CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #1: One month later... yeesh, I didn't think it would take me this long to get this chapter out, but finals were so demanding I couldn't even think about this thing until December 14th! So, when you think about it, this chapter came together rather quickly. This chapter is interesting because when I formulated my original plan for the second arc, I had things in this chapter, but after this chapter passed 8,500 words and we weren't even close to finished, I knew that my 10 chapter arc idea was folly. That's looking like it'll be more like 13 or 14 chapters now, purely because of storytelling. All that means is more story for you guys so I see this as an absolute win.
CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #2: This chapter is some of my best work in my humble opinion; we've got the full range of emotions present here. This chapter has everything, it's got Charah, flirty banter, humor, emotional healing, revelations, this thing has it ALL! What I noticed about this second arc, is that the angst may not be entirely done purely because of the legacy of what happened in the first arc, you'll see what I mean in the chapter. Charah isn't in any danger, but there is definitely some healing to be done for all parties involved.
CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #3: I've gotta give a huge shout out to my beta Nev for sacrificing his time during the holiday season (this chapter came out December 30th, 2021 for those looking back in the future!) to beta this chapter. The holiday season is one of those few precious moments every year where family makes a real effort to get together, so I appreciate his taking the time to make sure this chapter was as good as it could be.
CHARMING'S ADDITIONAL AUTHORS NOTE: I went back and made a small change to Nora Rogers' backstoryh as mentioned briefly in this chapter, more specifically what her parents were arrested for.
I Don't Want Your Desire
A Story by
CharmingCharles2896
Chapter Inspired by the Song
Right Down the Line by Gerry Rafferty
Chapter Eleven
Right Down the Line
Maison23
Burbank, California
Monday, May 11th, 2009
11:30 PM PST
"I'm pregnant General, and it's Chuck's baby…"
"Don't worry, we'll make this work…"
To say that the rest of the afternoon and evening had been emotional would be a massive understatement. Sarah had been overwhelmed emotionally after the meeting with General Beckman. The rest of her life was basically given back to her in that moment. In a fog, the blonde spy sought out the love and comfort of her husband; her security blanket in times of strife as of late. The two of them spent the rest of their evening in her hotel room, simply… being. No sex, just love and emotional support for the both of them. Now, it was hours later and her husband was lying asleep, snuggled under the covers of her bed. Sarah was simply watching him, at peace for the first time in her entire life. Even in Vegas in their little honeymoon bubble, the cloud of uncertainty over what lay ahead when they got back home still lurked in the background. Now it was as if the blonde hadn't a care in the world. Her entire world was right there in the room with her. She had her husband by her side, and their future child growing inside her… a family, everything she'd ever wanted.
One thing still gnawed at her, there was still one thing that was left outstanding before she could sit back and start the rest of her life. Ellie Bartowski. The older sister of one Charles Irving Bartowski loomed large over her future with her family. Sarah Bartowski couldn't bear the thought of coming between Chuck and his older sister, that was the last thing she wanted. As Sarah looked down at her husband, she saw the peaceful expression on his face, as if the last six weeks hadn't happened. Sarah knew the scars of Agent Forrest's abuse still lingered emotionally, he'd been distracted the last several days, but Sarah knew the scars of Forrest's abuse were still there under the surface. Just from looking at his smiling, content facial expression and wild curly hair, you'd never know of all the horrible things that he'd suffered through.
Sarah wanted to help take that burden away and she knew of the wedge that Forrest had driven between Chuck and his sister. Horrible threats against Ellie had driven Chuck away from his sister, for her own safety. Sarah didn't want to see Chuck spend one more day emotionally separate from his sister. The only way for that to happen was if Sarah made nice with Ellie, so that Ellie would have anything to do with her and by extension her new husband, Chuck. Knowing what she had to do, Sarah carefully snuck out of bed and wrote a short note for her husband, placing it on her pillow. Sarah gently kissed her husband on the cheek, her heart swelling at the sight of his adorable grin. Now dressed and ready to go, Sarah silently grabbed the keys to the Maserati and left the dark hotel room.
On the road, Sarah was surprised how few nerves she felt as she silently drove towards the Echo Park apartment that housed her sister-in-law. Thinking back to the last time she was inside that apartment; it was the night she'd said goodbye to Chuck. Unbeknownst to them, that was also the night they'd conceived their child, out of the death of their possible future had come new life, how poetic. The drive over to the apartment wasn't a long one, and at this time of night, there wasn't any traffic, just her and her thoughts. Sarah had no idea what Ellie would say, but she knew this needed to happen tonight, so she was going to do this. Sarah knew that Chuck wanted to be there when they told them all the big news, so Sarah would try to keep the big reveal a secret. As the aptly named Casa Bartowski came into view, Sarah was struck by a feeling of nostalgia of all things. It had only been six weeks, yet it felt like she'd been gone for ten years.
Sarah pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex and shut off the engine, the car falling deathly silent and dark. The night was so still, something she'd always loved about this time of night. Taking a steadying breath, Sarah opened the door and exited the car, making the short, but familiar walk toward the front door that she'd knocked on so many times before. As Sarah walked past the fountain and towards the door, she was relieved to see lights still on inside the apartment. Upon arriving at the door, Sarah took one last steadying breath and knocked on the door, taking a half step back once she'd done so. It was only a minute later when the door opened to reveal none other than Eleanor Faye Bartowski herself. At first, Ellie's face was an image of shock, but that quickly turned to anger directed squarely at Sarah.
"What do you want?" Ellie said tersely. Sarah remained calm in the face of Hurricane Ellie and spoke evenly. How she handled this conversation would go a long way towards determining exactly how close she was to Chuck's family. It appeared that not much had changed with Ellie, she still looked stunning. Her long brunette locks cascading down both shoulders. So much had changed for Sarah, yet it was as if nothing had changed at all for everyone else, such was life.
"Can I come in?" Sarah asked quietly.
"Why? Chuck isn't here; I haven't heard from him since Friday." Ellie replied bitingly, obviously unsure why exactly Sarah was at her door at close to midnight.
"I know that, he's back at my hotel room, asleep." That news grabbed Ellie's attention and her posture shifted from angry sister to concerned momma bear. Sarah pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and nodded quietly, looking down at her shoes.
"Chuck is with you?" Sarah merely nodded silently, having decided to choose her words carefully.
