A/N 1 This next part is getting out of hand, because I don't know what I am doing. The way I am writing this is that I try to understand the Character. So I imagine that if X would happen, how would they respond. And, if that happened what would they, or another character do, and then what would happen. What this means is that I have no idea what is going to happen in this story. I started writing this chapter and found myself jumping around in time, as I tried to figure out what all was happening for this Bartowski Thanksgiving dinner. Over 13,000 words later it has gotten completely out of hand. Stuff just keeps happening. Rather than needing another month before posting something, I decided to just give you this first chunk. It's around 4000 words. Hopefully someone will find it interesting. It is driving me CRAZY. It's okay, I'll be better in a moment.

Here you go. I am diving back into the madness.

A/N 2: I don't own Chuck or the gang. I think they should have a drawing over at FF Facebook page and give it to one of the authors there.

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Itinerary - Carina left Rome Sunday night, Chuck and Sarah are flying out Tuesday afternoon, and Casey is leaving Wednesday morning. It's Thanksgiving weekend, in the United States.

Chuck and Sarah have first class reservations on an Emirates Airlines non-stop from Rome to L.A. After 4 hours, they had gotten themselves situated, eaten dinner, and watched a movie. They had chosen a cartoon, "Up", looking for something lighthearted, only to have the opening sequence of love and loss color the rest of the movie, and the rest of their evening.

oooooo

Chuck's mind is racing as he finally settles into the flight. I can't believe everything is falling into place. Sarah and I are together. For real and forever. She is all in, and there is no other for me. How did I get so lucky?

And, I am finally getting to set up my Software company. I get to have the life I imagined for myself at Stanford. Only, even better. I never imagined I would be making a difference and helping people, on a global scale. I knew that I had to use the Interesect to the best of my abilities. I had to make the most of the power that I was given. And, somehow, some way, I made it to this point, where I will be doing good things directly with the leaders of our country. That was never on the Radar for Stanford Chuck.

And, I have my Mom and Dad back. I have learned to deal with the fallout of their leaving, and can put that behind me now. I just want to reclaim the feeling of being a family again. Considering the reality of our situation, it's hard to believe that Mom and Sarah are alive. Hell any of us could have died over the past several years. Yet here we are gathering together for Thanksgiving Dinner. I told them that I wanted everyone together, so I could make my big announcement. And, now it is going to happen.

Thanksgiving Dinner with Mom, Dad, Devon, Ellie and Sarah. Oh my God, is Ellie going to be happy to see Sarah. I know we both will be thrilled at seeing each other, but Ellie was so wanting Sarah in her life, Us being together must thrill her to death.

Although, she might kill us all with her squeal, when I propose to Sarah. What a way to go. That is going to be one of the best days in my life. I am sure Sarah is going to say yes, but I feel like this really will make it official. Our being together shouted to the world from the rooftops.

Rome has been our own little paradise, where we were somewhat isolated from the real world. It was what we needed, especially for Sarah, to heal and grow. But, now we need to step out into the sun and fully face the world. Be a part of the world. Like Sarah said, telling Beckman was like etching it in stone. And like Beckman said, "It's about time."

I am ready for this. I am ready for my dream to come true. Although, I should take a lesson from the movie tonight. You never know how life will turn out, so you have to grab what good you can. I always want to plan out things, and make sure that they work out, just so. I need to learn to accept, in the ballpark. What is it they say? Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. I may not get to honeymoon at the Eiffel Tower, but who cares. A honeymoon anywhere with Sarah Walker, will be the perfect place. A soft smile fell over his face as he looked over at his soon to be fiancee.

ooooooooooo

Sarah's mind is racing as she finally settles into the flight. For a cartoon that was supposed to be relaxing, that movie felt like a punch in the gut to me. The bittersweet love story at the beginning, left her a little bitter. I guess the takeaway is that even the best laid plans might not work out, so you have to appreciate every moment as it is. But what do I do, when the moment is terrifying?

