A/N: Welcome to Thursday and chapter 10 – Love Hurts.
I would also like to take a moment to say thank you for the incredible support. All reviews are valued and appreciated, but so many of you have been so incredibly generous in your reviews and private messages, engaging me with your thoughts and insights in detail….words fail to adequately convey how much I appreciate the time and effort you have given me.….I am not worthy!
Over the last few chapters we saw the inner conflict that both Sarah and Chuck needed to work their way through, but with a little help from Emma, things are finally moving in the right direction, and the "complicated couple" are finally accepting that they are both complete gonners. Sarah has been reflecting on what she wants, and given her naturally aggressive nature, did Chuck ever really have a chance once she set her mind to what she really wanted? And Chuck, who by his nature and training was considerably more cautious and less impulsive, was going to need to learn to better manage himself in the context of their budding relationship with a hard charging Sarah Walker. And now, Sarah wants Chuck to meet Emma over high tea. Can they manage their impulses? No pressure kids! In the meantime, Shaw has reached out to a shadowy mercenary to put together a last ditch plan to secure at least one of the Walker women, but his timeline with Volkoff is running out.
Things will get a little tense in this chapter this chapter, so take a deep breath and dive in. I hope you enjoy it, and find a minute or two to let me know if you are enjoying the ride with a follow, a favorite, and/or a review.
Thanks to Nevr for pre/beta reading, but as with the last chapter, I've made several changes after his good work, so all the errors are mine and mine alone. And of course, I don't own Chuck or profit financially from writing this completely AU story.
Valkyrie's Invisible Shield
Chapter 10 – Love Hurts
Date: Sunday, 19 December 2021
Time: 16:45 GMT (11:45 EST)
Location: Dorchester Hotel - 53 Park Lane, London, U.K. – The Promenade
The Promenade at the Dorchester Hotel was one of London's most exclusive settings for afternoon tea. It was tastefully decorated in pale yellow, with the chairs covered in a rose-themed chintz with pink flowers and contrasting pillows scattered in the booths. The tablecloths were a pale pink, and the sterling silver cutlery, accompanied by fine bone china and white cotton napkins, created a comfortable yet opulent setting.
The room had been swept by Verbanski's security team, and a section at the far end of the room had been cordoned off for the First Lady's afternoon tea. A few minutes before five, Emma and Sarah arrived and settled into their cozy table as the security team made themselves less visible by placing themselves in a loose cordon around the roped-off area. The day had been a success, with Emma finding several uniquely British gifts for her husband and a few close family friends. Earlier in the day, the women enjoyed a very light breakfast at the hotel before heading out for shopping, and while at Harrods, they managed to stop for an equally light lunch of Caviar and Champagne at Harrods Caviar House & Prunier. As five pm approached, both women looked forward to afternoon tea and the vast assortment of delectable finger sandwiches and pastries.
Emma and Sarah were talking about their shopping adventure while looking over the menu when a tall and well-dressed man with dark hair was permitted through security. Emma looked over at Sarah and saw a beaming smile. She then looked toward Chuck, whose smile was equally bright, his eyes locked on her daughter, warming Emma's heart
.
Chuck had been on duty all morning but posted as part of the security cordon at the hotel, so he had not actually seen Sarah or Emma. When his tour ended, he managed to get back to the house, shower, put on a fresh shirt and suit, and polish up his shoes. He was very much looking forward to seeing Sarah but was nervous about meeting the First Lady. After all, Sarah had not told him anything about what her mother knew or didn't know about them. All Chuck knew was that she wanted to thank him personally, and presumably, the invitation to tea was a part of that. He didn't know if this was a "meet the parents" situation.
Sarah was also nervous, but less so. She knew what her mother knew, but despite Emma's promise to behave, she was a little worried that Emma's protective "mama bear" might surface and make Chuck uncomfortable. Her nervousness disappeared when she locked onto his deep brown eyes as he approached the table. Sarah stood and greeted Chuck with a demure hug and a peck on the cheek. She then took his hand and looked at her mother.
"Mom, this is Special Agent Charles Bartowski. The man who saved me in New York." Sarah was almost vibrating with excitement as she spoke.
Emma extended her hand across the table without standing, giving Chuck a warm smile. Emma knew who Chuck was by virtue of seeing him in the White House with some regularity but had never formally been introduced or spoken with him.
