Building Rome 19/19

Author: dettiot

Rating: T

Summary: Nine months after making the decision that changed his life, Chuck is coping with an Intersect that is a work-in-progress. Sarah is learning how to balance her spy life and her personal life for the first time. But when the first rule of spying is never fall in love, how will their relationship stand the pressure? Sequel to Discovering Omaha.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's Note: See the author's note at the end of this epilogue for some more of my thoughts. But first, I want to thank everyone who read this story. There were choices I made in telling this story that a lot of people didn't like and that discomfort was expressed often. I hope that now we've reached the end, you can see why I made those choices, and I hope you feel like I do: Chuck and Sarah are even more unstoppable now. So without further ado, enjoy the epilogue!

XXX

Untangling a mess of computer cables and power cords was just the project for Chuck right now. It was mindless work, letting him contemplate what Sarah had told him this morning.

He had been looking forward to this trip to Rome. It seemed like it would be a little like a vacation, even with Casey along and all the tasks they had to complete to close up the villa. The three of them would be packing and shipping the equipment back to the States, as well as clearing out their personal effects. But with three days in the villa, he had made a lot of mental plans for their stay, starting with Sarah sharing his bedroom for an entire night.

And she had done that last night, when they had arrived at the villa later than expected thanks to a flight delay. They both had been too tired to do anything more than fall into bed. This morning, though, he had attempted to get close to her, only for Sarah to stop him.

"Stop, Chuck . . . I have something to tell you," she said, placing her hand gently in the middle of his chest.

With a small frown, he sat up. "What is it?"

Sarah ran her fingers through her hair and straightened the old Stanford t-shirt she had borrowed from him last night. "It's something your dad told me, when we were dancing at Ellie's wedding."

He groaned. Of course his father wouldn't be able to keep the secret. "I should have known he'd spill the beans. Now the surprise is ruined-"

To his surprise, Sarah had covered his mouth with her hand. "I doubt it-I don't think he told me what you think he told me, Chuck. And I really need to tell you this, so, please, can I talk?"

Chuck nodded, feeling chagrined. "I'm sorry, baby. You go ahead," he said, trying not to think about the engagement ring he had in his suitcase-the ring that had belonged to his grandmother and that he had gotten from his father the day of Ellie's second wedding. If his father hadn't told Sarah about that, what had he told her?

She reached out and took his hand. "Your father told me that he knew about our engagement, and that we were worried about our jobs." At Chuck's nod of confirmation, Sarah took a deep breath. "Well . . . he said that agents who work together had been allowed to get married before-even an asset and an agent. And he knew this because . . . because your mom and him were the agent and the asset."

"What?" Chuck said shrilly.

"I know," Sarah said, gripping his hand tightly. "I was shocked, too. The last thing I'd ever expect the CIA to allow is an agent to marry an asset. But apparently, your parents did just that." She moved closer to him. "Chuck, don't you see? This is a precedent. It'll help us when we talk to Graham."

He shook his head. "I just-my mom was a CIA agent?"

"That's what your dad said. But if she was, the evidence is buried," Sarah said softly. "I did some research yesterday morning, as much as I could without drawing any attention to myself. There's no record of a Mary Bartowski being an agent. But-but I thought you would be able to find out more, once I told you about this."

Sarah scooted closer to him, wrapping an arm around him. "I know this is so much to take in, Chuck . . ."

"It is," he said, feeling his mind whirling. "But, if it is true . . . it'd explain a lot. About my childhood. About-about why she left." Chuck looked at Sarah and swallowed. "But I just can't believe I'm finding this out now, after all these years. And that my dad never told me about this. He said my mom had secrets, but . . . but it looks like so did he."

She gently stroked his hair. "I don't know why he didn't tell you, Chuck. Maybe he thought it'd be better coming from me, or perhaps he just didn't know how to tell you." She gazed at him, her eyes soft. "You must feel overwhelmed."

Chuck let out a soft laugh of disbelief. "That's putting it mildly, Sarah." But he slid his arm around her waist, pulling her close in order to take away any sting from his words.

"But now you know," she said, curling against his side. "And you can be a genius and find out more."

"That's true . . ." Chuck said, slowly coming to grips with this revelation. He looked at Sarah. "You think this might help us?"

"Maybe? Because if there's a precedent for married agents to keep working together, it can't hurt to bring it up. We don't know what the exact situation was for your parents, but this might be the last piece to the puzzle."

"But then Graham will ask how we found out about this. Won't that hurt us, knowing something so highly classified?" Chuck asked, feeling uncertain.

Sarah frowned, nibbling on her lower lip. "I hadn't thought of that."

"We definitely need to do some research if we're going to tell Graham what we know about my parents," Chuck said, slowly getting his thoughts in order. "I don't want to spring this on him only to fall into a trap."

"That's what I think, too," Sarah said, kissing his cheek. "We should probably get dressed and have breakfast, so we can fit in some research before Casey gets up."

When they had stepped into the offices in the basement of the villa, Casey had already been working on an inventory of the armory Sarah had offered to help Casey and Chuck had volunteered to work on the computers. That gave him the chance to start a search while he sorted the electronics.

