AN: Hello, my friends. It's me, again, your old pal, Williegarvin. For those keeping score, I do not own (i) Chuck, (ii) O'Malley's Bar and Grill, (iii) Castle Studios, or (iv) the Buy More. Bit of a quotidian chapter coming up here to close out the arc...not to suggest that nothing important happens, of course.
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Eileen Burke was happy with her new job, at least so far. She'd been a bartender in a bunch of places over the years. O'Malley's was the fifteenth, maybe nineteenth, establishment she'd been employed by (she wasn't really sure how to count places she'd worked at multiple times over the years). She liked Jackie, the big gregarious owner. She liked his straight-ahead approach and generally found it pretty refreshing. He treated her like a pro after the first night, satisfied that she knew what she was doing. And he had a nice way of including her with the regulars, making it comfortable more quickly.
The money was decent and the tips were pretty good. Not spectacular, like you'd make at a hotel bar, for example. Those places with suits and expense accounts were big money-makers, but you had to put up with a lot of bullshit too, particularly as an attractive woman. Sure, your tips were better if your shirt was unbuttoned one extra button and more boob showed, but then you had to deal with the drunks hitting on you.
She much preferred a nice neighborhood place like O'Malley's. Smaller tips, but fewer asshole customers to deal with on the other side. Worth it. Not that she was incapable of getting the higher tips with a bit of cleavage. She laughed to herself a bit. At forty years old, she'd been compared to the actor Ann Margaret at about that age. Somewhat busty, red hair, green eyes, Eileen knew men still found her attractive, but with one failed marriage under her belt, she wasn't about to jump into another serious relationship. It just wasn't the right time for her. An unserious relationship, on the other hand...
A few men entered the bar. Jackie gestured for her to come over and meet them with him. One was a small man with a beard and a bit of a hangdog expression. The second was a tall cute lanky guy with curly dark hair, a friendly demeanor and a killer smile. The third was closer to her age. He was a tough looking, serious dude with a no-bullshit look. Tall, like the lanky guy, but with much more muscle. She thought he was probably military or ex-military, like her ex-husband. She immediately found him interesting.
Jackie said, "Want you fellas to meet my newest bartender. This is Eileen Burke. Eileen, this is Morgan Grimes, John Casey and Chuck Bartowski. They are three of my favorite regulars and they'll be yours too soon, I'll bet."
She gave them a nice, friendly smile and shook hands with each of them. "What can I get you fellas?" she asked. They ordered beers.
She was pulling the draft beers and standing only a couple of feet away. "Where's Ellie?" asked Jackie.
"She's still back east with Devon on a project," answered Chuck.
"And where's Sarah?"
"She'll be here in a minute. Had to finish up something," said Chuck.
"Chuck is going to pop the question, Jackie" said Morgan with subdued excitement.
"Tonight?" asked Jackie with surprise.
"No, no, I'm going to wait for the right time. Don't know when. But I've been carrying the ring around for a few days, just in case," said Chuck.
"Let's see," said Eileen, putting their beers in front of them.
With a quick glance at the door, Chuck took a small red box out of his pocket and flipped it open. Nestled into the red velvet package was a gold ring with a two-carat emerald cut diamond with a couple of trillions bracketing it on either side.
Jackie said, "Nice one, Chuck. Well done, son. Well done." He reached out and squeezed Chuck's shoulder.
"Oh, my God, Chuck. That's so beautiful. She's going to love it," said Eileen, sincerely. In response, the grin on the man's face was ecstatic. "Great job." She'd only known him a few minutes and already Eileen found herself warming to this man. He seemed to be a really nice guy, and she didn't know a lot of those.
"Thanks, Jackie, Ms. Burke. Thanks." Chuck began to put the ring back into his pocket.
"You'll see. Sarah's the best," said Morgan enthusiastically.
Eileen laughed and said, "And this coming from the pal. Is she better than your own girlfriend, Morgan?"
Morgan looked uncomfortable, and stammered, "Oh, no, no, no. That's not what I meant,…"
Eileen laughed again, "You walked right into that one, Morgan. How about you, John? Sarah better than your girlfriend?"
With a small smile, Casey said, his deep voice dragged out of his throat, "Naw, Ms. Burke. I'm flying solo at the moment. No girlfriend. And my friends call me Casey." He tipped his beer towards her.
