A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews for the last chapter. I know the episode was one of the best, and I worried that this AU version would seem a poor substitute, so I was glad that it was well received.
Beta thanks to my friend, Capt Lil, once again. He also suggested the perfect chapter title.
So, this chapter concludes the very loose cover of "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners."
Don't Walk Away
Chapter 16: Revisiting the Past
The attempted kidnapping, or killing if that was what was intended, happened half-an-hour later. Sarah, Chuck and Arnaldo found out twenty minutes after that when Raul Kocher knocked on the door. He had to tell them who he was before Sarah opened it.
Arnaldo thanked them profusely and Raul did the same, adding that commendations were being sent to General Beckman for their help.
Hearing Chuck's stomach rumbling, Sarah rushed them to the restaurant.
They were greeted at the entrance and Chuck told the man who they were.
"You have missed the first course, but are in time for the second," they were told.
"That's not a problem," Sarah answered.
They were led to a table that had five empty spaces. They knew the other three would not be getting filled.
They then had to socialize with the rich people from the train, but at least the food was excellent.
A man stood up before the next course was served to give them all a breakdown of the itinerary for the next day. The morning was a walking tour of the city. As he described it, Sarah thought about some of the places they would be going and a chill ran through her. She remembered it from her time here in 2007.
The man continued to tell them that they would sit down to a lunch of Hungarian specialties before a guided tour of the majestic Hungarian Parliament Building. They would then re-board the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and continue their journey. In the evening, they could enjoy dinner as the train traveled onward to Romania.
Sarah leaned over to her boyfriend. "I can't do the morning tour. Too many bad memories of the last time I was in Budapest."
He looked surprised. "I didn't know you'd been here before."
"I'll tell you about it sometime, but I'm going to ask where lunch will be served and if it's not where I've been, we can join the group there."
He nodded and she got up and walked over to their host, who had just sat down.
After a night of passion, they rose late and, after taking a shower together, got down to breakfast just in time.
The rest of the group had already left on the walking tour of the city.
Chuck and Sarah enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before returning to their bedroom.
Their cases were to be left outside the room and would be collected at eleven, at which time the two of them would also need to check out.
That meant they had time to enjoy their bed for another hour.
At twenty minutes to eleven, they left their cases, checked out and went into the coffee shop next door to the hotel.
Gazing lovingly at the man opposite her, sipping his cappuccino, she started to forget the recent experience, but the memory of her last visit to the city had returned. "Chuck, I was last here just before being assigned to you. It scarred me, but it was also the most amazing experience as well. I can't talk about it here, but I will tell you everything about it when I can."
He put his cup down. "I can wait. Tell me when you're ready."
"Thank you, Chuck," she replied, feeling very relieved.
She had obviously been more alert and had been observing everything and everyone around them, because he commented, "We can just go straight back to the train and not bother with lunch or the afternoon tour."
She focused on him. "No. The places we'll be going are not a problem. Sorry if I'm twitchy, though."
They settled back to drinking their coffee before they needed to get a taxi to the lunch venue.
That evening, after dinner, they retired to their cabin and Sarah told Chuck all about Ryker, the mansion, the Hungarian mafia, the baby and her escape with the little girl.
She had promised to tell him about her time in Budapest, but knew she might be overwhelmed with emotion as she did. Sarah took a deep breath before telling Chuck anything. She had to steel herself to do this.
"My last mission before coming to Burbank was in Budapest. I was sent to assist a more senior CIA operative who was having trouble. He had asked Graham for someone with assassination experience." She knew Chuck hated her talking about this, but it was relevant. "So, he chose me, his best."
She looked at Chuck to see how he took that, but found he was keeping his face neutral.
She sighed and continued, "He didn't have any information for me to read, just told me my flight was in three hours. So, I had to meet this agent, Kieran Ryker, to get details. That was odd in itself, but being a good agent, I followed orders.
"When I arrived at the airport here in Budapest, there were instructions to go to a hotel in the center of the city. When I got there, I found weapons had been left for me; two guns and no rifles, so this wasn't to be a remote sniper assassination.
"There was other gear, including body armor, but the bullets for the pistols were armor-piercing which didn't offer much hope that I would survive. I suspected that Ryker didn't actually need an assassin, but needed someone to take on a large number of enemy men, drawing attention away from him and his team. Maybe taking a lot of them out before dying. There were instructions to meet Ryker, so I went seeking clarification.
"He was a lot older than me and looked harried. He explained that I was to go into a mansion being held by the local mafia, known as the Fundai Mafia, and retrieve a package. This wasn't much information, so I asked for more, including what the package was.
