A/N#1: One word. SCHOOL! That's the reason that I've been M.I.A.
Thanks to charahkids for helping me with this and to you readers for sticking with me. All errors are mine since I tinkered with this a bit since ck looked at it.
And btw, did y'all see that photo Zach captioned "Chuck vs The Smile Thieves" on Twitter? That cast is so awesome! :)
Chapter 13: Interrogations . Words: 8434
Chuck stayed seated in his executive chair, contemplating his next move. He had to play this cool when he was going to meet Jason. He didn't want to upset and embarrass Savannah...well, maybe a little, but not upset her. She was his first born and he remembered like it was yesterday when Sarah was pregnant with her and the day Savannah Katelyn Bartowski introduced herself to the world.
/\
Flashback
Carmichael Industries, Burbank
"Are you ok?"
"Uh huh."
"You sure?"
"Yep."
"Cause we can stop. Take a little breather."
"Chuck."
"Seriously. Let's stop."
"Chuck," Sarah repeated, growing agitated.
"It'd really be fine..."
"CHUCK!" He finally stopped talking and turned to listen to her. "We're going down stairs. There are five steps. This isn't a marathon or an Olympic Event." If she didn't go down the steps, how else did he expect her to leave CI and reach the car park?
"But you've already done so much walking already." Chuck justified. "The doctor did say not to put yourself under any unnecessary stress or physical exertion."
Sarah growled. She had barely walked from the car park, up to CI's lobby, conversed briefly with the receptionist before using the elevator to go up to his office on the fifteenth floor. And when Chuck had seen her, he did not seem that pleased to have her there.
"I've been a freaking couch potato for the last couple of days. And the doctor also said that some walking was good. Besides, I thought you would've been happy to see me." She confessed. There was only so much she could do at home. Her mother and Chuck already had the house spotless, so there wasn't any cleaning to be done. Not that they, especially Chuck would have allowed her to lift a finger anyway. The TV shows didn't catch her fancy and she and Mary couldn't have any more trips to the gun range until after her daughter was born. And today, her mother had gone to the Buy More for one of her favourite author's book signings. What was she supposed to do in her free time?
Chuck looked at Sarah. She was absolutely beautiful in her orange, raspberry, pink, and purple maxi dress topped off with a black cardigan. His eyes drifted to Sarah's stomach. Huge. Absolutely huge.
It looked like the baby was about to drop out any second. Chuck couldn't help it that he was paranoid. Hell, he couldn't believe she was still showing up at C.I. He expected, and wanted her to be at home, getting as much rest as she possibly could. The baby was due any day now. Well, technically Sarah's due date wasn't for another eleven days, but the books he'd read, Ellie and Sarah's OB/GYN had all cautioned that once past the thirty-seventh week, the baby could come at any time. He was constantly on the edge. He would be ready at any second. Really. He had timed himself and could make it from the living room to the car in 5 seconds, maybe 4.5 if he really exerted himself. From the kitchen took him 6.3, and the bedroom 15. He was positive though that a couple of nano seconds could be shaved off if he took the stairs three at a time.
"I'm sorry if it sounded like that. You know that I'm always happy to see you." Chuck said earnestly. He placed his hand on Sarah's stomach lovingly.
"Glad to hear it. But come on Chuck, you can't keep smothering me." She whined and just then she felt the baby kick. She smiled at her daughter's movement. "See, even Savannah agrees with me."
Chuck scowled. "She's not even born yet and already you two are teaming up on me." He joked.
Sarah laughed at him and kissed him on the cheek. Chuck became lost in his thoughts, imagining what it would be like when his daughter reached the stage in her development where she and her mother would actually team up on him.
He noticed that Sarah had gone down the stairs already and was making, more like waddling her way to the car park. "You coming?" She called out to him, her hand resting lightly atop her stomach as she walked. Chuck sighed and jogged the rest of the way to the car, hoping to reach the car before she did and thereby save her some of the walk.
/\
It had been a long day and Chuck wanted nothing more than to be at home with his wife. His fingers anxiously tapped the desk, as he waited for the coding program to finish. He had planned on spending the nine days leading up to Sarah's due date at home, but he had gotten a call from work which required his presence at C.I. With Casey for company and Emma, who had recently come to Burbank since her due date was near, Sarah told Chuck that she would be fine at home, he had reluctantly left her.
His phone buzzed on the table and the opening lines of "Feeling Good" began to play. He smiled at this and answered the phone, the smile still in place. "Hey babe."
"My water broke." He went still. Sarah's water had broken. That meant she was going into labour. Their baby would be here soon. He was ready for this, for fatherhood...wasn't he?! "Chuck?" Sarah questioned, uncomfortable with his lack of response. In the back of his consciousness, he heard the phone shuffle around a bit.
"Bartowski!" Came Casey's gruff voice. "Her water broke everywhere. I think some of it is on my shoe and the corner of my pants. I like these shoes." Casey growled. "Get your scrawny ass over here."
Emma's voice over the line next, much more gentle than Casey's. "Chuck, Sarah wants to take a shower before going to the hospital. I think that will give you enough time to reach here."
Chuck was cemented into place, numb with fear.
Wasn't he supposed to be doing something?
He couldn't remember.