As he untangled cords and checked the inventory, Chuck considered this new information. Even though they had only his father's word on the matter, his mother being a spy made a lot of sense. He believed that his mother loved her husband and loved her children, but there had been a reserve to her, a distance between them and her that she seemed determined to maintain. In some ways, it was similar to how Sarah had been when he had first met her. At that thought, he found himself feeling thankful that somehow, some way, the two of them had managed to fall in love.

So if his mother was a spy, and had been allowed to marry his father . . . that could be helpful for Sarah and himself. Especially if he could find some evidence of his mother's existence within CIA records, something that would prove she had been a spy. Then they could argue that the CIA had allowed married agents to work together and they wanted a similar exemption from the no-fraternization rules.

Chuck found himself thinking about his parents' relationship. Wondering if he had seen them with a child's eyes and automatically assumed they were in love. It was clear that Stephen Bartowski still loved his wife . . . but had the love been on both sides? Or was this like something out of a Cold War spy thriller, one of those movies with a beautiful foreign agent sent to seduce a genius working for the enemy?

With a shake of his head, Chuck told himself to stop being ridiculous. Until he knew more, coming up with movie plots wouldn't help. And now that he had untangled the last cord, he could check on the search program.

Standing up and stretching, he crossed over to his old computer and took a seat. He found himself leaning forward as he read through the pages of search results, hoping that he had discovered something useful. Unfortunately, he realized quickly that he had nothing but junk. Admittedly, this was just the first attempt, but searching on both his mother's maiden and married names had yielded files that were a mess of redactions and black lines. The only thing that wasn't censored was Chuck's own file.

He ran a hand through his hair and began reconfiguring the search, trying to break through and find something. A pop-up appeared on his screen, alerting him to a new email from a blocked sender. Curious, Chuck brought up his email account and opened the email, taking the time to actually read the full header on the email. But it had been bounced around so many servers that there was no way of tracing it. There were only a few lines of text-clearly the real info was in the large file attached to the email.

Everything I did, I did for her. This might help you find her, since you're so much braver than I am. Good luck.

Chuck frowned. He automatically thought this might be from his father, but if that was the case, why didn't his father sign the email? Or told him about this in person?

The answer came as he waited for the attachment to load. It was a PDF, a scanned copy of what looked like a hastily-photocopied CIA personnel file. Most of the data was blacked-out, but there were two things that immediately drew Chuck's attention. One was the grainy yet unmistakable image of Mary Bartowski at the top of the page. The other was the words listed beneath the photo.

Code Name: Frost

He held on to the edge of the desk as the flash hit him. This was going to be a big one.

Electrical circuit boards-a flash of light-file folders labeled Project X-a photo of a man-a handwritten letter signed Love, Mary-his parents' wedding license-a book titled The Frost Queen-a map of Russia-electrical circuit boards

The end of the flash brought an instant headache. He panted, feeling like his head was going to split open. Chuck didn't know what to think. But it appeared he was going to have a lot of research ahead of him, if he was going to find his mother. And if that research would help him and Sarah-if it would make working together while married possible-then no firewall or restrictions were going to stop him.

Because he had an engagement ring to give Sarah, but he wasn't going to do that until he knew they could get married without it wrecking her career. He wouldn't let Sarah give up her job, because he knew how much it meant to her. And he didn't want her to sacrifice and have it hurt them. It was looking more and more like that was what had happened to his parents, in some way: his mother had stopped working when she married his father. Yet at some point, her job had called her back, taking her away from her husband and her children.

He wouldn't let that happen to Sarah and himself. Because he doubted he could pick up the pieces like his father had, if Sarah left him to be a spy again.

XXX

Sarah smoothed down the skirt of her suit, then crossed her legs. That was all the fidgeting she would allow herself when she was sitting outside Director Graham's office. She couldn't show how much this meeting mattered to her future, to their future.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chuck looking down at her legs before he gently pressed his knee against hers. She looked at him and smiled. As comforting as it would be to hold hands, it wouldn't be appropriate right now. Something about being inside the CIA headquarters made her hesitant to engage in PDA, since that display of affection would probably be seen as weakness. And right now, she felt weak enough.

Not weak, she thought. Just . . . uncertain. They had reviewed and evaluated their plan so much that Sarah didn't know anymore whether it would work or not. And if it didn't . . . She wondered if she should have done more to prepare Chuck for the worst-to reassure him that being married to him was worth any negative impact on her career. But he'd been so determined that they could convince Graham that whenever she tried to caution him, he had changed the subject.

The revelation of his mother's affiliation with the CIA and that she was some kind of deep-cover operative had certainly distracted Chuck. It had distracted her as well, Sarah was forced to admit. The idea that Chuck's mother had been the kind of agent that Sarah had once wanted to be was a sobering thought, especially given the precipice that she and Chuck currently stood on.

She looked at her watch, more than ready for this meeting to start. As if he had read her mind, Director Graham opened the door that lead into the inner office and gestured towards them.