"He said that was all I needed to know at that point. I said that if he wanted me to secure his package, he'd have to give me more, otherwise I was guaranteed to fail. He glared at me, but reluctantly told me that the mafia had killed the owners and were now celebrating acquiring their prize. 'There are a number of them in there. Kill them and retrieve what they are hiding in there.' I asked why he didn't just send his men in and he snapped at me, 'Because that's your job!' I was taken aback and forgot to ask again what the package was.
"So, in I went. I quickly realized how opulent the place was. The dead owners had been very rich. There was a grand staircase made from marble sweeping up in front of me. I heard the Hungarians in one of the rooms to my left and silently approached. It was a banqueting hall, and eleven noisy men were feasting around the table which stretched away from the door.
"I only had two pistols, but Ryker expected me to kill them before retrieving the package! I spotted two bodies in the far corner, face down in pools of their own blood, obviously the owners." She watched Chuck as she said the next bit. "I became an avenging killer as I rushed in, shooting in both directions. I somersaulted onto the table top and continued down, firing one way, then the other.
"They were clearly drunk, which gave me the edge I needed. I killed them all, using my knives on the last two.
"Ryker must have heard the silence and spoke into my earpiece. 'Up the stairs. The door is straight ahead at the top.' I retrieved my knives and holstered my bullet-less guns, before grabbing weapons belonging to the men lying at my feet. I moved quietly up the stairs.
"The mansion was silent apart from the cry of a baby. It was in the room I was heading for. When I pushed open the door, the sound got louder. In the center of the room was a white crib. 'The package is inside,' Ryker told me.
"A very upset baby girl, dressed in a pink onesie, was in the crib, kicking and screaming. I'd never been around a baby before, but being without parents for so long, I felt kinship with this parentless child. I quickly scanned the room and saw nothing 'package-like'. I said, 'Ryker, the package-'
He cut me off. 'The baby is the package. Grab it and get out of there.'"
Chuck gasped.
"I just froze. Why would the CIA send Ryker to retrieve a baby? I struggled to speak, not knowing what to do. I was completely out of my depth here. Ryker snapped, 'Move, Walker. I'm your handler and that's an order!'
"I placed the guns down and reached down for the baby. She was old enough to support her own head, so it didn't matter that I didn't think of that. She went quiet immediately and just stared at this strange woman holding her. After wrapping a blanket around her, and unfastening the velcro on my body armor, I tucked her inside and refastened it.
"Ryker shouted, 'There are more men coming. Get the package and get out of there!' I looked down at the little face looking up at me. The most amazing blue eyes stared into mine.
"I had to get her out of there safely. I was all she had. I grabbed the guns and started out of the room, just as I heard men entering the building. I had no ear defenders for the baby, so I wrapped the blanket around her head.
"I rushed down the stairs, armed with the two automatic weapons. I shot another six men. Because they wanted her alive, they didn't shoot back, so it was just my shot ringing out, mowing them down.
"I got the baby away, but decided she wasn't going to Ryker. However, he told me where to meet him with her the following day at ten. I thought that was going to be the longest night of my life; I was stuck on my own with a baby. However, I got through it because I found a cheap hotel that took cash and hid her there, ironically in my gun case from the first hotel that I had to sneak into first. I bought ready-made baby milk, wipes, diapers from a grocery store and she slept through the night."
Sarah looked at Chuck. "I had no idea how to be a mother, but I briefly wanted to be hers. However, I only got to sleep at four am after spending the rest of the night worrying about her, but also planning my next steps.
"She woke me just before six am, needing changing and feeding. However, before I did that, I used my voice recorder to capture her crying. I burped her after she finished the milk and she went back to sleep.
"I found an unused stroller for my purposes while she slept. Shortly after nine am, she woke again, which was perfect. I repeated what I'd done before and then left for the meeting, with the stroller. Under a blanket, I had my voice recorder and a gun.
"I confronted Ryker. Surprisingly, he admitted that he was kidnapping the baby for her vast inheritance. He probably had the parents killed. I knew he had no intention of letting me live once he had her, in spite of telling me how I'd benefit.
"I called him a lousy handler and saw he had a gun under the table. I activated the playback on the recorder so that a baby's cry started and reached into the stroller, grabbed my gun and shot him. Then I ran. Unfortunately, he must've jerked and I missed his heart, but he fell back, however I managed to get away.
"I had to keep out of sight for a while but got back to the baby, who was unexpectedly crying again. I couldn't settle her and eventually I needed help. I called the only person I trusted, my mom."
Chuck gasped. "Your mom? I thought you hadn't been in contact for more than twenty years!"
