Saving Moscow, Epilogue (9/9)

Author: dettiot

Rating: T

Summary: Fulcrum may be nearly defeated, but the greatest struggle yet is still to come for Chuck and Sarah. Sent undercover at Volkoff Industries, Sarah worries about losing herself. Back in Burbank, Chuck worries about his future. Will they defeat their enemies in time for their dream wedding and get their happily ever after? The fourth story in the Finding Home series.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's Note: There will be a second note at the end of this epilogue, but I wanted to say how appreciative I am of all the support for my fics, and for this particular series. Originally, this story was going to be my goodbye to this version of Chuck and Sarah, but they had other ideas and so there will be one more story in the Finding Home universe. But before that, enjoy the conclusion of Saving Moscow!

XXX

It took four hours for Chuck to start showing signs of improvement. They might have been the longest four hours of Sarah's life. Between Ellie and Devon constantly checking on Chuck and Bryce trying to convince her to get some sleep, Sarah felt wrung out and frazzled. She just wanted to be alone with Chuck for a little while, to watch him and make sure he was on the mend. Then she could sleep. Then she could shower and eat and do all the things she had put off for the last forty-eight hours.

Oh-so-slowly, Chuck got better. His color improved, the deathly pallor fading. He breathed easier, deeper, his lungs slowly repairing. His heart rate slowed from its frantic pace. As the thorium was cleared from his system, Ellie and Devon looked less worried. They were still concerned, since no one knew what sort of long-term impacts the poison would have on Chuck. But within twelve hours of receiving the antidote, Devon smiled widely when he said, "Chuck is no longer in immediate danger."

Sarah was too tired to cheer like Morgan and Bryce, and she wouldn't cry like Ellie did. She just looked at Chuck, stroking his fingers and waiting for him to wake up.

Eventually, the exhaustion caught up with her. She fell asleep in the chair next to his bed, still holding his hand. So when Chuck woke up and squeezed her hand, she was slow to respond.

"Sarah . . . Sarah . . ."

At first, she thought it was a dream. But when she felt something wet against her thumb, Sarah jerked away to see Chuck nibbling on her fingers.

His smile was very wide, even though he still clearly wasn't a hundred percent. "Hi."

Without any delay, she sprang up from her chair and their arms wrapped around each other. Sarah closed her eyes and hugged him, trying not to put too much pressure on his still-fragile body. But Chuck's arms were so warm and solid around her, just like always, that she found herself relaxing and squeezing him tightly.

"I have to say, I'm a little disappointed that we couldn't do the Sleeping Beauty thing. You waking me up with a kiss and all."

Sarah huffed out a laugh against his neck, then pulled back to look at him. "So in this scenario, you're Sleeping Beauty?"

"Well, the sleeping part fits," he said with a lopsided smile. Then his eyes went soft as he gazed at her. It was like he wanted nothing more than to just look at her.

And that was all she wanted to do, too. Gently, she stroked the side of his face. "How are you feeling?"

Chuck tilted his head, as if he was assessing his condition. "Better. Not great, but definitely better. At least now my eyelids don't feel like they're nailed shut and someone got that elephant off my chest."

"Ellie and Devon said you'd probably need another day or two here in the hospital, and then a week to recover fully. They guess," Sarah said, unable to stop her fingers from stroking his cheek.

"Yeah . . . I don't think I'll be mission-ready for a while," Chuck said. Then he got a little smirk on his face. "But I do think I'll be honeymoon-ready, just in time."

She couldn't help smiling, even as her cheeks went pink. "We have to have the wedding first. Which means at some point, I need to go wedding dress shopping." And that meant leaving Chuck's side. Which didn't sound very appealing at the moment.

"What day is it?" Chuck asked, his forehead wrinkling.

"Umm . . . it's the 9th, I think," Sarah said, not entirely certain. "I'm pretty sure it's Tuesday, so that would make today the 9th."

"There's time," Chuck said, reaching out and playing with her hair a little.

"Time for me to fix my hair?" she asked with a sad smile. She hadn't realized just how different she would feel with her messy, two-tone hair. How . . . unattractive. But it didn't seem to matter to Chuck-not from his reaction, at least.

