A/N: Welcome back.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

Chuck found himself sitting on a couch the next day, with a blonde in his lap. It wasn't the blonde he expected, and surprisingly enough, that said blonde was not upset about another blonde being in his lap. In fact, she seemed quite pleased. Molly was watching Chuck, in awe. Chuck didn't let it go to his head: while his Grover impersonation was fire, he suspected anyone reading to Molly in a Grover voice would make her day.

"The next page is the end of the book, and there is a MONSTER at the end of this book," Chuck read in his best Grover impersonation. "Oh, I am so SCARED."

"I bet Bradly wouldn't have read to Molly in a Grover voice," Emma said, taking a sip of her coffee and watching her daughter. Sarah turned to her mom, a knowing grin on her face. "I'm just saying."

"Is there anything else you'd like to get out?"

"Oh, so much," Emma said. "But what I have for you is a question." Sarah was silent… amused, but silent. "Are you thinking about having one now, hearing that?"

"We're not married mom," Sarah replied.

"You don't have to be, last I checked," Emma quipped. Sarah's eyes widened. "Oh, God, I have waited so long to see you like this."

"Are you enjoying this?" Sarah asked.

"Seeing my daughter happy?" Emma responded. "I'm thrilled." She put an arm around Sarah's shoulders and squeezed.

"Would you ladies mind if I took Molly to the playground we saw when we drove in?" Chuck asked.

"Sure, I'll get her car seat," Emma said.

"No, it's only a few blocks, I can push her in the stroller," Chuck said.

"You're going to push Molly to the playground in the stroller?" Sarah asked. Chuck nodded. Sarah turned to her mom. "Can Chuck borrow the stroller?"

"Absolutely," Emma said, beaming.

}o{

A few minutes later, the pair started out toward the park, with Molly singing a nonsensical song, as toddlers are wont to do. Chuck grinned, enjoying the day. That's when he felt it. He was being watched. He stopped at the street, looking both ways to see if he was being followed. He spotted an older car, idling behind him.

He pushed the stroller across the street and headed to the park, listening for the car. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he turned the stroller around, bent down beside Molly, and held up the phone to snap a selfie. Except, the camera was facing the other way. Chuck snapped the pic, perfectly framing the car that was following them in it.

He continued pushing her to the park, found a bench, and sat down. He got Molly out of her stroller, and patted the bench beside him. She crawled up on the bench and onto his lap, sitting happily there.

"Just gonna post this on social media," Chuck said out loud, keeping up his care-free appearance. Stranger Danger he texted to Sarah, sending the text and the pic.

On it came the immediate reply. Chuck put his phone in his pocket and turned to the little girl. "Slide?" Molly giggled and clapped her hands together. He picked her up and walked her over to one of the smaller slides. Molly began to climb up the very short ladder.

"Watch," she told Chuck.

"Absolutely," Chuck told her. And he did. He watched her go down that slide at least fifteen times before he felt a presence beside him.

"You have good instincts," he heard Emma say.

"Are we okay?" Chuck asked.

Emma snorted laughter. "Oh, we're fine… your tail…" she laughed again.

}o{

Sarah opened the passenger door to the car and slid in. "What in the hell are you doing?" she asked.

The man in the car turned to her. "I knew you'd finally show up."

"Oh, you have been watching mom's house to find me?" Sarah asked.

"Yes," Jack replied. "I was waiting for you to come back and get your daughter."

Sarah sat there a second, trying to process what had been said. "My what?"

"Your daughter," Jack repeated. "That blonde headed girl your baby daddy is playing with."

"First off, never say the phrase, baby daddy again," Sarah began.

"I was told that was the correct terminology," Jack replied.

"Second, Molly is not my daughter; mom adopted her. And you might know that if you EVER TALKED TO HER!"

"Darlin', how many times do I have to tell you that we just weren't meant to be?"

Sarah glared at her father. "Dad, I love you, I do. Mom loves you. The only person that doesn't love you, is you."

