

"I'm not." Chuck said. "Look, I know what I did was out of line, fine, I'll admit that and I apologize. But I won't apologize for being worried and over protective. I'm her father Sarah, and she's thirteen, I have to worry about boys, because I don't know which one will break her heart."

"I understand that Chuck." Sarah comforted him. She knew all too well about guys like that, they were the classic Dic Duffy. "But Chuck, if you wanted to know more about Jason, I'm sure if you asked, she would've told you. Do you remember the first couple of years after you got the Intersect?"

Chuck gave a dry laugh. "How could I ever forget?"

"Well I'm sure you also remember all the cameras and the bugs. You hated that your privacy was basically non-existent. And I know Savannah must feel the same way."

Chuck sighed again. He did realise the errors in his ways. "I'll fix it." He promised.

"Thank you." Sarah stroked his cheek.

"Do you still love me?"

"As if I could ever stop, even after all these years and your occasional bonehead moments."

/\

Chuck left Sarah in their room and ventured out, looking to see if either of the girls was still awake. He checked on Zachia first. Coming from the lit hallway, it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness of her room. Chuck walked over to her bed and sat down. "I know you're not sleeping." He told her after a few minutes of silence. Chuck turned on the light and the little girl propped up against the white headboard, looking at her father sadly.

"I failed the mission Daddy." She admitted.

Chuck sat down on the pink comforter and smiled at her. "I know, but it's OK."

The little girl shook her head. "No it's not, because now 'Vannah hates me and you'll be disappointed in me." She said dejectedly. "I'm not a good agent anymore."

Chuck smiled again. "None of those things are true. Savannah doesn't hate you. People tend to say things they don't mean when they are angry or upset. I'm sure you two will make up soon."

"That's the same thing Mommy said." replied Zachia with new found hope.

"Exactly, and your Mommy is one of the smartest women I know, so she must know what she was talking about."

"Mommy is the smartest person in the entire world." Zachia proclaimed.

"Hey!" Chuck cried offended. "So what about me?"

Zachia giggled. "You would be the second smartest person in the world."

"Oh, why thank you. That means so much coming from you." Chuck joked.

"You're so silly Daddy."

"Now back to our conversation, I'm not disappointed in you. I shouldn't have asked you to spy on your sister, so I'm sorry for putting you in that position. Forgive me?"

"Course Daddy." She jumped from under the covers and threw her arms around Chuck's neck. "I love you Daddy."

"I love you too Spy Princess."

After talking for a bit more, Chuck announced that it was time for Zachia to finally go to bed. Without much fuss, she relented and delved back under the covers. They wished each other good night, exchanged kisses and Chuck left the room. He then proceeded to Savannah's room but found that she was sleeping. His talk with her would have to wait until morning.

Sarah was still awake when he returned to their room. Chuck brushed his teeth, changed in to his pyjamas and slipped into bed beside her. "How'd it go?"

"I talked to Zachia, she's good now, but 'Vannah's asleep so Zachia and I will talk to her in the morning."

"Good."

Chuck ran his fingers along Sarah's thigh. "Do you want to continue from where we left off?"

"No way buster, not after that stunt you pulled."

Chuck groaned. "Come on Sarah, are we really gonna go through this?"

"Just be glad that I'm not making you sleep on the couch." replied Sarah while removing his hand from her hip.

"Now we both know that you don't sleep well if I'm not here. Besides, who would warm your cold feet? Who else would hold you as close as I do? Who's gonna make you feel safe? Whose heartbeat is gonna lull you to sleep?"

Sarah rolled her eyes even though she knew he was right. She slept much better when he was next to her. "Just shut up and go to sleep." Still, Chuck eased closer to her until nothing separated them but the clothes on their backs. Now that they were spooned together, he was able to whisper in her ear. "Good night Sarah."

"Good night Chuck." Sarah yawned. "Love you."

Chuck kissed her hair and intertwined his feet with hers. "Love you too baby."

