Forty-five minutes later Chuck landed the chopper on the Fulcrum Airstrip and hopped out. He ran to his car and pulled it around as the rest got out. "Jordan up front." He said watching as they got in. As soon as they were seated Chuck took off.
"Chuck, don't you think you're driving a little fast Sweetie?" Marry asked from the back seat.
"I want to get back to castle as fast as I can. I want to get these two checked over for any injuries and get dad in a download chair. I also have three missions still ongoing, as well as a conference call to make to the President and two Generals. The faster I get back, the better." Chuck said in a voice that two of the women knew belonged to Mad Dog Carmichael.
Chuck was in deep agent mode and he had been since before they took off two and a half hours ago. Kate took it in stride but Jordan was worried. She knew Chuck was fading in and out but the more he did today, he was looking and sounding less like the old Chuck. She didn't know what to do but she knew she needed to do something quick or Chuck might be lost to the agent Carmichael by the end of the day. She was about to talk to him when his phone rang. "Carmichael." He answered robotically.
Sarah looked at her phone for a second before shaking her head. "Chuck, we are cleaning up at the Fulcrum Estate and heading to the airfield next we should be done in an hour." She said smiling.
"Good, keep up the good work, and call me back when you're done. I'll set up a prisoner transfer tonight." He said weaving in and out of traffic.
Sarah knew something was up, she just didn't know what it was. Chuck just rescued his parents, he should be ecstatic. Instead he sounded cold. "Chuck, is there something wrong?" She asked.
"No, I'm headed back to Castle with the cargo. I'll talk to you later agent Walker." He said hanging up.
"Was that Sarah?" Jordan asked schooling her face to not show her shock.
"It was, they're cleaning up the estate." Chuck said not looking at her.
Sarah turned to Casey. "I think something is wrong with Chuck." She said.
"What do you mean?" He asked walking to the SUV with her.
"He sounded so cold and he called his parents cargo. He also called me Walker. Something is not right Casey." She said looking worried.
"After we take the airfield you should go back. Talk to him, see what's wrong with him." Casey said.
"What about the clean up?" We have to get all these prisoners back to L.A., we have to…"
"I'll do it. The kid's been under for close to a month. He's been downloading things to his head, killing people and God only knows what else. He also just went from being an orphan to having parents again. The kid needs you Sarah. So go. I can handle this with Snow. We'll be back in a few days. You should fly out to L.A., grab Chuck and his folks, and take them to Ellie and Devon on the island. We'll all fly out their when this is over. The whole team needs a break and Chuck needs time to just be Chuck again." Casey said as they drove to the airfield leading the rest of the team in eight SUVs.
"I think you're right." She said holding Chuck's ring.
"And Walker, don't be yourself." Casey said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked giving him a dirty look.
"It means exactly what it means. Don't be you. The agent. Be you the normal person." He said not looking at her.
"and how am I supposed to do that?" She asked.
"Well maybe not you but… oh hell. You spent all that time with Chuck when you were faking a relationship, just do what he did for you. You know, be Chuck, for Chuck." He said looking at the road, but his ears turned red.
Sarah smiled. "I understand that. Why didn't you just say that in the first place." She said.
"Shut up Walker." He said pulling off to the side of the road a mile away from the airfield.
"It's okay to say things like that John, I won't tell anyone, and we won't thing any less of you for having feeling." She said hopping out of the SUV with a smile.
Chuck lead everyone down into Castle and Saw Morgan sitting at the conference room table. "Hey little buddy, can you check Kate, and Jordan out and see if they're hurt more then they're letting on?" He asked without slowing down. He walked over to a download chair and powered it up.
"Sure Chuck." Morgan said pulling to the protesting women out of the room.
"Mom do you have the SD card?" Chuck asked hopping into the chair.
"Sure Chuck. Here." She said handing it over. She was starting to get worried now. So far Chuck had been very curt and not the least bit loving. He almost acted like he didn't know them at all. Admittedly it had been a long time but he was acting so strange. She was chalking it all up to stress, but now the shooting was over and they were safely tucked into a safe house. She expected something different. Something more loving. At least something human.
Chuck slipped the Micro SD card in the card reader slot and opened the file. Opening the coding he flashed on the lines of text and knew he was looking at an old version of the Intersect data compression. He checked it over for anything that might be out of place and found a coding error. After fixing it he ran it all through the Intersect 2.0 patch and got out of the chair. "Help me get him in the chair." He said hopping out and turning to them.
"I will but them me and you are going to sit down and talk." Mary said helping Steven into the chair.
