A/N: If you don't think reviews matter, I was thinking of ending this fic and pulling it. No one is reviewing it, and then one guest said, it's one of their favorites. Guest, this is for you.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

"I graduated high school as valedictorian, and got a full ride to Boston U," Jack continued with a far-away look on his face, obviously thinking about the past. "Finn threw me a party at O'Malleys." Jack paused and grinned. "Obviously it was his parents' bar. I knew everyone there, and nearly all of them were in Finn's crew. Finn was one of the ones that warned everyone of the problems that the Winter Hill Gang were having. Having outside people assist… he didn't like it. He really didn't like a gunrunner that was being made to work with his crew, Augusto Gaez."

Sarah looked over at Chuck, who glanced down at the floor. She turned back to Jack. "I am assuming this is the same Gaez Amy was referring to?"

"Yep," Jack replied. "Now, Finn, he did what he was told. He had no desire to end up with the fishes, if you know what I mean. Over those years that I knew Finn and was protected by him, I learned something. Finn didn't care who you were, if you could help him. Finn was a rising star in the gang, because his crew was amazing, and no one could figure out why. The day of the party, Finn pulled me aside and had a talk with me." Jack paused, and looked uncomfortable.

"You okay, dad?"

"No," Jack replied to his daughter. He looked up at her. "Just thinking of what I could do to not be in this situation, but that meant you never would have been born." Sarah looked confused. "Let me explain." Sarah nodded, and Jack took a deep breath and continued.

"Finn told me that I was smart, and I needed to get with the times. I needed to see people for who they are, and that you had to recognize traits in people." Jack paused, and a warm smile came over his face. "He pointed across the bar, and said, see that woman? That's Amanda Doyle." He shook his head, the smile growing. "God she was beautiful." He paused, chuckled, and continued. "Finn told me that she was the best tactician he had ever met. He told me the reason his crew was what it was, was because of her. There wasn't a con she couldn't think of. There wasn't an escape plan she couldn't come up with."

"Wait, what?" Sarah asked. She glanced over a Chuck. He nodded, a sad look on his face. She spun back to her dad. "You're saying mom was the con… person, of the family?"

"Any con I ever told you about, or we ran while we were on the run, was one she had told me about," Jack admitted. Sarah sat back in her seat, stunned. "I'm sorry, Darlin'."

"Dad, if Mom's alive, why were we on the run?" she asked. Jack blew out a breath. "Right, you're getting to it."

"There's a lot," Jack told her.

"I'm beginning to realize that," Sarah replied.

"Finn told me that was the kind of woman that you could fall so deeply in love with, knowing it would hurt, but you wouldn't care, because all the pain would be worth it."

There was silence in the room and finally it was broken by Chuck's voice. "Was it?"

"God, yes," Jack replied immediately. "And I'm an awful parent because of it, but I never knew you could love like that."

"That's why you think love is a con," Sarah said softly. It all finally made sense to her. She turned to Chuck. "A con is, literally, making someone trust you, believe in you. In this case, it's love. You believe in love, think it will always be there for you."

"The difference is, while you might be embarrassed by being conned out of your money," Jack cut in softly, "and you may lose money, you don't lose love. It's still there. It's just not returned any more, and that's the loss."

"Dad," Sarah said softly.

"I gotta finish this, Darlin'," Jack said softly, emotion in his voice. Sarah nodded. "Finn told me that the best thing I could do is stay away from someone like that. She was the kind of person that could derail me, and I promised him I would. I promised him I would stay away from her, and God, I tried."

Jack chuckled. "I doubled down on my studies. I was always at O'Malleys, they made sure I had plenty of food, and it was always on the house. They told me my money was no good there. She was there, often. Sometimes she'd bring me my food and give me a wink. I was always polite, but Finn's words kept ringing in my ears. I busted my ass, and finished my undergrad degree, and that's when Finn asked me what was next. I could have gone anywhere… I could have gotten a good job anywhere, away from there. I could have not gone to O'Malleys…" He trailed off.

"How often did you two interact?" Sarah asked.

"She would stop by and talk to me every so often, ask me what I was studying," Jack answered. "I would show her, and she'd pick it up. She was so damn smart. She was so beautiful. I was so in love, I couldn't leave." He was silent a moment. "Especially after what Gaez said."

"What did Gaez say?" Sarah asked, straightening.

"That she was gonna be his girl," Jack said softly. "She told me that, one evening I was there. She said she was a criminal, he was a criminal, and that he was decent looking, and he was kinda sexy."

"Jesus, she was flirting with you, Dad," Sarah told him.

"I hoped she was," Jack admitted. "She told me that since there was no one else interested in her, given who she was, that maybe she should date Gaez. She dated some guys… don't get the impression that she was sitting around pining for me. I didn't date much, I was too busy trying to keep my scholarship." He grinned. "After she told me about Gaez, I blurted out that I was thinking about getting my masters degree."