I can't believe that everything is totally up in the air, unsettled and unknown. I know as long as I am with Chuck, things will be Okay, but damn do I feel unsettled. When I was Agent Walker, outside of thoroughly preparing for a mission, I didn't think about tomorrow, so it didn't matter that I didn't know what tomorrow would bring. I really didn't expect to have that many tomorrows, anyway.

But now I want all of my tomorrows. I'm now greedy and I want as many tomorrows as I can have, and I want to experience everything I can, in every one of them. My tomorrows now matter, and it scares the shit out of me that I don't know how they are going to turn out.

I am happy, in every moment I have with Chuck. I am committed to him, now, forever and anywhere. But what do I know about having a relationship, being a girlfriend, or keeping him happy? He has promised me that there is nothing that I have done that would make him not love me. But, what if I screw something up now? Make him wonder if there is someone else out there, better for him?

And if he left me, what would I do? I have no job. I never thought I could be anything other than I spy, and now that is the one thing that I can't be. I have no professional career. I have no profession.

Most people would turn to family, so of course I don't have that. I'm not teaming up with Dad again, and I am not sure how much Mom wants to do with me. It was amazing that she was willing to take Molly, and she was pleasant enough at the time, but maybe that is just because there was a baby involved and she isn't so heartless as to turn us away. At least I was able to kill Ryker last year, so he is no longer a threat. Even so, she may not want anything to do with me, because of all of that.

Ellie has been nice to me, since I reached out to her, to help me learn how to cook. But she has to have some lingering resentment to how I left Chuck, so maybe she won't even be that glad to see me, either.

Maybe Chuck will start second guessing our being together, once he has his real family around him. This is the real world, not our little protected bubble back in Rome. Now our relationship is going to be examined in the harsh light of day, for all the world to see. What if it is found to be lacking? What if I am seen to be lacking? What will I do then? Sarah's body trembles from the anxiety and nervousness that permeate her body.

ooooooo

Coming out of his reverie, Chuck looks over at Sarah with love and contentment in his eyes and is surprised to see the agitated state she seemed to be in. He reaches out to touch her arm and is startled to feel the trembling of her body. He moves in close, pulling her to his side, and encircles her with his arms. "My love, why are you shaking? What is wrong?"

"Nothing. Everything." She tells him, with wet eyes and a breaking voice. "I don't know what is going to happen and I am so scared I might lose you."

Chuck reassures her, "You are never going to lose me, so let's put that worry out of your head. Are you nervous about moving to D.C.? Are you worried about not having a job? What? What is bothering you, honey?"

"No, not really that, but kind of everything. I have never wanted a future so badly. And more importantly, a future with you. But I don't know how to be a girlfriend. How to be part of a family, or even a community. I don't know what any of this is supposed to be like," she confesses.

Chuck interlaces his fingers with hers. "Remember Burbank?" he asks.

Sarah snorts, "Like I could forget."

He chuckles at that, before continuing, "And, I would get freaked out about missions."

Sarah can't help laughing along. "Yeah".

"And you would always tell me, 'Trust me Chuck', and then everything would turn out ok. Mostly. Well now our mission is to live a somewhat normal, happy life. So now I am telling you, Trust me Sarah. I've got this."

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Chuck and Sarah arrive at the Bartowski residence Wednesday evening. Mary had arrived in the afternoon.

When Chuck pulls the rental car in front of the Bartowski family house, he feels momentarily disoriented. He is seeing his old house, and the front door, through which he had run into the house innumerable times, with his adult eyes and the distance that a decade away has created. It is another event that is hitting him hard, as he is reclaiming his past, now that his parents have returned. The reality of it all is setting in.

He is snapped out of his thoughts, when Sarah covers his hand with hers, and inquires. "Sweetie, are you doing OK?"

Chuck snaps out of it and grins at her. "Yeah Love, I'm okay. Sometimes, the reality of our new normal, throws me for a loop too. Just like you were talking about."

He squeezed her hand. "It's all good. It's all going to be good." His nose crinkles and his eyes shine with humor, as he looks at her and adds. "And it is going to be very, very weird.", prompting her to laugh along with him.