"Fine," Chuck said distractedly. "Dad, I need you to look at these screens, Okay?" Chuck said coming around behind the chair and put his hands on his head to hold it straight. "You understand me?" He asked, but got no answer. "Is he always like this?" Chuck asked holding his father's head with one hand and hitting enter with the other. In seconds the computer started flashing and Steven was locked to the screen. Chuck pulled his hand away and fell back into the other download chair. He turned it on and started typing.
"Chuck, what are you doing now? I told you I wanted to talk to you." Mary said putting her hands on her hips and giving him a mom stare.
"I need to do this. I understand his coding and I think I can replicate it." Chuck said not looking up from his work.
"Chuck, what are you talking about?" She asked. "I don't like you playing with your brain. I won't stand for it! You get out of that chair right now young man!" She said getting in his face. Jordan, Kate, and Morgan cam in to the room.
"Chuck what's going on?" Jordan asked.
"Look Jordan, I need to run a patch on the Intersect in my head. If I don't do this I will go crazy. I need you to watch my father and make sure he's not in any pain, if he starts to grind his teeth or shake I need you to hit the space bar on the keyboard, it will slow the download down." Chuck said not looking up.
"If you're sure about this…" Jordan said looking at him sadly.
"I am. And take her out of here. I need to work right now." Chuck said pointing at Mary as he typed with one hand shocking Mary.
"Chuck look at me." Jordan said standing over him. When he looked up she saw the desperate look in his eyes. "I'll do what every you want but I need you to tell what you're doing right now." She said.
"Kate take Morgan and my mother out of here now." Chuck said still looking at Jordan.
Kate looked back and forth between Chuck and Jordan. Jordan nodded and Kate grabbed the two protesting people by the upper arm and drug them out of the room as they protested loudly.
"My father found a way to lock his memories behind a firewall. It was a primitive code but it worked. After he ran the patch he was effectively without cognitive memory. A shell without a personality or thoughts about his past. He's still storing memories he just can't access them. Like I said, old code. With my new patch to the Intersect I can fix his work, and build on his theory. Jordan, I'm going to take all of the memories I collected over the last month and store them behind a firewall. Everything I did. Every thing I learned. All of the skills. All of Carmichael. I'm going to lock it all up so I can be Chuck again. Just Chuck, informational Intersect Chuck. No Carmichael." He said with a smile on his lips but a sadness in his eyes.
"Chuck, that's crazy. What if we need you?" She asked.
"This is where my knowledge picks up from my father's work. I can build in a door. A gate to let him out when I need to, but keep him down when I don't. It's what I was trying to do in the first place, but as I got stronger, as he got stronger he started taking over. Now I can barley feel anything for the mother and father I haven't seen in in more then twenty years. I need to take back my life Jordan. If this doesn't work the worst case scenario isn't losing Carmichael, it's losing Chuck. As it is now I'm fighting him for control right now just to talk to you. I can't fight for control of my own body for the rest of my life. I have to do this." Chuck said close to tears.
"Okay. I make sure nothing happens while you work. Chuck, I love you, don't kill yourself with this thing, Okay?" She asked half joking.
"Go now. I can't keep him down forever." Chuck said turning back to the screen. For the next fifteen minutes Chuck typed without showing any sign of being alive aside form his fingers moving. He looked over the code one more time before running it. He had to get this right. When he was sure it would work he felt Carmichael fight him for control. In his head he came face to face with his other half. He was dressed in the black tux, and holding the PPK and the martini glass but he was not smiling, he looked pissed off.
"What are you doing Chucky?" Carmichael asked with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"I need to put up a wall between us. Separate us a little bit more. It's for both of us. I don't have to walk around with this knowledge in my head and when I need you, you won't have to deal with my guilt, and shame." Chuck said smiling.
"Look Kid, I like you. Hell you made me, but now I'm out and there is no way in hell I'm going back. I'm not some puppet you can pull out of a box when you need something. I'm a fully formed personality. You made me that way so I could keep you alive. So you could get the girl. So you could protect the one's you love. So how about this, you leave me in charge and I'll keep us safe, and happy." Carmichael said.
"I don't think so. We don't need to be out in the field. We can plot and plan from home. I'm the team leader. I don't have to get my hands dirty if I don't have to. When Carmichael is needed I'll let you out. Until then you have to stay out of my head. I can't be me if I'm you." Chuck said turning to leave.
He stopped when he heard the safety click off behind him. "I can't let you do this Chuck." Carmichael said.