"Special Agent Bartowski, it is my very sincere pleasure to meet you. Please, won't you join us for afternoon tea?" Emma swept her hand toward the free chair at the table.
"Ma'am, it is my honor, and thank you for your very kind invitation." Sarah let go of Chuck's hand so he could move to his chair.
Emma watched the interaction between Sarah and Chuck as they let go of each other's hands and felt a warmth in her heart. "Special Agent Bartowski, you are my guest this afternoon, not an employee of The People's House, so please call me Emma."
Chuck was surprised by Emma's invitation to be more informal and looked a little nervous.
"Sarah tells me that you prefer to be called Chuck. May I call you Chuck?" Emma continued to de-formalize the setting.
"Yes, Ma'am, please….Emma," Chuck stammered a little, uncomfortable with calling the First Lady of the United States by her first name.
"Good. Thank you, Chuck." Emma gave Chuck an appraising look for a moment. "Chuck, I am deeply indebted to you. You have gone above and beyond the call of duty to be kind to my daughter."
"Ma'am?" Chuck was puzzled.
"Chuck, It's Emma….and I'm not talking about saving her during the abduction attempt. I am incredibly grateful to you for that, of course. I am fully aware of the responsibility that comes with your role as a part of the Secret Service, but…."
"Mom?" Sarah interrupted he mother, suddenly back to being nervous about where the conversation was headed.
Emma turned to give her daughter a wink that Chuck would not see.
"What I mean, Chuck is that another man might not have been as forgiving as you have been, given your interactions in the last few weeks, and I wanted you to know that I appreciate that. The President and I have, on occasion, created certain tensions for Sarah, unintentionally, of course." Sarah winced as Emma discretely reached for her hand under the table and leaned forward to whisper to Chuck. "Chuck, Sarah is a strong, independent, and successful young woman, and it's our fault when she gets upset at our interference."
Sarah relaxed a little as she listened to her mother try to take the blame for Sarah's unfortunate outbursts at Chuck.
Chuck looked at Emma directly. "Emma, if I may be so bold, I can't imagine the pressure of being in the First Family of the United States while trying to make your own path and working hard to succeed on your own. I have the greatest respect for Sarah's toughness and appreciate that she has been very gracious after the stressful events of the last few weeks."
Emma turned to Sarah. "Oooh…I like him, Sarah. Well-mannered, well-spoken, well-dressed, and handsome. He's a keeper." She winked and then turned to Chuck. "You know, Chuck, she really isn't an 'Ice Queen….'"
"Mom!" Sarah covered her face in embarrassment.
In a moment of absolute clarity, Chuck read Emma's subtext and smiled back as he reached across the table, inviting Sarah to put her hand in his. "I know, Emma. Sarah is a remarkable and warm person, and anyone who thinks that hasn't bothered to know her."
Sarah's mouth was open as her eyes darted from Chuck to Emma and back. An unspoken understanding had obviously passed between the two, and they both seemed comfortable and in sync. Then Emma leaned forward conspiratorially and whispered to Chuck, "Chuck, sweetheart, you are in deep trouble here; you know that, right?"
Chuck smiled without taking his eyes off Sarah's. "No place I'd rather be, Emma."
Emma exhaled, "Thank God that's all settled!" she laughed as she leaned over and kissed Sarah on the top of her head. She then waved to the waiter who had been standing a respectable distance away to order the tea.
-O-
Date: Sunday, 19 December 2021
Time: 18:30 GMT (13:30 EST)
Location: Dorchester Hotel - 53 Park Lane, London, U.K. – The Promenade
The tea service had been a wonderful experience, and Emma was thinking about incorporating afternoon tea as a standard practice when entertaining guests at the White House. More important was that she basked in the glow that was coming off Sarah. Her daughter was clearly and deeply smitten with the tall, handsome man sitting across from her. She remembered her younger days and meeting the bright and charismatic Jack Walker during summer break on Cape Cod. She remembered the excitement when waiting to see him and the profound emptiness when they had to part. Emma remembered that when she stared into his eyes, she felt like she was floating on air. She remembered the feeling that deep down inside, the feeling that told her Jack Walker was the one for her.