Savannah awoke at nine thirty, which for her standards was early for a Sunday. She made up her bed and slipped into the bathroom for her shower. Upon her exit, she could hear the noise from downstairs as her family had breakfast. Her stomach grumbled at the thought of breakfast. After her behaviour last night, she had refused to go down for dinner, even after her mom told her that it was her favourite- pizza with no olives. Savannah finished getting dressed and sat down on the bed. She was sure word had gotten to her father about last night and with her outburst and basically challenging her mother's authority, she wouldn't be surprised if she couldn't go out with Jason in the evening.

There was a knock on the door and she found her entire family at the door. Savannah mentally cringed. "Is this an intervention?"

"Well good morning to you too." Sarah sarcastically said.

"Morning."

"Morningggg 'Vannah" Landon smiled up at her brightly. Despite her residual anger and apprehension, Savannah smiled back.

"Your father and Zachia have something they need to say." Sarah announced, getting the ball rolling.

"No, I have something to say first." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Mom, for being disrespectful and rude last night. I had no right behaving the way I did and I promise it won't happen again."

"It better not. You got off lucky last night, but if there is a next time, you will be severely punished." Sarah warned. "Apology accepted."

"And Zachia, I was very mean to you. I shouldn't have called you all, those names. I was just extremely angry and I didn't mean any of what I said. You're my baby sister and... I could never hate you, so I'm sorry for hurting your feelings." Savannah said sincerely.

"OK, I forgive you." Zachia moved to hug her older sister and they stayed like that for a few minutes. Chuck and Sarah smiled at each other. It was so much better watching them being loving and kind to one another instead of clawing at each other's throats.

"I'm sorry that I'm always messing with your stuff. It's just that I think you're really cool and smart and everyone likes you so sometimes I peek in your stuff to figure out how to be like you."

"Hey, I think you're smart and pretty too." commented Savannah.

"Really?" She asked hesitantly.

"Of course."

"Well thanks. I promise I won't peek in your diary or your phone and laptop anymore."

"You did what?!" Savannah's eyes widened at the new piece of information. Oh hell no! Zachia noticed the deadly look in her eyes and bolted to the door. "Love you sis, bye."

"I'm gonna end you." Savannah shouted already springing from her bed.

Chuck cleared his throat. "Zachia, come back here." She was already halfway through the door and trudged her way back over.

"Zachia, from now on, I want you to leave your sister's stuff alone." Sarah told her.

"Haven't you ever heard that your password shouldn't be your birthday? You just made it too easy for me."

"Mom!" screeched Savannah.

Zachia relented. "Fine. Fine. I won't do it anymore."

"Good." replied Sarah. She nudged Chuck in the ribs. Chuck groaned. She looked at Chuck, urging him to begin.

"Mummy, I have to go potty." Landon interrupted their silent communication.

"I can take him." Chuck volunteered.

"Oh no you won't." Sarah shot him down. "Get on with it." Sarah commanded with a smack on his bottom."

"Soooooo," Chuck drawled. "I think you guys know how paranoid I get sometimes." They nodded. "And sometimes I freak out and then I do stupid things... Anyway, Savannah, I was the one who told Zachia to spy on you."

"Daddy! Why would you do that?"

"Because you were going out with a boy whom I knew nothing about and I just wanted to find out a bit more about him. It feels like yesterday when your mom and I brought you home from the hospital and now all of a sudden you're going out on a date and regardless of how old you are, I will always feel the need to protect you from any and everything; hormonal teenage boys included. It was wrong of me to use your sister to gather intel for me, so I'm sorry." Chuck acknowledged.

"You know Dad, I'm thirteen and I do understand certain things. You don't have to worry; I think you and Mom raised me well enough that I can handle myself."

"I know, I know. I will try to be more trusting."

"And if you wanted to know more about Jason, you could have just asked."

"That's what your Mom said."

"See Daddy, I told you Mommy is the smartest person in the entire world." enthused Zachia.

"Trust me, I've learnt my lesson." Chuck said.

"By the way, I think it's kinda sweet how over-protective you are." said Savannah.

"I love you guys. Now can I have a hug?"

They obliged him and kissed him on each cheek. "We love you too Daddy." confessed Savannah.

"You're the best daddy in the world."