Chuck turned around and saw the gun pointed at him. He felt fear for the first time in a month and he didn't like it. "Did you pee just a little bit?" Carmichael asked smirking. "Do you feel the fear? Feel it rushing through your veins? Don't you wish I could be there to help you? Make the fear go away? How are you going to live without me Chuck?" Carmichael asked.
"He'll do just fine Asshole. Now Drop It!" Both Chuck and Carmichael turned to look at the third Chuck. This one had black suit paints, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a black tactical vest. He was also carrying MP5-SD6, and his face was set in a hard, cold mask.
"Who the Fuck is this guy!?" Carmichael asked.
But Chuck smiled. "Mad Dog, thanks for the save." Chuck said smirking as he folded his arms over his chest.
"I wouldn't go patting me on the back just yet Chuckles. The silver tongued devil has a point." Mad Dog said in a gruff Casey sounding voice. "You need us Kid. And this wall thing is not the brightest thing you ever cooked up. Sure you might not need us everyday but you will need us. I also don't like the idea of walling off two thirds of your gray matter."
"But I have to or he'll take over my body fully. Look at what happened today! I found my parents and I can't even show them How I feel!" Chuck yelled pointing at Carmichael.
"That's not his fault kid. It's mine. Today was the first time I was in charge for more then a few minutes and I held on for too long. He's not so bad, he can give you back control when he's not needed. I never had to. But I can now. Don't do this kid, you'll end up fucking your head up. We are three side of you. You can't lock two of those sides away." Mad Dog said.
"Fine, I'll stop, but we have to come to an agreement right now! You two can not come out to play unless I need you. If I'm not on a mission, if I'm not in danger, if I'm with my wife and family you two need to back the fuck off." Chuck said.
"I'm fine with that but you have to let us out to play every once in a while." Carmichael said.
"Fine, I'll go on more missions." Chuck said.
"You don't have to." Mad Dog said. "Just go out to a firing range every few day for me." He said.
"And let me hit on some ladies. You don't have to put yourself in danger for us. We just want to help you. It's why I panicked and threatened to shoot you." Carmichael said tossing his PPK down and looking sorry. "Look you're in charge Chuck. You call on us and we'll hang back. I'll help you keep the wife and get you things, and this trained ape will do the killing for you." Carmichael said smiling.
"Okay, I can live with this." Chuck said. "And we should have more of these meetings in the future. You know, without the guns." Chuck said smiling.
"Agreed Kid. Sorry about today, by the way." Mad Dog said sheepishly.
"It's cool big guy. Thanks for looking out for us today. Now if you don't mind, I need to go hug my mother." Chuck said.
"Do your thing Chucky." Carmichael said smiling and raising his glass.
"And don't forget to call the teams. You're still running missions you know." Mad Dog said.
"Right, see you two later." Chuck said coming out of his head.
Jordan was watching Chuck and his dad. For the last two minutes he looked frozen with his hand hovering over the enter key. She was just about to go check on him when he opened his eyes and hopped out of the chair. "You okay Chuck?"
Chuck shook his head before turning to her. "Yeah. I am. I had a little chat with a couple of guys and I think everything is in order now." Chuck said sitting in the chair again and saving the program he was working on. "I won't be needing the patch." Chuck said looking at his father. "How long has he been going?" He asked.
"A few minutes since you blacked out. I don't know if that's good or bad." She said.
"Has he struggled at all?" Chuck asked crouching down by the chair.
"No. he looks peaceful." She said touching Chuck's head. "How about you?" She asked softly.
"I'm good. I'm also me." Chuck said smiling a soft smile.
"Good. You had us all worried." Jordan said relaxing.
"I had me worried too." Chuck said laughing as he looked over the computer readout. "He looks like he has about another minute or two. He'll probably pass out from this like me when I download a lot of data. After that he should be fine." Chuck said before turning to Jordan. He pulled her into a hug. "Thank you for everything today." He said softly.
"You're welcome Chuck. I'll keep watching him, why don't you go talk to your mother. She looks close to freaking out." She said pulling back and patting him on the cheek.
"I think I will. Thank you my wise Angel." Chuck said smiling.
"There you go calling me old again." She said as Chuck walked away.
Mary Frost was pacing the room looking at Kate. "How long am I going to have to stay in here?" She asked shortly.
"Until Chuck says so. Why don't you relax." Kate said.
"Because my husband and my son are playing with their heads in the other room and you have me waiting in here." Mary said.
"I'm sure everything is fine…" Kate said but she was cut off when the door opened up and Chuck came in.