Emma thought it was still way too early for Sarah and Chuck, but then again, was it really? Emma saw how they looked at each other and how they seemed to deflate a little when their hands lost contact. Maybe Sarah already knew. She had all the signs. And it seemed like Chuck was in the same boat.
Emma delicately wiped her mouth with the napkin. "Ok, kids, I need to go up and call my husband." She stood and started to walk from the table, then turned, "Chuck, if you are free this evening, Sarah and I are having dinner at Inca here in Mayfair, and I'd be delighted if you would join us."
"Thank you, Emma. Let me make sure I'm not needed by the team, and I'll confirm through Sarah."
"Perfect. Be here at eight-thirty, and we can go over together." Emma smiled at Sarah and Chuck before turning and walking away.
"I really like your mother, Sarah. I hope that was ok?"
"You were perfect! Thank you, Chuck." Sarah giggled. "There were a couple of times I thought my mother was going to do or say something terrible, but she loved you."
After a moment of comfortable silence, Chuck spoke up. "Sarah, let me see if I'm needed." He picked up his phone and called Lou. The team had been off duty, but a new lead had popped up from Roan Montgomery, so they were preparing to run that down and wanted Chuck to join. The exercise should not take more than an hour or two. Chuck explained the situation and walked Sarah to the elevators, accompanied by her detail. She gave him a chaste kiss and slipped away into the elevator with a warm smile.
-O-
Date: Sunday, 19 December 2021
Time: 18:30 GMT (13:30 EST)
Location: Savoy Hotel – The Strand, London UK – Suite of Daniel Shaw
"Yes," Shaw answered the phone brusquely. He was getting increasingly frustrated. It had been two days, and while Larkin and his team had been giving him plenty of real-time, actionable information, no opportunity to take action had presented itself.
"Tall guy just left the hotel alone and took one of the embassy cars." Larkin thought about the tall man for a moment, then disregarded him. "The women have a dinner reservation this evening at a place called Inca, here in Mayfair. The reservation is for eight-forty-five, but I don't think there is any opportunity for a clean grab. They have a lot of security to and from the place, and the restaurant will be precleared and full of armed personnel."
"Fuck!" Shaw shouted into the phone. He was already talking to the Corsican about intercepting the package on the way to the airport, so he knew that there wasn't enough time to pull together a large scale assault before the 21st of December, but that didn't mean an unexpected opportunity might not present itself. "Ok. Say on them, and if you see so much as a crack in the coverage, let me know. We might catch a lucky break, and could mean a bonus for you."
"Call you back in a couple of hours." Larkin hung up the call. He smelled more money. A lot more. But the risk was equally outsized. After all, what good was a pile of money if you were in jail or, worse, lying in a pool of your own blood and dying?
-O-
Date: Monday, 20 December 2021
Time: 01:30 GMT (20:30 EST – 19 December)
Location: Dorchester Hotel - 53 Park Lane, London, U.K. – Morgan Grimes room
Dinner had been a delightful affair as they exchanged the kind of stories that allowed them to become more familiar with each other. Emma was particularly sensitive to stories about Chuck's adolescent years, having lost both parents and being raised by his sister, who was only a few years older than him. She was intrigued by their story of perseverance in the face of unimaginable difficulties, both achieving academic success and reaching the pinnacle of their respective professions. Throughout the evening, Emma noted Sarah and Chuck seldom let go of each other, as if maintaining physical contact was critical to their individual well-being. Dinner was fun and light as the three settled into a more "family" oriented dynamic. It was all going swimmingly until Emma mentioned her conversation with the President and his desire to meet Chuck. To have a one-on-one, man-to-man. Emma seemed to take delight in Chuck's temporary discomfort before very gently talking him down.
After dinner, the threesome had returned to the Dorchester and went their separate ways, with Sarah and Emma riding the elevator to the penthouse floor while Chuck caught a ride in a consular car to his house. After Emma had gone to sleep, Sarah called Morgan Grimes on his mobile before sneaking out of her suite.
-O-
"Sarah, I'm not comfortable with this. It's a risk you don't need to take." Morgan looked at Sarah, who was wearing a dark suit and borrowed a hat and overcoat from Morgan.
"Morgan, I need to be with him, and I can't wait. No one will see me, let alone recognize me. Besides, you are armed, and Chuck has three armed housemates." She paused and looked Morgan dead in the eye. "I really don't have time to bat this around. Are you going to help me, or do I just take a car and find the place on my own?"