"No. Well, yes, I mean, if you want to change it-I'm not saying you have to be worrying about that, though. But no, I mean . . . there's time. For us. To be together, to prepare for the wedding, to . . . to not be apart anymore."

At his sweet, hopeful words, Sarah felt tears threaten. In fact, when she ducked her head, a single tear streaked down her cheek. Because he wasn't pressuring her to talk about what happened or looking for information about his mother and why she wasn't here. No . . . he was just so happy to see her. To know that their wedding was going to happen. To be together again.

Sarah reached out and hugged him. "I have so much to tell you . . . but could you just hold me for a while?" she asked quietly.

She could feel him brush his face against the top of her head, then he nodded. "Would a few days be enough to start with?"

There couldn't be enough words for her to explain or describe how much she loved him at this moment. Sarah chuckled softly. "A very good start," she said, cuddling in against him.

Chuck reclined against his pillows, pulling her down with him. Sarah shifted, stretching her legs out beside his on top of the covers. Even with the ravages of the Norseman's effects on him, he still felt so good. The perfect fit.

Lying beside him, Sarah felt peace for the first time in months. The worry was just draining out of her, replaced with hope and happiness and gratitude. The next few weeks would be challenging: there was dealing with the fallout of her assignment, learning what Graham's reaction to her performance was, making sure she still had a job. There would be talking to Chuck about what happened and coping with his mother's betrayal. Plus, there was all the final details for their wedding, and the ceremony and reception itself.

But she knew none of those challenges would be too great, because they would be facing them together. Because she was home now. And that let her relax enough to finally drift off into a blissful, warm, safe sleep.

XXX

In retrospect, he was pretty glad that it was a few days before he was strong enough to leave the hospital. Because it gave him time to focus on his physical healing before he had to learn about what Sarah had faced at Volkoff Industries.

It was his second night home. They had ordered some pizza and Chuck had laughed as Sarah talked about her shopping trip with Ellie. Apparently there was something hilarious about the dress shop clerk, some quality that didn't really come through in Sarah's retelling of the event.

When she realized she had lost him, Sarah had smiled and curled up against him. "It was very funny."

"Mmm-hmm," Chuck said, rubbing her back. "And you've got your wedding dress now?"

"Yes, I do," Sarah said, smiling a bit distractedly.

He looked at her as he chewed on the last bit of his slice. "Sarah?"

She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "I think it's time to talk about what happened. When I was undercover."

Her words made him tense up a little. Because while he wanted to know, it had been nice, these last few days, to not know. To not have to deal with ugly reality but instead be in this wedding planning dreamworld.

But at the same time, Sarah needed to talk about what she had faced. And she was ready to talk now. He knew what a gift it was, to have Sarah trust him enough to share herself with him. He wasn't going to do anything to lose her trust.

So he nodded. "Okay."

Sarah reached out and took his hand. She gazed down at their entwined fingers as she began talking. It was like she needed as much contact, as much touch, as she could get as she explained what she had gone through.

What she had faced absolutely staggered him. Chuck had known how difficult this mission was, on an intellectual level. And even emotionally, he knew Sarah would face great challenges. But hearing about what she had seen, watching her face as she spoke . . . Chuck felt his heart break for her even as he was once again awed by her strength and courage.

There were some tears. There was a lot of anger. But it seemed that while she had bent, she hadn't broken. She was still Sarah.

Eventually, she wiped her hand over her face. "I sent you a video . . . through Bryce's dead drop in Toronto. Did you get it?"

Chuck brushed her hair back and kissed her temple. "I did."

She looked a bit surprised. "So you know that I thought Frost was your mother." She paused, chewing on her lower lip. "I would have thought you'd have asked me about her already."

"Well . . . I was waiting for you to be ready to talk," Chuck said. "And I knew something bad had happened, because of what I heard when I was in the hospital. But I was so out of it, I don't really know what happened." He looked at Sarah and stroked her hair. "Did she . . . for you to get out, did she have to sacrifice herself?"