Her green eyes looked at him frankly for a moment or two of appraisal and said, "Ok...Casey, then. My friends call me Eileen." Eileen and Casey held each other's gaze. Her look was so strong and open that Jackie, Chuck and Morgan looked back and forth between Casey and Eileen with surprise. There was no flirtation in her confident gaze, just obvious mature interest.
After a few moments, Eileen smiled at Casey and said, "See ya 'round." She moved off to take care of two other customers who had just sat down at one end of the bar. But not so far away that she failed to hear what was said next among the men.
Chuckling, Jackie said to Chuck and Morgan, gesturing at Casey, "He's dead."
"But what a way to go, Jackie," said Chuck with a laugh.
She heard Casey just grunt in reply and she smiled to herself.
As she was taking the next order, a pretty blonde woman walked in. The woman was small and carried herself with a light aspect. She looked around and spotted Chuck, Morgan and Casey. She smiled and went to join them.
Not Sarah, thought, Eileen. She didn't know why she was sure of that, but she was. She moved back to the group and said, "Hi, what can I get you?"
Before the woman could answer, Morgan said, "Eileen, meet Amy. Amy, meet Eileen. We're all friends from work." Eileen shook the woman's hand and gave her a friendly smile.
"Oh, thanks so much," said Amy with a perky attitude. "White wine, please."
"Sure," said Eileen. "Any preference?"
Amy shrugged her shoulder and said, "Naw, whatever." She gave the last bit with a flip of her hair. Eileen thought Amy seemed to be a bit of a lightweight, but Eileen was experienced enough to recognize that some women of talent and intelligence deliberately chose that demeanor to appear non-threatening. She knew she would not underestimate Amy until proven otherwise.
Eileen was hearing snippets of conversation from the patrons, but she found herself most interested in the conversations of Chuck and his friends. She was already thinking of them that way. Not Morgan and his friends, or even Casey and his friends. This group was definitely Chuck and his friends. He seemed to be the one that all the others were drawn to.
They were talking about everyday things, but seemed to be enjoying their time together, which Eileen always appreciated. She'd seen her share of morose drinkers and much preferred the more cheerful kind.
Four more men came into the bar and made their way to Chuck's group. They were a tough looking group, particularly the big redhead, who looked like he could rip down a house barehanded if he was in the mood. They were introduced to Eileen as Fitz (the redhead), Marco (smaller, with dark curly hair, but a movie star smile), Billy (an African American man with gentle eyes), and Leo (quiet, with a shaved head).
As fellow redheads, she and Fitz greeted each other with "Hey, Red," accompanied by grins and a fist bump.
As she got them their beers, she noticed the interaction among the men. Chuck didn't exude the toughness or hardness of the others. On the contrary, he was open and friendly and laughing. Even exuberant. He was also a bit younger than any of the others. But these hard men were obvious in their affection for him and...she came to realize after a bit more eavesdropping ...tremendous respect. If someone were to ask her who was the commanding officer of the troop, she wouldn't hesitate for a second before naming Chuck. There was no element of awe or distance in what she saw. All four of those men were friendly and easy with Chuck, but she knew for certain that they would follow him into Hell itself at a word from him. She heard Chuck say, "...and the tiger was eating the guy and all I could do was sneeze." The men roared with laughter.
When the door opened again, the blonde woman who walked in was possibly the most beautiful woman Eileen had ever seen, and she'd lived in Los Angeles most of her life, where so many wanna-be actresses gravitated. As attractive as the woman was, when the woman caught sight of Chuck, she smiled. Eileen knew it was just an illusion, but all the lights in the bar seemed to dim at the same time, such was the radiance of that smile. The love and joy and adoration on the woman's face when she looked at Chuck was … holy shit. Eileen said to herself, 'Sarah.' Morgan had been right, it seemed.
Sarah made her way over to the group at the bar and gave her soon-to-be fiancé a resounding kiss hello. The look of joy Chuck gave her after the kiss was that of a man who had just been given the most wonderful gift in the world. Sarah greeted the other men with friendly jokes and ribbing. Eileen made her way over and said, "Hi, Sarah. What can I get you?"