"Can I come in so we can talk? Please?" Sarah asked quietly, an uncharacteristically meek expression on her face. Ellie was silent, simply watching Sarah, examining her. It was obvious that Ellie was wary of trusting Sarah once again, but her interest was obviously piqued. After a few seconds of silent deliberation, Ellie sighed in resignation, closed her eyes in disgust, and nodded. Sarah saw Ellie step aside to welcome Sarah in, so Sarah stepped through the door and into the apartment, the memories hitting her with full force. Sarah simply took the place in once more, observing all of the well-used mementos and family pictures, the signs of a family home. Ellie watched Sarah, who looked like she was seeing the place for the first time. There was something different about Sarah that Ellie couldn't put a finger on, something in how she was acting, how she was carrying herself, was just different. Sarah seemed more open, less on guard, less tense. One of the things Ellie had so quickly observed about Sarah the first time she'd been in their lives, was how she seemed to scan the room when she first entered it. It was like Sarah was a predator, constantly looking for prey, it was intimidating. The Sarah that Ellie was seeing walking around her living room was nothing like that at all. Sarah was softer, quieter, that predatory edge was completely missing. Something had changed in Sarah over the last six weeks and it had Ellie interested.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" Ellie said, grabbing Sarah's attention. Sarah shook her head no as she picked up a picture frame and looked at the picture inside it admiringly.
"No, I'm fine Ellie, thank you for offering though," Sarah said as she looked at the photo of a little Chuck and a teenage Ellie along with their parents. The four of them looked so happy together, so normal, it was hard to believe that both of their parents would leave them. Chuck had crazy curls even back then, something of his that she'd always loved.
"The four of you look so… happy in this one," Sarah said quietly, looking back up at Ellie, who stood off to the side, a good five feet from her. Ellie stepped closer and glanced at the picture in question and simply gave Sarah and small, albeit sad smile as she remembered that picture.
"That was taken not long before our mother left; the four of us went to Disney Land, it was a great day. Two weeks later, our mother left and our family was never the same. Chuck took it the hardest, believing that it was his fault for years." Sarah's heart constricted in her chest as she heard that, she could imagine the pain of little Chuck, wishing for his mother to come home, knowing she wasn't coming back, and thinking it was all his fault.
"He certainly has a big heart," Sarah replied, to which Ellie simply nodded. Sarah saw Ellie stand up to her full height out of the corner of her eye and she knew what was coming.
"Why are you here, Sarah?" Ellie asked with a hint of exasperation in her voice, her patience having obviously worn thin. Sarah took another steadying breath and spoke, knowing that what she was about to say would reshape the rest of her life.
~X~
Maison23
Burbank, California
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
6:15 AM PST
Sarah had never slept so well in her life, the peace she felt from unburdening herself of her emotional baggage and not having to worry about her future had freed her of her stress. She'd spoken with Ellie for almost three hours the previous night, answering questions and telling stories. When she'd shuffled back into her hotel room around 3:30 in the morning, her husband was exactly where she'd left him. Stripping off all but her boy shorts, Sarah had crept under the covers, only for her husband to hold them open for her and welcome her into his comforting embrace. The scent of him and his warmth had put her to sleep almost instantly. Now hours later, she was being interrupted by the infernal racket of a cellphone. The sound piercing through her little bubble of comfort was unwelcome and she vocalized as such, grumbling her displeasure into Chuck's chest. There was some mild shifting underneath her and then she heard Chuck talking but she tuned him out and fell back asleep.
The sound of talking once again pulled Sarah from the clutches of sleep and she whined once again. "No, go awaaaaay." To Chuck, this was adorable; he'd never seen his wife acting all pouty about waking up. She looked so beautiful in the early morning glow and her slightly disheveled hair gave her this natural beauty that Chuck couldn't describe.
"I'm sorry, but we've got to get up, we've got a briefing down in Castle in an hour." Chuck said softly to the blonde laying practically on top of him, kissing the top of her head and hearing her hum at the sensation.
"Let me sleeeeeeep," Sarah whined adorably, making Chuck giggle silently.
"We can't, we've gotta get up and start the day." This was something Chuck had never thought he'd get to experience with Sarah, these utterly domestic moments. The feeling of Sarah shaking her head into his chest made him smile. His wife really hated mornings, especially when she didn't get to bed until after three.
"Just let me sleep and later I'll do that thing with my tongue that you liked so much the other day," Sarah offered drowsily, knowing what that would do to her husband. Chuck knew exactly what she was referencing and as tempting as that was, he knew they couldn't miss their first briefing under this new arrangement. Deciding it had been long enough, Chuck shifted in bed and sat up, eliciting a pouty grumble from his wife. Chuck walked around the bed to his wife's side and pulled away the covers, seeing her shiver at the sudden cold.
"Come on, Babe, time to wake up," Chuck said as he reached down and pulled the drowsy Sarah into an upright, seated position. She was eyeing him crankily, but Chuck was undaunted. "You can give me that look until your face gets stuck like that, but we've got stuff to do today. I'm going to go get the shower started, once that's ready you can just stand there and I'll do all the work," Chuck said, giving Sarah a wink. Sarah eyed Chuck curiously, but eventually sighed and nodded before running a hand over her tired face; the both of them knew she could never turn down an offer like that. Sexy time in the shower with her nerd was always mutually beneficial, so how could she say no? Sarah watched Chuck walk off towards the bathroom and she had to smile, he was always so enthusiastic in everything he did, it was truly something to admire. Knowing it was useless to sit around and pout, Sarah stood up out of bed and padded off to the bathroom to brush her teeth.
~X~
Castle
Burbank, California
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
7:30 AM PST
Casey and General Beckman were waiting patiently for the other two members of Team Intersect to arrive in the briefing. It wasn't very professional to be fifteen minutes late to their first briefing after General Beckman had basically given them everything they wanted. Regardless of that, they had bigger issues, namely Walker's visit to Ellie the previous evening, Casey had no idea what she was thinking, but what she'd done was a serious problem. Casey glanced over at the screen and saw the General, he'd never seen her so casual before; she was simply sitting there on her phone reading something. It was a side of the usually stoic General that was never seen, she often gave off this air of invincibility. The events of yesterday had shown that the General was not invincible and was very human. She'd recognized the mistake she'd made by reassigning Sarah, so she'd worked to correct it and undo the damage that Agent Forrest had done. It remained to be seen how much lingering damage there was from Forrest's abuse.
