My face can't contain the smile forming watching my husband play with our two kids: David Ethan, 4 and Elizabeth Eleanor, 2. Today is his birthday and we decided to have the party in our backyard. David decided that his goal for the afternoon is to tackle his father and Eliza is watching and laughing at the comical scene. Looking around I can't help but feel happy and fulfilled; all of our friends are here and everyone is enjoying themselves.

It still scares me that only 7 years ago I thought I would never have a happy life again. That was when my husband, Chuck, decided to take on Fulcrum alone and went rogue by faking his own death. A year after he had completed his task; Chuck had decimated Fulcrum's command structure and left the rogue organization directionless. The CIA and NSA took over and made quick work of the remaining cells.

But the victory did not come without heavy damage; Chuck was never made to handle the stresses of a CIA field agent, let alone the stresses of an agent deep undercover. Just after I found out that Chuck was alive, he attempted suicide in order to rid himself of the demons that plagued him. But I was able to bring him back from the brink and I promised him that I would spend my life helping him change back to the man I knew before. I didn't know at the time how deeply the year he spent underground had affected him.

Chuck spent several weeks after the final mission receiving therapy. I wasn't allowed into the sessions but talking with him afterwards, it was mostly centered on feelings of paranoia and of guilt over the deaths. After the therapy was over, Chuck was released from the hospital and came home with me.

We moved in together into my Washington D.C. apartment since to the rest of the world, Chuck Bartowski was dead. The first few days were rough on him. No matter where we went, he always looked over his shoulder. He believed that every passing car could be carrying enemy agents. All I could do was just hold his hand and support him.

The most disturbing incident was our first night together. We had gone to sleep together, which surprisingly he had no aversion to, but I woke up in the middle of the night and found his side of the bed empty. I panicked and looked around the apartment and I finally found him huddled in the corner asleep. I realized that during his time underground he would be under constant fear of being caught so he slept in a position ready to fend off any attacks. I couldn't help but cry at what he sacrificed for everyone else's safety and the pain he was willing to endure for us. That night and several afterwards we slept in the corner together, prepared to fend off any demons.

After a few months things were looking better. There were still some bumps in the road but Chuck seemed to be more like who I remembered and there were moments that I could've sworn he never changed. One of those moments was when I decided to tell Chuck my real name. We had just finished dinner and decided to take a walk to a bench facing the Washington National Monument.

"Chuck" I said. "There's something important I want to tell you."

"Yeah, ok."

"My name is Serafina. Serafina Lisa Andrews." I looked at him closely, concerned at what his reaction would be. It was going to be one of the things I was going to tell him before the whole incident took place.

"Really? Serafina? That's where you got Sarah from?"

"Yes. My parents were sort of stuck in the 70s and they..." I wasn't even able to finish my sentence when Chuck burst out into laughter. "What? Are you laughing at my name?"

Chuck nodded. He was trying his hardest not to fall off the bench.

"That's nice Chuck, I open myself up to you and trust you with my real name and this is how you respond." I turned away from him to show my annoyance, although part of me was glad to hear him laughing.

"No no Serafina, I mean Sarah. I remembered that you gave me crap about being 'Chuck' and here you are as a 'Serafina.'" He took a deep breath in. "Quite a pair we make, Chuck and Serafina."

My heart melted when I saw him smile. It was that same old smile. That darned smile that gets him out of trouble and me out of my clothes.

"Ok fine, now that you had your laughs we need to discuss something."

"Ok, what is it?"

"You need a new name. Charles Bartowski is unfortunately no more."

"I know and I've been thinking about it. Is it possible to become Carmichael?"

"I guess so. Why that name?"

"I don't know. I guess I liked it because I used it whenever we went on missions together."

"I'll get Graham to make the arrangements, Mr. Charles Carmichael."

I look over and see Chuck fiddling with his hands and a worried look came over his face. "What's wrong Chuck?"

He had taken a deep breath to try to calm himself down. "Well, umm...I was wondering if you would like to be a Carmichael too." Chuck pulled out a small box and presented it to me.

My mouth dropped instantly; I knew what he was asking but the words wouldn't come out. "Are you asking me to ...?"

"It's ok if you don't want me..."

I put my hand over his mouth to stop the sentence from completing. "Of course I want you, Chuck. I'll be forever happy as a Carmichael." With that I took the ring out and placed it on my finger. A perfect fit. I look up and saw my fiancée smiling back.

"If it's ok with you, I'd like to have a longer engagement. There are still some things I need to work out with the agency."

"Of course. I'd wait forever for you." Chuck's smile never left his face for the rest of the day.

Although I did have to work things out with the CIA regarding my retirement, that was already in the works. I needed the time in order to right a wrong in Chuck's life. Before we got married, I needed to get his family back to him.

Director Graham had done a lot for Chuck after he completed his self appointed task. He had gotten Chuck all the back pay he was due as well as bonuses, which actually turned out to be quite a large sum. He also pulled some strings and gave Chuck the opportunity to start up a new business, specializing in securing company networks.

As for the Intersect, there was no way to pull out the data but CIA researchers were able to subliminally encode data that would prevent the Intersect from functioning in Chuck's mind. The one thing that couldn't be fixed was the training Chuck received. He had already assimilated that information and it wasn't part of the Intersect anymore.