She looked down. "I'd tracked her down not long before that. We had spoken on the phone and she knew I was in the CIA. She answered the call and asked if I was okay and where I was. She must've heard the baby crying. I told her I'd ended up looking after a baby after an assignment, but she wouldn't stop crying. Mom helped me." She felt a tear run down her cheek and quickly wiped it away. "Singing to her calmed her. I later found that the rain on the window did too."
She walked over to the fridge, grabbed some water, and had a drink. Remembering this was painful. "It took a couple of weeks for me to secure false identification that recorded me as her mom. I couldn't do it through the CIA or Ryker would find out, so used one of my dad's contacts.
"The time I spent with that baby meant I bonded with her. That's one of the reasons this is so painful to remember. I really wished I could be her mom and raise her, but that was impossible. I only knew how to be a CIA operative and anyway, Ryker would find us.
"I took a tortuous route to get back to the States, but eventually took the baby to the only place she'd be safe." She held his gaze. "No one can know she's with my mom."
His surprise was evident, but so were the tears she shed. "I can never see either of them again.
"Oh, Sarah." He wrapped his arms around her and the floodgates opened completely. She sobbed and soaked his shirt.
He held her for a few minutes in this state, but she eventually got herself under control again.
"So, that's why I can't just go wandering around in Budapest. I'd be recognized and that may get back to Ryker."
He frowned. "But where we did go was safe?"
"The people that will've seen me wouldn't go there."
She looked at him. "No one can ever know any of this, Chuck."
"I know," he replied.
"I feel completely washed out now. Can we go to bed and you hold this emotional wreck of a girlfriend?"
"Of course."
The waterworks started again when she rested her head on his chest in the bed, but eventually she fell asleep.
The following morning, neither spoke about her story. Chuck understood that talking more wouldn't help her.
Breakfast was brought to their cabin by the usual server who told them they were about to pass across the border into Romania. He also told them what would be happening later that morning.
They breakfasted and then showered separately. Sarah was too fragile for anything more.
At the appropriate time, they wandered along to the dining carriage to eat brunch as the train approached the mountain town of Sinaia.
This was a scheduled stop where they boarded a coach which took them to Peles Castle. It was a fairytale palace built by one of the Romanian kings in the nineteenth century. It had its official Royal Ball of Inauguration on 7 October 1883, but further construction continued until 1914.
Their guide claimed that the very first Orient Express passengers visited this beautiful residence in October 1883, at the King's personal invitation.
Sarah thought it was beautiful. Chuck agreed.
They eventually rejoined the train and continued towards Bucharest, where they again would disembark and local guides would escort all of them to their hotel.
Although Sarah had been to a number of cities in Eastern Europe during her spy life, Bucharest was not one of them. She felt it would be a welcome and safe place to visit, certainly after Budapest.
Chuck had, of course, asked her about her experience of the Romanian city. He wanted her to be safe and she loved that about him.
They had lunch in the dining carriage before the train pulled into Nord station in Bucharest. Then, as they'd been told, they were taken by local guides as individual couples to the hotel they would stay at that night.
Sarah was now feeling ready to enjoy herself again. Although the bed looked inviting, she decided it was time for her to embrace the civilian approach to vacations. So, they walked out of the hotel and explored the city on foot. She loved it and Chuck commented on her mood shift from the previous day.
Chuck had hoped they would do this and had researched where to go. So, they walked past several of the city's architectural icons, including the Royal Palace, the Central Library and King Carol I statue, before stopping very briefly in the Revolution square, in front of the former Communist Party headquarters.
Sarah reflected how different her life as a spy would have been before the revolution here in 1989. She may well have been sent here. That caused a shiver up and down her spine.
Walking along the charming Victoriei boulevard was more pleasant, and by the time they reached the vibrant Old town, she found herself clutching Chuck's hand and swinging their arms, which he loved. "Such a different Sarah Walker," he chuckled.
She grinned at him. "Carefree and happy."
He stopped and gave her a kiss. His dislike of PDA seemingly completely forgotten.
Although they reached Union Square, and could see the Parliament Palace in the distance, they didn't have time to include that as they needed to return to the hotel, because Chuck wanted to attend the planned dinner. Sarah was not against that. Mixing with the others and listening to the musical entertainment planned was what tourists did, and she felt like one now.
After everything, they fell into the opulent bed in their hotel room. And made love before falling asleep.
The following morning, breakfast was served in their cabin as the train continued through Romania on the way toward Turkey.
They had to stop at the border crossing point in Kapikule for the customs formalities because they were leaving the EU. Chuck and Sarah decided to make love for one last time in the suite they'd come to love and would be leaving behind.
