A/N: Welcome to the twenty-seventh arc of the story. I'm calling it the Jack Burton Arc. It is based, kind of, on Chuck vs. The Delorean (second season, tenth episode).

A/N2: I'm pretty glad that Jack Burton doesn't own Chuck. He's not a trustworthy kind of guy.

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Graham had just finished up a briefing on the recent Russian invasion of Georgia. He didn't want to let his old cold warrior mentality bleed into his view of those events, but he couldn't help but feel that Russia was going to continue to challenge the West in the old Soviet space on Russia's periphery for years to come. The President would expect him to have some answers when he briefed him later.

His assistant came in as the briefers were leaving and handed him a half dozen message slips.

"That one on top," she said, "the man claimed it was personal."

Graham looked at the name and said, "Yeah. He was right. It is. Thanks."

He sat staring at the name for long moments after the woman had left his office. He knew it was irrational, but he had a bad feeling about this development. Eventually, with a small sigh, he dialed the number on the slip.

He hadn't heard the voice in ten years. "Jack Burton," said the man who answered.

"Been a long time, Jack."

"Ten years, Director. Just like you promised," replied Jack. It was tough to read the undertones in Burton's voice.

"I heard you got out a few weeks ago. You didn't have any trouble inside. Just as we expected," said Graham.

"Yeah. That's right, I didn't. And I heard through the grapevine that Hernandez is dead. So, I ought to be in the clear," he said.

"Yeah. I heard the same. The remains of his outfit was swallowed up by another cartel. There won't be any institutional memory left there. I think you are safe now," said Graham.

"Good." Burton paused and said, "How is she?" Both men knew who he was referring to.

"She's great. Better than great really. Especially in the past year...well...she's happier than I've ever known her."

"Aww, that's wonderful. Thanks. Where is she?"

Graham let out a sigh and said, "Look, I'm not going to tell you that or the name she's using. I'm not going to just give her back to you. She's living in a different world now. She's an adult who can make up her own mind."

Jack's voice hardened. "Graham, you can't keep my own daughter away from me. That was certainly not part of our deal."

"Yeah, it wasn't and I won't, but I'm not turning her over to you either. With you she was a child criminal destined for a women's prison someplace. Now...look, here's what I will do, Jack. I'm going to tell her that we talked. I'm going to tell her you want to see her. I'm going to give her this number. Then I'm going to give her the option of calling you or not. Up to her. I promise that I will not influence her in any way. She calls you, she calls you. She doesn't, she doesn't. That's what I will do."

Jack thought about that for a moment before he ended up laughing lightly. "That's just fine, Director. My little girl will call me. She'll call her dad. No doubt about that," he said, sounding suddenly jovial.

"I couldn't say. But I will tell you this, Burton. She's in a great place now. Both professionally and personally. Do not fuck it up with your bullshit."

"Aw, come on, Director. Gimme a break. It's been ten years. I just want to give my daughter a hug," said Burton.

"I'm serious. In the last ten years I've grown very, very fond of your daughter. If you come roaring back into her life like a wrecking ball to destroy what she has and what she's accomplished, I will be very angry. Very angry. Do you understand me? If you mess her up, you will wish to all that is holy that you were back in prison, because I will fuck you up much worse than you can possibly imagine. You need to understand something serious, Burton. I am threatening you. No bullshit here. This is a stone-cold threat. Do not hurt her," said Graham, quietly.

"Don't you worry, Director. It's all gonna work out just fine," he said, not sounding intimidated in the slightest.

"Yeah. Let's hope so." Graham said, but he was still worried.

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Sarah was sitting at her desk in Carmichael Industries and working on the presentation they would make to Microsoft at the upcoming meeting. Getting Microsoft as a client would be beyond huge. Her assistant called out, "Sarah, Director Graham is on for you."

"Thanks." She picked up the phone. "Hi."

"Afternoon, Sarah," he said.

"Hey. If this is business I can round up the others."

"No. It's personal."

"Ok," said Sarah tentatively. She was curious. Langston didn't often call with personal matters.

"Your dad was released from prison a couple of weeks ago. He called me just now. He wanted to get in touch with you. I told him I'd give you his number."

She was suddenly a little dazed, maybe nervous. "Umm, sure, yeah, ok..." she grabbed a pencil on her desk and said, "Ok. Shoot." Graham gave her the number. She said, "What name?"

"He seems to be sticking with Jack Burton. At least for now."

"Ok...um...thanks," she said.

"Sarah, I know he's your dad and you love him...but don't let him get inside your head anymore. He fed you some toxic ideas for a lot of years," said Graham.