"You're seriously complaining about your shoes Casey?!" He heard Sarah yell at Casey. "I'm the one who's about to have a baby who is the size of a freaking watermelon claw her way out of my-"
His brain started again, and he snapped into gear. "I'll be right there." He told his mother-in-law. Jogging down the hall, he came to Morgan's office.
"Yo Morg! Guess what?! Sarah's going into labour. Her water just broke."
Morgan smiled widely and jumped from his seat, wrapping his arms and legs around Chuck's longer body. "Dude, that is awesome. I'm gonna man the fort here until the program has finished running and then I'll make my way over to the hospital."
"Thanks buddy," Chuck replied, stepping out of the room.
/\
"Are you okay? Do you need to stop?"
"Oh, we are not going through this again."
"Going through what?" Emma asked from Sarah's other side, as they helped Sarah to the car.
"He gets all weird."
Emma chuckled softly. She had seen how overprotective Chuck was.
"Do you think this will come off?" Casey asked, walking beside them.
"What?"
"The stuff on my pants."
"Oh, get over it!" Sarah snapped.
Sarah climbed into the back seat, and Emma followed her. Casey deposited the suitcase in the front seat. Emma was already equipped with a stopwatch, a bottle of water and a face towel for the ride.
"I'll see you guys at the hospital in a bit." Casey said. He had agreed to lock up the house and inform the rest of the family, just in case Chuck was unable to do so. Casey would also be collecting Molly from school later in the evening if Emma was still in the delivery room with Sarah. Molly had recently transferred to a school close to Chuck and Sarah, so that made their stay at Charah's home more manageable.
Chuck climbed into the driver's seat and shoved the key into the ignition. "Ok, breathe.' He instructed, doing Lamaze breathing himself.
Sarah caught his gaze in the rear view mirror and held it for a moment, trying to let him know she was ok. They would be ok. She took his hand and patted it. Don't freak out. We're ready for it. Chuck squeezed her hand, signalling that the message had been received. Time to go have a baby.
/\
Westside Medical
"Push." The doctor instructed.
"Holy crap." Chuck said when he saw that the baby was crowning.
"I'm the one shoving the baby out, you insensitive prick!" Sarah complained. "And why are you down there looking?!" She raged.
Taking his cue, Chuck returned to Sarah's right side, the left currently being occupied by Emma who was wiping her forehead.
"Push!" The doctor instructed again. "Come on, I need a strong push."
"Don't you dare tell me anything about pushing!" Sarah said, squeezing Chuck's hand so hard he lost all sensation in it for a moment. He gritted his teeth. "I am pushing you idiot!" She screamed. What did he think she had been doing all this time? She was tired. Her muscles were on fire and she regretted the refusal of an epidural. She had been in labour for eighteen hours now. Eighteen hours. Eighteen. It was exhausting. Whoever said that walking around helped to quicken delivery lied. She had walked around with either Chuck, her mother, Mary, Ellie or Devon for company at various intervals and yet, here she was. Eighteen hours later and still pushing. Why couldn't her baby just slide out!?
The doctor smirked but it was hidden under her mask. This was turning out to be one of her most interesting deliveries. She had heard Sarah curse and threaten Chuck in seven different languages."Okay now, a few more pushes and your baby girl will be with you." The doctor encouraged.
"I can't, I can't." Sarah huffed painfully. "Doc do it for me." She whined as she laid her head back on the hospital pillow.
Chuck smiled and shook his head. "Honey, I'm afraid you're the only one who can now. Relax and build up that energy."
"No, no, no, I can't Chuck, I can't". She painfully whined again. "It hurts!"
"Come on Sarah bring your baby into the world." The doctor sternly told Sarah. "You've gotten so far. You can't give up now. I just need at most three strong pushes from you."
"Come on baby," Chuck encouraged, "a couple more pushes and our little girl will be here."
"Mm tired." She slurred, eyelids feeling heavy.
"Honey, you can't give up now. You're not a quitter."
Ten minutes, thirty-seven seconds and a lot of hand squeezing later, aloud wail pierced the room.
"It's a beautiful baby girl!" The doctor announced.
Sarah fell back on the pillows and smiled, contented. Her baby girl was finally here. She was also happy that the ultra sound technician had been correct in determining the sex of the baby. Not that she would've loved her child any less had it been a boy.
Chuck was awestruck. Tears of joy ran down his cheeks. Savannah was wiped off and wrapped in a blanket. The nurse placed Savannah in Sarah's arms and she was completely overwhelmed. Never in a million years did she think that The Enforcer, Ice Queen and super ninja spy would give birth to something so beautiful...
She was a mother.
Sarah looked down at the babe in her hands and smiled broadly. Savannah looked up at her with huge brown eyes. Sarah lightly ran her fingers down the length of her arm. When she reached Savannah's hand, the little girl grabbed her finger, tightly clutching it in her palm. Once again, Sarah swirled with emotion and she knew she'd do anything to make sure her baby girl was happy. She would have a much better childhood than either Chuck or she had. "Hey baby. I'm your Momma. And I promise to love you forever and ever. I'm so glad you're here."
"You're both gorgeous." said an emotionally voiced Chuck. Sarah released another series of tears and he knew his life has once again changed. The first time was meeting his daughter's mother. The ups and downs they went through and finally...