"What did she say?" Sarah asked.

Jack's grin grew. "She ran her finger around the glass that was in front of her, and then looked me right in the eye, and said, 'Huh, smart, cute as hell, and determined. I like that.' I could have died a happy man right there." Sarah snorted. "I was a goner." The grin left his face as a sad smile replaced it. "I asked her if she ever thought she could date someone that wasn't in that life."

The room was silent. Both Chuck and Sarah knew what the answer had ended up being, but the spot Jack was put in… the two looked at each other, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"We don't get to pick who we love Jack," Chuck said.

"I know," Jack answered. "Didn't make things any damn easier." He composed himself, blew out a breath, and continued. "She told me it wouldn't be much of a life for the man she was with if he wasn't in that life. I asked her if it wasn't his choice."

"Nice one, Dad," Sarah said softly, grinning at him. Jack returned the grin. He was silent a second. "Well, what happened?"

"Never saw each other again," Jack said with a straight face. Sarah threw a pillow at him. "Fine, we kept talking, but I had my masters work, and it kept me busy. While that was going on, things were falling apart for the gang. Members were being arrested left and right. Not Finn, though."

Jack reached over, grabbed his glass, and took a drink of water. "I graduated in May of 1980, and of course, the party was there at O'Malleys. The jukebox was playing Amanda by Boston-"

"Wait, Amanda wasn't released until 1986," Chuck argued. Sarah gave him a look. "What? It wasn't." He turned back to Jack.

"That's true," Jack confirmed. "However, Boston had written it and preformed it, and well… Mandy had heard it and wanted it on the jukebox." Jack grinned. "Mandy got her way a lot."

"Must run in the family," Chuck muttered. Sarah smacked his nearby leg. Not hard, but enough to make a point. Jack shook his head at the two.

"She was playing pool, and whipping everyone's ass. Taking everyone's money. Finn had had a few, and came up to me and told me it was a bad idea what I had in mind. I found that hilarious, because I really had nothing in mind. I was just watching her, enthralled as always. He handed me five twentys, told me to go play pool with her, and get her out of my system. I tried to politely tell him no, but he wouldn't hear it. I heard him say to one of his guys that I wouldn't get her out of my system."

"This is getting exciting," Chuck admitted, making Jack laugh.

"I walked up to her and asked her if we could go somewhere to talk. She said the only way she'd talk is when she made the last hundred she needed. I offered her the money, and she looked insulted. I wasn't trying to imply she was a prostitute, or I was giving her a hand-out, I just wanted to talk to her away from everyone."

Chuck saw the twinkle in Jack's eyes as Jack continued to speak. "I apologized and asked her how she was going to make the money, and she told me twenty bucks a game. I laid down a twenty, half tried to play her, not caring, and lost quickly. This happened three more times."

"Down to your last twenty," Sarah said, grinning. Jack nodded.

"I started to put the next twenty on the table, but paused, right before I laid it down. I looked her right in the eye and said, 'How about we change the stakes?'"

Chuck leaned forward, wanting to know exactly what happened.

"She asked me what I was proposing," Jack continued. "I told her, that she kept the money, no matter what, and if I won, she went out with me." Chuck and Sarah found themselves holding their breath waiting to see what the answer was. "Amanda walked over to the jukebox, stopped it from playing Amanda and put on Foreplay/Long Time."

"Been six years of foreplay," Chuck muttered. Sarah turned and gave him a look. "Sorry, forgot it was your mom and dad we were talking about." Sarah chuckled and turned back to Jack.

"Mandy walked back over to the table, and never answered me. She picked up the chalk, and worked on her pool stick. Foreplay continued to play, and just as it got to the start of Long Time, she spoke. She said, 'Are you sure?'"

Jack paused, reached over for his drink, and took a sip. "Now you're doing it on purpose," Sarah accused. "You're trying to pull us in."

"Worked, hasn't it?" Jack replied, laughing. "I told her I was never more sure of anything. She replied, 'your funeral.' She lined up her shot, and turned to look at me. She took the shot, never taking her eyes off me. It went straight into the side pocket. A scratch. I won. She stood up, eyes still locked, grinning. I asked her why she did that." Jack began to laugh. "She told me she had been waiting on me to get the courage to ask her out for years, and she had her chance. I started to say something, and she just grinned at me and said, 'Besides, you couldn't beat me, and I really want that date.'"

Sarah clapped her hands together and laughed loudly. "So that's where I get it from," she said, chuckling.

"Yeah," Jack said, nodding. "So, we went out and just talked, away from everyone. I took her home, and as we were sitting in front of her apartment, she asked me if I was going to kiss her or not."

"Yep, you are your mother's daughter," Chuck muttered. Sarah thwapped him with her hand, but she didn't put anything into it. She was grinning, listening to the story.