It shouldn't be possible, but the sympathy and concern in Sarah's eyes became greater and even more evident. She shook her head, then spoke softly. "I'm sorry, Chuck, but . . . but she's not who I thought she was."

"It wasn't my mother?" Chuck asked.

"No, it was Mary Bartowski. But . . ." Sarah swallowed. "She betrayed me, Chuck. I had confronted her about who she really was and revealed who I was. And she played me."

"I-I don't understand . . ." Chuck said. He must have misunderstood what Sarah said. Gotten a temporary case of aphasia or whatever condition caused you to mishear things. Because it couldn't be possible that his mother had done that. Was it?

Sarah held his hand tightly. "Chuck, she set me up. I thought she was transferring Volkoff's Hydra database to the CIA, when actually she used the information I gave her for the transfer to hack into the Agency. And after she got that . . . Volkoff used the Norseman on you."

"She must not have known-" he started to say, only for Sarah to shake her head.

"No, Chuck," she said gently, clearly trying to soften the blow. "I think it was her idea. Her plan."

He pulled away, needing a bit of distance. Needing to find some way to cope with this. But he didn't know how to handle this. Couldn't reconcile the woman he remembered as his mother-pretty, kind but slightly distant-with whom Sarah was describing.

"I'm sorry, Chuck," Sarah said, slowly reaching out to rub his back. "I almost wish now I hadn't told you anything . . ."

"No," he said, his voice sounding small and weak. He cleared his throat. "No, I'm glad you told me. When you first thought my mom was there, and what she did." Chuck turned his head and looked at Sarah. "Did she tell you why she did it?"

"Not . . . not really. The closest she got to explaining herself was when she told me that-" Sarah stopped and looked at him. Then she said quietly, "She loved your father in her own way, but being a spy always came first."

Chuck gritted his teeth. It was amazing how his mother had happened to hit upon a phrase that not only made his nine-year-old self quake, but his adult self, too. Because he had to admit, there had been times since he met Sarah when he had wondered if she would make the same kind of decision. If he would become like his father.

Maybe it was time, though, to let that fear go. To stop wondering why Sarah was with him. After all, they were getting married in less than two weeks. She had taken on an entire terrorist network in order to save him. And even after all that, she looked the most sad about having to tell him that his mother was responsible for their suffering.

Lifting his head, he looked at Sarah. Took in every inch of her face, thought about all her good and bad qualities. Everything about her that he loved and admired, everything about her that annoyed and frustrated him.

There was no question in his mind that he loved her. Would always love her. And in that moment, he realized she felt the same way about him. So why was he worrying about this?

He reached out and wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you for telling me. I'm sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry about?" she asked quietly.

"I wish I could have been there for all of this," he said, stroking along her spine. "That I could have been watching your back."

Sarah curled in against him. "I know, baby," she said softly. She lightly kissed his cheek, then trailed her lips along his jaw to his mouth.

Kissing Sarah was always special. But he had been taking extra pleasure in it ever since she had returned. Ever since she brought him back from the brink of death.

And, he reminded himself before he got lost in emotion and sensation, he would get to do this for the rest of his life.

XXX

It was still very early-just past six in the morning. But Sarah Walker was awake. Because it was the day before the wedding and she was nervous. And Sarah Walker didn't get nervous.

Chuck was stretched out beside her, his feet covering hers and an arm draped over her. After two weeks of recovery, he was looking healthier, his skin a better color, strength returning to his body. And she was slowly recovering, too.

Physically she had escaped Volkoff Industries unscathed. It was the emotional wounds that were taking time to heal. Because she couldn't just let Chuck make everything go away; it wasn't fair to him or to her. She had to do the hard work of addressing her feelings.

To her surprise, Graham had not fired her. In fact, in her debriefing via video conference, he had told her that she would receive a commendation and a pay raise.

"Even though Volkoff gained access to the CIA servers?" she had asked, still not completely sure that she had her job.