The thing that could not be ignored, was how much Bartowski needed Walker; the two of them completed each other. The minutes following yesterday's briefing had been jovial, yet emotional for the two of them. Casey had given out congratulations for their coming child and their getting married, he was happy for them. The thing was, he didn't understand Sarah's talk with Ellie the previous evening, the things they'd talked about, why had Walker done it? Casey had no doubt he'd find out her exact reasoning as soon as the two of them got their asses to the damn briefing.
As if on cue, the door to Castle opened and the Bartowski's walked in quickly, holding hands the entire time. "Sorry we're late, traffic was a killer… morning sickness," The two of them said at the same time, having obviously forgotten to get their cover story straight. Casey and General Beckman shared a look, skepticism on Casey face and amusement on the General's.
"Right… traffic, morning sickness," Casey grumbled, as he stood up from his chair to face the screen on the wall. Chuck and Sarah arrived at the table next to him, still holding hands and faced the screen. The three of them saw the amusement on the General's face and for the Bartowski's, it made them a bit rosy cheeked.
"Relax Major, they're newlyweds, cut them a little slack," the General said knowingly, making Chuck turn even more red, if that was even possible. Sarah simply smirked at Chuck's rosy expression; she had cut him exactly zero slack in that shower they'd shared. No sir, Mrs. Bartowski wasn't going to leave that shower until both of them were satisfied. Chuck hadn't returned to his apartment yet, out of fear of talking to Ellie, so he was going to have to wear the Nerd Herd uniform he'd left in Castle on Friday when he changed for the mission, but that was for after the briefing.
"Onto the topic of the day," General Beckman said, pivoting the conversation towards more serious topics. "You went and talked to Ellie last night, Agent Bartowski; according to Major Casey, you read her in." As the General finished, she saw Sarah simply stand there idly. Chuck on the other hand was shocked, his face akin to a goldfish.
"You did what?" Chuck asked in shock, rightfully so in the General's opinion. It seemed like a big decision to tell the sister all about what her brother had been up to without first informing him of the discussion. Much to everyone's shock, Sarah merely closed her eyes and sighed in resignation, her head falling for a brief moment before she looked back up to speak.
"The pure truth is, the 49B destroyed my cover beyond any possible repair. There was no story I could spin that would explain my abandoning Chuck for six weeks, completely destroying him worse than Jill did at Stanford. There was no way I could claim to love him after leaving him like that, knowing what it had done to him. I couldn't possibly make this work with more lies, so instead I told her the truth." As Sarah finished, she saw the mortification in Chuck's features.
"I can understand that Agent Bartowski, but you didn't have the authority to completely read her into the entire Intersect Project. Ellie Bartowski is now one of five people on earth who knows everything, which makes things even more complicated," the General said with mild exasperation in her tone. Sarah's stone-cold determination told the General that Sarah had given it more than a little thought beforehand.
"I'm going to be spending the rest of my life with these people, General, I didn't want to have to live with a lie. I know this complicates things, but Ellie understands the ramifications of her knowledge. Ellie understands that she can't tell anyone what she knows. The thing is, nobody cares about Chuck more than Ellie Bartowski. That woman practically raised him, so she would die before she'd do anything to put him in danger. As for the team, I think Ellie knowing the truth is going to make things easier. It's no secret that she was constantly badgering Chuck about us." Sarah said, getting a nod from Chuck in agreement. The General sat back and thought; it was true that Ellie Bartowski was arguably the second most dedicated person on earth when it came to Chuck, only behind his wife.
"Major Casey, what do you think?" the General asked. Casey simply sighed, it was the sigh of a man who was tired of this shit, tired of all these lady feelings. Chuck had to do much to stifle the chuckle at Casey's visceral reaction to that question.
"With all due respect Ma'am, everything else about this assignment is completely fucked, so what's the harm in this?" Sarah couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her, so she buried her head in Chuck's shoulder, her husband standing between her and Casey. The General had a similar reaction, nodding with a knowing smile, her eyebrows raised.
"Said like a true Marine," the General started. "Very well, Team, don't read in the bearded one, just figure out another way to smooth things over with him, considering you'll have to win back your husband's best friend." The General gave Sarah a small smile, one which Sarah returned with a nod.
"Another reason to sort things out with the bearded one, is because you'll be working with him," The General said offhand as she looked off screen at something else. Sarah's mind ground to a halt at that little nugget of information; she couldn't help but wonder what the General meant by that.
"Uh, General, what exactly do you mean by that?" Sarah asked nervously, which made the General smile to herself. This was the part that the General was most looking forward to; this was the bombshell that she was most going to enjoy.
"Oh, guess I forgot to mention it, next week, you'll be interviewing for the job as the new Assistant Manager at the Burbank Buy More." As soon as the words Buy More came from the General's mouth, Casey broke and roared with laughter, which got an amused looked from Chuck. For Sarah, this wasn't very funny at all.
"What? I've never managed anything; with the way I've heard Big Mike runs that place, I'd practically be managing the entire store," Sarah said with a hint of concern. Casey was beside himself now, in a chair still laughing. Chuck took Sarah's hand once again to steady her, giving it a squeeze, which grabbed her attention.
"Relax, you'll be fine," Chuck said quietly.
"Your husband is right, you dual majored in international business and linguistics at Harvard, I think you can manage a stupid electronics store." Sarah simply nodded to the General in understanding as she tried to wrap her head around her new job. "Your new teammate, whoever that ends up being, will take over at the Orange Orange. I've sent over a couple dozen personnel files for you to look through and choose your new teammate, these agents have been thoroughly investigated, so we're confident in all of them." Sarah simply nodded silently at the General's words.
Sensing that there was nothing else to be said, the General closed the feed and sat back in her chair. Just seeing the team dynamic in this briefing, she could see how much looser everyone was. There had been a tension when Forrest was on the team, which in hindsight was the burning anger from Chuck towards the world over what was being done to him. Knowing that Forrest was abusing her asset, was even worse; seeing him now, it seemed so obvious that Agent Bartowski was the heart and soul of the team. Beyond all of that, seeing the three of them now, looked like a cohesive unit, which could prove to be an asset in the coming fight against Fulcrum.
Back at Castle, the three members of Team Intersect were taking a moment, before Chuck and Casey had to go work up at the Buy More. They all knew that Sarah was likely going to spend the rest of the afternoon down in Castle looking through the personnel files.