Morgan and Sarah rode the elevator to the underground garage and given that everyone knew Morgan was on duty no one on the rest of the security detail questioned them on their journey. Once they reached the underground garage, Sarah lowered the brim of the hat and raised the collar of the overcoat, and in the dark, no one was going to notice the relatively poor fit or identify her as a female, let alone the daughter of the President of the United States. Three minutes later, Sarah was lying down in the back seat of the consular Range Rover as Morgan navigated the vehicle out of the garage towards Chuck's place.
Larkin saw the consular vehicle leave and recognized the driver as a member of Sarah Walker's detail. He knew the Walker women were expected to meet with the Queen at Buckingham Palace tomorrow afternoon, so another impossible day for an attempt. He fired up the engine and put his car in gear.
Less than twenty minutes later, the consular Range Rover pulled up in front of the house where Chuck was staying. Morgan turned the car off and scanned the area for possible threats. He didn't detect anything, so he exited and opened the rear door for Sarah. Together, they walked to the front door, which Morgan quietly unlocked and let Sarah in. He explained where Chuck's room was located and begged her to be quiet. He also made her promise to be ready for pick up at five am so she could be back at the Dorchester before she was missed. Once Sarah was safely inside, Morgan locked the door and quietly walked around the property. Once comfortable that the scene was safe, he jumped into the Range Rover and returned to the hotel for a couple of hours of sleep before he would need to come back to pick Sarah up.
-O-
Larkin had anticipated that Grimes was heading to the house on Landsdowne Gardens and drove at high speed to arrive first. Once on location, he shut off the engine and the lights and waited. Just a few minutes later, the black consular vehicle stopped in front of the house. After less than a minute of sitting idle, the driver exited, walked to the other side of the car, and opened the passenger door. 'Jesus…. someone is hiding in the back seat,' thought Larkin. He observed through his binoculars as the second figure exited the car and walked to the front door with the driver. Once the door was opened, the mystery man disappeared while the driver did a perimeter check before getting in his car and driving off. Larkin was replaying what he saw in his mind. There was something off about the way the person looked and moved. "What if?" he said aloud to no one in particular as he picked up the phone and dialed.
Less than twenty minutes later, a black BMW arrived and parked just behind Larkin. A moment later, the passenger door opened, and Shaw slipped into the car.
"Tell me everything, Larkin…."
-O-
Once inside, Sarah slipped off her shoes and quietly climbed the steps. She reached the landing, turned right, and quietly opened the door to Chuck's room. She placed her shoes on the floor along with her hat and then stripped down to a barely there sapphire blue teddy. She took a moment to look at Chuck's sleeping form and smiled, then gently slipped under the covers and squeezed in next to him.
Chuck stirred and opened his eyes to see Sarah's deep blue pools staring right back at him.
"Sarah," Chuck exclaimed in a loud whisper. "What are you doing here?"
Sarah put her finger on his lips to silence him. "I needed to see you, Chuck. Don't you want to see me? Don't you want me, Chuck?"
"Of course I do, Sarah, but this is….."
Chuck's words were cut off as Sarah's lips crashed into his, and she shifted her position from squeezing into his side to straddling him. Chuck returned the kiss fervently as Sarah felt his large hands on her hips. A low moan escaped his mouth as Sarah started to grind her hips into him, and his hands moved to her breasts. Less than a minute later, their respective sleeping attire littered the floor, and Sarah was biting the pillow to keep from waking Chuck's housemates as they made love in his relatively tiny bed for the first time and then for the second time.
At four-thirty, Chuck called Morgan to let him know he would bring Sarah back to the Dorchester using one of the cars assigned to the Investigations team. The two dressed as quietly as possible, with Sarah putting on her disguise once more, and they crept down the stairs. Chuck went to the kitchen and turned on a light to pick up the car keys, and together, they moved toward the front door.
-O-
"Movement," Larkin announced as a downstairs light flashed on while he looked through his binoculars. Then he saw the shock of blonde hair as Sarah walked past the kitchen window before Chuck tuned off the lights. "Holy shit, it's her." Larkin put the binoculars down, then turned to look at Shaw, expecting to be told to follow the vehicle. Instead, Shaw pulled a Glock with a suppressor out of his jacket and extended it to Larkin.
