A/N 1: This is it. An epilogue to tie up loose ends and point us towards a future. I hope you find it satisfying.
A/N 2: I gots no Money and no Chuck. But I do have and the Facebook group to keep me entertained.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
June 3rd
Chuck is trying not to fidget. I'm Charles. I am an adult. I have defeated Fulcrum and the Ring. I can do this. He still can't keep from bouncing his heel on the carpet. To distract himself from the most important meeting he has ever had, he thinks about the past few months that have led him here.
A smile spreads over his face, as he recalls something else big that happened, I can't believe I am married to Sarah. Married. That should make me feel like a grown up. Come on Chuck, I mean Charles, you are a full fledged adult now.
He still can't hold back a goofy grin. It's been awesome. Since we left Rome everything seems to be falling into place. My business is established and Morgan is starting to handle some opportunities on the West coast. With the business to solidify my cover, I have been able to start meeting openly with all of the Agency heads, so the Intersect is back in business saving the world.
I am so lucky, being married to Sarah. My Love. He softly smiles, his eyes darkening with love. And, I am so happy that all of us are able to be together at our new estate. With John, Carina, Emma and Molly, we have a nice family started.
Chuck startles when the big double doors open, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff motions him into the Oval Office. Once the doors were closed behind him, the Chairman spoke up. "Mr. President, I would like you to meet….."
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stands before the President of the United States, as the rest of the JCoS members, as well as the DNI and the heads of the CIA, NSA, and DEA look on from around the room.
He begins his presentation. "Mr. President, as has been explained, the project we are about to discuss has involved all of us, and while not hidden from you, you have not been privy to some of the specific details."
The President sits up straighter, his eyes darkening, as he learns secrets had been kept from him.
"Hidden amongst all of the resources and tools that our agencies use, is our most powerful asset."
The President angrily questions, "And you have hidden it from me?"
The Chairman rushes to clarify, "No sir, We have discussed it many times. It's The Intersect. We have mentioned it during mission debriefs as being an important element in our operations. We just downplayed it." He admits at the end.
The President nods his head, "Yes, I remember you mentioning how The Intersect had provided important information leading to some of our successes. I don't understand the big deal. I know we have supercomputers. Everyone knows we have supercomputers. I don't understand all of your secrecy about this one."
"Well sir, you will in a moment, but we need you to do a few things first." The Chairman hesitantly explains.
The President raises his eyebrows, feeling like this is an order, not a request. "Yes?" he intones, his words weighted with seriousness.
"We need you to issue an Executive order, limiting the historical record of this meeting to only a print copy. All electronic recordings of this meeting need to be destroyed. And, the print version needs to be marked 'Eyes Only' for the sitting President of the United States."
The President manages to raise his eyebrows even higher.
"Sir, it's needed for the protection of some identities."
The President nods his agreement.
The Chairman takes a deep breath, "And, one other thing."
The President's eyebrows furrow at the additional request.
"Some information we will be providing you will be in written form, and it is important that you not say any of it out loud."
The President barks out, "You've got to be kidding."
The Chairman looks directly into the President's eyes, adding gravitas to his statement, "No Sir. We are dead serious. As in, many people have died, protecting this very same information."
The President's eyes widened.
"But we feel that we can be even more successful with our strategies if you had access to the Intersect directly." The Chairman finishes.
The President nods, liking the fact that he will have even more help with this difficult job.
The Charimant expectantly looks at the President, "Sir, with your confirmation of all of that, and your approval, I would like to proceed."
The President states aloud, for his staff and posterity, "By Executive order, only print transcripts of this meeting will be kept, and those transcripts are to be marked 'Eyes Only'".
He nods to the Chairman.
The Chairman then walks to the doors, motioning for them to be opened and for the assistants in the room to leave. After a moment he motions to a waiting, fidgeting, dark haired man, inviting him into the Oval Office. The doors are closed behind them. The Chairman turns to the President and says, "Mr. President, may I introduce you to The Intersect."
The President's eyes grew large, and he glanced down at the notecard that had been put in front of him, which read "Charles Bartowski."
As Chuck's head was spinning, standing in the oval office, learning of the tremendous opportunities to come, his heart was elsewhere. She was back at home.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The heart of his family was standing in the garden of their large backyard, mindfully rubbing her significant belly. For their honeymoon, they had spent a week on a private island in the Caribbean. Apparently the honeymoon was fruitful, as she had a due date in late September.
A garden was one of the "normal" things in life that Samira always wanted. It indicated a certain permanency. You had to stay all the way through harvest. It was a commitment to nature. And she saw it as a gift to Sam. It was Sam who had really gotten screwed over by life. It was Sam whose birthdays were forgotten, it is Sam who lost her Christmas to con-jobs, presents only an afterthought, if stumbled across.