"I trust your judgment Walker, just don't pick someone like Carina," Casey said, getting an agreeing nod from Chuck which made Sarah chuckle. She always found it funny how much Carina made her two teammates nervous. Sarah understood Casey's reason for animosity, but Chuck's apprehension just amused her. Sarah simply nodded and reached out towards Chuck, grabbing his forearm to stop him before he left.
"I told Ellie everything up until Friday, she doesn't know of our marriage or the baby, you deserve to be there for that conversation," Sarah said quietly to Chuck who nodded in understanding.
"We should have talked about this beforehand, but that ship has sailed," Chuck said, letting Sarah know of his clear displeasure that she'd done this unilaterally. Sarah simply nodded; contrition clear in her expression. "Maybe tonight we can take her to our spot on the beach and tell her everything else," Chuck offered. Sarah simply nodded with a smile.
"Okay, I've gotta go change," Chuck said before he gave Sarah a wink and turned on his heels and took off to the locker room. Sarah simply pulled out a chair to sit down. As Sarah sat, the heavy footfalls against the concrete floor signaled to Sarah that Casey was leaving. As Sarah booted up the ancient government issue laptop, she heard the door whoosh open and closed. It wasn't three minutes before the telltale sound of Chuck's signature shoes were squeaking and squealing against the polished concrete floor. Without looking away from the laptop computer that was left for her on the table to view the files, Sarah hollered.
"Forgetting something?" The sound of Chuck's sneakers stopped and a smirk appeared on Sarah's face. In a flash, her husband appeared next to her and captured her lips in a kiss. When the two separated, she saw the confident smile on his face and simply smiled back at him.
"See ya later, Babe," Chuck said and then turned to jog up the stairs and go to work.
"Love you," Sarah hollered after him as she entered her login information and pulled up the files she was tasked with reading through.
"Love you too!" came Chuck's voice just before the door whooshed closed, leaving Sarah alone with her silence.
Upstairs, Chuck passed through the door leading from Castle to the Double O and found Casey standing there waiting for him. The two of them walked across the parking lot towards the Buy More in silence for several moments; it was the first time in weeks where things felt normal. The sun was shining, the birds were out, it was as if the world had finally woken up from a deep sleep. Thursday had come and General Beckman had gotten rid of Agent Forrest, something had happened and the truth had come out at last. Chuck had an idea what had happened and as the Buy More approached, Chuck stopped and spoke.
"Hey, Casey?" the NSA agent stopped walking and turned to look at Chuck, replying with a grunt.
"Thank you," Chuck said stoically, as he extended his hand towards the Major. Casey saw the hand and the serious expression on Bartowski's face and knew what this was. This was Bartowski acknowledging what Casey had done.
Casey shook Chuck's hand as he spoke, "I should've done it sooner." Chuck simply stayed silent and the two of them walked into the Buy More to start their shift.
~X~
Sarah sat back in her chair. She'd looked through three dozen personnel files and she'd narrowed it down to two candidates. The candidates themselves were very different, with very different backgrounds and skillsets. Regardless of that, Sarah was happy with either of them, so she'd leave it up to the rest of her team to decide. The two choices she'd settled on intrigued Sarah to no end, but for different reasons and she was anxious to see what her husband and her partner thought of them. Her husband… what a crazy turn of events that was. Sarah Walker was now officially Sarah Bartowski, not that she'd told anyone. Sarah was dying to tell people; she wanted to go ring shopping and buy the wedding band that would adorn her finger the rest of her life. The rest of her life, Sarah had never once in her life contemplated ever being in a situation where forever was a possibility and it was all because of Chuck. It was all because of that wonderful nerd that had come along and flipped her world on its head. Chuck was unlike any man Sarah had ever known, and his inherent goodness and shown her exactly how unsavory the company she'd been keeping actually was. Sarah pulled out her phone and sent her husband a quick text and then set her phone aside and stood up. It was only eleven now, so Sarah had another hour before Chuck's lunch break. In the meantime, Sarah was going to do something she'd been working on before her world had been destroyed.
At the Buy More, Chuck was having a great day so far. Nothing could temper this amazing feeling that was coursing through his veins. Jeff and Lester had been their normal insane selves, but Chuck's positive outlook wouldn't be denied today! Everyone had noticed the fact that Chuck was smiling, it had been six weeks since Chuck had smiled at work and while Chuck was conscious of their looking at him in confusion, Chuck just didn't care. Chuck knew it was only a matter of time before Morgan came over and asked him about his mood.
As if on cue, Morgan appeared at the Nerd Herd desk and spoke, "Hey, Chuck." Chuck looked up from the invoice he was filing and gave Morgan a smile.
"What's up, Buddy?" Chuck replied as he looked back over at the computer and resumed typing. Morgan simply eyed his hetero-life partner; the man had been borderline suicidal for weeks and now all of the sudden he was on cloud nine. What was the deal?
"Just checking in; you're awfully chipper this morning." Chuck simply smiled and nodded.
"It's a great day, Buddy; the sun is out, the birds are chirping, and I'm just feeling good today," Chuck said with a smile. Chuck was enjoying watching Morgan trying to ascertain the source of Chuck's improved mood.
Morgan simply nodded in abject confusion, "I'm glad to see that. Anything happen over the weekend?" Morgan asked, obviously probing for information. Morgan saw Chuck's smile, but it obviously wasn't directed at Morgan, it was about something that happened over the weekend. With a smile of his own, Morgan pointed at Chuck and spoke, "I saw that, what happened this weekend? You disappeared and scared Ellie and I, what gives?" Chuck wanted to shout it to the world that he was married to Sarah Walker, but he knew he couldn't let that cat out of the bag without Sarah. Still, that didn't mean Chuck couldn't talk about the most recent change. Morgan saw the change in Chuck's posture and knew something was coming.
"I ran into Sarah on Friday," Chuck said simply. Chuck thought he said the words quietly, but apparently the word Sarah was a trigger word, because every Buy More employee within thirty feet of the Nerd Herd desk stopped and turned towards Chuck. Morgan was stunned, that was the last thing Morgan had expected to come from his best friend's mouth. If he thought about it, nothing would turn around Chuck's mood faster than the return of Sarah Walker into Chuck Bartowski's life.
"Dude, that's great, but I thought she left town?" Morgan asked. Chuck nodded at Morgan and clicked submit, thus completing his work. With his work complete, Chuck turned to his friend and spoke once again.