"I know, Langston. I know...it's...it's a much different place inside my head than it was the last time I saw him. Hell, it's different than it was just a year ago. I … maybe I'm sort of inoculated now."

"Well, I told him I would give you the information and let you make up your own mind about calling him. You don't have to. I refused to give him your contact details. It's up to you," he said.

"Thank you. Thanks. I'll … I think I'm going to call him," she said.

"You don't have to make up your mind immediately. Talk to Chuck about it. Hell, talk to Ellie too, if she's around. And your mom..."

"Phew. I can only imagine what she'll say."

"Well, yeah," he said.

"Ok. Thanks. Love you, Langston."

"Love you too, Sarah."

They disconnected. Sarah swiveled her seat around and looked out her window at the busy studio passing by outside. She would talk to Chuck about it on the drive home. He was in a meeting with some of their hackers and would be for at least another hour. She knew she'd have to talk to her mom about it when they got home.

She knew he'd be getting out of jail around now. Why did this development take her by surprise? Why did it rattle her?

She tried to get her own thoughts and feelings in some kind of sensible arrangement in her head.

She loved her dad, but hadn't reached out to him in prison in the ten years of his "visit." She believed that he loved her, but he had led her into some truly horrible decisions when she was too young to know any better. He had an almost preternatural ability to manipulate people, but was woefully lacking in any sort of longer-term judgement. She wanted to re-connect with him, but knew that he'd bring with him a worldview and attitude that she, with Chuck's help, was working hard to reject. He was charming and, at least to her, very disarming, but she also worried that she might end up in an argument with him about her current life choices or recriminations about her past ones.

She sighed deeply. It was only as she was about to swivel her chair back to her desktop that she realized that she had ended the call with Langston by declaring that she loved him. Maybe for the first time ever? She paused and thought about that. She nodded once to herself and smiled a little.

That was right.

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Once Chuck had settled down into the Porsche and they had pulled out of the Castle Studios parking lot, she said, "Langston called. My dad got out of prison a couple of weeks ago and reached out to him. He wants to see me. Langston wouldn't give him my contact information, but gave me his. To call him if I wanted to."

He turned to look at her profile as she drove. She seemed pensive. "Ok," said Chuck, noncommittally.

"So, what do you think?" she asked.

"Do I think you should call him?" Sarah nodded. "I think that's up to you, Sweetie. Maybe up to you and your mom, but up to you. You know I'll support whatever decision you make. Do you want to? To call him?"

"Yeah. I do. I haven't seen him in years."

"Then go for it. Call him," Chuck said.

"It's just that..." Sarah paused.

"It's that he brings a lot of baggage with him. From the days when you were roaming the country together," said Chuck.

"Yeah. Stealing from people."

"Maybe he's gone straight since he got out? You know? Learned his lesson?"

"No way. Not him," Sarah said with certainty. "And my mom will freak out. And I don't blame her."

Chuck let out a long sigh looking at Burbank pass by. "Yeah. I don't blame her either. He really hurt her a lot by taking you away with him."

"Is it fair to her if I get back in touch with him?"

"Is it fair to you if you don't? Why not hear her views? You can talk about it after dinner," he said.

"Not looking forward to it, but you're right. I'll do that."

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Emma had spent the day with realtors, looking at houses in and around Burbank, but didn't find anything she liked. She and Molly were home in time to make dinner for the little family.

Dinner dishes done, Chuck took Molly to the side of the living room to play with her, allowing Sarah and Emma to talk.

"Ok, sweetie," said Emma. "What's on your mind? You've been preoccupied all night."

"Langston called. Dad is out of prison and reached out to him for my contact information. Langston refused to give it to him, but gave me his phone number instead."

Emma's face hardened and she began to twist the napkin in her hand tightly.

"What does he want?" Her voice was as hard as her demeanor.

"I don't know. I haven't called him. I wanted to talk to you about it."

"Throw away the number. Forget him. For all the harm he's caused you...caused us...good riddance," Emma said.

"I thought you would think that...it's not like I'm still … I don't know.. close to him. I haven't spoken to him in ten years. Not since Langston had him put in prison...sort of to protect him...but I haven't spoken to him. I'm much closer to you now, Mom..."

"I understand, Sarah. I do. But he stole twenty years of our lives together. That's an injury that I can't forgive. I can't. I'm not that strong. I'm not that good or charitable. I still have too much anger inside of me. Being with you now...seeing how wonderful it is.. How much I love you...that does nothing to diminish the anger. If anything, it just fuels it more. I realize exactly what he did to us. What he took."