Sarah cocked an eyebrow and said, "I think you have me at a disadvantage. You are?"
"Sorry. I'm Eileen and just tonight meeting your pals here. Seems they can't stop talking about you. All evening, it's just been Sarah, Sarah, Sarah."
As Sarah shook hands with Eileen she turned to the guys and said, smiling, "I've warned you about that..."
"It was all me, sweetie," said Chuck. "I'm solely to blame. Please don't beat up my friends...again."
Everyone laughed. Eileen said, "What can I get you?"
Sarah ordered a Stella. Eileen looked at the rest and said, "Guys?" Several nodded, so she moved off to get the beers.
The way the group broke down, Chuck, Sarah, Amy and the four tough looking dudes were talking to each other, leaving Casey and Morgan sitting next to each other on the edge of the group. She heard Morgan say, "I have to do something. I mean, I know it. I know I do. With the …. changes that you and Sarah brought with you...it's just time, you know, Casey? I really feel I have to do something. I have to change."
Casey replied, gruffly, "Then do it. Change. Just take the jump. Otherwise you're just whining about it."
The men fell silent for a moment or two. Eileen said to them, gesturing to their beers, "You good?"
Morgan shook his head, distracted by whatever was going on in his head. Casey said, "I'll take another. Thanks, Eileen."
She put the beer in front of him and said, "So, no girlfriend at the moment. You against them as a matter of preference?"
Startled, he looked at her and said, "No..."
"So, you busy on Wednesday night?"
"What?" he asked, with raised eyebrows.
"Wednesday night. I have off from here. Can I buy you dinner?"
Casey looked at her for a moment or two in surprise and then smiled at her. "Yeah. I think I'd like that, Eileen. I hope you're not a vegan though."
"Come on, Casey. Do you think I got this..." she swept a hand down the side of her body. "...with tofu?"
He started to laugh. She liked the sound of his laughter and laughed with him. Shortly, they began to exchange information for the logistics of the date on Wednesday night.
While Eileen and Casey were occupied, Morgan was looking into his beer. Gradually, his expression changed. Hardened, as if he'd made a decision. Jackie O'Malley walked past and both Eileen and Casey heard Morgan say, "Jackie, can I have a job here? Please?"
They were suddenly distracted by the conversation next to them.
"You have a job at the Buy More, Morgan," said Jackie, with a chuckle while wiping the bar with a rag.
"I really want to work in a restaurant," said Morgan.
Jackie laughed and said, "Naw, kid. You wouldn't look good in a skirt, like the women I have waiting tables. It's the beard, see?"
Morgan looked at him seriously and said, "I'm serious. I'll do anything you need. Anything you want. Send me to clean the bathrooms, I don't care. I'll do it."
Jackie sighed and said, "No, kid. You're a great customer, but I don't think you'd be a terrific employee. I've known you for years, remember."
"So?"
"Morgan, look. Seriously, it wouldn't work out."
"Why not?"
Jackie gave a heavy sigh and said, "Look, I like you, Morgan. I really do. But I can't hire you. You're lazy, irresponsible and immature. Not a problem for a customer, but a big problem for an employee."
Eileen saw the look in Morgan's eyes. Determination mixed with a bit of desperation. The man said, softly, "I was. People can change, Jackie." He didn't say anything else and just sat looking at Jackie.
Jackie paused for a long time, staring at Morgan. Finally, he said, "Ok, Morgan. That was the right answer. Here's what you are going to do. Give the Buy More two weeks' notice. Then take a two week vacation. Show up back here in a month ready to work your ass off."
Morgan's bearded face split into a huge grin. "Thank you, Jackie. I promise you won't regret it." He looked so happy.
Jackie, on the other hand, looked like he might be regretting it already.
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A/N2: I'm having flashbacks to my days as a bartender. Fun times.
A/N3: Another step away from the Buy More. Now I hope that none of you think I would let Morgan take a vacation on his own, do you? Of course, not. Let's see where Morgan and his friends head. Hint: Caio, bella. Who wants to learn about Lou Palone's family and backstory? Non-canon arc coming up.
A/N4: Please be safe, people. It's very scary out there in much of the world. I know I'm sounding like a broken record, but we all have to stay disciplined and get through this together. Our health depends on the common sense of our neighbors...oh, shit.