A/N: No one gave me ownership of Chuck for Christmas last week. I must have been a naughty boy.
A/N2: Seems like I haven't posted a chapter since last year. (Sorry. Dad joke.) Happy New Year, everybody.
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Sanibel Island, Florida – Saturday, July 29, 2008, a few hours after Emma received the debriefing
Sarah sat on the beach next to her mom as they watched Chuck cavorting in the warm water with Molly, who was laughing hysterically. She was slowly immersed up to her neck and then pulled up with a huge "zooooommm" noise to the full extension of Chuck's arms over his head. She was screaming with her laughter and flailing her little arms and legs and it was impossible not to watch without at least a grin of delight.
Emma said softly, "He's great with her. He's going to make a great dad one day."
"Yeah, he is. He's just the kindest, most loving man I can even imagine. I'm so incredibly lucky to have found him." Sarah didn't mention that, given the workouts he'd been doing, he looked pretty damn good in a bathing suit.
Emma squeezed Sarah's arm with a smile and said, "And I think he's pretty lucky to have found you too, Sarah."
Sarah gave her mom a small smile and looked out at the peaceful blue water, gathering her courage. There was something she had needed to say for the past twenty years. Her mom was owed an apology. This was the conversation Sarah had been dreading ...well, forever. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, "Mom, I ...I...I'm..."
Emma stilled Sarah with a gentle rub to her arm, "It's ok, Sarah. It's ok. I know. You don't have to say it. I know, ok? It's ok."
Sarah looked at her mom, surprised, "But..."
"Shhh, baby. Shhh. It's ok," Emma put an arm around Sarah's shoulders and turned to continue to watch Chuck and Molly. After a few moments, Sarah leaned in to her mom and put her head on the older woman's shoulder. After a little while, she started to cry silently. She wasn't even sure why she was crying.
They sat like that for a while, Sarah doing her best to live in the moment and not think about the twenty years of motherly love she had walked away from. Emma was just happy to have her daughter back with her, in her life.
Chuck looked behind him at the two women with their heads together, sitting quietly, and he smiled.
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Later that night, they were sitting in the main dining room of the mansion. Molly was fast asleep early that evening. Emma insisted that Chuck had tired her out in the water. Once the adults were by themselves, Bea, the cook and housekeeper who came with the rental of the mansion, served them a delicious dinner of Gulf shrimp, cajun rice, and a tomato salad. Desert was key lime pie. The wine was an Argentine white with a crisp, tropical flavor.
Finishing dinner, Sarah said, "Well, we'll have to go for a run tomorrow, Sweetie. Certainly if we keep eating like this."
"For sure," said Chuck.
Emma pushed her chair back from the table and said, "Ok. I didn't want to ask while Molly was around. So, I'll ask now. What comes next?"
Sarah said, "We can't keep Molly, Mom. I'm sorry, but there's just no way to do it. It was one thing to hide her from assassins, but if we keep her now we're just kidnappers. There is an enormous groundswell in Hungary. 'Hashtag Bora Lives' is everywhere. There are tens of thousands of people in the streets of Budapest supporting her. She's in all the European papers now that Szell has been arrested. We can't keep her. Chuck and I thought we would drive her up to Washington and hand her over to the Hungarian Embassy there."
As she spoke, her mom didn't show any expression or emotion at all. She barely moved a muscle, in fact. Finally, she said, "How much longer do we have?"
Chuck said, his voice soft and sympathetic, "As long as you want, Emma. There's no rush. We can extend the rental here as long as you'd like. I'm so sorry. I wish we didn't have to turn her over to them. I really do. I've been wracking my brain, but I can't think of a way to keep her with us without huge risks for all of us, especially you. And...and, it's not the right thing to do, I guess." He glanced at Sarah as he said the last bit.
"Thank you, Chuck." Emma put her coffee cup down. "I appreciate it. You are right, of course, there's no way to keep her. No way to legalize the situation. So, ok. I suppose it's best to do it immediately. Not to prolong it. Probably best to start the drive up on Monday."