"She was in town on business, we bumped into each other, Friday night. We got to talking and… we spent the weekend together." The content sigh that accompanied that last sentence told Morgan the entire story, and while he was happy for his friend, something in the back of his mind was niggling at him.
"If she was back in town, why didn't she call you?" Confusion and apprehension were on full display on Morgan's face as he tried to understand. Chuck paused to think of how to answer that and in the end settled on the example Sarah set with Ellie, though he would take General Beckman's orders to heart and keep the truth out of it.
"Due to the nature of her job, she wasn't allowed to contact me." Upon seeing the further confusion on Morgan's face, Chuck stuck up his hand to stop his friend and continued. "I know what her job really is, but I am not allowed to tell you about it. If you really want to know, she'll be around eventually, so you'll be able to ask her yourself." Morgan simply nodded, still confused, but having accepted that he wouldn't get any more from his hetero-life partner.
"So, if she has this mysterious job, is she leaving again?" Morgan asked, which was the next logical question. The warm smile Chuck gave Morgan spoke volumes.
"No, Buddy, she's not going anywhere this time. Sarah decided to quit her old job and stay, for us." The joy that Morgan saw just waiting to burst out from behind Chuck's eyes told him more than Chuck's words ever could. Chuck was whole again, Sarah was back and she was staying for good, for them. If this career move was to be believed, then that likely explained the up and down nature of his best friend's relationship with one Sarah Walker.
"I'm glad to hear that, Chuck, especially if it means we don't have to see you like you've been the last six weeks," Morgan said quietly; Chuck merely shrugged. Chuck's phone dinged, grabbing his attention. Chuck pulled out his phone and read the text from Sarah.
S: Come to Castle with Casey during lunch break, need your opinion… and food! xoxo
Chuck simply smiled to himself at the text and replied in the affirmative, conveying exactly what he'd told Morgan as well. Once the text was sent, Chuck looked back to Morgan who was giving him an amused look.
Chuck simply shrugged once again, "That was Sarah, she misses me." Morgan simply nodded and turned to get back to work; Chuck spoke once again before Morgan got too far away. "By the way, where's Emmett?"
"He quit," Morgan said. Chuck gave him a confused look; Chuck was obviously aware of the fact that Sarah would be interviewing for the assistant manager's position, but Emmett was still the Ass Man as Morgan called him. "On Monday, he got a call in the middle of the sales floor, he listened for thirty seconds, started sweating, hung up, quit, and sprinted from the building. We haven't seen him since; good riddance I say." Chuck simply nodded at that answer, pretty sure of what happened. That would have been after they had told General Beckman about Sarah's pregnancy; the General must have had someone call Emmett towards the end of his shift and intimidated him into quitting.
"Yeah, never liked the guy," Chuck said to Morgan as his little buddy walked away to get back to work.
~X~
Castle
Burbank, California
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
12:12 PM PST
The sound of the Castle door opening with a loud whoosh signaled to Sarah Bartowski that her husband and her partner had returned from the wilderness outside. While that last part may have been hyperbole, the sentiment was valid, her husband had returned at last and Mrs. Bartowski could not wait to greet him. She quickly minimized the window she had open on her computer, hiding what she was working on and pivoted in her chair to see the two men walking up to her.
Sarah stood in a flash to go greet her husband, jogging up to him and capturing his lips in a searing kiss. When the two of them separated, the scent of greasy deliciousness greeted her nostrils and like a dog hot on the trail, she sought out the source of the scent. At that moment, Chuck held up the white paper bag towards Sarah.
"In & Out, cheese burger with extra pickles, French fries animal style, all for you." In that moment a sound escaped from Sarah's mouth that was somewhere short of a moan of ecstasy. Sarah reached out and grabbed the bag from her husband and peered inside to confirm the contents. As she saw exactly what he'd said would be in there, a joy coursed through her veins that she couldn't explain. The wild look in Sarah's eye that Chuck saw made him scared for his survival.
"If I wasn't so damn hungry, and we didn't have actual work to do before your lunch break ends, I'd drag you off to the supply closet and show you exactly how grateful I am that you brought me lunch. If you're curious, the answer is extremely grateful and I'll be showing you tonight at home." Chuck blushed a deep shade of crimson at Sarah's overt comment while Casey simply groaned in disgust.
"Come on, Walker, it's bad enough I have to deal with Jeffster every day." Sarah simply gave Casey an amused look and shook her head as she pulled out her lunch to enjoy it.
"I'm sorry, Casey, but I've been keeping this bottled up inside me for the last year and a half. Now that I'm married to the man I love, you're just going to have to get used to me making Chuck blush, in any way that I make him blush," Sarah finished sotto voce to Chuck, eliciting another deep blush from her husband. As Sarah saw the blush creep up Chuck's features, Sarah shook her head in amusement. "You're too easy," she said before she unwrapped the cheeseburger and dug in." Chuck and Casey sat down at the desk, Chuck on Sarah's right, with Casey sitting catty-cornered to them also to the right. Sarah motioned towards the laptops she'd gotten out for her husband and partner and spoke.
"Those laptops have the two files for the agents I'm considering, take a look and choose one of them, I don't care which." Chuck snorted at the muffled voice that gave him an order through a mouthful of cheeseburger. Chuck and Casey opened the laptop and began reading through the files, while Sarah ate her lunch. She'd had to skip breakfast this morning, because she was too busy mounting Chuck in the shower to worry about trivial things like breakfast, so Sarah Bartowski was positively famished.
Casey was busy reading the first personnel file and he was intrigued by this possible choice, at first glance this guy didn't seem like the right fit for the team.
"Daniel Shaw?" Casey said, grabbing Sarah's attention, who nodded silently. After taking a moment to swallow Sarah spoke.
"He's highly decorated, got a good track record in the field, attended the naval academy, I saw nothing wrong with his file," Sarah said with a shrug. Chuck steepled his fingers as he read through the file as well. Something was just off about this Agent Shaw and Chuck didn't know what it was. As he scrolled the page down to Agent Shaw's personal history a picture of a wedding band came up that triggered a flash. The flash took Chuck by surprise, it was the first serious flash he'd had in over a month. When Chuck came out of the flash, he shook his head to shake out the cobwebs.