The nerd got the girl.
He saved his real girlfriend from Shaw and then his fiancé from the dreaded Norseman device where he almost lost her. But on that day of his daughter's birth, he knew he had a new role. A permanent mission. To ferociously protect, care for and love his daughter...
To be a father. In a soft, loving tone, Sarah said: "Hey, come pick her up." Chuck hesitated for a split second; she looked so small and fragile and Sarah reassured him. With a smile and her eyes still swimming with tears Sarah said: "Introduce yourself...Daddy".
He carefully took Savannah from Sarah's arms and cradled her in his arms. He still couldn't believe that this was happening. This miracle, this product of their love, was finally here. "Hey, cutie. I'm your daddy. You are just as beautiful as your mother." He paused to compose himself and then he continued. "You'll always be my little girl and I'll protect you, forever."
He was completely overwhelmed with love at seeing the little girl. His eyes roamed her face committing each detail to memory. She was still a bit pinkish and squishy looking, but that didn't matter. What did was that she was with them, safe and healthy. His fingers ghosted over Savannah's hair, and she smiled- well Chuck thought she did- a wide toothless smile that made his heart soar.
Sarah put her hand on her mouth as she continued to spill tears of joy. She still had to pinch herself on how lucky she was to meet such a wonderful man...the father of her daughter. She had meant every word of her wedding vows. Chuck really was a gift and she would cherish him and by extension the family they built together forever. Letting her eyes wander down to the tiny bundle in her husband's – even after two and a half years of marriage she couldn't get enough of calling Chuck that – arms, the juxtaposition of the small, delicate child in comparison to the size of Chuck's hands caused her to chuckle lightly under her breath. Despite the disparity in size between Chuck and his new daughter, the way he held her so gently yet securely in his arms, let Sarah know that Chuck would never let anything hurt the brown haired baby.
She had loved being pregnant; despite the morning sickness and swollen feet. Casey had enjoyed taunting her, bestowing nick names like 'the walking incubator' and the 'waddling penguin' but she took it all in stride, knowing that that was Casey's own way of showing his 'lady feelings'. Everywhere she went, people had told her how beautiful she looked, how much she looked to be enjoying carrying her child. And it was true; she had been over the moon. The joy she felt, knowing that she was giving Chuck a gift; that a new life was growing inside of her; much like their love had been unfathomably intense. She certainly wouldn't refute the idea of another child.
"We're both very lucky to have you, Chuck." sniffled Sarah. "I love you."
"I'm lucky that I now have two of the most important women in my life". He replied honestly. "And I love the both of you so so much." He kissed Savannah's hand and gave a small kiss Sarah on her lips. Remembering that Emma was in the room, Chuck passed the new-born to Emma, who was also overwhelmed and stepped outside to let his family know that Savannah and Sarah were both ok.
Hours later and visits from the entire Bartowski clan completed, Chuck was officially exhausted. He was still holding the precious bundle of pink and white blankets in his arms. The nurse had offered to take her down to the nursery, but he wasn't ready yet to have her away from them. He looked over to the sleeping Sarah and felt a wave of possessiveness and hot love go out to claim her. He had loved her for a long time, but now that she had borne him a child, he didn't think it was possible, but he loved her even more. He was extremely proud of Sarah. The labour had been arduous and there were a few times when he thought something would go terribly wrong, for example when the fetal monitor stopped showing a pulse. Not even in situations where he had been looking death in the face had he been so scared before. The thought of having almost lost his little Savannah terrified him. He looked down at the babe, enthralled with her and overjoyed that she was with them, healthy and alive.
He walked with her over to the window and described the outside and explained that what she was seeing was the world and she was never going out in it. He then informed her that boys were the epitome of evil and if one ever broke her heart, he would rip them limb from limb...from limb. He was sure that if Sarah had been awake to hear him, she would've laughed and told him he was being extreme. But, in his mind, he had a right to be as a new dad. Laying his daughter down in the crib, after checking it to make sure the thing was reinforced and finding satisfaction that it wouldn't break into a million pieces and drop his child on the cold hospital floor, he sat down by Sarah's bed and rested his head on the edge, intent on getting some sleep. She stirred and opened her eyes.
"There's room for you y'know." Her voice was still raspy from sleep.
"I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
"I insist." She replied a bit forceful, and tugging his hand. He really couldn't say no.
End flashback
Chuck smiled at the memory. He had kept his promise to Savannah and had reaffirmed it to include his other children upon their birth. Having seen enough of the spy world to know that danger was always lurking in the shadows; both he and Sarah had done everything they could. But, for Chuck, one of the things he worried most about protecting his children from was heartbreak. He and Sarah had experienced enough of that- heartbreak over having your family torn apart and heartbreak from their romantic pairings ending on sour notes. They had succeeded and had every intention in preventing their children from ever experiencing heartbreak because of the former. Their love was too strong to let anything or anyone come between them. What they had was special, and they had been through too much together. However, Chuck was fearful of the girls being around boys. While he knew Savannah was growing up, he still had a hard time wrapping his head around the idea of her and a boy entering into a relationship. True, it would be at least two more years before she was allowed to date, but still... He sighed, maybe he just wasn't ready for his baby girl to grow up yet. Thankfully it would be a while before Zachia became interested in boys, and even longer before Levi became interested in girls.
