The way it should be

Part 3

Sarah is standing at the stove cooking breakfast and suddenly asks “Chuck did we have a dog?”

Sarah turns towards the table suddenly as she hears Chuck make a choking sound and the loud clang of a fork hitting a plate. “Chuck are you ok sweetie?. Whats wrong did I say something wrong?. Talk to me Chuck what did I do?.” Chuck starts to chuckle and a huge ear to ear smile slowly slides across his face as he gazes at his gorgeous wife standing in the kitchen looking at him with worry in her eyes. Wondering how he ever got so blessed as to have this woman find him not just once in his life but multiple times she always finds her way back to him the same way he always finds his way back to her, “Sarah what do you remember about us having a dog?. Can you describe what you see when you think about that? It might be important ,I have to call Ellie today and let her know what is going on and I want as much detail as I can give her.” Sarah thinks for a minute or two then slowly speaks still deep in thought “I see you at the table in a nice house on a bright sunny morning. I am standing in front of a stove cooking eggs and bacon and chopping veggies like I was doing a minute ago. I served you your eggs and I was snacking on bacon and veggies waiting for my eggs to be done and a dog ran into the kitchen and I fed it a snack. I think….. yeah I am pretty sure it was a golden color. I think we were married or something I remember a wedding ring and you looked so happy and when you smiled it was like a blast wave of heat overcame me and I basked in the feeling of happiness and contentment. It is as clear as day now that I take time to try and let it wash over me like a wave of feeling connected to it like the feelings drew it out of its hiding place and brought it out into the light were I can see it and feel it as one complete thought. Does that make any sense to you at all?.” Chuck is so amazed at the revelation that he almost forgets to breathe the detail and intensity she has in describing the memory is breathe taking. He thinks about how to respond to her, instead he grabs his phone and dials a number and waits for the other person to answer. He motions to Sarah to have a seat next to him as he puts the phone on speaker and suddenly the ringing stops and a familiar voice answers.”Hey little brother to what do I owe the early morning phone call? Is everything alright?.” Chuck smiles and starts to speak but is interrupted by Sarah,” Ellie I had the most amazing thing happen I think it was a memory, but it was so vivid I found that if I let it wash over me like a wave it becomes so clear and focused that I can see so much detail about it and it feels like it matches up with a feeling I have like it puts the feeling in context.” Chuck stares at his wife in amazement “wow sweetie that’s a better description then I could have given her.”Chuck and Sarah hear a high pitched squeal coming from the phone as Ellie squeals in delight.”Shes there with you Chuck, Sarah really is there?. She didn’t leave she stayed to figure this out?.”Chuck gulps and slowly Speaks.”Umm yeah Ellie I was going to call you later but she was fixing breakfast and asked me if we ever had a dog? It was from a mission we did in the suburbs we posed as a married couple and had a dog all supplied by the government. Even tho it wasn’t real it felt like it was and I was so happy that morning but more to the point. What do you make of this she has had several memories in the last day and a half but not this vivid.”Chuck and Sarah hear Ellie yell “Devon pack the bags and grab Clara we are heading back to California Chuck and Sarah need our help to figure this out.” Devon is heard in the background “Figure what out? whats going on? And did you say Chuck and Sarah? I knew she would stay and work to figure things out I could tell even tho she didn’t remember everything I could see the way they looked at each other they would work things out I just knew she loved him enough to make it worth her while to stay.!!!”Devon takes a breathe and notices the look Ellie is giving him and says “I’m on it babe we got this chuck we will be there soon as we can. Remember, when it comes to family we can never do too much we got your back, you two don’t worry.” Sarah is stunned how could I ever forget this family that is so giving so supportive and willing to do whatever needs to be done to help one another. Chuck notices Sarah is looking at him directly at him and as their eyes lock on each other he sees so much in those ungodly beautiful blue eyes and looses his train of thought and is captivated by them.