Lunch in the dining carriage was full of Turkish flavors, which both enjoyed. That was good, because they would be eating that in the city they were approaching.
Their hotel in the city center was every bit as grand as the others had been. This was the end of the Orient Express experience. What they did from here on was completely up to them.
Chuck planned for them to do a couple of walking tours of the city, during their time there.
That afternoon, they caught a tram to start their first trip out, from Sultanahmet along Divan Yolu to Beyazit Square and the Grand Bazaar. Sarah felt like a complete tourist once again and spent a lot of time browsing in the shops in the bazaar. She stopped Chuck from buying everything for her, wanting to do that for herself. However, he did buy her some Ottoman jewelry. An oval Lapis Lazuli beaded bracelet. It wasn't terribly expensive, but she knew she would treasure it. He said that the colors were a perfect match for her eyes.
They ate dinner in the hotel restaurant and then retired to their bedroom.
Eating a Turkish breakfast was the first non-French breakfast they'd eaten since setting off on their journey.
They had agreed to catch a plane to Rome and had booked both that and a hotel in the Italian city. Their flight with Turkish Airways was an early evening one, so they had time for the walking tour he planned in the morning.
They caught a tram back to the Grand Bazaar and walked from there along Uzunçarsi Caddesi through the Tahtakale district to the Egyptian Market in Eminönü. It was totally un-touristy, unlike the walk the previous day, but took them through the heart of Istanbul's local crafts and shopping district. Sarah loved it as much as the previous walk.
They ate lunch and then caught a taxi back to the hotel for their late check out.
The flight from Istanbul Airport left at 5:10 pm and reached Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport two and a half hours later, local time 6:40 pm.
Although they'd both loved the other cities, Rome was breathtaking, even from the taxi to the hotel. There was so much of the ancient city on view, all of it ruins, but still stunning.
Sarah knew the remaining part of their vacation would be spent on foot, walking around this magnificent city.
She'd only been here once before and had no bad memories from the mission, nor any worries about being recognized. The brunette woman she'd been had looked Italian, whereas she looked like a slightly-tanned blonde American.
The hotel wasn't as opulent as the previous Orient Express booked ones. Finding a city center hotel at all had been a challenge, but neither of them cared. The room was clean and the bed comfortable enough for their needs.
Their time in Rome was mostly spent on foot, although they did catch one of the city sightseeing buses to get around more quickly at times. The first was just to sit on the top deck and get a different view of the amazing city, but they also used it on the second day to get them quickly to the Vatican.
Sarah had seen nothing of the city on her mission, so this was all new to her. She felt her jaw must have been hanging open much of the time.
The Colosseum was, as expected, stunning and then walking back through the Roman Forum took them a while as each of them wanted to see the ruins of all the beautiful buildings.
With so much they wanted to see, they ate pizza beside the fountains in Trastevere on that first day. Then, after walking through the narrow streets they found the Basilica Santa Maria, apparently the oldest Marian church in Rome.
They eventually walked to a bus stop and waited for one of the city sightseeing buses. Sarah wrapped her arms around Chuck's neck and gave him a kiss. "I can't believe how much I've enjoyed our vacation. All of it, but this time exploring Rome together has been the best."
"It's us being together with no cares in the world," he replied. "Tomorrow before we leave, we'll walk the Spanish Steps and sit by the Trevi Fountain."
She snuggled into him. "I'm sure it will be magical, as long as I'm with you."
Their bus came shortly afterward.
On the second day, they caught one of the sightseeing buses around to a stop as near as they could get to the Vatican entrance.
They had been warned about the impending rain when they left the hotel and had borrowed an umbrella from there.
The rain started shortly after they joined the queue to get in, but somehow snuggling together under the umbrella was fun.
When they finally were admitted, they found that visiting the Vatican was not the experience that either of them expected. Everything they saw was beautiful, but they'd often had to shuffle along in a chain of people, almost pressed together. That wasn't comfortable.
However, when they got to the amazing Sistine Chapel that changed and they had space for a while. No one was allowed to take photos in there, unlike the rest of the building, but Sarah didn't mind. She and Chuck held hands as they stared up at the ceiling and the amazing art. It was hard to imagine this being painted and looking so perfect at the end.
Tourists were being approached by the security staff if they lifted phones to take photos. That didn't happen to Chuck or Sarah, but when a woman next to her did, Sarah still tensed when a uniformed man approached.
They were only allowed to stay in the chapel for half-an-hour before they were out shuffling again.
Overall, Sarah thought the place amazing, but she didn't think she'd rush to return.