~/0\~
Savannah and Jason had created their own study in the living room with books and other stationery sprawled out everywhere. Casey and Zachia were in a corner, playing with Landon and his toys so he wouldn't go interfering with his sister's work. When Landon said that he had to go potty, and insisted that he didn't want his sister, but rather his Uncle Casey to take him, Zachia was left to man the fort and keep surveillance on the pair as per Casey's orders. With Casey gone, Savannah and Jason took a break from their work and we're talking in quiet, hushed tones.
Zachia strolled over to them and plopped down on the floor, coming to rest on her tummy and propped her head up in her hands. "Sooooo," she drawled and Savannah glared at her for the interruption. "Jason, I feel like I need to know a bit more about you. What's your favourite colour?"
"Orange." Savannah replied before he got the word out. He smiled brightly at her and brushed his hands quickly over hers. The action did not go unnoticed by Zachia who scowled.
"How old are you?"
"Fourteen."
"When's your birthday?"
"What's with all the question?" Her sister jumped in, clearly annoyed. "Don't you know we have work to do? I'll tell Mom that you're interrupting us." Savannah threatened.
"I'm just trying to be nice." Zachia said innocently. "Besides, Jason, you don't mind, do you?" He looked at both sisters, unsure of how to respond.
"Well, um, not really?" He had a feeling that Savannah's younger sister was a force to be reckoned with. Savannah groaned and sent her sister a dirty look.
"Goodie, so your birthday is…" She let the sentence hang. "June 5th."
"Oh, interesting. Did you know that that's the date Ronald Reagan died? He died on June 5th 2004 to be exact. He had Alzheimer's disease." Maybe it was a sign that this guy was bad news Zachia thought.
Jason raised his eyebrow at her. "How old are you again? You seem to know quite a bit about Reagan."
"I'm nine." She smiled proudly. "So, what are your views on Reagan?"
"He's alright I guess." Jason shrugged.
"I see." Zachia replied, a small hint of vitriol in her voice. Alright?! Just alright? That's the adjective he used to describe Ronald Reagan? She carefully masked her emotions so that her lips wouldn't be set in a frown. Her Uncle Casey had always emphasized the importance of not letting your interrogatee know what you were thinking or how you were feeling when they answered a question. Putting this faux pass behind her, she decided to reserve her final judgement for after he had answered all of her questions. "Are you Republican or Democrat?"
"I'm undecided. It's not like I can vote anyway." He didn't care that much for politics at the moment.
"Do you support communism?"
"No."
"What about fascism?"
"No."
"Totalitarianism?"
"No."
"Dictatorship?" She was firing the questions off in quick succession.
"Zachia, stop it." Savannah snapped. "Seriously, there's no need to ask him a hundred and one questions." Jason smiled at her gratefully.
"Well excuse me for being polite." She snarked, getting up from off the floor and dusting herself off. "Jason, it was nice getting to know you a bit better." She then skipped out of the room to make her report to Casey.
"Sorry about that. Zachia can go a little overboard sometimes."
"It's OK." Jason shrugged. "Besides, now that she's gone, we finally have some time alone." He tucked a lock of Savannah's auburn hair behind her ear. Oh crap? Did I really say that out loud? At least Savannah was smiling, so I hadn't made a complete fool of myself.
/\
Zachia intercepted Casey as he came out of the bathroom with Landon. "What's the report soldier?" Casey asked gruffly.
"He's fourteen, born on the day Reagan died, which might be a bad omen, doesn't really have an opinion on Reagan, and is against communism, dictatorship, and pretty much all the oppressive regimes that we are." Zachia rambled off quickly.
Casey smiled at her. "Good work soldier. Your intel has been valuable."
"Thank you Sir." She smiled, extremely proud of her interrogation skills.
"Now come on. We have to get back in there before they start playing footsie or he tries to dip his chocolate in her peanut butter or any of that nonsense." Casey grunted. Then I'd have to kill him.
Zachia giggled. She didn't know what any of that meant, but Uncle Casey was so humorous when he talked like that. Her father didn't think so though. Laughing again, when Casey yelled that she was falling behind, she ran to catch up with him and Landon. Casey cleared his throat loudly from the archway to the living room. With wide eyes, Savannah and Jason looked up to him and put more distance between them, blushing furiously. Casey narrowed his eyes at them, wondering just what they had been talking about that necessitated them to be in such close proximity. "I think break time is over." Casey announced. He sat in the one seater closest to the two children and put his feet up on the centre table, staring at them intimidatingly. "Eyes on the books."
/\
Chuck pulled the key out of ignition and grabbed his folders from the passenger seat. He usually didn't like bringing his work home, but this particular job was becoming tedious and he wanted it over as soon as possible. Stepping out of the Lotus, he smiled as he breathed in the fresh air. Sarah still loved her sports cars, and that's why they now had three. Her newest Lotus wasn't at all suited for transporting their children, so they had a minivan, Chuck's car and the Lotus. Sarah had left work early, and he had worked his Bartowski charm to coax her into driving home his car and leaving the Lotus behind. He waved to his neighbour, Jonathan who was mowing the lawn and walked up the pathway to the red door.