They grab their luggage and soon are knocking on the front door. Chuck nervously shifting from one foot to the other, while Sarah tries to hide her nervousness by focusing on his.

The door is quickly swung open by his mother. "Chuck!" Mary says, with a gasp, her hand moving to cover her mouth, as tears swell in her eyes.

"Mom!" he quickly responds as he steps forward to envelop her in his arms. They hold each other and softly cry together, as the weight of a decade that has passed since they last stood here, hits them both in the moment.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Mary apologies, as she wipes her eyes. "I didn't realize seeing you standing there would hit me so hard." She looks up into his eyes, holding and squeezing his upper arms. "It's just so good to be back home, and have you back home too."

Sarah is still standing outside the door, softly sobbing to herself watching the emotional reunion, while also thinking about her own upcoming reunion with her mother. Mary notices and startles, so lost in her own moment that she had completely forgotten about Sarah.

Chuck, separating from his mother, turns to Sarah and is quickly concerned, seeing her in distress. He immediately steps towards her, while simultaneously pulling her into his arms.

Snuffling at his own restrained tears, he whispers into the top of her head. "It's a bit much, isn't it. You are trying to be more open to your emotions, and you are getting firehosed with family drama." He wetly laughs, releasing some of his tension. "Trust me, we are going to be a happy family, even if it's kind of messy in the process."

Chuck turns his head to look at his Mother, gives her a soft smile and extends his hand to her, inviting her into the embrace. "The messy, emotional, drama filled lives of the Bartowskis."

Mary snorts at his comment, joining them in the group hug. "Welcome to the family Sarah. Run while you can."

Their tension flows out of all of them, as they laugh at Mary's comment.

Mary steps back, grasping their arms in her hands, and takes a moment to look them both over. "It's so good to see you both, again. I take it you got over the whole not talking thing."

Chuck laughs and looks at Sarah, with sparkling eyes. She matches his expression, joy radiating from her face. "Yeah," he chuckles. "We are doing much better now."

Sarah snickers, "Much better!" as her eyes happily play over his face.

Mary tugs at Sarah's arm, pulling her away from Chuck, so she can see more of her. "Oh Sarah, you look so alive now. You were so frail and battered, when Stephan and I left. But now, you look so healthy, so lovely, so full of life. And I hope you are happy."

Sarah vigorously nods, "Yes Mary, things are so much better. And I must thank you again for saving me. You gave me a second chance at life and I can never thank you enough." With that heartfelt declaration, Sarah breaks down crying, again, and Mary pulls her close and joins her in tears. Chuck watches for a moment, then can't resist taking both of them in his arms and sharing in the emotion of the moment.

"Okay, Okay, enough of this messy, happy, reunion." Mary declares, as she sniffles away her tears. "This is crazy. We are two famously hardened spies, and we are suddenly blubbering in each other's arms."

"I blame it on Chuck." Sarah teases. "He opened me up to all of my messy emotions."

"Well, okay, it is partly about him." Mary cheekily rejoins, " But I have been on my own emotional rollercoaster. Finally being free of Volkoff and returning here. Remembering what it is like to be a mother. Oh, you should have seen what a mess it was, when Stephen and I had our reunion with Ellie. She was so mad, and so sad, and so frustrated at both of us. I can't blame her. It was really hard on her. First, she yelled, and we apologized. Then we cried. Then she yelled some more. Then after more tears and hugs, we finally are rebuilding our relationship. Rebuilding our family. You and Chuck being here overwhelmed me more than I expected."

Mary takes a deep breath, smiles and looks at them lovingly. "And it is so good to see you guys together. Chuck has mentioned that you were working through some personal stuff. I am happy that you seem to have worked through all that and can now commit to each other." Mary looks up at Chuck and winks, smiling proudly at him.

Chuck's eyes go wide.

Mary happily begins, "So you guys are finally ready to…."

Chuck catches his mother's attention and is shaking his head and bouncing his eyebrows, trying to interrupt her stream of thought. He silently, but exaggeratedly mouths the word "No", over and over again.