"Ok," said Sarah, uneasy. Her mom was taking this too well, somehow. "Ummm..Chuck and I can do it alone. I mean, if you want. You know, I know it might be hard for you..."
Emma voice was hard and clipped, almost angry, and she said, "No. Thank you, but no. I'm not missing a minute with her. Not a single goddamn minute. I'll go with you to DC to give her up."
"Ok, Mom," said Sarah. Chuck looked like he was about to cry.
Emma said, her voice softer again, "Sorry, kids. Been a long day for me too. I'm going to bed. Molly will have me up early." She stood from the table and kissed her daughter on the cheek, giving her a sweet smile. "I love you, baby. Good night."
"I love you too. Goodnight, mom," said Sarah. She was a little disappointed, hoping to sit with her mom for a while, just to talk. They had twenty years of catching up to do after all.
Emma kissed Chuck on the cheek and said, "Goodnight, Chuck."
"Goodnight, Emma."
Chuck and Sarah looked at each other silently once Emma had left.
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Sarah slept late the next morning and woke in an empty bed. She heard a murmur of conversation downstairs and imagined her mom and baby sister in the kitchen. Maybe with Chuck sitting with them and having a cup of coffee and making faces at Molly to make her laugh.
Her mom really seemed to like Chuck and had told her so more than once yesterday.
Everyone loved Molly. She was such a joy to be around. Laughing and smiling...well, except when she was hungry. Then it was best to feed her without delay.
Sarah was a little worried about her mom. She had seemed so calm when told that she would have to give up Molly to the Hungarians. She barely reacted at all, in fact. Maybe a little tetchy when Sarah suggested they take her by themselves to DC. It was weird. Sarah had expected much more of a reaction. But her mom was a smart woman and may have recognized all along that the situation was temporary and untenable.
Sarah stretched herself, got up, and went downstairs to the kitchen, where she found her mom and Molly. Bea, a middle aged African-American woman, was standing to the side and watching the little girl eat with a smile on her face. It seemed to Sarah that as much of Molly's breakfast was ending up on her face as in her mouth.
Sarah greeted the women and the baby, two of whom got good morning kisses.
"What are you eating, Molly?" she asked brightly.
Molly held out a spoon to Sarah with a smile to share her breakfast. Sarah pretended to eat it with a "yom, yom, yom" noise. Molly grinned at the playing and went back to feeding herself.
"The little one has grits and jam, Miss Sarah," said Bea. "For you though, how about grits with some bacon and fried eggs?"
Sarah poured herself a cup of coffee and smiled at the woman, "That would be delightful, Bea. Thanks so much." She turned to Emma and said, "Where's Chuck?"
Emma didn't look her way while she wiped at Molly's messy mouth, but she answered, "He went to do some errands. Said he'll be back in a few hours."
"A few hours? Did he say what he was doing?" she asked.
"No, just some stuff. He didn't make a big deal out of it," said Emma, still not looking at Sarah. Sarah's antennae were up. Her mom was up to something. Maybe with her future husband's cooperation. Ok, then. Sarah would just keep her eyes open.
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Sarah and Molly were playing near the water a few hours later, making sandcastles, when Chuck came down the beach in his bathing suit carrying a towel.
"Hi, ladies," he said with a big smile. He gave Sarah a quick kiss and Molly a kiss on the top of her head.
"Hey, Sweetie. Where were you?"
"One second," he said, dropping the towel and moving past them. He dove into the water and resurfaced a couple of dozen yards away. He slowly made his way back to the shore with a comfortable breaststroke.
Pulling himself out of the water, he plopped down on the warm sand next to them and began to admire the sandcastle.
"Now that's what I call a sandcastle, Molly. Are you going to be an engineer or an architect when you grow up?"