After a long debate about involving civilians in agency matters, I was finally able to convince Graham to allow Ellie, Devon, Morgan, and Anna visitation. They would of course have to meet up with an agency contact before proceeding but it would allow them to come over to our place in D.C. and spend time with Chuck. The process of letting them know would be a difficult one and I decided that I would leave Chuck out of it for the moment.

It had been a few months since I saw them last, but everyone still welcomed me. I made sure that all four of them would be there at the same time because I didn't think that I could say this again.

I explained to them, without much details of course, how Chuck became an asset for the CIA, how Casey and I were sent to protect him, and how he and I fell in love despite regulations otherwise. I waited for their reactions, to see if what I feared the most would happen: their rejection of me and my expulsion from the family. But I was surprised when Ellie came over and hugged me, telling me that being part of a family means that things are forgiven.

There was still one part I needed to tell them; Chuck was alive.

"There's something else that you guys need to know" I said with my voice cracking.

"You're not going to tell us you're a man right? Cause if you are, you're doctor is awesome!" replied Devon.

"No, it's something a bit more serious."

"Go ahead Sarah, I'm sure there's nothing you can say that could shock us anymore" said Morgan.

Little did Morgan know that there was a lot more I could say to shock them more. "Ok, here goes." I take a deep breath. "Chuck is not dead." I scanned the room and saw the most confused 4 people in the world. "Chuck is very much alive."

Ellie was close to tears. "He's ok? How? Why? What happened to him?"

I wanted to explain it all to her but I knew it would be better for Chuck to explain the details. "Let's just say that Chuck had to fake his death in order to protect everyone. No one knew what he was doing, not even us. The mission he went on took a toll on him though. These past few months were spent on helping him get better."

The first thing out of Ellie's mouth was when they could go see him. I replied "We can set it up for next weekend."

The day of Chuck's family's arrival was a scary one for me. I kept their meeting a surprise for Chuck since I had reservations about how Chuck would react. I didn't know whether he would welcome them or hide from them out of shame. My fears were assuaged the moment Chuck opened the door.

"Hey little brother" Ellie said.

There were a few tense moments until Chuck opened up his arms and the two siblings engaged in a long hug.

"How?" Chuck asked.

"It was Sarah's doing. She came to see us last week and explained all that happened and all that you did for us."

Out from the back of the pack ran Morgan who came up from behind and carried Chuck. "Chuck, it's been so boring with you."

"Morgan, my little bearded friend. Please tell me you got out of Buymore."

"Of course Chuck. After I thought I lost you, Sarah and everyone helped me move on and make something of my life. I went back to school and I'm almost done with a degree in web design. I'm working designing company web pages."

I could see tears forming in Chuck's eyes. "Good job buddy. I knew you had it in you."

"Hey Chuck, you're looking kind of buff there. I think I might have some competition in the iron man this year" Devon stated.

"We'll see. We might have to put money down."

"Can we come inside or are you keeping us out here forever Chuck?" asked Ellie.

Our marriage the next year was a simple one. We decided to fly everyone to Costa Rica and have the ceremony on the beach. It included Ellie as my maid of honor, Devon, Morgan as Chuck's best man, Anna, Casey, and Carina. Carina was a given, but we were amazed at Casey's acceptance. "I'm just here to make sure Chuck doesn't screw up" Casey said.

Chuck had invited Bryce as well but was disappointed to find that he was already assigned to a new mission. We did get a postcard with two sentences written on it. It had read "Congratulations C and S! P.S. CB, you always did get the best girls."

Planning for kids didn't start until the next year. Chuck said that he wanted to keep me for himself for a while and I had to admit I wanted him to myself too.

Since I had retired from the agency, Chuck and I expanded his computer securities firm to now offer private security as well. I took care of the private security part and Chuck took care of the computer related stuff. Chuck also had found out that Casey was out of the spy game and offered him a job within the firm, which surprisingly he accepted. It still amazes me now how close of friends Chuck and Casey are. Not Morgan-close, but you can tell they enjoy each other's company. Probably has to do with both having tortured souls at one point.

The first of our two kids arrived two years after we were married. The first, David Ethan, was named after Chuck's father and my father. The second one, Elizabeth Eleanor, was named after my middle name and Chuck's sister. Chuck had on insisted on Serafina, but after I physically persuaded him, he agreed on Elizabeth. Ellie and Devon made it a point to visit us in Washington every month. She said that she wanted to make sure her kids knew who their cousins were. On their last visit, Ellie pulled me aside and whispered in my ear, "See? I knew you were going to be a great sister."

I smile as I take in the view again of the party. It's Casey's turn to get tackled by the kids; Morgan and Anna are showing off her engagement ring; Devon and Ellie are off cooking.

The irony of the past several years is not lost on me. I was the cold hearted spy who was rescued and taught how to live again by a nerdy computer repair man. Then I ended up rescuing him as well. Funny how things come about.

Suddenly two arms wrap around me and I know exactly who they belong to. These arms belong to the man who took on the world to save me and in turn I saved him right back.

"Hey Chuck."

"Hey Sarah."

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed it as I did writing it. I'm sorry about the weird chapter lengths; I'm still working on getting a proper flow to my stories.