Sarah sees so many things when she looks into his gorgeous golden brown eyes. She sees the love he has for her the hope for a future for the two of them Sarah also sees something she cant quite figure out there is something else there that worries her, something that he is hiding from her, like some sort of guilt, she thinks but isn’t sure. Chuck finally come back to the present and speaks into the phone “Ok Ellie call when you know your flight details and we will pick you guys up at the airport. I’ll rent a car for you guys to use while your here helping us.” Ellie sniffles and sounds choked up and replies,”will do baby brother I am just so happy for the two of you I am on emotional overload right now and I need to get packing if we are going to get there anytime soon, I still have to call work and let them know and make a check on patients then we can leave.”Chuck makes a decision right then “Guys ill take care of getting you the time off you will need I have an idea. Let us know your flight details and we will go from there you can stay with us if you want or we can get you a hotel but I hope you stay with us”.Sarah echos this sentiment as they all say their goodbyes. Chuck hangs up and quickly dials a number from memory and puts the phone back on speaker so Sarah can participate if needed. The phone rings twice and a female voice answers. It General Beckman ”hello who is this? And how did you get this number?. ”Sarah takes in a sharp breathe and looks at Chuck who just looks at her and smiles.”General this is Chuck Bartowski I came across your number by accident while I was in the NSA system awhile back. Don’t worry I erased it while I was there I figured it had to be a mistake that your personal cell number was included. I need a favor General a big favor and I need it very very soon. I ummm we hope you can help us.” Beckman speaks cautiously “Did you say us Chuck? As in you and …..Sarah? Is she there with you now?”. Sarah speaks up,”yes General I am here with Chuck can we set this up as a secure call or video Conference I think we can do that from were we are, right Chuck?.” “Uhhh yeah I still have the tv in our bedroom we can use for that if that’s OK with the General?. General Beckman answers in the affirmative and they end the call. Chuck and Sarah wolf down the rest of their breakfast and get dressed , then head to the bedroom they now share. Chuck sets up the video call with the General and as they wait Sarah takes Chucks hand in hers and give it a gentle I’m happy but worried squeeze. The General appears on the screen and blinks a couple of times and dives right in. “Sarah are you alright. Are you remembering anything of the past 5 years?.” Chuck notices the General seems to be looking carefully at Sarah and the look on her face is one of happiness yet a tinge of sadness invades. Sarah straightens going into Agent walker, no that’s not right she thinks Agent Bartowski mode is how she thinks of it now. Sarah tells the General about the memories that have returned and how happy she has been to be with her Chuck, and what a wonderful help he has been to her as they work thru the feelings she experiences as the memories come back to her. Chuck looks up from Sarahs hand that he has been holding tightly as she talks to the General and pulling together all the courage and backbone he can muster asks a few questions.”General I need to find away to get my sister and her husband here semi permanently, at least till we can figure out how to go about helping Sarah thru this time. Is there anyway you could help us with the bosses in Chicago, so they can have the time they need to figure this all out? I know its a big ask but you know how I feel about my wife. I would go to the ends of the earth if it meant saving her or making her happy. I also have a plan.” The General interrupts, “of course you do your Chuck Bartowski the second best spy I have ever known and I would expect nothing less from you, especially were Sarah is concerned. Whats this plan?. I have a feeling I might be able to help you with this. I mean after all you have done for this country we both know how much we owe you and Sarah.” Chuck dives right in.” Well if my company works as an outside contractor on the intersect project but also cyber security for various agencies we would be able to bring Ellie and Devon in as outside medical consultants. My hope is that we may be able to make the intersect do at least some of what my father designed it for. I would like to continue working the problems it has and also offer our help in training teams of spies to work together like Sarah, Casey and myself used to we train them to develop chemistry with each other how to learn to think like the others we meshed well as a team and I am betting we can do it again I will train 1 analyst how to look at everything in and out of the box ill try to expand their way of thinking and Sarah can teach ways to work better as a team combining teamwork with her skills in a number of areas. The other thing we need is someone to teach tactics and brute force options like Casey did for us. He was brutish but yet oh so subtle at the same time. I believe we can make a new dynamic in spying a total team effort no more lone wolfs no more sacrifice yourself for the greater good so to speak. Alone an agent might not think of options that a team can come up with. I mean look at our record. That was a total team effort we all used our strengths to over come others weaknesses. That is the dynamic I hope to create once again. Who knows it might not work it might fall flat on its face but I feel it is important enough for us to try if it saves 1 agent from sacrificing their life for the greater good when it could have been avoided then I am all in on it. As we do this I want to work on the intersect even if we cant get it to work for spying Ellie thinks there are other applications it can be used for like say people with dementia, alzheimer’s etc. Think of the promise of helping someone remember the one they love, the family they don’t know anymore. We license the tech from a shell corp you set up and funnel money from any breakthroughs and gains we make from the tech to this company to help offset the cost of us training agents in a new team dynamic. My sister thinks this can work as a civilian application or agency operation maybe both with a little luck. I know luck is not something you are likely to consider in this but I need to ask you 1 Question General…….Do you trust me that my love for my wife and dedication to this country is enough for you to take a chance on me and my team to work this out?.” The General sits back and rubs her temples with her fingers deep in thought. “Chuck you have given me a lot to think about. Ill help you get your sister and family there to help you with Sarah. We, the country as a whole do owe you a debt I fear we can never repay but we can try. Let me think about the rest of this I have a few phone calls to make I do like the team concept even thou it goes against everything we have taught agents for many years now but if we can create teams like yours and station 1 or 2 in each region for the really big jobs I think it will be well worth the time and effort to make it happen but that is not entirely my call but I will back you Chuck you have not let me down and even thou it may not seem like it I do care about my agents. Especially a tall lanky curly headed one and a tall blonde beautiful one that have become like family to me.” Chuck and Sarah both notice it seems the General is a bit misty eyed as she says that last part.”Chuck I will do what I can, ill make sure you and Sarah each have a new encrypted phone for our future chats. Sarah I’m so glad to see you sticking it out I knew long ago Chuck was IT for you and you were IT for him. I just couldn’t say it before when I was your boss but I was really rooting for the two of you. I am so glad you are working thru this together. I have yet to see a problem that cant be solved when the two of you put your combined minds to it. You simply are the best of the best at problem solving. Ill get your sister and family on their way lets call it a consulting position for now Devon can be the medical staff we will pay them and house them if they require it. So I will talk to you two later. Thank god you two are in a good place I was worried but I see hope now and that is all you two ever needed was hope.”They all said their goodbyes and signed off. Chuck turned to Sarah with a huge smile on his face the one he only uses for her, and she knows it.