Mary's brow furrows in confusion, trying to make sense of what Chuck is saying. "You're not ready to….?", her voice trailing off in a question.

Chuck is now bouncing his head and flashing his eyes at his Mom, trying to avert a train wreck in progress, as he silently mouths the words, "Not Yet."

Sarah, confused about Mary's actions, turns her head to look up at Chuck, and she catches some of his antics, before he poorly attempts to school his expression.

"Ummm….not ready to eat dinner yet?" Mary does her best to cover her confusion.

"Yeah. I mean no, we aren't quite ready to do that. That thing I haven't done yet. That getting ready for dinner thing."

Sarah is baffled and amused. They seem to be having an unspoken conversation about something, but Mary is definitely confused. And what is Chuck so nervous and babbling about? I know it can't be anything nefarious, but it sure is curious.

"Like washing our hands, and cleaning up after the flight. Yeah, lots we need to do before that happens. You know, eating dinner. So, what is for dinner?" Chuck semi-coherently babbles.

As if on cue, Stephan returns home with Mexican take-out for dinner. After greeting his Dad, Chuck hurriedly excuses both of them, and leads the way to his old bedroom.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Once in the bedroom, they start unpacking. Sarah starts by taking out her dresses, so they can air out and unwrinkle. Chuck grabs his shaving kit and heads to the bathroom that is shared between what she assumes were his bedroom and Ellies bedroom. She joins him at the vanity to wash her hands, and he hands her the bar of soap, while he proceeds to rinse and dry his hands. He takes his shaving kit and puts it on a shelf of the cabinet underneath.

While cleaning up, Sarah feels another twinge from a small cut on her foot, which she had picked up somewhere at the airport. She sits down on the edge of the bathtub and takes off the Navy blue flat she had been wearing all day. She can see a small cut a couple of inches above her heel. I really should cover that up. "Hey Chuck, do you have some Band-Aids in your shaving kit?" she calls out.

From his bedroom, he answers, "Yeah. Sure." Which is followed by a more frantic, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure." Suddenly, he joins her in the bathroom, and before she can get up, he is at the vanity. "Band-Aid. My baby needs a Band-Aid. Getting her a Band-Aid." He reaches down and grabs his shaving kit, then puts it on the counter, hunching over as he reaches into it. He soon straightens up and turns to face her, proudly holding up a Band-Aid. "And there we go!"

Chuck steps forward to hand it to her, then quickly turns back to the counter and zips up his shaving kit, before putting it back under the vanity. He turns to look at her, then offers her a big smile. "Well, I guess my work here is done. I'm gonna go back in here, and you know, um finish up what I was doing." Chuck babbles as he indicates, then moves back into his bedroom.

Sarah stares after him, boggled by his actions, still holding the Band-Aid. Daft. That boy is daft I tell you. And he is definitely up to something. I am not going to be all snoopy, but there is something going on with his shaving kit. She can't help glancing at the vanity's cabinet, as she applies the Band-Aid to her heel. But I am not doing any more B and E. I'm sure he has a reason for acting like such a doofus. She can't help laughing to herself. Her eyes crinkle with humor, then narrow as she thinks back to earlier. So what was up with his mom? As if all of that was about dinner. What is ready? Wait, she said we were ready. Ready to what? Move back to L.A.? Or D.C.? But why was he saying "Not Yet?" Does she want him to move back here, rather than stay in Washington?

Sarah breathes out a sigh of frustration. What is with all the secrecy? Sarah can't hold back her chuckle this time. We are a whole family of spies. What should I expect? She shakes her head. That's not true. Chuck and I agreed to no secrets, no lies. So, if he is hiding something from me, it is just a silly family thing. A silly couple thing. Some kind of normal surprise a boyfriend springs on a girlfriend.

Sarah's heart catches and her eyes widen. Something that a boyfriend surprises his girlfriend with. Like a question. Like THAT question. Is he going to ask me THAT question? Is he really ready to do that? I know I am ready to say yes. Oh my God! I think Chuck is going to propose to me. Here, with all of his family. Family is so important to him, of course he would want to do it here, in front of his Dad and Mom. Sarah's chest constricts. I wish my Mom could be here too and share in this moment. She would see how happy I am now.