"Woah, it's been a while since I've done that." Casey and Sarah watched Chuck, anxious to hear what Chuck had to say after his flash. Once Chuck regained himself, he turned to Sarah and uttered two words, "Evelyn Pope." Sarah blanched, which was not lost on Casey or Chuck in the least.
"What did you say?" Sarah said in a ghostly voice. "Did you just say Evelyn Pope?" Chuck nodded in the affirmative. "Why is that name relevant?" Sarah said as if the world was closing in around her.
"That's the maiden name of Daniel Shaw's deceased wife, Evelyn Shaw, killed in action…"
"April, 17th, 2003," Sarah finished for Chuck, her eyes lost in a thousand-yard stare as she got lost in recollections of something she'd tried not to think about ever again. Casey's posture straightened as he watched his partner, he'd seen the symptoms of PTS before and this was it.
"Why do you know that date? What is she to you?" Casey asked as he leaned in slightly, trying to determine if this woman was a friend of Walker's or something else.
"She was my red test." The word red test echoed through Chuck's mind, triggering another flash, this time on the CIA SOP guidelines.
"Red Test, the final exam for prospective CIA wet work specialists. Standard operating procedure dictates candidates be given a target for termination that places them in a situation that tests their psychological profile to determine their ability to follow any order given to them." After Chuck had finished speaking, he shook his head to snap out of the haze the Intersect put him in from time to time. Sarah was simply eyeing Chuck and Casey was rather quiet.
"I guess that eliminates Agent Shaw," Casey said quietly. "Can't trust him if that secret got out." Chuck nodded and closed the Agent Shaw file, turning his attention to the other candidate Sarah had set aside for consideration.
"With Agent Shaw out of the running that only leaves…" Chuck began as he waited for the file to finish loading on the outdated government issue laptop. Casey was already reading the file silently as it finally appeared on Chuck's screen. The image of a woman appeared on screen. She was just out of college, with long flowing blonde hair and the most piercing set of blue eyes Chuck had ever seen. Her perfect teeth and brilliant smile gave the impression of a modelesque girl next door more than a CIA agent.
"Her name is Nora Rogers, age twenty-four, she's similar to me," Sarah said to her two teammates. When Sarah saw the confusion on their faces, she realized that neither of them knew her background. "Agent Rogers, like myself, was a project of the late Langston Graham. Recruited at the age of sixteen when her parents were arrested for fraud and money laundering, Agent Rogers demonstrated a genius level intellect. She graduated high school at sixteen and attended MIT, thanks in part to the CIA. While at MIT, she graduated in three years with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. From there it's a story very similar to mine; Graham fast tracked her through the Farm, doing his damndest to mold her into an assassin like me, but colder. She graduated the Farm at only twenty-years-of age, having broken almost all of my records at the Farm. The problem was her psychological evaluations revealed an obvious inability to stomach wet work. She has no problem using her weapon in the field, but when they gave her a red test, she couldn't do it. Since then, Graham has used her exclusively as a honeytrap, seeing no other value in her services than that. Regardless of her resume in the field, her intellect, psychological profile, and physical prowess in training make her an ideal choice. In the one assignment where she was given an asset, her handler remarked that she was too keen to value the life and wellbeing of her asset and demonstrated an unwillingness to act against the asset's best interests."
As Sarah finished her miniature biography of Nora Rogers, she saw an interesting array of reactions from her partners. Chuck had a small smile on his face and nodded in approval, obviously happy with Agent Rogers. Chuck was aware of more of Sarah's history than Casey was, so this story probably wasn't that much of a shock. Casey on the other hand was shocked, he looked absolutely floored.
"Is that what happened to you?" he asked trying to wrap his mind around the diabolical man that was Langston Graham.
"Something very similar, yes. Dad and I ran cons while I was growing up. Dad got arrested, likely at the behest of Graham himself, and then Graham cornered me in the woods while I was digging up an emergency box. Graham coerced me to join the CIA at age sixteen and the rest is history." Sarah merely shrugged as she sat back in her chair. This story didn't affect her as much as it used to. Six years ago, that story made her feel used and lied to, but now she just felt a general indifference about it. Casey simply nodded and took a moment to process all that Sarah had revealed about Agent Rogers and about herself.
"I guess I'd always assumed that we came into this life knowing what we were getting into, but knowing how you got here, your attraction to Bartowski makes a bit more sense," Casey said as he closed the laptop in front of him. The NSA agent missed the small smile on Sarah's face as she glanced over at Chuck, who returned her smile.
"I think Nora Rogers sounds like a perfect candidate to add to the team, but what about the cover? Obviously, Ellie will know the truth, but to everyone else, Agent Rogers is going to need a pretty solid cover to explain who she is and why she's hanging around all the time," Chuck said, pointing out the next obvious question. Sarah merely shrugged as she replied between bites of animal style french fries.
"Why don't we wait until she joins the team and ask her about it?" Chuck nodded in agreement and stole a french fry, getting a look of faux hurt from his wife in the process.
"What? I'm just checking to make sure they're not poisoned," Chuck said before he popped the fry into his mouth, chewing and swallowing the delicious piece of fried heaven. "Yep, no poison in that one." Sarah merely shook her head in amusement and smiled at her husband.
~X~
Casa Bartowski, Parking Lot
Burbank, California
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
4:15 PM PST
When the car came to a stop in the parking spot, Chuck turned off the engine in the tiny Herder and turned to his wife. Sarah Bartowski had a look of calm on her face that was not appreciated at the moment. This was so not fair, Sarah had gotten this done without Chuck, now he had to face his sister all by himself. He knew he sounded like a big baby, but he had no idea how his sister would react to learning that he'd been lying to him for nearly two years.
"Are you sure you won't come in with me? I could really use the support of my amazing wife in a moment like this," Chuck asked pleadingly. Sarah simply gave Chuck a loving smile and grabbed his hand, giving it a tender squeeze to steady him.
"You're going to be fine, Chuck, we've already had this discussion twice before. You need to go in there alone, this is something that you need to do for yourself. Take as long as you need, I'll be waiting outside the Herder for you and Ellie." Chuck simply sighed in resignation and nodded. Sarah caressed his cheek, she knew he was nervous about what his sister would say and that was certainly a valid fear, but this needed to happen.