Molly said, "Cas," pointing to the sandcastle and handing Chuck a plastic shovel.
"You're not going to tell me where you were, are you?" Sarah asked. She had refrained from texting him while he was on his mysterious mission, but it had not been easy.
"You'll find out soon enough," he said.
"You know spies hate surprises," said Sarah.
"Well, I hope not," Chuck said with a sideways grin. "Hey, can I make another part here?" he asked Molly, adding sand to one edge.
Sarah blew out a sigh and was about to press Chuck on this supposed surprise, when her mother called them to lunch. Chuck jumped up and picked up Molly, putting her up on his shoulders. She laughed and laughed and pulled his hair. He made faces and said, "Hey, Molly, if I go bald because of you, you're going to have to answer to your sister, you know."
"This conversation isn't over," Sarah said, trying to think of some sort of surprise that Chuck and her mom might be cooking up.
Sarah pulled on her wrap, picked up the towels they had brought and the three of them made their way to the table on the patio, knocking sand off as they went.
Lunch was hamburgers and hot dogs, green salad, and some macaroni salad. Emma had remembered the extra pickles for Sarah, which almost made her cry. Emma broke the hamburger up into little bits and put it on the tray of the highchair for Molly. She ate with gusto and laughed as the grownups played with her throughout the meal. Molly drank juice from a sippy cup, but the adults drank beer.
Sarah was watching closely and she knew for sure that Chuck and her mom were in league with some plot they weren't telling her about. She was worried it had to do with keeping Molly...but that didn't seem right. They were in too good humor to be getting ready to have an argument.
Chuck got up to help clear the table, motioning for her to stay with Molly as he and Emma helped Bea.
Sarah was feeding Molly a bit of macaroni when she heard Chuck, Emma and Bea singing, "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Sarah. Happy birthday to you."
Chuck was walking out to the patio with a big cake filled with burning candles. Emma was on the side, recording with her cell phone. Both wore silly pointy hats.
Sarah gasped from surprise and her mind froze. Her birthday? Her birthday? Was today...July 30? It was her birthday. 'Oh, my God, it's my birthday. My mommy...on my birthday. And Chuck. Oh, my God.'
Chuck put the cake in front of her. Molly was looking around trying to figure out what was going on, but smiling with the happiness vibe she was picking up. Chuck put a silly hat on Molly, who immediately pulled it off to look at it. Chuck and Emma stood there smiling at Sarah. Meanwhile Sarah sat there doing her impression of her goldfish Bubbles, even as Chuck put a silly hat on her. "Twenty-nine candles. One extra for good luck."
Finally, the love she felt overwhelmed her and she started to cry. "Thank you. Thank you. I didn't even remember it was my birthday. I just..."
"Well, blow out your candles, dear. You'll get wax on the cake otherwise," said Emma with a grin.
Sarah said to Molly, "You want to help? Just go like this..." Sarah demonstrated blowing. Molly tried, but not too successfully. Tears of happiness in her eyes, Sarah looked at Molly hard for a few moments and made a wish, then leaned forward and blew out her candles. Molly clapped her little hands together in delight as the candles went out.
Sarah jumped up and hugged her mom. "Thank you, Mom. Thank you."
"I love you, Sarah."
"I love you too, Mom."
She spun to Chuck, who was grinning, while she pretended to be annoyed. "I told you spies don't like surprises."
"Yeah, I know you did. But I was hoping just this once..."
"Ok. Just this once," she said, taking him in her arms and kissing him long and hard. She pulled back a bit and said, "I love you."
"I love you too. Happy birthday."
"Thank you. Come on, let's have cake." Cake was quickly served, making sure Bea and her husband got some. Molly ended up with chocolate all over her face, which seemed par for the course.
Chuck went inside and came out with three packages with festive birthday wrapping and two birthday cards. Sarah opened the cards first. Chuck's was a funny one with a Far Side cartoon of a deer with a big target on its side and the other deer saying, "Wow, dude. Bummer of a birthmark." She snickered at it.