"Thanks Kate, why don't you go lay down for a bit." Chuck said patting her on the back before he stepped up to his mother and pulled her into a big hug. "I've missed you so much Mom." He said holding her tight.
"Oh Chuck, you had me so worried. What happened?" She asked holing his face in her hands.
"The short answer is I'm psychotic and I was having a fight with my two other sides. The long answer will come later. Right now I have a few phone calls to make. One of them is with the President. Do you want to sit with me while I work?" He asked with a big smile.
"I would love to Sweetie. Then we need to talk about your sister." She said holding his hand as they walked back to the conference room.
Time 18:35 Location: Private Runway, Burbank CA
Sarah walled off the G6 and saw Carina waiting for her standing next to a black BMW. "Hey Bitch, I'll be your driver this evening." She said smiling.
"Looks like it. How's my Chuck doing?" Sarah asked tossing her bag into the trunk before hugging her sister.
"Better now. About four hours ago Kate said he kicked everyone out of the conference room and after that he seamed better. He is kind of pissed that you came back to take care of him but Jordan had a few words with him and after that he was all smiles again." She said driving out of the airport headed for Castle.
"Good, what's going on now?" Sarah asked relaxing back in her seat.
"Chuck's handling logistics and clean up for the last few missions. Jordan, Scott, Kate, and Anna are back at Chuck's place. Morgan is keeping Chuck's parents entertained and I was put in charge of running around. I just came back from a pizza run before you called." Carina said.
"Shit I just remembered Chuck's parents. Can you drop me off at my apartment? I need to shower and put on something nice. I look like G.I. Jane. My hair's a frightful mess and I smell like blood and sweat." Sarah said sniffing her black shirt.
"I can do that, but I doubt Chuck, or his parents will care. They seam like nice people. Kind of like Chuck really. His dad is super nerdy and his mom has that calming way about her like Chuck." Carina said.
"Still I think the first time I meet the in-laws I should look like a girl." Sarah said smiling at Carina's description of Chuck's folks.
"Whatever Blondie, it's not like you're going anywhere special. It's just Castle." Carina said as she pulled up to Sarah's hotel.
"Well I was hoping to get Chuck and his parents out of Castle tonight. We haven't seen each other in almost a week and his parents have been underground for twenty years. Even if it's just out to a bar or something, it would be nice." She said as they got out of the car. "We all need to unwind a bit." She said as they rode the elevator up to her floor.
"I can see that, but it might be easier said then done, Chuck is really working hard back at Castle and I don't think it's something he would be willing to hand off." Carina said as Sarah jumped in the shower.
"We'll see about that, the man is running himself raw." Sarah said over the sound of the shower. She washed all the dirt off, but now she was trying to was the blood off her soul, she turned the heat up and sighed as the hot water ran over her body.
"I say leave him be for now. If you want to help out then help him get his jobs done. We have Roark sitting in a holding cell. Chuck is too busy to talk to him and frankly I think he's afraid he might kill the guy if he's left too long with him, and Anna is hurt. You're the best interrogator we have next to her. So maybe you can help by getting the rest of the information out of him. Or you can talk over for Morgan, it's his first day you know? Hell of a first day." Carina said to herself as she shook her head thinking about what they accomplished today. In one day they busted Fulcrum. She still couldn't believe it. And none of them died. That's the part that really shocked her more then anything. She didn't know if it was Chuck's planning, or the skills of the team, or just blind stupid luck but the same number of agents that started the day ended up making out the other end alive.
"Hey Bitch! I'm talking to you." Sarah said smiling.
"What?" Carina asked shaking her head.
"I asked you what I should wear. You know, to meet Chuck's Parents?" Sarah asked standing in front of her closet in a robe.
"It doesn't matter as long as it covers your tits and crotch I think you'll be fine. We're talking about a guy that blushes every time he talks to one of the women walking around Castle and an ex-CIA agent. You have nothing to be worried about. She'll understand what you do and he'll be happy his son found a pretty girl like you. So get dressed so we can go already. Some of us decided it would be a good idea to party last night forgetting how early this was all going down." Carina said smirking.
"It's not my fault you can't keep it in your pants." Sarah said grabbing a pair of black jeans and Chuck favorite sweater.
When Sarah ditched the robe reveling the sexy black lingerie she was wearing Carina wolf whistled. "You're asking me about clothes and your dressed like a high priced hooker underneath? You dirt slut." Carina said laughing.
"Shut up!" Sarah said blushing. "Like I said, I haven't seen Chuck in a week and I've missed him." She said smiling.