"Go, the sooner you get in there, the sooner we can tell her about us." Chuck nodded and gave her a smile. Sarah saw her husband lean in for a kiss and she was more than happy to oblige, her left-hand snaking around the back of his neck as their lips met. The kiss deepened almost instantly into an explosion of passion and before either of them could comprehend the change, they were making out like a pair of teens on date night. When they finally came up for air, Sarah had to take a moment to collect herself after the surprisingly passionate interlude just now.
"Man, that's better than any liquid courage," Chuck said with a wry smile that made his wife giggle and push him out of the Herder with an amused smile on her face.
"Get going you goof." Chuck gave her a confident smile and closed the door. Sarah stayed in the Herder for a moment longer, merely contemplating her husband. He drew strength from her, he'd been a nervous wreck, but a little support from her and he was fine. That showed so clearly how much they needed each other, because she was the same way. There were so many moments where Sarah had drawn comfort from Chuck over the last five days. He was her security blanket when times get tough and she his, but then again that was how a marriage was supposed to be.
As Chuck walked back into the apartment he shared with his sister and her fiancé, the place felt foreign to him. This place wasn't his home any longer, it was the place that he'd lived in while his heart had healed from the pain of Jill and Stanford, but now it was time to move on. The place was a prison of comfort and complacency as much as it was his sister's home. Now that he was married, he needed to go out in the world and build a life for himself, with a home he'd share with his growing family.
"Elle? Are you home?" Chuck called as he closed the door behind him. It felt so strange coming back to this place like this; he wasn't coming home so much as he was coming back for something. There was a commotion down the hallway that grabbed Chuck's attention. Chuck walked to the middle of the living room and heard footsteps moving quickly in his direction.
"Chuck?" came the familiar voice of his sister. Chuck swallowed nervously and waited for the ever-imposing Eleanor Bartowski to appear.
"Yeah, it's me." Neither said anything else as Ellie appeared, her face a picture of nerves. As Chuck turned to face his sister and speak, he was met by the cold smack of his sister's hand as she slapped him.
"Where the hell have you been!?" Ellie yelled at her younger brother, who she felt an almost maternal desire to protect. "Do you have any idea how scared I've been? You just up and disappear on me without so much as a note or a phone call! I thought you bailed like Dad," Ellie finished with a small voice, the two of them standing no farther than a foot apart now. Chuck had never seen his sister looking meek before, he'd never seen this before and it made him feel like a jackass.
"Ellie, you know I would never do that, I just…" Chuck began before Ellie's hand on his chest stopped him.
"I know where you've been, and who you were with." Chuck's mind came to a screeching halt as he saw the heartbreak in his sister's eyes.
"Ellie…"
"I also know what that woman, Alex Forrest, did to you. I know what she threatened to do to me if you didn't cooperate." As Chuck heard the words come from his sister's mouth, he saw the tears begin to well up in her eyes and in that moment, he couldn't stop them from welling up in his own. Chuck tried to speak, to say anything to pivot, but a shake of his sister's head silenced him as she silently pulled him into a hug, her head buried in his neck as her arms encircled his back comfortingly. The feeling of his sister's arms around him, the physical comfort of his sister being there was something he'd missed over the last six weeks since Agent Forrest's threats had pushed him away from everyone in his life. As the brother and sister embraced in the middle of the living room, loud cries of anguish could be heard from the both of them.
As the tears poured out of the both of them, Chuck spoke through the emotional pain, "I've missed you so much." Chuck felt Ellie's arms hold onto him tighter as she nodded into him.
"You were trying to protect me, by cutting me out of your life," Ellie said as she pulled back to look Chuck in the eye only to see him tearfully nodding. As Ellie got confirmation, her heart broke a thousand times over. Her brother, the most loving man on earth, had tried to keep his family safe, even if it meant losing everyone he loved. "Oh Chuck," Ellie sobbed before he pulled her back in for another hug.
"I couldn't let her hurt you, we're all we've got," Chuck said tearfully to his sister who simply nodded as she let go of Chuck and wiped at the tears in her eyes.
"You're right, Little Bro, and now that I know what you really do for a living, I'm going to do whatever I need to do to support you. If the Buy More is your cover, then I'll stop pushing you to get a new job in front of Devon. Whatever you need me to do to support you, I'll do it." Chuck gave his sister a tearful smile and pulled her into another hug, this one far less emotional.
"Just be my big sister, that's all I've ever needed," Chuck said with a small smile as Ellie pulled away and gave Chuck a loving smile and nodded.
"I'll always be your big sister; nothing will ever change that, Little Brother." Chuck simply nodded at Ellie's words and watched Ellie walk towards the kitchen. "So, where's Sarah? I figured you two would be inseparable now that she's back. Although if you two still have the original cover then things must still be frustrating." Chuck simply chuckled at his sister's mini spiral.
"That's actually why I'm here, you need to come with me," Chuck said to Ellie, who gave him a confused look. "Sarah's waiting outside at the Herder; the three of us need to have a conversation, but it can't be here." Ellie nodded.
"Why didn't she come in with you?"
Part of Chuck didn't want to reveal the conversation Chuck had with Sarah on the way back from work, but Ellie did ask.
"She said you and I needed to have a talk alone, just the two of us." Ellie nodded, understanding exactly why Sarah hadn't come in. Sarah knew that Ellie and Chuck needed to have this emotional moment between siblings following everything that Sarah had told Ellie the night before.
"Yeah, as she was telling me the story of everything that has happened, it just broke my heart. That woman loves you so much, Chuck, and you better hurry up and put a ring on that girl's finger." Ellie said, giving Chuck a look of mock sternness. Chuck had to work hard not to laugh and simply shook his head.
"Trust me, Sis, putting a ring on Sarah's finger is my top priority," Chuck said with a smile, which made Ellie squeal happily.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you two! I must look like a racoon, just give me five minutes to fix myself up and then we can go," Ellie said as she ran off to the bathroom. Chuck simply chuckled to himself at the irony of Ellie's demand that Chuck put a ring on Sarah's finger; boy was Ellie in for a shock.