The rain had stopped when they left. They found a pizza restaurant not far away and stopped to eat before continuing on foot back through the city to their hotel. They stopped at many places to look at ruins and other buildings, as well as to just watch the bustling city life around them.
They both admitted to falling in love with the place and the people.
Before reaching the hotel, they booked a table for dinner. They would change clothes and dress up a bit for that meal.
As they sat in the lovely Italian trattoria, waiting for their spaghetti dishes to be served, Chuck told her that he was going to give his sister a call when they got back to their room.
"I've been keeping her up to date via texts because we've been so busy. I know she hates just getting those and a call to let her know when we'll get back will be good."
"Might be worth sending a text to find out when to call. We're nine hours ahead of them here."
"Good point." He pulled out his phone.
Sarah watched him and wondered whether they should contact the general. She'd given them an extended vacation, two weeks' worth, but they had decided to get back to LA after only eleven days. Sarah thought Chuck would probably suffer some jet lag and wanted him to get over that before they restarted working.
When they got back to their room, it would be lunchtime in DC, so probably a good time to call General Beckman.
Two bowls of carbonara with a thick spaghetti called spaghettoni were placed in front of them. They were drinking the recommended red Montepulciano wine with it. Sarah took a sip of wine before starting on her pasta.
As if the timing was deliberate, her phone rang as she reached for her fork. It was General Beckman. Did she know I was thinking about her?
"Hello, General," she answered. Chuck raised his eyebrows. "I can't put the phone on speaker in this crowded restaurant."
"You're eating dinner?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"I won't keep you long, then. I need you to return to LA tomorrow."
"We have a flight booked for the day after tomorrow," Sarah replied. "We were going to get time to recover from the flight before starting again after the fourteen days you gave us."
"Yes, I'm sorry to cut this short but you will be meeting someone the day after tomorrow so we have booked you on a flight from FCO tomorrow at 9:30 am."
"Is there any reason why Casey can't handle it, General?"
Beckman sighed. "He dealt with one situation while you were away, but this one needs the two of you."
Sarah thought about arguing, but the general hadn't had to let them have the vacation at all so she reluctantly accepted and ended the call.
"We're flying home tomorrow. Flight at 9:30. No Spanish Steps for us, and the only fountain will be the one in front of our apartment."
"We should've switched off our phones and your watch," Chuck grumbled. "Then, she wouldn't have been able to track us."
"Being able to contact us was her only condition."
"I know." He looked at her over their meals. "We'd better make the most of this dinner and our last night here in Rome, then."
She leaned forward and quietly said, "Making love in our bed at home is pretty special too, Chuck."
He nodded. "One last time in Europe?"
She sat back and shook her head. "There will be more than that!"
He grinned. "You're thinking we'll sleep on the plane?"
"It's nearly a thirteen hour flight." He groaned. "I'll hold your hand," she teased.
She stuck her fork into a small amount of pasta and tried it. She moaned in delight. "Just enjoy this exquisite food, and forget about tomorrow, huh? If that doesn't work, I'll make you forget everything tonight."
"A phone call! I didn't think I'd ever get one of those again!"
Chuck winced at his sister's words. "Sorry, El. There was always so much happening."
Ellie huffed. "I don't believe that, but why call now?" she asked. "Other than to apologize, that is."
"I was calling to say that we're coming home the day after tomorrow, but General Beckman has changed that. We'll be back tomorrow."
"That's not as good news as it should be. What does she want?"
Sarah answered, "Hi, Ellie. She won't tell us. Apparently something that Casey can't handle without us."
Ellie huffed again. "He did go away for a while muttering something about Peruvians, but apart from that he's been here. He's been as grumpy as hell. If I didn't know better, I'd say he missed you two."
The two of them looked at each other blankly. "Peruvians?" Chuck asked.
"I quote him, 'Peruvians shouldn't be allowed guns.' I didn't question it because I shouldn't have heard it."
"Weird. I guess we'll find out about that mission when we see him," Chuck replied.
"D'you want me to stock up the essentials in your place?" Ellie asked.
"Please," Sarah quickly replied.
"Hopefully, we'll see you tomorrow evening, El."
"Hope so," she replied. "Hope the flight isn't too painful."
After the call ended, Chuck and Sarah headed to the plush bed for… dessert.
A/N: Unlike the train ride in the episode, this one ended in Istanbul. That led me to write another of my travelogs, but as they weren't in trouble with the general and 'brought back' by Casey and Morgan, I decided to just let them have a real vacation.
As they stopped in Budapest, Sarah had to tell Chuck why she was skittish there, so some of "Chuck Versus the Baby" was needed in this chapter, too.
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