"Honey, I'm home." He opened the door and called out. Sarah came out to greet him, a big smile on her face.
"Hi baby." She kissed him chastely on his lips. Chuck however, wrapped his arms around her waist tightly and kissed her deeply. When he pulled away, Sarah was flushed, breathless, and overwhelmed. "Hi." Sarah smiled again as he nuzzled her neck. "Chuck, we have company." His hands were venturing dangerously up her shirt and her breath hitched. Chuck smirked against her skin.
"Yuck! I'm gonna be sick." Casey snarled as he walked towards them. Landon was in his arms and he had one hand covering the child's eyes. Sarah and Chuck separated instantly.
"And hello to you too Casey." Chuck greeted, taking Landon from him.
"Bartowski, can't you ever give it a rest?"
"Oh bite me Casey."
"You're not my type Bartowski." Casey said, walking away from them.
Chuck stuck his tongue out at his retreating form, before turning his attention to Landon. "Hey buddy. Did you have a good day today? Anything interesting happened at school?" Landon nodded and sang the first half of his alphabet, showing off what he had learnt. Chuck smiled at him. "Well aren't you the smartest little guy?"
Landon smiled, happy with the compliment. "Yeas Daddy! Me smart boy."
"I'm a smart boy." Sarah corrected.
Landon shook his head. "No Momma. You girl. I am a boy!"
Sarah smiled. She was not going to win this one.
"Where are the girls?" Chuck asked her.
"Zachia's in her room, doing homework. She also has a quiz tomorrow so when she's finished the homework, she needs to study and Savannah and Jason are in the living room."
"The living room." Chuck parroted happily. This was great. The living room was open…no doors for them to close and get up to mischief.
"I bet you're just anxious to meet him." Sarah smirked.
"Oh, definitely." Chuck grinned. "Remember what I said; be on your best behaviour."
Chuck scoffed. "Please, Sarah, it's me!" She rolled her eyes, that's exactly what she was afraid of.
/\
Savannah and Jason had completed their homework and were busy putting their stuff away. It was nearing six and Jason's mother would be over soon to pick him up. Chuck watched them, as they stacked the books. Savannah was laughing at something Jason said. Chuck loved to hear her laughter. It was such a melodious sound. His eyes went over to Jason, taking in his appearance. He was athletic, that much Chuck gathered from his muscles, and the tan told him that he spent a lot of time outdoors.
"Bryce" muttered a frowning Chuck.
Sarah gave him a tiny elbow jab on his ribs. 'Be nice, Chuck.' She communicated non-verbally.
'Ok, OK!' He smiled in an attempt to placate her.
He cleared his throat loudly and the two turned to him. Sarah was by his side in case Chuck got too out of hand.
"Hi Daddy!" Savannah greeted him. She skipped over, hugged him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, as was their customary greeting. "How was work?" Chuck smiled down at her when she released him from the hug. He was glad, and a bit surprised, that she had been so affectionate towards him even though Jason was there.
"Hey cupcake." He greeted. Her nickname had come from her first Halloween costume when he and Sarah had picked out an adorable cupcake outfit. "Work was pretty much boring. I've got this one case that wants to go on forever and ever, but I'm sure with your Mom's help I can close it pretty soon." She smiled at him again.
Chuck flicked his gaze to Jason and looked at Savannah questioningly. Her smile faltered for just a bit. At the moment, she was extremely nervous and the "Oh, um Daddy," she began. Suddenly, her mouth felt extremely dry and her tongue was lying in her mouth, limp and useless. "This is Jason, my um, friend from school. Jason, this is my Daddy, Chuck."
"Mr. Bartowski is fine." Chuck said. Savannah frowned. So, Daddy is gonna be a hard arse about this.
She looked at Jason, who had been silent and had made no acknowledgement of the introduction. She tapped him on the shoulder, bringing him out of whatever stupor he had been in. Jason was a bit startled by the contact and shook his head to clear the cobwebs. Based on what Zachia had told him about their father being bigger and tougher than their Uncle Casey, he had conjured up an image of well, a real life Hulk except for the being green part. That had made him even more nervous about meeting their father. But, now that the man was in front of him, he felt a lot more relaxed. Their father seemed like a regular guy. And his brown eyes, like Savannah's seemed warm and loving. He realised that he had been looking at Chuck for far too long than would be considered appropriate and, finally finding his voice, said; "Hello, Chuck," he noticed Chuck's eyes darken slightly, no longer having that warmth in them and quickly corrected himself. " um, er I mean Mr. Bartowski, it's nice to meet you." He smiled and stuck his hand out, hoping to relieve the tension he felt between them.
Chuck barely managed to keep the frown away when Jason called him by his first name. Clearly he hadn't been listening when he said Mr. Bartowski was fine. Strike one. Nevertheless, he couldn't leave the teen there hanging. Sarah had told him to be on his best behaviour and he would try. It was just that something about his smile, maybe the way it seemed so slick reminded him of Bryce. He stuck his hand out and shook Jason's, applying just enough pressure so that the teen knew that though he might not have looked imposing, there was much more than what met the eye. "It's nice to finally put a face to the name after hearing so much about you." Chuck said.