"Darlin'," Jack protested.

"Save it," she said. "Now, I have to see how badly you scared my boyfriend."

"You're seeing that schnook?" Jack asked. "It's a con, right?"

Sarah looked back into the car, her hand on the door, the other on the roof. "I know it's hard to believe, but love is real dad. Love of other people is real."

"Darlin'," Jack began.

"Bye, Dad," she said, slamming the door shut. She walked across the street. She heard the door open, knowing he was going to follow her. Fine, he could follow, but she was going to go see her family. Chuck, her mom, and her sister.

}o{

"I need you to do me a favor," Emma said, the two of them watching Molly.

"Anything," Chuck replied. Emma nodded, knowing he meant that. "Well, almost anything."

"Be patient with her," Emma said. Chuck looked at Molly, trying to think when he hadn't been patient. "Not her, my other one."

"Oh," Chuck said, nodding.

"I don't know how much Sarah knows about what happened to her, but Sarah… she was a target." Chuck turned to look at Emma. "I met with the Director of the CIA when I was introduced to Molly. I found out about this program that the former Director was running, called Valkyrie Army," Emma explained. "Sarah was targeted."

"When you say targeted?" Chuck asked.

"When she was little, she was tested," Emma explained, crossing her arms in a way that seemed to be hugging herself, protecting herself. "All kids were, medically, socially, and physically. They used regular doctors' tests. The director accessed those files to see those who would fit certain criteria. She fit all the criteria, and then other tests were run. They were under the guise of being gifted, testing for physical abnormalities that she didn't have, but they wanted to see what her limits were at a young age."

"God," Chuck breathed.

"Once she fit the profile, then they began to study her surroundings, her parents, and look for a weakness they could exploit," Emma continued. She turned to Chuck. "Jack – Sarah's father – he has a weakness. Everyone does, but his… he has a love of outsmarting others, of one-upping people. He's a con man at heart, but when he met me, he settled down."

Chuck was silent, caught up in the story.

"We were targeted as a family, and he was tempted, over and over and over," Emma said softly. "He had no chance, Chuck. None." She swallowed. "When we split, Sarah went with him. I should have fought harder, but I was a wreck, with what they had done to my family."

"You're telling me the CIA was behind all of that?" Chuck asked.

"No, not the CIA, but Langston Graham," Emma said. Chuck's eyes widened. "He destroyed my family, and recruited my little girl into his army. She was the only one that really survived." Chuck had heard this part of the story before from Sarah on the beach during one of their many talks.

"She's strong," Chuck told her.

"You're goddamn right she's strong," Emma said, fiercely. "However, to be strong, she had to do things. She had to push some emotions away, she had to make herself someone she is not. And she is just now remembering the happy girl she was. The loving girl."

"I know her," Chuck told Emma.

"I know you do," Emma agreed. "But here's the thing: sometimes she forgets, or gets scared, or reverts. And when she does, be patient. She loves you, Chuck."

"You know, I'm sure of that," Chuck agreed. He looked up. "Uh, Emma, your daughter is coming this way, and an older man is following her."

"He is older, but he's a hell of a dancer," Emma muttered. Chuck looked confused. "You get to meet the whole family today, Chuck. That's Jack."

"Oh, boy," Chuck muttered.

}o{

He sat in the living room, with Molly on his lap and his laptop in front of him. He was staring at a screen where he thought he might finally get some answers. While Sarah Walker's file had been erased, he had learned of other ways to access stuff within the CIA.

And erased was the wrong word. It had been moved. Moved out of regular records and onto a different server… one that could only be accessed, allegedly, by two people: Diane Beckman and Gale Busman. Chuck had begun to wonder about Sarah's file over the years. While he had no doubt that Graham would destroy any file he didn't want seen, he couldn't believe the NSA and CIA director would do something similar.

It had begun a few months ago, after Sarah had stayed at his place one night and had a nightmare. She had awakened, flailing about. Chuck, not knowing what was going on, had reached over to touch her shoulder.