"No, you've missed his mouth. Remember, you told me what he can do. If you weren't so stingy with your toys I could sample the goods too." Carina said smacking Sarah on the ass as she bent over to put on her jeans.
"I told you once, and I'll say it again. You try to fuck my husband and I'll gut you bitch." Sarah said smirking.
"I know, I know." Carina said rolling her eyes. "Beside's Chuck would never go for it. Carmichael might, but Chuck never would." Carina said.
"You're right, but on the off chance he's stuck in the Carmichael mind set let's not take our chances. It happened today, it can happen again." Sarah said pulling on her sweater.
"Have you ever been stuck like that? I know I have, for a long time I was the Crazy Bitch. Blindly jumping from one bad situation to the next just doing whatever the hell I wanted. Today reminded me of how crazy the Crazy Bitch can be. I almost got this Texas Ranger killed today, and he was a nice guy. I kind of liked him. After meeting the Crazy Bitch he drove my to the airfield just to get rid of me." Carina said smiling sadly.
"About eight years ago I was running down a lead on an Afghan warlord supplying arms to the rebels in the mountains. It was my fourth straight month in the desert and I don't even know how many mission, it all just felt like one big gun fight. I tracked this guy to a hideout in the mountains and found a whole camp full of rebels and stock piles of weapons." She said brushing out her hair.
"A smart person would have called in an air strike. A crazy person would have called for a Spec. Op. team. Instead I waited for nightfall and tried to take the whole camp by myself." She said sadly.
"I managed to kill most of them, I even blew up a bunch of the weapons causing a big fire which called in a team to investigate. By the time they got there two hours later I was beaten half dead. I'm just glad they didn't rape me. It took three weeks in a hospital to feel like a human again. Gram came to see me in Germany. It was only after talking to him that I realized The Enforcer was still out. Still controlling things. I took time off after that and I asked to never be assigned to a hot war zone for too long ever again." Sarah said getting her things together. "Let's go, I want to see my husband." She said walking out the door.
"Hey! How come you didn't tell me about that?" Carina asked getting on the elevator behind her.
"Because I didn't want you to know. A part of me is still embarrassed by that mission, but I'm starting to figure out I can't keep shit like that in. I have to tell people things. Chuck thinks I got the Yipps because he was doing so good and I was sitting on my ass but the truth is I was intimidated by him and I kept it all bottled up. When he talked to me that night I knew my problem is he's the only one I talk to about this stuff, because he's Chuck, you know? That's what he's good at, but now I think I need to start talking to you and Chuck's sister. Maybe then I won't go crazy the next time I see Chuck doing Carmichael things on a mission. I can't only talk to him, if he's away for a long time then I go a little wonky." Sarah said walking out to the car. She stopped and looked at Chuck's Mustang sitting in the parking lot. "I think I'm going to drive Chuck's car to Castle." She said smiling.
"This is Chuck's car." Carina said confused until she saw the black Boss in the lot. "Right, that car. I forgot about Sarah the Boss Lady." Carina said laughing.
"I forgot he named it." Sarah said walking away.
"So I sat there while you showered for nothing?!" Carina called out as Sarah got in The Boss Lady and started it up with a big smile.
When Sarah came burning out of the Lot yelling "Race You!" Carina snickered, revved the V8 in the BMW, and took off after her.
They blasted into the lot of the Buy More a few minutes later with Sarah way out in the lead. She skidded into a spot in front of the FroYo shop with a big smile on her face. She was really starting to love the Mustang. It was so raw and powerful. "Good of you to show up." She said to Carina as she skidded into the spot next to her.
"Whatever Bitch, I'm in a four door car." Carina said smiling.
"With a turbo V8!" Sarah said as they walked in to Castle.
They both Saw Chuck. He was standing in front of the conference room table wearing a headset, typing on a keyboard, and looking at the four TV screens. Two of the screens had Generals, Beckman on the far left and Stanfeild on the right. The screen next to Beckman had the President's Chef of Staff, and the last screen had a bunch of files. Everyone was talking at once and Chuck was keeping up with the three conversations as well as flashing on the documents popping up on the fourth screen. When the door shut behind them Chuck looked up at them and smiled when he saw the sweater. "Whoa! Time out for a minute, my wife just got here. Give me a second guys." Chuck said. Chuck set down the keyboard and pulled his wife into a kiss. "Hey sexy lady. I see you're wearing the blue sweater. Does that mean I'm going to get lucky tonight?" He asked with a shy smile.
"If you play you're cards right I might even let you tie me up again." She said in a tone that made his pants uncomfortable.
"Um Chuck, you're mic is still on." Stanfeild said with a smirk.