Savannah looked down at the floor and her cheeks were tainted red. Her father just made it sound like he was all she talked about. Chuck had released Jason from the handshake but was still looking at him intently. Savannah noticed that her friend was becoming uncomfortable and looked up to her mom, silently asking her to intervene and cut the tension. Sarah received the message, nodded and smiled reassuringly at her baby girl. Sarah took Landon who was looking incredibly bored from his father's arms and set him down on his feet. The little boy picked up his stuffed dinosaur in one hand and a tractor in another and tottered off to find his Uncle Casey hoping that he would play with him. Now that Chuck's hands were free, Sarah grabbed his right hand in her left and squeezed.
"Chuck, I'm sure the kids have some work to finish. Let's get out of their way." He smirked. He knew exactly what she was trying to do. Sarah tugged his arm, attempting to drag him off into the kitchen, or anywhere else really, but he pulled back. "Chuck." she warned, her blue eyes betraying a hint of annoyance and anger. Don't. You promised.
"C'mon! I'm not gonna do anything crazy. I just want to get to know him a little better." He whispered. Sarah sighed. She hated when he was so stubborn.
"If you do anything to upset her, you will be cut off for three weeks." She whispered into his ear.
Chuck scoffed. "As if you could ever resist me for that long. You'd miss the Chuck magic baby."
Sarah raised her brow, challenging him. "I went three years Chuck. Three. Years. You keep that in mind. And you can forget all about me recreating Hawaii for you if you mess this up. You do anything to make her upset and the guest bedroom will also become yours for those same three weeks."
Chuck was going to retort that she wouldn't last that long, and that she especially wouldn't let him sleep in the guest room. After all, who would keep her feet warm or whose heartbeat would lull her to sleep? He thought better of it. It was better not to poke that bear with a stick. He knew that Sarah would see it as a a challenge and would want to have the last say.
Chuck sat down on the couch and Savannah sent Sarah a panicked looked. She shook her head slightly and then gave her a thumbs up, indicating that she would keep her father under control.
"Sooooooo," Chuck drawled before he launched into his interrogation. "Jason, I know quite a bit about Vannah's other friends, but you are a completely new slate for me, so why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"
"Well I'm fourteen and an only child. My Dad's in the army, so I don't get to see him that much." He sighed sadly.
Chuck paused, feeling sorry for the teen. "I'm thankful for his service, but I also hope you get to see him sometime again soon."
"He's in East Angola right now, but after this deployment, he'll be coming home for six months."
"That's nice that you'll get to spend some quality time with him." Sarah said conversationally.
"Jason, did Vannah ever tell you my work at CI?" Since they were in the topic of work, he thought it'd be nice to see how much he knew about his work. "Uh...yeah?" "Ok, so how would you describe it as being? Would you say I'm more of a geek or a nerd?"
Both Savannah's and Sarah's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Chuck pulled a fast one and this was not good.
Jason remembered Savannah saying something about her father fixing computers. So, he came up with..."Uh...uhmm...geek?" It made sense to him, considering that the guys who fixed computers over at Large Mart were called the 'Geek Squad'. Ding! Strike two.
Savannah gasped and put her hand on her mouth and closed her eyes shaking her head slowly. This was a nightmare! She could visualize her father as a judge in a court room sentencing the defendant, in this case Jason as guilty without even giving him a fair chance. Did he really have to go there though? She was a bit upset with him. It wasn't fair that he was going all interrogator on her friend. And since most people didn't really know or had never thought about the differences in meaning concerning the two words, she felt her father was just looking for a reason to dislike Jason.
Sarah heard something from Chuck she'd never heard before. Was that a growl? It sounded primal. It was much more Casey-esque than what she would expect from her husband. Sarah was stunned. Could Chuck actually...behave like Casey had when he found out about Morgan and Alex? Could this sweet, good hearted, kind, selfless man be capable of such a thing? Did being a father change Chuck to someone Sarah didn't know? Sure, he was overprotective, but would he go this far as to pass judgement without giving the poor teen a chance?
Sarah placed her hand on Chuck's arm and he slightly jumped, turned to her and she smiled. His hard eyes softened and he took a deep breath. Chuck had to call on his calm center and reminded himself to be nice...for his daughter. That had been a trick question. He guessed Jason could be excused from that one. Savannah was relieved when her father was back from whatever world Chuck came from and smiled too, the scowl which had been on her face a few moments ago now gone. Jason was...well...terrified. Mad Dog.
"I actually prefer 'nerd'.
"Oh, um sorry." Jason apologised.
"Ah, it's ok." Chuck shrugged. "So, what about TV? Any favourites?"
"I don't really watch that much TV. I prefer to exercise my imagination by reading books, after all, reading does open a million doors to a million other places. I do like some sci-fi shows though."
"So, are you a Trekkie or do you prefer Star Wars?"
"I've watched both, but I prefer Star Wars." Chuck smiled, and Jason took this to be a very good thing. "I like certain graphic novels as well."
"And in your opinion, who's the most important graphic novelist: Grant Morrison or Moore/Gibbons?
"I'm kind of a Brian K. Vaughan guy myself."