Sarah and Landon returned and found them still locked in their embrace. Landon ran over to them, not wanting to be left out. Sarah smiled at the scene before her, glad that the girls had made peace.

/\

Chuck, Sarah, Zachia and Landon were in the living room watching The Lion King on Blu Ray when Savannah strolled in.

"Shouldn't you soon be getting ready?" Chuck asked her.

"Um yea...about that, um, " Savannah stuttered. Chuck raised his eyebrow at her, wondering just what was going on. "Jason suggested that we go to the movies instead." She suddenly blurted out.

"Oh hel-" Chuck stopped just short of saying 'hell'. He didn't want the kids to hear him swearing. Landon especially soaked up his words like a sponge and Zachia had begun to call him a parrot, which they had scolded her for. "Heck no. Over my dead body." Chuck raged. "The movies? Where it'll be dark and he can run his hands all over you? Oh no, no, no, I don't think so."

"Chuck, calm down." Sarah advised.

"Calm, how do you expect me to be calm Sarah? Nothing good happens in the dark?"

Savannah huffed. Her father could be so melodramatic. "You didn't even let me finish. It's not gonna be just the two of us. It'll be a group of us and Lacey's parents offered to be the chaperone."

"Oh."

"See Chuck, you honestly get worked up for nothing." Sarah chided.

Shrugging, Chuck left the room to call Lacey's parents.

/\

"Sarah, Landon ripped 'My Little Toy Truck' again. I seriously don't know where he gets the strength from to rip a hardback edition to pieces." said Chuck as he entered the master bedroom. He had just come from putting the toddler to bed. "Sarah?" He called again not receiving a response. Chuck looked around the room and noticed the several lit candles.

"I'll be right out." She called out from the bathroom. Moments later, Sarah emerged in a black lace lingerie set. "Hi Chuck. She ran her fingers through her hair and smiled seductively at him. Upon seeing her, Chuck dropped the ripped book from his hands. He swallowed thickly and tugged at his shirt neck. The room suddenly felt much hotter.

"Um..ah" Chuck stuttered "You look absolutely amazing."

Sarah's smile widened. She was glad that after all their time together and three children, she was still able to get this sort of reaction out of Chuck. "Thank you. I was thinking we could do a little experiment tonight."

"Wh- wha- what type of experiment?"

Sarah stepped closer to him and smoothed down his shoulders. "Remember this afternoon when you said nothing good happens in the dark?"

"No, no, not really." He was being serious. With Sarah so close to him, he was completely intoxicated by her. She smelled wonderfully of citrus fruits. He barely even remembered his own name, far less a statement he'd made hours ago.

"Well, let me help you remember." Sarah kissed his softly.

"I think I'm starting to remember." Chuck whispered against her lips.

Sarah smirked. "Come on Chuck, time to prove if you were right." She removed his shirt and kissed him hungrily. Her hands roamed his body. Slowly, her index finger trailed down his stomach, causing goose bumps to rise on his flesh. "I hope you're up for the task."

Afterwards, Sarah lay on Chuck's chest, breathing heavily. "That was amazing." She kissed Chuck's chest.

He lazily stroked her back. "I know. And I was wrong, if the last two hours were any indication, good things can happen in the dark."

Sarah yawned. She was growing tired and acknowledged that it was time for them to go to sleep. Tomorrow would be a big day. She and Chuck both had presentations to make at work and after work they would be attending Savannah's football game.

Chuck pulled the sheet tighter over them and wrapped his arms more securely around Sarah. "Good night Sarah."

"Good night Chuck." Chuck fell asleep before her and Sarah took the time to admire his sleeping form. With another big yawn, she finally surrendered to the power of sleep. Sometimes parenthood was challenging. Sometimes her children drove her mad. Sometimes they drive each other mad. Sometimes Chuck did things that made her furious. But she wouldn't change her life for anything. She had a wonderful family; one that was completely surrounded by love and that was all she ever really wanted. She was indeed living the life she only dreamed of.

A/N#2: Thanks for reading. Feel free to review (even if it's as a guest) or to leave suggestions for future installments. I hope to be post another chapter before the new year.

Until next time

xoxoxo

~Barbadiangirl 21/12/2014.