“I have a plan sweetie don’t I always have a plan?. You know ill do anything for you to help you and part of this plan was your idea the cyber security part at least no more missions for us, no more weeks at a time being away from home risking our lives. We could maybe adopt Molly as our own little girl and raise her with all the love and happiness we have. You know I love that little girl like she was my very own don’t you?.” Sarah suddenly stiffens and looks around. Chuck sees her go into spy mode, more like protector mode if he had to bet. Chuck looks at Sarah “Whats wrong sweetheart did I say something wrong?.” Sarah swallows hard “How do you know about molly? Noone knows about her except my mom and I. Whats going on Chuck?” Chuck looks at the scared woman in front of him and smiles again a warm soft understanding smile. He starts speaking softly just about a whisper.” You told me about Molly and your mom and the mission with Ryker. We got intel that Ryker was closing in and you left to go to her after sending her a distress signal. You gave her an address were they would be safe and they left right away. Do you remember what that address was?”Sarah shakes her head no. “It was here, this building you sent her here to our home because it was the safest place for them to go. I was so happy that you thought our place was safe for them .We got to your moms house and you dressed up like her and waited for Ryker and his men. Casey and I were outside also waiting. It ended up with you killing Ryker and Casey and I captured his team. When we got back home your mom and Molly were there enjoying themselves with our big family Ellie, Devon, Morgan all enjoying themselves and the look on your face when your mom introduced you to your sister Molly was priceless. I have that image in my head at all times it was one of you experiencing pure unadulterated love and joy. Not something I will ever forget. I finally got to meat your family. Your mom and I have become pretty close. She knows a little about what happened that you lost your memories due to an accident. I didn’t tell her how exactly but I think she knows it was spy related. Molly is a joy a gift if you will, one I never thought I deserved. That little girl is so full of love and everything good in a person it just amazes me. Sarah she is like a smaller younger version of what I see when I look at you , when I look deep into your beautiful blue eyes.” Sarah sits in shocked silence, tears streaming freely down her face. She gathers herself and takes a moment to get things straight in her head.”They are safe and we can see them whenever we want?. Oh god Chuck I don’t know what to say I am just so……so overwhelmed buy this. Can we invite them here or go see them soon, please I really need to see them and touch them and feel them near me. Oh Chuck you are the most amazing man I have ever known and I so love you right now that we may need to shut the door and put this bed to use for something other than sleeping!!!.” Chuck looks startled yet beaming with pride that he could make his wife smile like she is. He can actually feel the love radiating off of her, or maybe its just the heat kicking in. Sure seems to have gotten warm in here.