Her Mom's card, though, made her cry. It was a simple wish for her to have a happy birthday and that she, her mom, would be able to share future ones with her. Sarah thought of all the ones she'd missed and vowed to herself not to ever let that happen again.
Turning to the presents, she picked up the small box first. Unwrapping it she found a little jewelry box from a jeweler in Los Angeles. Chuck must have had it with him in Hungary. Inside were a beautiful pair of dangly sapphire earrings on gold mountings. "I thought they matched your eyes," he said.
"Oh, Chuck, they're lovely," she said. "Thank you." That got him another kiss. She tried on the earrings, which didn't really go with the bathing suit and wrap she was wearing, but she didn't much care.
Next, she picked up a square box about the size of a cigar box. Chuck said, "Impulse purchase this morning. Just driving past the store and …well, I hope you like it."
Sarah opened the box to find a derringer pistol, shiny silver with beautiful filigree etching and a pearl handle. "Oh, my God. This is so beautiful. Thank you."
"It's an antique from 1888. The man in the gun store swears it works. I have some .41 rimfire ammo for it inside, not that you'll want to try it here, of course."
"Thank you," she said, giving him another kiss. Molly grabbed for the wrapping paper and began to amuse herself with it.
Finally, Sarah took a somewhat larger flat package out and unwrapped it. It was a painting of a mother and daughter standing on the beach on a sunny day holding hands. The little girl in the picture looked to be about nine or ten years old and was looking up at her mother with love. Emma said, "It's from me. Chuck found it in one of the studios in town. When he texted me the picture of it, I knew it was right."
Sarah could barely speak, she was so moved. She started to cry again and got up to hug her mom fiercely. "I love you so much. This is perfect. This is perfect."
Emma was crying too by that point. "Oh, good, Sweetie. I'm so glad you like it. Happy birthday."
"Thank you, Mom," she said.
The sun had gone behind afternoon clouds and the air smelled of rain. They decided to collect everything and bring it inside before the rain shower hit. Molly was sitting on the floor in one of the family room areas, playing with some toys she found there, and Sarah had gone upstairs to put her presents in her room.
Emma looked at Molly and turned away suddenly. Silently, her shoulders began to heave. Chuck went to her and offered a hug. She hesitated for a second that then pressed herself against him, burying her face in his chest and crying hard.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry. I'm being silly." Her voice was muffled. "I thought I was going to get to raise her...raise Molly. Be her mom. Like I never got to be with Sam. Jimmy took that away from me ...son of a bitch. Stole it. I thought this was a chance. A chance to try again. To raise a daughter...I thought I could...I could keep her. It's silly. I know it's...I'm sorry...I'm sorry." She sounded like her heart was breaking. As if on cue, the summer thunderstorm opened up outside and the water began to pour out of the sky in heavy, violent sheets.
Sarah came into the room from upstairs and saw her mother crying in Chuck's arms. She stopped and locked eyes with him, concern on her face. He made a gesture with his head towards Molly.
Sarah understood and it broke her heart. 'Well,' she thought, 'I guess it can't hurt to call a lawyer.'
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Upper West Side, Manhattan
Rachel Bernstein grabbed her sunglasses from the table and looked at Brian Murphy. "Do you have the lightbulb?" He held it up. "I was thinking of hitting the flea market for a bit after the hardware store. And maybe an early dinner at Isabella's?"
"Great. We can sit outside. It's nice today," he said.
"Cool," she said.
Her cell phone rang. She glanced at the screen and saw that it was Sarah calling.
"Hey, girlfriend. Wassup?" she answered.
"Are you home?" asked Sarah.
"Yeah. We were just heading out for some errands."
"I'm going to call you back on your landline. Hang up," said Sarah. Rachel hung up.
"Sarah. She's calling me back on the landline," said Rachel to Brian, a question in her voice.