Again, Chuck couldn't stop the smile that came to his face. Maybe this kid wasn't all that bad. He was also pretty sure that Morgan would enjoy his pop cultural knowledge. They talked some more and finally came upon the topic of video games. Chuck learned that he, Savannah and Jason had something in common as they all loved to play. Upon hearing this, he went over to the TV and set up the console, in preparation for a gaming session. Savannah turned to Jason and gave him a thumbs up, letting him know he had done well.
~/0\~
"You like him, don't you?" Zachia's taunted.
"Like who?" Savannah played dumb.
"Jason. Duh!" She exasperated. "Come on, tell me the truth." She bounced on the bed with excitement. "I'm very good at keeping secrets. I wouldn't even tell Uncle Casey. I'd never spill my intel. Not even under torture!"
Savannah rolled her eyes and swatted Zachia's with a pillow. "Shut up."
"I'd understand why you like him though. He's cute and smart. I wasn't sure if Daddy would take to him. In the beginning, but over dinner, he seemed ok." Zachia was a bit disappointed that she had missed Chuck's introduction to Jason. She could only imagine the look on Jason's face when he realised she had duped him into believing her father was a larger and scarier version of Uncle Casey. "Did you kiss him?" Zachia's prodded after a moment.
Savannah blanched. "Why would you ask me that?"
"Because, when me and Uncle Casey came back into the living room, you two were really close and you had that look that Mommy gets when she wants to kiss Daddy."
"What look?" "The oh-my-gosh-I-could kiss-you-for-hours- look. I think it's cute when Daddy and Mommy do it, but Uncle Casey says it's disgusting." They were silent for a moment and Savannah had her fingers crossed that her sister had forgotten her earlier question.
"You can tell me the truth, I won't tattle to Mommy or Daddy. Did you kiss Jason?" She asked again, her voice a bit louder than the first time. Savannah quickly covered her sister's mouth with her hands. If her parents, especially her father, happened to walk by and hear, well, she was sure he would blow a gasket.
"Shh, keep your voice down." Zachia held her hands up in surrender and Savannah removed her hand. Hopping of the bed, she closed her bedroom door. "No I didn't kiss him."
Zachia scoffed and cocked her head to the side. "Reallyyyyyyyy?"
Savannah nodded. "Yes really." Zachia kept her gaze firm, but so did Savannah. She had no reason to falter under her sister's gaze. Besides, she was the oldest! She didn't have to stand for this interrogation by her sister. "Is there a reason you're in my room, or did you just come to pester me?"
"I wanted some help with my History. We have a quiz on the U.S.A's past presidents."
"Why didn't you go to Mom? She did spend a year in the Presidential Secret Service. I'm sure she knows a lot about all our Presidents. Or Daddy could've helped."
"Because Daddy is bathing Landon, and you know that's gonna take forever because Landon likes to splash water all over the place, and Mommy said she was a bit tired, so she's gone to rest for a few minutes ."
"And I should help you because?"
"Because I'm your favourite sister and you love me." Zachia's smiled innocently.
"You're my only sister." Savannah deadpanned.
"And I won't tell Daddy that you hacked the parental controls."
"As for hacking the parental controls, that was the both of us, so you have nothing to gain." They had done the aforementioned activity when Emma had come over to stay with them, Chuck and Sarah having travelled to Hawaii for their wedding anniversary. Emma had gotten Landon to fall asleep by quarter to eight and then sent them to bed at nine. However, they weren't tired, and after making sure that their grandmother was asleep, the two sisters had gone back down to the living room to watch TV. Unfortunately, their parents had blocked programs after nine o'clock, but they had soon made quick work of hacking the parental controls and watched TV until almost midnight. Zachia waved her hand dismissively.
"Trivial details."
"You were kinda annoying when Jason was over here. I think that's enough of a reason for me not to help you."
"Please Vannah? Pretty please with a cherry on top? I promise I'll be nicer next time. I was just making sure he was good enough for you."
"Whoah, hold up. You make it sound like we're getting married or something."
"But I know you like him, even if you don't tell me. And you're almost fourteen, so soon you'll have permission to date and that means you will probably want to date Jason and he will want to date you too because I think he likes you, and then you can become boyfriend and girlfriend and then maybe in a couple of years, like when you're thirty and when Daddy warms up to the idea, you can get married." She rambled on.
She thought about what her sister said. The part about her father warming up to the idea when she was thirty sounded very plausible. Her father had always been overprotective of them, and she didn't see that changing anytime soon. She was sure that if her mother hadn't made him see reason, she would not be dating, until she was maybe at least eighteen. Shrugging, she replayed Zachia's words in her head and a smile came to her face. "You really think he likes me?"
"Uh huh." Zachia nodded her head exuberantly. "So, are you gonna help me or not?"
"Fine, fine." Savannah agreed to help her, since she had finished all of her homework anyway. Zachia ran out of the room and returned with her history text book and her notebook a few minutes later. "So, U.S. Presidents? Sounds easy enough." Savannah took up the thick text book and sifted through it. "Which US President referred to the Soviet Union as an 'evil empire' and ordered the invasion of Grenada to reverse a communist coup?"