"Shit! Um guy's I'll be back in a minutes." Chuck said before tossing the head set on the table blushing. He took her hand and pulled her out of the room as everyone but Chuck laughed. When they got in to the hall way Chuck turned to her and kissed her for all he was worth.
"Wow, where did that come from?" She asked smiling.
"That came from Chuck. I'm back to being just me now, and I worked it all out in my head, I'll tell you about it later." Chuck said.
"Good. I was worried about you. I still want to take you and your parents to the island resort we shipped the Awesome's off to. You really need a break Chuck, you look tired and dead on your feet." She said touching his face.
"I wish I could just leave, but I'm way too busy to just pack up and go. I've got after action reports coming in ever minute. I've got higher up grilling me for information. Not to mention all the people we arrested today! They all have to be questioned and shipped off to prisons and holding bunkers. Then we have to deal with RI. Come tomorrow the company is going to be down a CEO and people are going to be asking questions. If they find out he was the leader of a underground intelligence group trying to bring down the country, RI will go down the toilet! With him dead it's still going to be a shit storm. I'm tempted to let him go back to work so he can sign the company over to me in the next few week. Maybe we can fake a car crash or something. I don't know, and that's something I'm going to have to know by tomorrow! On top of all of that I've got parents to look after now because they both have been living under a rock for the last twenty years, literally!" Chuck said complaining.
"Wow Chuck, you are under way too much stress." She said pulling him into a hug and holding his head to her shoulder.
"Heavy is the head that wears the crown." Chuck muttered tiredly.
"That's what I came back to help with. Let's tackle your problems one by one and then go get a late diner with your parents, Carina and Morgan. You all could use a good heavy meal and a nice soft bed. I know I need that tonight. We've all been through a lot today. I took down a terrorist cell in D.C. today! You covered the west cost, and dealt with everything else. I think we can get you some time off. Now lets start with Roark. We'll say he's taking a vacation on a private island. The CIA can doctor up some shots of him on the beach and plant some sightings of him. That will give us a few weeks to come up with a better plan. As for the rest let the CIA and NSA handle it. We did the hard part. We caught them, let the agencies do the rest. Now introduce me to your parents and I'll keep them occupied while you finish up tonight. I'll give you three more hours and then you're going to hand over the rest of the clean up to you're Angels to handle the transfer and were' leaving. I want to be sitting on a beach sipping a tropical drink by tomorrow afternoon. We'll get a late night dinner, and go back to my room. In the morning we'll pack our bags, and hoop on one of the jets we took today and head out to the island. Besides, I miss Ellie. I think after their done we'll fly the rest of team out to the island and have our wedding on the beach. What do you think of that Chuck?" She asked smiling.
"It's sounds like a great plan. Now come on and meet my mom and dad." Chuck said leading her down the hall to the kitchen where they heard Morgan talking. It sounded like he was telling them everything they missed in the last twenty ears. They heard him talking about Chuck getting a job at the Buy More. They stopped out side the door and Chuck felt her grip tighten on his hand. "Nerves?" He asked.
"Big time. I want them to like me." She said looking into the room at the couple setting with Morgan.
"They'll love you because I love you. My mom's a spy too you know? And Dad will be happy I landed a hot agent just like he did. So come on, quit stalling." he said pushing open the door and dragging her in. "Mom, Dad. Meet Sarah, my wife." He said.
"Wow Chuck, you found a pretty one." Steven said standing up on unsteady feet ever since he got out of the chair he was adjusting to his body again.
Marry came around the table to hug her. "Hello dear. I'm Marry. I understand you're a Company Girl?" She asked pulling back.
"I was, but now I'm Chuck's girl. It's why we formed this team, no more missions a married woman can't do. Then again I never really did that sort of thing." Sarah said understanding what Marry was asking.
"Good. Then you have my blessing. Welcome to the family. Now lets talk." She said taking her off to chat.
Chuck walked up to his dad who was smiling next to Morgan. "So what do you really think dad?" He asked.
"Us Bartowski Men do have a type don't we son?" Steven said laughing.
"I think we do. It turns out my last girlfriend was a spy too." Chuck said.
"I told them all about you and Sarah Chuck it was the first thing I did." Morgan said.
"I knew I could count on you little buddy." Chuck said putting his arm around Morgan.
Carina came rushing into the room. "Chuck! The President is on the screen, he want's to talk to you!" She said
"Right! Guy's, after I finish up with this we're all going out to a late dinner. Carina, can you find a good place that's open late and call in a reservation?" He asked as he walked out of the room.