"More secure?" asked Brian. Rachel shrugged.
The phone on her wall rang. She picked it up and said, "OK, Jane Bond. What's going on?"
"I have two things to talk to you about and one is top secret," said Sarah.
"Ok. Shoot," replied Rachel.
"First, the company Chuck and I started is growing like crazy. We are turning away customers at this point. With my other job too...well, I haven't dropped any balls, but some have gotten pretty damn close to the ground. How would you feel about coming on board as General Counsel? Now I know there are a hundred reasons to say 'no.' You'd have to take the California bar. You'd have to leave Brian on the east coast and move out here. You'd be leaving your parents. And the career track in a big New York law firm. All kinds of reasons. I understand all of that."
Rachel was still trying to catch up to the conversation. Her mind had stopped at 'General Counsel.' "What about Neilson? Isn't he your company lawyer?"
"Yeah. And he's the one who suggested that it was time to hire a lawyer inhouse."
"Ok. I don't even like LA. You people have the water on the wrong side," said Rachel.
Sarah chuckled. "True, but it makes for better sunsets. There's a plus side, you know."
"What's that?"
"You get to work with me," said Sarah, a grin in her voice.
"Yeah. That wouldn't suck," responded Rachel, a grin in her voice too. "How long to decide?"
"Asap, please. No deadline, but I'm giving you dibs before calling a headhunter and going through all that bullshit."
"Ok. I'll think about it. Big decision."
"Yeah. I know."
"Ok, what's next?"
"Attorney client privilege, ok?"
"Sure," said Rachel.
"What do you know about international adoptions?"
"Not my field of practice, so mostly what I know is just general knowledge. But they are more and more common nowadays. China. Russia and Eastern Europe are big. There are agencies that will walk you through the process for a fee. I'm sure there are lawyers involved, but mostly it's handled by the adoption agencies. What country are you talking about?"
"Hungary," said Sarah.
"Hungary? Oh, well, Eastern..." Rachel gasped and stopped talking as her face went slack with shock. The Kossuth girl from the New York Times that morning. The story was like some insane espionage thriller. Espionage. She had read the entire article, three whole pages, over coffee and eggs. She sat down on a chair next to her. After a few moments, she whispered, "Holy shit."
Sarah said, quietly, "Yeah."
Rachel stared off into space. Her shock was so profound that Brian made a hand gesture meaning 'what's wrong?' She waved him off with a frown, then realized that she was being rude and blew him a kiss.
She whispered, "Not the Mossad."
"Not the Mossad," said Sarah.
Taking a deep breath, Rachel said, "Jesus. Ok. Ok. Wow. Ok. You have government lawyers who can help you, right?"
"Nope. Completely unsanctioned. Totally freelance. Langston doesn't even know."
Rachel blew out a long breath, trying to get her head around the magnitude of the conversation she found herself in. "Damn, girl. Ok. So, we're figuring this one out on our own, is what you're telling me?" asked Rachel, not even realizing that she had just included herself on Sarah's team.
"Yeah," said Sarah. "We are. I need a legal solution. Something that will let us keep the baby here and out of foster care in Hungary. And hopefully not get anyone arrested for kidnapping."
"Ok, ok...give me a minute," murmured Rachel. She got up and began to pace around the apartment. Luckily, the phone cord was extra-long, allowing her to reach almost everywhere while still talking. She got to her window and stared at the people on the street outside without really seeing them. Three minutes passed before she spoke again. "I'm sorry. It's too big now, Sarah. There are tens of thousands of people in the streets of Budapest. Her picture is everywhere. It's not legal anymore. Not a legal problem. I'm sorry. You could find the best Hungarian lawyer and the best American lawyer and hire them both and it wouldn't matter. This thing is in the public domain at this point. National pride and all that. It's become political. I'm sorry."
It was Sarah's turn to pause. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said with resignation.
"Can you call your Senator or something? Can Langston use some juice?"