Zachia scoffed. "That's tooooooo easy. Ronald Reagan. He was the 40th President and held office from January 20th 1981 to 1989. " Savannah smiled. With the amount of time she spent watching Reagan documentaries with Casey and Casey's constant praises for Reagan, it would've been a shame if she didn't know the answer. She shook her head. Uncle Casey took the Reagan thing a bit too far sometimes. Seriously? Who swore to Reagan? Shrugging, she thought of another question, one which would be much harder.
"You do know that Uncle Casey and I consider the Gipper to be one of, if not the best President of this great nation don't you?"
Savannah rolled her eyes. It was kind of sweet how much her sister took to their Uncle Casey. She seemed to enjoy doing pretty much everything with him and reveled in the attention that Casey showed her. She wasn't jealous of their relationship though. Sure she loved Uncle Casey, but she simply didn't find Reagan and his war stories as enthrall in gas her sister did.
"Well, little Ms. Know-All-About-Reagan, what do you have to say about him dismissing claims of acid rain as harmful to the environment."
Zachia pursed her lips. She and Uncle Casey had never discussed that. She'd have to do some of her own recon on the topic before she got back to her sister. "I'll get back to you on that."
Savannah laughed. If she broached the topic with Casey,she was certain he would grunt something about Reagan being a pillar of environmentalists or some other excuse.
Forty-five minutes later, Savannah was satisfied that her sister was properly prepared for the quiz. She shut the book and told her it was soon time for her to go to bed. Zachia's thanked her and said she was confident that she'd place first in the quiz. "You do know that if you win, you have to share the prize with me, since I helped you prepare?"
"The winner is getting stationery and a chocolate." Zachia's laughed. "I'm sure you'd rather share chocolate with someone else. The name begins with 'J'" Zachia's teased.
"Get out of my room." Savannah ordered. " I have things to do."
"Ooohh, like talk to Jason?" She took up her books, scrambled off the bed and darted to the door, barely missing the pillow which her sister threw at her.
"You're so immature."
Zachia laughed. "Savannah and Jason, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love, then comes-" her eyes widened when she saw her father in the hallway with a half sleeping Landon in his arms. "Oh...um hi Daddy."
/\
When Chuck finally made his way to the master bedroom, after putting Landon down and talking to his girls, he found Sarah preparing for bed.
"You took longer than I expected. What happened? Was Landon uncooperative to get into bed?"
He shook his head. "No, Landon was down in at least ten minutes. Whatever playing he and Casey did this evening really tuckered him out."
"Then where were you?"
"I spent some time talking to the girls." Chuck explained. He had tucked Zachia, read her a story and asked her some questions. "I asked Zachia some questions and she seems well prepared. I think she will do well on the quiz."
"And what did you and Savannah talk about?" Sarah asked, climbing into bed. Chuck followed her under the comforter. Immediately they sought each other out and Chuck wrapped his arms around her.
"Mostly about Jason."
Sarah was surprised and rose her brow. "And?" She was extremely curious as to how that had gone.
"She likes him." Chuck said after a moment.
"She told you that herself?" Sarah asked. She had already talked to Savannah and she admitted that she had a crush on him. Sarah wasn't surprised by the admission. Following her confession, she had explained to her that there was nothing wrong with having a crush on him and it was all a part of growing up. She did however remind Savannah that she was not allowed to date yet. She just wasn't too sure how Chuck would take it.
"She didn't have to." I could see it from the last time when she wanted to go to the movies with him and how flustered she got when Zachia teased her at dinner. "But yes, she told me she had a crush on him."
"And how do you feel about that?" Sarah questioned, drawing small circles on his chest.
He sighed. "I don't know, I guess a part of me wants to lock her up forever so that she can never be hurt. But another part of me, is glad that she was able to admit it to me." He didn't want any of his children to feel like they couldn't talk to him about anything.
Sarah smiled against his body, happy with the way he was taking this. She too understood that they couldn't smother their children. It would only lead to resentment or rebellion, either of which she didn't want to see happen.
"Jason's a nice boy."
"Yea, he is." Chuck murmured sleepily. "That doesn't mean that I'm changing my stance in her not dating until she's fifteen."
Sarah laughed. "The thought never crossed my mind."
"Good." Chuck replied. "Or maybe we can reconsider and bump it up to sixteen."
"We can talk about that tomorrow."
"Good night babe, love you." He whispered and kissed her hair.
Sarah craned her neck and kissed him deeply on the lips. When she pulled away, she was mightily satisfied. That was a proper kiss. She was certain that if Chuck wasn't so tired, it would've been the rising action to something else. "Good night Chuck. I love you too." He wrapped his arms tighter around her. Sarah smiled at the gesture. He made her feel safe. That was something she never felt, ever. Not in her childhood, not with Bryce and certainly not during her time with the CIA even though she was their best agent. But now, listening to Chuck's soft snores, the coolness from his wedding band resting on her slightly exposed stomach, and with the knowledge that her children were down the hall, happy, healthy and loved, Sarah realised something. She was living the life she only dreamed of.
There it is, the wrap up to that arc. Thanks so much for reading and feel free to review, even if it's as a guest. I have a couple more story lines floating around in my mind, but external exams are soon approaching, but maybe I will be able have something out during the upcoming Easter vacation.
~ Until next time,
xoxoxo
Bg. 19/03/2015