"Spoiler alert, I kissed her," Jack continued, a light in his eyes that Chuck hadn't really ever seen before. "We began to date. She kept telling me I was making a mistake, that she was who she was, and that I deserved someone better. I told her there was no one better than her."

Chuck glanced at Sarah, who had a sad smile on her face. "Now, again, during this time, the gang was having a few issues, and Gaez had left town, went back to Miami. In the late fall of '81, Finn told me I had to get out of town with Mandy. He handed me two fake IDs. Jack and Emma Burton."

"Wait, you two were never married?" Sarah asked. Jack shook his head. "Dad…"

"It's okay, Darlin', I still love her, and she still loves me. Nothing would ever change that," Jack told her.

"Why did you have to get out of town?" Chuck asked.

"One of Gaez's men got caught and he gave up Mandy, trying to get a lighter sentence. They wanted Whitey so bad, they wanted to chip away at his organization. So, we ran."

"Why would Gaez do that?" Chuck asked.

"Because Mandy was with me, and not him," Jack said with a shrug. "In Miami, he rose to power, and eventually he found the three of us." Jack looked down at the bed sheet. "That's when Mandy told me to run and take Sam. She told me that she would go to jail, and it would all be over. They would never come after us." He was silent a second and then snorted. "Mandy was wrong," he said in a choking voice.

Jack reached over for another sip of water and cleared his throat. "Gaez was determined to end me, and eventually he must have got his hooks into that CIA agent, Amy."

"I went through the charges levied against you two, and most were made up, or you were framed," Chuck told Jack.

"Yeah, I suspect Gaez had people within the CIA, or FBI, or wherever, to fix things to make it look like I was a con man. I'm not a con man. I mean, I had to do some while we were on the run to survive, but as far as actually being one, or creating cons… no."

"I'm sorry, Dad," Sarah said softly.

"No, Darlin', I'm sorry," Jack told her. "Telling you she was dead made it easier on me. Letting you think the worst of me made it easier on me. That way I didn't have to talk about the woman that I loved being taken away from me. I didn't have to admit how lonely I was."

"Dad," Sarah said. She stood up, went over, and held him. Chuck stood, watched the two for a second, and walked out of the room.

He pulled out his cell phone and made a call. "Bryce, find out everything you can on Emma Burton and Amanda Doyle." He glanced back at the room. "And ask Ellie and Devon about getting Jack transferred to Castle. I'm not sure how safe he is in the hospital right now."

}o{

The drive back to Castle was quiet. Chuck held Sarah's hand, as he could feel her trying to process everything she had been told. Her mother was alive, but not the person Sarah thought she was. Her father was not the man she thought he was. He squeezed her hand in support.

"I mean, I get it," she said softly. "Sometimes you'd do anything for the person you love."

"Yeah," Chuck said nodding. "I'd like to think that I wouldn't fall in love with someone who was like that, and just let her continue doing it. But I understand."

"I'm done conning," Sarah told him, squeezing his hand.

"I know, Sarah," Chuck replied. "Are you okay?"

"No," Sarah admitted, shaking her head. "But I will be."

}o{

"Feds want Amy," Casey told him as they walked into Castle. Agents were there to take her into custody. "Do we need her?"

"Not that I know of," Chuck told Casey. "We have plenty of intel of where to strike next." Casey nodded and turned to the agents.

"She's all yours, boys," Casey told them. The cell was opened, and Amy was escorted out.

"Chuck, I'm glad you're back," Manoosh said, walking down the hallway. "I was looking… what is he doing here?" Manoosh asked, terror covering his face, looking at one of the agents.

"Shit," Amy swore, she moved quickly, her cuffs falling off, grabbing the gun out of the agent's hostler nearest her.

"Fuck!" Carina swore. Chuck felt like he was standing in cement. He saw Amy aim at Sarah. He saw Carina dive towards Sarah. He heard the gunshot from the gun Amy held. Casey had drawn and fired on Amy. She was down, the agent who had his gun taken by Amy was standing there with his hands up as the other agent had his gun drawn on his partner.

"SARAH!" Chuck yelled, moving towards her, quickly. She had blood all over her chest and stomach.

"I'm okay," Sarah told him. "It's not my blood.

"Carina!" Zondra yelled. Chuck moved quickly, putting his hand over the wound. "Get Ellie and Devon!"

Everyone was screaming. Casey was putting both agents into separate cells until he could figure out if both were dirty or just the one.

"Why?" Sarah asked Carina, helping Chuck. "Why would you take a bullet for me? You told me you never would."

"Yeah, I do that, I lie sometimes. I like you kid." Carina shut her eyes.

"ELLIE!" Sarah yelled. "AWESOME!"

"Hang on Carina!" Chuck told her. "HANG ON!"

A/N: ….What are you looking at me for? I don't have enough of the next chapter to give you a preview, sorry. I'll be back soon, as long as life doesn't mug me in some dark alley. Take care friends.