"On it Chuck." She called after him shaking her head. "After I get done with this" She mocked smiling. "He's talking about the leader of the free world." She said.
"It's Chuck?" Morgan said shrugging. To him Chuck could do anything, so seeing him being a leader and getting things done was no shock to him.
"You're right I guess, but still. It's the President." She said walking out of the room.
Sarah looked across the table at Marry and smiled, "So what do you want to know about me?" She asked.
"When did you fall for my Chucky?" Marry asked smiling.
"The first time I met him he was standing behind the Nerd Herd desk with Morgan not paying attention to anything but the phone he was holding to his ear and freest lying Vicky Vale. I said hi. He looked up at me, dropped the phone and tried to act cool. I thought he was so cute. Those big brown eyes and that smile. I was lost. sad really, a trained spy, losing it to a cute mark. But I was totally lost, from that day on he was Chuck, never a mark." She said smiling softly.
"And when did you two get married?" Marry asked.
"That's a funny story!" Sarah said relaxing, she would get along just fine with Marry Bartowski. They both loved Chuck and they both knew what they would do to keep him safe.
It was close to midnight when the six of them walked out of Castle. Chuck adjusted his tie and pulled on his suit jacket. "Carina, where did you make that reservation?" Chuck asked looking at his two cars. Carmichael loved the BMW, it was fast, it was elegant, and it screamed class. But the Boss Lady called out to both Chuck and Mad Dog which made him smile. Chuck loved the car because it was cool and Mad Dog loved the raw power.
"I found a little Italian place that was willing to stay open late for the right price, I'll lead, you just follow me there." Carina said walking over to the BMW with Morgan.
"Right, thanks Carina." Chuck said letting his mom slide into the back seat.
"The lest I can do for you team leader." She said smirking.
Chuck slipped into the drivers seat and smiled, he really loved the car. "Where did you get this bitchen ride Chuck?" Steven asked as Chuck started the car, and revved the engine.
"My amazing wife got her for me." Chuck said following Carina out of the lot.
"I knew I liked her for a reason son. She has really good taste." Steven said smiling as they blasted up the street.
"We were prepping for the mission and I knew we needed a car that couldn't be tracked. I went to a used car dealership to buy something cheap and inconspicuous. I was looking around the lot when a little old lady drove this car onto the lot. I stood close by to listen to what she was saying to the dealer. Apparently this was her husbands car. He bought it new with his veterans pay back in 1970 and took care of the car like it was his baby. Now he was dead and the little old lady needed some money so she was selling the car." Sarah said looking back to talk to the Bartowski's. "The sleaze ball dealer wanted to give her five thousand for it and she was going to take it. I walked up to her and said I'll pay four times that much. I told her I was buying it for my husband, and handed her four bricks of twenties. She was shocked. She said don't you want to drive it first? And I said sure how about I drive you home? I took her home and we talked. The car was perfect, and I made a nice friend in Edna. Since then I had her tuned up and put better brakes and tires. But the black and white fuzzy dice was Chuck's touch." Sarah said smiling.
"Every muscle car needs fuzzy dice." Chuck said smirking.
"What can I say? It's tacky, but it's totally Chuck." Sarah said putting her hand on his.
"Are you calling me tacky?" He asked smiling.
"Nooo." She said mockingly and she laughed.
"I'm so happy to see you two." Mary said with a big smile.
"I'm just happy you two are alive." Chuck said catching his mothers eye in the mirror. Carina pulled over in front of a small family restaurant. Chuck pulled in behind her. He got out and looked at the dark restaurant. "It looks closed." He said.
"It is closed." She said knocking on the door. An old Italian woman opened the door. "I called a few hours ago. Private party of six." She said smiling.
"Yes, we have the table set up." The old lady said opening the door. Chuck saw all of the tables had chairs on them except for the big table in the middle. It was set for six. All of the lights were set real low and candles gave the room a soft glow.
"Perfect. Thank you." Carina said smiling.
Chuck saw the room and agreed. "Thank you for doing this for us, we value our privacy." Chuck said in Italian as he handed the woman a wad of hundreds from his pocket.
"I understand. My husband and I are the only two here and we will wait in the kitchen until called." She said in Italian back. She seated them and handed out menus. "I will be back in a few minutes to take your orders." She said in accented English before walking into the back.
"I didn't know you could speak Italian." Steven said as he sat next to his wife.
"Italian, and 22 other languages." Chuck said looking over the menu.