She hadn't broken his nose… but it bled. Badly.

After her apologizing to him what felt like a few million times, Chuck got Sarah to tell him what she could remember of the dream. It was her training. A torture resistance training. And for the first time, she thought someone else was there, and was screaming in pain.

Chuck began to search for Graham's files, but he couldn't find anything. He did come to a section that had password protection he couldn't get through. No matter what he tried, he couldn't get past the security.

He looked up to the kitchen, where Sarah and her father were… discussing things. Emma was watching in amusement. He looked back down at the screen, and typed in the password Valkyrie Army. The screen opened, and he was in Graham's files. He opened the first, and started reading about a young woman in Wisconsin that had been a test subject: Katie O'Connell.

He came to the tragic end of her file and moved to the next subject, found in Cleveland. Rebecca Franco. This file ended with a KIA.

Next on the list was a young lady from French Lick, Indiana, Elana Truffaut. She was also killed on a mission in France.

Chuck went through candidate after candidate on the list. Each file read the same. When a candidate was identified, somehow the family was split apart, all so Graham could have another member of his army.

He came to the last name on the list, and looked up at the woman he loved, fighting with her father. He knew it wasn't his place, but he couldn't help himself. He closed the browser, shut down the laptop and stood, walking into the kitchen to pass Molly to Emma.

"Stop," he said softly to Jack and Sarah. "Please, stop." The two stopped arguing and looked at him. Chuck had tears in his eyes. "I just read how every single candidate that was identified like Sarah, is dead. I just read how evil men and women used psyops against families. I just read how families were split apart, and can never be whole again."

He turned to Jack. "Your daughter, she's the only one that survived. The only one." He turned to Sarah. "You have a chance none of the rest of them have. You have a chance to have a family." Chuck felt the eyes on him and shook his head. "I'm sorry, this isn't my place." He turned, walked out the kitchen, and then the house, leaving everyone standing in the kitchen.

}o{

"Aren't you a little big to be in that swing, Charlie?" he heard the voice ask a little while later. Chuck had walked to the park as the day turned to dusk, sitting in one of the swings. He thought about how he was young, and his mom used to push him in one.

"Probably," Chuck said. "I'm sorry about that back there."

"I'm not," Jack told him. Chuck looked at him. Jack shrugged. "You might say my daughter and I both are a little stubborn when it comes to things."

"Honestly, I've seen mules you can more easily reason with when she gets something in her head," Chuck admitted.

"And yet, you love her," Jack pointed out.

"I do," Chuck admitted. "I do, sir."

"Knock of the sir, stuff," Jack told him. Jack blew out a rough breath. "You know, I know my flaws. I know my weaknesses, but when you get tempted like that… it's easy to say it's not your fault."

"It is," Chuck agreed. "To be fair, you were tempted by the best of the best."

"It shouldn't have been enough," Jack admitted. "I cost myself my family."

"You did," Chuck agreed. "But that was then. You have another chance." He was silent for a moment. "How mad is she at me?"

"She's not," Jack told him. "A little shocked, but you were right." Jack looked back down the street toward the house. "You know, to even begin to try and fix things, it's gonna take a lot of work."

"Maybe you can't fix things," Chuck said. "Maybe you have to build something new."

"Maybe," Jack said. "Em told me I did have a second chance to be the father I could have been."

Chuck stood up. "I'm quite certain your daughter still adores you. She doesn't get that mad at people she doesn't care about."

Jack grinned at him. "She's a certified bad-ass, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is," Chuck admitted, as the two men began to walk back to the house.

}o{

Chuck walked into the house, not sure what to say. Before he could begin to speak, Emma grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. "Look at you," she whispered, "already protecting her." She pulled away, held onto his shoulder, and smiled at him.

"Come 'ere, Nerd," he heard Sarah say. She pulled him tight. "Thank you."

"I didn't look at your file," Chuck told her.