Larkin looked at Shaw curiously. "What do you want me to do with that?"
"Shoot the tall guy and grab the girl. Bring her to me, and I'll give you an extra ten thousand pounds."
"That wasn't the deal, Shaw. And I'm not shooting what appears to be a consular employee. You want her; you shoot him. It'll help with the Walker girl, but that's as far as I go."
Shaw growled as he exited the car and started to move briskly to cover the distance to the house. A few yards behind him, Larkin started the car and followed slowly, perhaps twenty yards back. Shaw was within forty yards when the door opened, and he saw the tall man lead the disguised Sarah Walker out of the house. Forty yards was not an ideal distance, but he had the element of surprise, so he raised the gun and fired.
As Sarah closed the door behind them, Chuck noticed a man approximately thirty-fivey yards away but staring in their direction instead of where he was walking. He also picked up the car, following the man slowly. Chuck's "Spidey" senses were once again jumping off the charts when the man suddenly raised his arm and pointed it toward Chuck.
As he was trained, Chuck instinctively moved in front of Sarah and broadened his chest, tensed his entire musculature, and prepared his body to take the impact of a coming bullet. Chuck just managed to say "Back!" as the man fired.
As Chuck tried to move back, he stepped on Sarah's foot, causing them both to fall back against the front door just as the bullet hit. Together, they slid back down to the ground, with Chuck sitting between Sarah's legs, leaning back against her chest, pinning her against the now locked front door.
"Sarah, I'm hit. I'm going to lose consciousness in a moment." He managed to pull up his right leg, reach his ankle holster, and pull out his backup, thirty-eight caliber revolver. He slid it back to her.
Shaw was now walking even faster, closing the distance to his quarry.
"Sarah, he's going to try to take you. Tuck the gun under my armpit so he can't see it, and when he is really close, you shoot. Understand?" The entire left side of his chest burned, and his vision was tunneling. "Sarah, I love you." His head lolled over as he lost consciousness.
Shaw's pace slowed as he approached carefully. The tall man was dead or unconscious, and conveniently pinned Sarah Walker with his body weight against the door. Ten yards behind him, Shaw heard Larkin's car come to a stop.
Sarah was struggling to keep herself from going into shock, and she didn't really hear what Chuck was struggling to say until she felt the gun pushed against her. She focused her attention, putting her left hand on Chuck's wound, applying pressure while following his instructions, and snugging the revolver out of sight but pointing in the direction the gunman would be approaching from. She saw him enter the walkway casually, his gun dangling by his side.
"Ms. Walker," Shaw's feral smile chilled her. "Get up quietly and come with me. I don't want to hurt you, but…" Shaw was now less than ten feet in front of Sarah, and to make his point, he waved his gun at her. She saw the evil gleam in his eye as he spoke, stepping closer and closer until he stopped just three feet away and slowly raised his pistol.
Sarah was surprised at how fast and easy it was to pull the trigger as one, two, and then three bullets fired from under Chuck's armpit. The sound, while muffled to some degree by Chuck's body and clothes, still shattered the early morning calm.
Shaw's eyes widened in disbelief as the first bullet hit him center mass, just below his ribcage, puncturing his liver; the second ripped through his sternum, tearing his heart in half, while the third hit his collarbone as he fell. Shaw was dead before he hit the ground.
Ten yards away, Larkin had come out of the car to help subdue Sarah when the shots rang out, and Shaw fell. Sarah and Larkin locked eyes for an instant, and while she tried to pull the revolver free of Chuck's underarm, Larkin didn't hesitate. He ran back to his car and raced away from the scene as fast as possible while thinking about how to disappear for the foreseeable future.
Sarah was still pinned between Chuck and the door behind her when the door swung open, and three people in pajamas surrounded her with their guns drawn.
Lou scanned the scene and saw a body lying prone on the front walk in a pool of blood with a pistol inches from his unmoving hand, then saw Chuck Bartowski leaning back against an unknown person wearing a hat. "Mike, call dispatch with condition bravo and get an ambulance. Go!" Lou's eyes refocused on the unknown person wearing the hat, "You with the hat, very slowly, show me your hands." Lou's weapon was fixed on the stranger's head as Anna checked the body on the front walk. She shook her head to convey the man's status, secured his weapon, and quickly moved to Chuck.