"The server you gave Frost is a dummy one, designed for use in undercover missions. The files they pulled down also let us follow their trail to their own computers. We had more than enough information to arrest Volkoff-beyond his attempted murder of an agent of the United States government. And he was captured thanks to you." Graham looked at her for a long moment. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Sarah. You did well. I understand you and Agent Bartowski will be taking a month of leave?"

"Yes," she said slowly. "For our wedding and honeymoon . . ."

Graham nodded. "Congratulations, then. And enjoy your time, Agent Walker. When you return, there will be many opportunities for you with the dismantling of Fulcrum."

"Sir?" Sarah asked, having something to ask him before he disconnected. "You said Volkoff was captured . . . what about Frost?"

"Unfortunately, Frost slipped free of our net." Graham's annoyance was palpable. "But we will not rest until she is apprehended."

Sarah sighed and nodded, allowing the briefing to end. She wasn't sure whether she wanted Frost to be captured, for Chuck's sake. But for now, it was a moot point. She had resolved to push aside her worries about Frost and focus on her and Chuck. After all, it was their wedding tomorrow.

And there came the nerves again.

Chuck needed his rest, she knew. But if she accidentally woke him up, that wouldn't be all bad, would it? Especially when he looked so perfectly adorable when he was asleep-but even more adorable when he was awake.

Leaning in, Sarah nuzzled him softly. He was so warm . . . so solid and real and hers. Almost hers in every way there was. It was so amazing, that this man who could have anyone had picked her. Wanted her, loved her. Even after what she had to do at Volkoff's, even after the ways she had let him down-

No. No more beating herself up for what happened. It was time for happy thoughts. So she place a soft, open-mouthed kiss on Chuck's neck.

He let out a delightful little shiver, blinking his eyes open. Then he smiled at her, looking sleepy. "Hey, baby."

As one, they moved in for a kiss. In deference to Chuck's dislike of kissing pre-tooth brushing, she kept her lips closed and settled for a soft, gentle kiss. But it wasn't enough to kill the butterflies in her stomach.

After a moment, he pulled back and looked at her, his brow furrowed. "Is . . . is everything okay?"

"Why do you ask?" she said, worried about how he would react if he knew she was nervous about the wedding.

"No reason. None whatsoever. Totally fine here. Good morning!"

Hearing his babble made her feel less foolish. Because now she knew he was nervous, too.

Sarah shifted to look into his face. "I woke up over an hour ago. Because . . . because all I could think about was the wedding and how important it is. It's the day we tell the whole world that we belong together, but . . ."

How could she put it in words? It seemed like tempting fate, saying in front of dozens of people that she loved Chuck so much that she wanted to never be apart from him. Ever since they had gotten engaged, the wedding had been an event that would happen someday. But now that someday was tomorrow, she wasn't sure if she was ready. Ready for the ceremony, that is. She was more than ready to be married.

Chuck shifted, turning onto his side to look at her. She could see so much in his eyes. Concern about how she was feeling, his own worries and hesitations, all the last-minute details to be done before tomorrow. But most of all, she saw love. Love, shining in his eyes-and all for her. Then, she could see his face light up as he got an idea. One that he wasn't quite sure about, but he still went ahead with it.

"What if we did a dry run?"

"A dry run?"

"Yeah, a dry run. A chance for us to just say our vows, make sure there's no kinks. So we'll be ready. After all, practice makes-"

"Perfect," she said, smiling at him. And lying there beside him, looking at him in the early morning sunlight, she realized just how apt the word was.

Together, they were perfect.

End.

Author's Note: I'm sure there will be some people upset that more wasn't done with Frost in this epilogue. But that's something that will be left for the next-and the final-story: the story of Chuck and Sarah's wedding day. So that's what you have to look forward to at some point. :-)

If you liked this story, you can thank Steampunk . Chuckster for being the best first reader around, hands down. I had a lot of angst about this story, with Sarah going undercover and Frost being revealed as the real bad guy. She talked me down from the ledge each time and I'm so glad she did.

Thanks are also due to all of you, reading and reviewing this story. It's so great that there are people still in the Chuck fandom eager for more with these amazing characters. I'm not leaving anytime soon, so I hope most of you aren't leaving, either. Thanks!