"Chuck's a Bad ass." Morgan said with a big smile.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence but that wasn't always the case. When I first started out I was very much a big chicken. If not for Sarah and Casey I would be dead by now. Tell them Sarah, tell them how I used to scream like a girl." Chuck said laughing.
"It's true, but then again he had no training. No skills. He did very good for someone in his position. Besides, he saved our lives just as many times. That's on top of doing all kinds of stuff he had no skills for. He always found a way to make it out the other side." She said holding his hand.
"Why don't you tell us about your time before this last month?" Mary asked smiling.
"Well lets order and we can start with the fact that Sarah kicked both mine and Morgan's asses before she even got to know us." Chuck said smirking.
"When was this?" Morgan asked looking confused.
"That night after she first met us, remember the ninja that tried to take my computer? That was Sarah." Chuck said.
"You're kidding me." Morgan said giving Sarah a angry look that lasted for a second before he started laughing.
"Sorry Morgan." Sarah said laughing.
"Now you have to tell us about this." Mary said smiling.
For the next two hours they eat and talked about Chuck's time as a not-a-spy. Everyone had a good time at Chuck's expense, even Chuck.
"… And so there we were standing on the boat as the missile hit Casey's car and BOOM, I've never seen Casey look like he was going to kills Chuck, cry, and toss his cookies at the same time. It might have been worth blowing the car up just for that alone." Sarah said laughing.
"You know he's still mad about that car." Chuck said yawning.
"I think we should head out now. It's getting late and we've all had a big day. Since everyone is crashing at Chuck's house, and I refuse to sleep in a bed that all of his Angels have occupied we are heading back to my hotel tonight. Carina, I know you have a room three doors down from me and I know there's another free room on the floor. Lest go scoop it up for your folks and get a good night's sleep. In the morning we are heading out to an island resort. Morgan you are welcome to join us, or you can stay here with the rest of the team and come out with them." Sarah said as they stood up from the table.
"I think I'll stay and help Anna, she's my partner after all and she's hurt." Morgan said.
"That's my brother." Chuck said pulling him into a one arm hug.
"It's the right thing to do and it's why you pulled me on to the team." Morgan said with his head held high.
"I'll drop him off at his house." Carina said looping her arm around Morgan's shoulder with a smile. "Come on short stuff, lets get you hammered and get you to bed. It's your first night as an agent, you'll need something to sleep." She said.
"Fine, but I can not have sex with you, I'm with Alex." Morgan said smirking.
"Did I say anything about sex? I'm talking about enough Tequila to kill a Mexican." She said as they walked out.
"I'm glad she's staying with him tonight, but I hope she can keep it in her pants." Chuck said.
"She will because she likes him. Also she's trying to not be as wild now." Sarah said leaving a big stack of cash on the table before they walked out.
"Good, I like good agent Carina, she's like a more trained Melissa. Or a lose cannon Sam." Chuck said as they got in his car. "Do you think we can stop off at the tower? I would like to get my bags from the apartment." Chuck said.
"Sure, but then it's right to bed for all of us." Sarah said smiling.
"Yes Dear." Chuck said smiling.
"Just shut up and drive smarty pants." She said holding his arm.
They made the trip to the tower in a few minutes and Chuck got out to go run upstairs as he walked into the lobby he saw the doorman talking on the phone and remembered two things: One, the doorman was a fulcrum agent, and two, he was armed.
The second the doorman saw him he dropped the phone and pulled out his Glock. Chuck saw it and dove to the ground and slid behind a column six quick shots pinged off the column. Sarah having heard the shots came running into the door and the doorman turned the gun on her. Chuck pulled his gun from his back, brought it up, and pulled the trigger four times dropping the doorman but not before he got two shots of his own off. Chuck looked over to the door and saw Sarah on the floor.
He didn't know how long he froze but Mad Dog pushed him down and took over. In a second he was next to his wife checking her over. "I'm fine Chuck. I just hit my head falling wrong. Help me sit up." She said in a gruff voice. "Ouch!" She said holding her left arm. "Okay, so I was hit. Shit." She said looking at the deep graze across her shoulder. "I hate getting shot!" She said pissed off. "And my the best sweater I own!" Three cop cars pulled up out front. "Shit! Now the cops are here. Go deal with them, I'm fine." She said pushing him out the door. "And put away your gun!" She said shaking her head as she leaned against the door frame.
By the time they got the cop settled down, the body removed, and an agent to man the door. They made it to the hospital by four. At this point the elder Bartowski's where asleep in the back of the car, Chuck was running on fumes, and Sarah looked dead from the blood loss and the concussion. As soon as the ER doctors looked her over they rushed her off.