Sarah stands up. I need to go see her. We need to go see her. Shit. I need to tell Chuck about her. Sarah steps up to the vanity sink and rewashes her hands. She takes a moment to look at herself in the mirror and calm her emotions. I'll tell Chuck everything in the morning, and see if we can drive down to San Diego after we have the big meal. Tonight I'll focus on just being part of his life, and part of his family.

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Dinner is Carne Asada tacos, with Guacamole on the side, along with hot carrots, radishes, and cucumber slices.

"I sooo missed this," Chuck exclaims, as he tucks into another taco.

His father laughs, "Yeah, I figured this would be what you missed most about L.A. Rome may have sunshine and beaches, but they don't have Carne Asada."

Mary chimed in, "Looks like you are going to have to be bi-coastal, like me, to get your burrito fix on the regular."

"Well, Dad and I are going to be working together more, as we get my business off the ground." Chuck explains. "Sarah, you know that Dad set up Be Tech. Well, by leveraging former Roarke employees, he was able to get his company established quite quickly. That's how he can spend so much time helping me."

Stephan confirms that, "Yeah, I picked up a few manufacturing plants from the wreckage of Roarke Industries, along with former managers. Since he was essentially using my inventions, I was able to improve some things and apply for new patents, and then just re-start the manufacturing process. Chuck's business, being software focused, will be different, but my business knowledge will transfer."

"With Dad helping me set up the business, along with General Beckman, providing me with my first customers, we should have a viable business in short order. I do want it to be a real business, and I want to have clients outside of the government." Chuck adds to their explanation.

Sarah reaches out to grab and squeeze his hand. "I am sure you are going to be successful at whatever you do. And, I am going to do everything I can to help."

Mary interejects, "Sarah, you're handling finding somewhere to live in D.C., right?"

"Yes. Actually we are looking outside of D.C.. We want to have a life, separate from 'spy world'," Sarah emphasizes the term with air quotes, as she informs everyone of her and Chuck's plans. "And I have to make sure it is defensible and secure. So something a little more than your typical suburban family home," Sarah adds with a laugh.

Mary had been observing Sarah, throughout dinner, looking for any signs of secrecy or a mask. She is still worried that the CIA hasn't released its hold on Sarah. So far, she hasn't seen anything to cause her concern, but she finds the laugh surprising. Sarah making a joke? That laugh comes from the heart. That never would have happened with Agent Walker. And with the way she looks at Chuck, I think I need to start believing that they can make this work out. "Well, I am sure that you will do a great job with that. I can't wait to come visit, on one of my Washington trips."

Chuck turns to his mom. "I don't want to pry, but what exactly is your situation? No fallout from the CIA? They welcomed you back?"

"Well, it depends on which one of me." Mary begins her answer, her tone indicating that it is going to be a complicated one. "Alexie Volkoff's top assistant, 'Frost' is presumed to have died, at his side, during the assault on his compound."

Chuck and Sarah both nod their heads. "Makes sense." Sarah agrees.

"CIA Agent Mary Bakula is missing in action and believed to be dead." She next explains.

Chuck and Sarah's eyes widen at that revelation.

"Mary Bartowski is an Eastern European expert, with a focus on Russia, who consults for the CIA. Stephen has set me up a secure connection here, and I fly back to D.C. once or twice a month for in person briefings. It keeps me busy, but I am happy that I can still contribute. The best thing is that I get to sleep with my husband most nights." She reaches out to hold Stephens hand as they share a smile.

"Wow, Mom! That's pretty crazy. I am just glad one of you gets to be here with us." Chuck jokes, eliciting laughs from the rest of the table.

They share other tidbits of their lives, as they finish their meal, thus concluding a normal family dinner. Or at least what passes for normal in the Bartowski household.

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A/N 3: More to come for this Thanksgiving Weekend.