Anna pushed Sarah's hand out of the way. "Lou, GSW upper left chest. He is unresponsive, breathing labored but no foaming, blood from the mouth, or sucking sound. Pulse steady but weak, and significant blood loss. Mike, where is the ambulance?"
"Three minutes out," Mike replied.
Lou returned her focus to Sarah, who had not moved or complied. "I said show me your fucking hands, or I'll blow your God damned head off," she screamed.
Sarah slowly lifted her chin up, making eye contact with Lou.
Lou's eyes widened in shock. "Ms. Walker? What the fuck? Mike, get out here and secure Ms. Walker. Anna and I will stay with Bartowski." Lou turned to Sarah, "Ms. Walker, please go inside with Mike. He will keep you safe."
Sarah didn't budge but managed to snake Chuck's pistol out from under his armpit, holding its grip between her index finger and thumb, pushing it towards Lou.
Lou took Chuck's backup revolver out of Sarah's shaking hand, but Sarah didn't move.
"Ms. Walker…"
"I'm not leaving him." Sarah grimaced. She leaned back and gently replaced Anna's hand over Chuck's wound with her own.
Even at some distance, emergency vehicle's sirens pierced the early morning quiet, and in less than three minutes, the ambulance's flashing lights appeared, with several police cars arriving concurrently. The EMTs immediately pushed a gauze covered with a clotting agent into Chuck's wound and started an intravenous line. As they loaded Chuck into the ambulance, the senior EMT attempted to keep Sarah from boarding. With a single determined look from Sarah, the senior EMT folded like a wet taco and stepped aside. Less than two minutes after that, Sarah, Lou, and Anna were jammed into the back of the ambulance as it took off for Royal Brompton Hospital while Mike was managing the arrival of the local police and security forces.
They were about five minutes out when the phone rang. It was Chuck's phone, still buried in his jacket pocket. Lou grabbed it.
"Palone." She answered brusquely.
"Grimes. Dispatch called with Bravo. What's Valkyrie's status? Where's Bartowski?"
"Valkyries is fine, but Chuck took a nine-millimeter slug high and left in his chest. We are en-route to Royal Brompton," Lou covered the phone's mouthpiece. "Hey, Chief, how far out are we?"
In the background, Morgan heard a thick English accent. "Less than five luv….surgical team is standing by." Followed by Lou shouting, "Step on it then!"
"Royal Brompton in less than five minutes…." Lou saw Sarah motion for the phone.
"Morgan? Yes, I'm fine. Chuck saved me again. No, I'm sure I'm fine. Please let my mother know that I'm fine and that I'm going to the hospital. Can you make sure they have the best of everything ready for him? I can't lose him, Morgan." Sarah sat quietly, listening to Morgan, "And Morgan, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." Tears were falling freely from Sarah's eyes as she hung up the call and handed the phone back to Lou, who was gobsmacked.
In the heat of the moment, everyone's training had kicked in. Securing the scene, protecting Sarah, and stabilizing Chuck were priorities; now that the adrenaline was fading a little, Lou realized that Sarah Walker was with Chuck Bartowski. More than just with him. She was WITH him. The desperation in her voice and the determination not to leave his side made it clear they were a package deal.
Before Lou could delve further into what was happening with Sarah Walker and Chuck Bartowski, the ambulance made an abrupt turn, backed up, and came to a sudden stop. The rear doors were flung open, and a team of people in surgical scrubs grabbed Chuck's gurney and pulled it free of the ambulance. Sarah was holding Chuck's hand as they moved through a phalanx of heavily armed police and security personnel. As they approached the automatic door to the surgical suites, a nurse grabbed Sarah and Lou. "This is as far as you go, ladies. We'll take good care of him." The nurse gave the two women a sad smile.
Lou stepped back, but Sarah could not let go of Chuck's hand. The nurse gently put her hand on Sarah's and pulled it away. "You need to let him go, Miss. He needs the kind of help only the people in there can give him."
As soon as Sarah's hand separated from Chuck's, Lou could see her body position change. And the moment the nurse and surgical team disappeared with Chuck behind the automatic doors, Sarah's legs wobbled, and she started to collapse. Lou quickly grabbed Sarah from behind to keep her from falling as she shouted out to Anna. "Anna, get me a nurse, a wheelchair, and some water; Ms. Walker has passed out."