"Senator? No...No...But...Oh, my God. You're a genius. You're a genius. Longshot, yeah, but...Ok. Thanks. Love you and I'll talk to you later. Thank you. Bye."
"You're welcome. Bye," said Rachel wondering what she had said that was so smart.
Once the call disconnected, she looked at Brian with serious eyes as she hung up the phone. She held up a hand to forestall questions for the moment and went into the kitchen. She returned with two glasses of ice. Putting them down on the table, she crossed the room and took a bottle of bourbon from the stock of liquor on the side table and put it on the table near the glasses.
Sitting down at the table and inviting him to do so with a gesture. "We have to talk, Bri," she told him.
"Uh, oh," he said.
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Sanibel Island – July 30, 2008
Chuck and Emma were sitting on the patio, having wiped the chairs down with towels. The storm had lasted less than an hour and the sun was breaking through the clouds. Molly was sitting on Chuck's lap and he was making faces at her to make her laugh. The little girl was clutching the stuffed animal unicorn Sarah had bought her the day before.
Sarah came outside and sat down with them. She said, "I just spoke to Rachel. She had an idea."
"Who's Rachel?" asked Emma.
"Close friend. A lawyer up in New York. She was my college roommate."
"At Harvard," said Chuck to Emma with a grin.
Emma said, surprised, "You went to Harvard?"
With a small smile, Sarah said, "Yeah. I did."
Chuck said, "Double major. Summa cum laude for Romance Languages and Cum Laude overall. She made Phi Beta Kappa at Harvard. You have a smart daughter, Emma."
Emma looked proud enough to burst. She squeezed Sarah's arm and said, "Yes. I do."
"Are you done bragging about me?" Sarah asked Chuck with a grin, but secretly pleased that her mom now knew of some of her accomplishments, that her mom was proud of her.
Chuck grinned back at her and said, "Well, somebody's got to do it."
"Anyway," Sarah continued. "Rachel said it's not a legal question anymore. With all that's happening, it's become a political issue."
Chuck thought about it and said, "Yeah. She's right. Good insight. She's as smart as you always said she was. But it leaves us in a worse spot overall, I guess. Nothing lawyers can do."
"Maybe not," said Sarah. "Why don't you call your new bestie? He told us to call if there was anything he could do."
"Who?...What?...oh...yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm sort of pessimistic, but..."
"But what do we have to lose?" asked Sarah.
"Ok. Hey, Molly, go sit on your sister for a minute, ok, sweetie?"
He handed Molly to Sarah and took out his cell phone.
He stood up and moved a few paces away. He looked up a number and dialed. After a few moments, he said, "Good afternoon, Mr. Bolten, this is Charles Carmichael," he said into the phone, "I didn't expect to catch you in the office on a Sunday afternoon. I was just hoping to leave a message...Yes, Sir...Thank you, Sir. We all miss her...tragedy...Yes, Sir, she was...Yes, a real hero...No, she didn't have any family, well, except us, I guess...Thank you...Yes, Sir. I was wondering if you could arrange for me to speak to the President on a personal matter..."
Emma's head snapped around to look at Sarah with shock and a bit of awe. She whispered, "The President president?" Sarah nodded to her mom with a smile.
The warm sun broke through the clouds and bathed them in its light. Sarah looked up into the sky over the tranquil blue water, pointed, and said to Molly, snuggling on her lap and still clutching her unicorn, "Look, Sweetheart, a rainbow. Isn't it pretty?"
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A/N3: In real life, July 30, 2008 was a Wednesday. I made it a Sunday. So, sue me.
A/N4: It was my dear friend Rachel Smith Cobleigh who suggested that Sarah call Rachel Bernstein for legal advice. Thanks, Rachel and thanks, Rachel.
A/N5: And that's a wrap. Next arc we tackle Broken Heart and introduce agent Alex Forrest. Minimal angst. I'm not in an angsty mood anymore.