~X~
Outside at the Herder, Sarah was simply leaning on the passenger door of the tiny Tylenol capsule on wheels. The LA Field Office had come and picked up the now overdue Maserati, leaving her without a car until the CIA cleaned out her apartment and shipped everything, including her Porsche to Burbank for good this time. She'd sent Chuck in alone for a very specific reason and she was glad she had from how long it was taking. Those two had some healing of their own to do and that wasn't something for wives (or girlfriends as Ellie believed) to be present for. It was a long and emotional talk with the elder Bartowski sibling the previous night. As the story went on and the 49B came up, Sarah had found it hard to go on. She had to explain that thinking about that time away from Chuck was hard, because there were times where she'd genuinely considered if living was still worth it or if the other option was preferable. Of course, this had shocked Ellie, but Sarah had simply told the brunette that Chuck was the most important person in Sarah's life, more important than Chuck is to Ellie. Of course, Ellie had been skeptical, but after Sarah had explained that Chuck was the only thing that gave Sarah's life meaning, that he was the sun, the moon, and the stars in her life, Ellie had understood that Sarah was talking about the forever kind of love.
That was when the tears had started for the both of them. Ellie finally understood what the cover had been doing to the both of them, and how hard the 49B had been on them. When Sarah had told Ellie about Alex Forrest's abuse of Chuck, she'd found herself feeling sick once again and, in that moment, she didn't know if it was the baby or the talking about Chuck being abused. Chuck had told Sarah in detail exactly what Forrest had done to him after the two of them had gotten back to the hotel room following the meeting with Beckman. Sarah had insisted that Chuck tell her so that it was out in the open. When Chuck had told her about Forrest's threats to hire people to cripple Ellie, or have her raped, or sold into the sex trade, Sarah had wanted to break something. Alex Forrest had forced Chuck's silence and submission by threatening to do the worst things imaginable to the most wonderful woman on earth. Ellie Bartowski was an innocent civilian, the type of people they were supposed to protect, and Forrest's threats were antithetical to anything that an American Intelligence Officer should even contemplate.
When Chuck had told her that he had started withdrawing from his family and friends, distancing himself from them all to protect them from Alex Forrest, Sarah had broken and cried along with him. Alex Forrest had driven a wedge between the two Bartowski siblings, the only family either of them had, and arguably the only person Chuck had in that moment to talk to. Chuck had been totally alone with his despair for weeks on end and it made her furious at Casey for doing nothing until the eleventh hour. She was definitely having a conversation with her NSA counterpart about his inaction the previous six weeks. When it came time to tell Ellie about their marriage and the baby, Sarah had known that Chuck needed to go in there and face Ellie alone first. Chuck needed to be forced to confront his sister and heal so that everyone could move on from what that monster had done.
Sarah was shaken from her musings by the sound of Ellie Bartowski's voice. "Hey, Sis," Ellie said as she pulled Sarah into a hug.
"What?" Sarah stumbled out in shock, unsure what to make of Ellie's words. Had Ellie figured out that Sarah had married Ellie's brother?
"Relax, Sarah, just because he hasn't asked yet doesn't mean it isn't inevitable that you'll be a Bartowski before too long." Sarah saw Chuck's eyes grow huge as he puffed out his cheeks behind his sister's back. When Ellie broke the hug, she saw the nerves on Sarah's face and laughed. "So, what's this I hear about us three needing to talk?" Sarah took a beat to collect herself.
"There is more to the story from last night, but Chuck deserves to be there when we tell you." As Sarah finished speaking, Chuck came up next to her and took her hand, leaning on the Herder as well.
"Then why do we need to go somewhere else?" Ellie asked. Chuck took a half step towards his sister and laid his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. Ellie saw a confidence and self-assuredness in Chuck's eyes that she'd never seen in him before.
"Just trust me, Elle, this spot is special." As she saw the truth in his eyes, she finally understood how much having Sarah back in his life meant to him. Chuck was the man he was always destined to be when he had Sarah by his side. The blonde CIA agent gave him the self-confidence to trust in himself for the first time in his life. Her little brother had grown up a lot in a weekend it would seem. Gone was the nerdy, loser working at a Buy More who was simply getting by. In his place, Ellie saw a man, an adult who was ready to move on with his life and be somebody, it actually made her rather proud.
Ellie gave her brother and his girlfriend a smile and nodded. With that, the three of them piled into Chuck's tiny Herder, the man himself insisting on taking the microscopic backseat. The two ladies had laughed hysterically as they'd watched Chuck cram all six-foot three-inches of himself back there so the ladies could be comfortable in the front seats. As the Herder took off for its destination, Ellie was struck by the different vibe she got from the two people in the tiny car with her. Both of them seemed to exude this aura of completeness, as if they filled that void in the other's soul that had gone unfilled for a lifetime. Regardless of what it was, neither of them was the same person as they were before, the events of the 49B had irrevocably altered the both of them. The toll of the events as Sarah had told them had changed Sarah to such an extent that she was no longer able to do fieldwork as she'd called it, which Ellie assumed was the missions like in those James Bond movies that Chuck always enjoyed as a kid. Chuck had grown up a lot, she could see the goofy childlike personality was still in there, but a maturity had been unearthed in him that had aged him, if not physically then emotionally.
As the Herder drove off into the distance Ellie was eager to learn more about her brother and his girlfriend's adventures as spies. Whatever they had to tell her was obviously important if Sarah wanted Chuck to be there for it. Whatever it was, Ellie was ready; she was ready for anything.
CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #4: Okay, that was chapter eleven! Chuck and Sarah are together and the healing has begun. Sarah is starting the process of repairing all of the damage to her cover that the 49B did, which is going to stretch into future chapters as you'll see. The conversation with Ellie WILL happen next chapter. I promise not to stick four chapter in between this one and the talk like I did after chapter three LOL.
CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #5: I bet some of y'all seriously thought I was going to bring Shaw into this story of the angst, right? No, that was never a consideration, just a tool for backstory. We'll meet Nora Rogers in a few chapters, but we've got more stuff to work on at the home front before the greater story arc moves on. When I was developing Sarah's replacement, it dawned on me that Graham was a twisted bastard and would no doubt have more teenage projects waiting in the wings for when Sarah flamed out. The idea of Sarah choosing another of Graham's projects, someone so much like her, was really intriguing to me. I'm really exciting to explore the Nora character, i've never had an OC main character before, so this is very new territory before!
CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #6: So, how do all of you think Ellie is going to take the news of Chuck and Sarah's marriage and baby? What about Morgan when he finds out? Let me know your thoughts on this chapter and your predictions for the next chapter by leaving a review. Us authors don't get paid, so your reviews are the return we get back, and regardless of whether your feedback is positive or negative, we appreciate that you took the time to let us know what you thought. I hope to have chapter twelve out quicker than this chapter took to finish, but with the up and coming semester, no promises.
Until Next Time :D