"It's okay if you do," Sarah replied, pulling away, smiling at him.

"I couldn't," Chuck told her. "I just… couldn't." Sarah quickly understood. He had seen everything that had happened to everyone else. At this point, all he had was theories about what had happened to her, to see it confirmed…

"I love you," she said clearly, in front of her mother and father. She kissed him gently. "Don't you ever forget that."

"Doubt you'll let him," Jack muttered, grinning the whole time. "Well, it's probably time for me to be getting along."

"You're staying for supper," Emma told Jack. Jack gave her a look, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Jesus," Chuck muttered. "That's where you get it." Everyone laughed. Even Molly. She had no idea what she was laughing at, but she knew she should be.

"Dinner?" Molly asked Chuck.

"Sweetie, you know how you got to see your sister today?" Sarah asked. Molly nodded. "Well, Chuck needs to see his sister." Chuck gave Sarah a look. "So we need to go see her, okay?" Molly nodded, holding out her arms. Sarah took her as two hugged. Molly reached an arm out to Chuck. Giggling, Chuck came over, and Molly had one arm around each, her head between them. "We're part of a Molly sandwich."

Molly giggled, and after three more hugs, each, a piece, let them go. The two went out to the car. Chuck started to say something about Ellie, but he realized he did want to see his sister and didn't say anything.

}o{

The ride back was silent. Sarah had Chuck's hand in hers. Chuck was full of emotion. Young girls' lives had been turned upside down for one sick individual's idea of his own personal army. The only one to survive had his hand in hers. God, she was so strong. Stronger than he could ever be.

"Don't do it to yourself," she said softly, cutting through his thoughts. He looked over at her, his eyes glassy, as the tears threatened to break through. "Don't think about what might be in my file. Don't think about those other files. That was the past, and we're here now."

"You've told me so much," Chuck began, but stopped when he saw Sarah shaking her head.

"No, not really," Sarah told him. "I've told you a lot, but there is so much that I didn't. And I'm not saying what I didn't tell you is worse. It's just how much more there is."

"Do you have any idea why he did what he did?" Chuck asked.

"I've never thought about it, because there is no excuse," Sarah replied.

"I wasn't trying to say there was," Chuck began.

"Baby, I didn't think you were," Sarah told him. "My thought process was that it didn't matter. It happened, it was awful, and now I've moved on." She looked at him and smiled. "To better things."

He nodded as they pulled into the apartment complex where he once lived. "Sarah, why am I here?"

"To give your sister the hug you need to," Sarah told him. "I know you, Chuck. Chances are, you thought about your family reading those files. Chances are, you thought about how close you came to being separated from her."

He leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. "I don't deserve you."

"You're not going down that spiral tonight," Sarah told him. "Your spiral plate is already full."

"Noted," he said, grinning at her. "You coming?"

"No, you need to go see her," Sarah said. "I've already warned her."

"You're the best," Chuck told her. He got out of the car and Sarah watched him go. There was one nagging thought in her brain. Was Chuck Bartowski on that file? Had he checked?

She needed to see for herself. She was tired of people hurting her family, and she was going to end it.

A/N: Graham seems like a real piece of work in this one, huh?

Next time:

"Chuck, can I ask you a question?" Sarah asked. He looked up at her. "You know those monkish, robe wearing people in Star Wars?"

"The jedi?" Chuck asked. Sarah shook her head, confusing him. "The sith?" She shook her head again. "I am totally confused."

"You know, the ones that speak weird…wait, that's all of them," she said. She tapped her finger on her lip, thinking.

"I mean…you're not wrong," Chuck muttered. "All of the alien races do speak weird in the movies and shows."

"You know, the ones that turned the football player into the bigger robot," Sarah continued.

Chuck mouthed the words she said, confused as could be. "Gronk?" Chuck asked. Sarah nodded. "Sarah, the robot in Star Wars is Gonk."

….Sarah is killing nerds everywhere. Next time, the finale of this episode.