As Emma was talking Sarah began to cry. Emma reached out to take her hand. Chuck looked on silently. The conversation was quiet, although emotional. Nothing to upset Molly so far.

Crying, Sarah said, "But he didn't, mom. He didn't do that. I did. I did it. It's all my fault."

"Because of a decision you made as a seven-year-old?" Sarah nodded. "You don't think you're being a little hard on yourself?"

"Ok, maybe as little kid I can excuse myself. But I wasn't a little kid for more than a few years. I knew where to find you. From when I was...I don't know...twelve? Thirteen? I could have reached out. Hell, mom, he's been to prison for the last ten years and I didn't reach out to you until last summer and then it was just to stash Molly someplace safe," Sarah said, crying hard. "That's all on me. I was too scared...feeling too guilty about what I had done. I was ashamed to face you. And then," she paused as she sobbed a little more, "and then, with every year that passed, and I didn't reach out to you...it just got worse. Mom, that is all on me. Blame him for the first five or six years, but everything after that is all my fault. And I'm so ...so sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry."

Emma, crying herself, got up from the table and wrapped her daughter in a tight hug. "I forgive you. And I love you."

"I love you too, Mom. It's not like I love him more. Or that by calling him I'm choosing him or anything like that."

"I know, Sweetie. I'm not worried about you choosing him over me. It's not a zero-sum game. I wasn't thinking that."

"It was only since I've been with Chuck that I've been able to look into myself and understand what I've done and why I've done it. And that's what I can see now. I have to contact him, Mom. I lost touch with you for twenty years and him for ten years. I don't want to repeat the mistakes I've made before. I don't want to let my own insecurities and fear and anger separate me from a parent. I've done that and it was a horrible decision with horrible consequences. I don't want to do it again."

"Ok, Sarah. I understand and that makes a lot of sense. I'm not ready to forgive him, but my anger shouldn't get in the way of you having a relationship with him. I'm not going to force you to choose between us. That's not at all fair to you."

Sarah hugged her mom again and said, "Thanks, Mom. If he visits here I know it will be uncomfortable for you, and I'll..."

Emma shook her head firmly. "Oh, no, dear. No. I will not be around. If he is visiting I'll be someplace else. Don't know where, but someplace else for sure."

"I know you are still angry with him, but you haven't seen him in twenty years. Maybe he's changed?"

"Sarah, under other circumstances I might consider it. Truly. I know any number of women who have cordial relationships with their ex-husbands, but that's not what I'm talking about."

Chuck, with the baby in front of him, spoke for the first time in a while. "Molly," he said quietly.

"Exactly. Chuck nailed it. Think about Jimmy's reaction to us having an heiress to raise. A girl with a billion and a half dollars? And how about the ten mil that Andy is sending every year? Unless your father has joined the priesthood and taken a vow of poverty, that would make him foam at the mouth. We have to get her far away from him. He can't hear about her at all. Ever. He's very smart and I don't trust him not to figure things out."

Sarah paused a moment of thought and said, "Yeah. You're right. I hate to say it...or even think it, but we have to hide Molly from him."

"Exactly. I don't know what you will arrange to see him, but if it's here, give me a heads up and I will take her to Santa Barbara or San Diego or something."

"Yeah, I guess that's right," said Sarah.

Emma got up from the table. "Good night, Sarah. I love you," said Emma.

"I love you too, Mom," said Sarah.

Emma kissed Sarah, took Molly from Chuck with a kiss on his cheek and went to get Molly ready for bed.

Chuck squeezed Sarah's hand. "You ok?"

"Yeah. I guess so. Maybe one more glass of wine before I make the call."

"I'll get it for you," said Chuck, getting up.

"Thanks, sweetie."

A half hour later, Sarah sat with her phone on the edge of the courtyard fountain in the cooling early evening and entered a number.

"Hello," said a man's smooth voice.

"Hi, Dad."

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A/N3: None of this happened in canon, but I thought all of it was necessary in this AU. Langston would be protective of Sarah. He could send her into a building full of terrorists, but he would worry that Jack Burton might be her kryptonite. And we can be pretty sure that Emma would have some strong feelings about Jack (her Jimmy). Chuck would support Sarah regardless of the decision she made about contacting Jack. And Sarah still loves her dad, despite it all. I thought these reactions deserved to be explored a tiny bit. Forget conning and petty theft; Jack kidnapped his daughter from the custodial parent. That's a big deal and really, really bad.

A/N4: You know the drill. Love to hear from you all.