It was Sam who longed for the life she saw on the sitcoms, as she sat alone in a motel room, chair jammed under the door handle, since the cheap locks were all but worthless. Her dad always had her do that, not just to prevent robbery, but because he knew about the kinds of low-lifes who would take notice of a young girl's presence in a low security environment. She didn't know who sometimes rattled the door knob, at any hour of the day and night, as she gripped the knife her dad gave her. She was just happy the chair held.
So, as much as a gift that Chuck was to Sarah, he was more-so to Sam, who had never expected to be garden, the lap-pool, big holiday celebrations, and non-forgotten birthdays were gifts Sarah was giving to Sam. And with Emma and Molly living with them, Molly ended up being the beneficiary of, and the outlet for, Sarah's indulgence of Sam.
Molly's giggling voice is what breaks Sarah from her reverie. Sarah now notices that Molly seems to be chatting and giggling with somebody, and as she follows the sound, she realizes that it is coming from the direction of Molly's tree house. Recalling her spy skills, she sneaks up to more closely survey the scene. Molly is in her tree house giggling, talking excitedly about her love of horses. To Casey. Casey is leaning out the window of his second story apartment, above the garage/armory/it's better if you don't ask. And you weren't supposed to ask why, out of all the trees on the property, he built her a treehouse in this one. He had to lean out to speak down to her level. She is growing so fast, and apparently is becoming one of Casey's favorites.
He was chatting and laughing with a little girl. As Sarah listened, she heard him share some of his stories of actually riding a horse, the feeling of galloping across the land. Molly's eyes were wide with amazement, enraptured by the story. Fortunately Casey left out that this was in Afghanistan and guns and bullets were involved. As far as Molly knew it was just some magical world of rolling hills and open plains.
Sarah shakes her head in wonder, recognizing how much Casey has changed too. She sneaks back away, afraid of disrupting the moment. She grins to He doesn't like to admit having "lady feelings" and now he has "little girl feelings". Although I don't think Casey and Carina will be having kids of their own. They are both so committed to their careers, I am surprised that they are as committed as they are to each other. With her staying here every weekend, and him staying with her, when Chuck has to stay over in the city, they are definitely exclusive. I think being an aunt and uncle of the Bartowski clan fills that need. And, someday Alex will give Casey grandkids. When that happens, it will be so fun calling Carina, Grandma.
Mary seems to enjoy being a grandma, and I'm pretty sure that Emma will enjoy having a grandbaby. I need to talk to Chuck about her and Molly. Molly seems to be a bit much for her, sometimes. And, now that Molly has her own room in the main house, with Chuck and me, she seems to be bonding with us. If she is still young enough to adapt, I think we should go ahead and adopt her. Let her grow up with our children. Sarah rubs her hand across her belly. Samira Bozena Bartowski, would you like a big sister?
Sarah looks around the Estate, imagining kids running across the open yard and around the trees. The estate is 5 acres at the end of a cul-de-sac, longer than it is wide. The main house and Casey's apartment and the garages, face the street, accessible from a circular drive.
A glassed-in lap pool runs perpendicular from the back of the house, providing a border to a patio. Behind the courtyard is Emma's granny flat. The bulk of the land is undeveloped grass and trees, providing privacy from 3 sides. I bet Emma would like a playset next to her place. That would make it easy for her to watch them play. And it frees Mom up to go back to California more, stay in her own house and visit her friends back there.
And I get more flying time, so no complaints there. Well once I can fly again. She rubs her stomach again. Don't worry Sam, I wouldn't trade for anything. But it has been fun, flying Mary back and forth for her meetings. And it's great, taking Chuck back to meet with Morgan, to set up a West Coast presence. And, I like doing Security Consulting, which gives me some professional satisfaction. It was really enjoyable planning out our Estate's physical security, which made me realize that I could do this for others. And, it is a nice addition to Castle's Cyber Security.
Sarah appreciatively looks around their home. I am going to make this home. But, the nice thing about the NSA buying this place, is we can use our money to get a place in L.A. Once Sam comes, we can start looking at creating a family home near the Bartowskis. It will be nice to be around Ellie and pick up some Mommy tips. A large smile spreads across her face, as she thinks about the possible future. We have Molly and Clara. Soon there will be Sam. Ellie will probably have a second child. I'm open to having another baby. We could have quite a group running around here, one day.
With joy in her heart, Sarah starts picking some vegetables for lunch. I love my life.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
A/N 3: That wraps it up. It was an interesting experience for me to write this. I hope it was entertaining for others. Thanks to those who did review, especially Awesome Casey, my most reliable reviewer, who stuck through both stories. WillieGarvin, MicroGirl1225, and Charless11 also provided in-depth reviews, which kept me motivated. However, when I compare my number of reviews to others, I have to assume that these stories just didn't connect with many people.
So, I will move on, and just enjoy the writing of Steampunk, David Carner, Anne Dumas, Willie Garven, Zettle, and Lord Rapier amongst others. There is plenty of good writing to keep us entertained here.
All the Best, Wade