Standing up, she looked at Chuck for a moment, needing to get some confidence before they started. Chuck looked back at her, then gave her a small smile. "Ready?"

And that was enough to make her nod in agreement. She walked with him into Graham's office, sitting down in front of the director's desk. Chuck took his seat and nodded to Graham. "Sir, it's good to see you."

"No problems in Rome?"

It looked like Graham was going to be all-business today, Sarah thought, her worry increasing. "Yes, sir," she replied, trying not to let her emotion show in her voice. "No problems at all."

"Good," Graham said, leaning back in his chair. "Before we begin discussing the news that you want to tell me, I want to share your next assignment."

If she didn't know it was her tell, she would be nibbling on her lower lip right now. Chuck straightened up in his chair. "I think it would be better if we dealt with our request first, Director," he said, his voice firm.

Graham raised his eyebrows. "Is that so?" The director's voice was nearly glacial in its iciness.

Taking a deep breath, Sarah tried to speak cautiously. "Since our news has direct bearing on our future assignment, Director, it does seem logical for us to address that first." She hated this feeling of watching every word in front of the man she considered her mentor, the person with whom she could discuss her career without judgement.

The director's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, then he visibly relaxed. His voice was much warmer when he spoke this time. "So let's see if you can surprise me."

She nearly sighed in relief. It seemed that they had passed the test that Graham had given them. Sarah looked at Chuck and nodded for him to begin, as they had planned.

Chuck cleared his throat. "Director Graham, you've clearly observed that Sarah and I, we've grown very close. In fact . . . we'd like to get married."

"Hmm," Graham said. "And how do you feel about this, Agent Walker?"

"That's what I want, too," Sarah said, shifting in her chair so that her arm was in contact with Chuck's. She knew the move wouldn't be missed by Graham-that was the whole point. "Both Chuck and I feel that making our relationship permanent would make us happy."

"Contrary to the CIA's restrictions on agent fraternization?" Graham asked pointedly.

"We're aware of the rules, Director," Chuck said. "And we know we're asking for an exception that might not be granted. But we want to continue working together once we're married."

"I assume you have reasons for why this exception should be made?"

This was the moment when Sarah was supposed to bring up the logic behind their request: the success of their work partnership; the acknowledgement that those fraternization rules didn't mention anything about married agents being involved, only unmarried agents; even the example of Chuck's parents to indicate that exceptions had been made in the past. But as she looked at the man who had known her since she was seventeen years old, Sarah realized that he didn't need convincing. He was already on their side, but he wanted to see how serious they were.

She licked her lips. Years of training by her father had taught her how to bluff-and she was about to make the biggest one of her life. "I'm prepared to resign if this exception isn't granted."

"What? Sarah, what are you doing?" She knew that Chuck must be gaping at her for not following the plan, but she had a sense that they didn't need that plan anymore.

Graham chuckled. "I don't think that will be necessary, Agent Walker."

Sarah felt a rush of relief and hope at his words. He gave them a small, knowing smile. "I'm sure the two of you have spent the time since you got engaged crafting a strategy for this meeting, but there wasn't a need. The CIA has long been prepared to allow you to continue as partners after your marriage."

"Really?" Chuck asked, his face lighting up as he grabbed her hand. Sarah gripped his hand tightly, feeling the smile on her own face at hearing Graham confirm her hunch.

"That's not to say you won't be evaluated closely," Graham cautioned. "From Orion's research, the new Intersect requires its host to maintain control of his emotions. If married life is too distracting to the calm you must have, Agent Bartowski, I'm afraid that Agent Walker will be reassigned. But, unless that becomes necessary . . . yes, your marriage alone shouldn't require such separation."

"Thank you, Director," Sarah said, hearing how choked her voice was. If Graham wasn't her boss, she would hug him. She settled for squeezing Chuck's hand.

"Oh, yes! Thank you so much, Director. You don't know how much of a relief this is," Chuck said, his voice raising as he kept talking. Sarah gently squeezed his hand again, causing Chuck to realize how loud his voice was. He looked sheepishly at Graham. "Thank you."

Graham nodded, his smile fading. "Now that we have this personal matter settled, it's time to discuss your new assignment. As you know, Major Casey has received a promotion to Colonel and a plum assignment. But given his success working with you, he will be available as needed in the future."

Sarah smiled, pleased for Casey-and amused that the NSA agent hadn't shared the news about his promotion with either Chuck or herself. Chuck grinned, looking happy.

"Fulcrum is on the verge of atrophying out of existence," Graham continued. "But it's organizations in that position which often prove to be the most dangerous. So your assignment, based out of Los Angeles, is to wipe out Fulcrum for good."

"Yes, sir," Sarah said. "I think both Agent Bartowski and I are eager to get started."

"Well, the first part of this assignment might be a surprise," Graham said, handing each of them a file folder. "We've been curious about how Daniel Shaw managed to turn double without our notice. This curiosity was heightened when we identified who assassinated Shaw in the Intersect room."

Sarah exchanged a glance with Chuck as they opened their folders, revealing a few pages from a personnel file and what looked like a capture from a surveillance video, taken from a camera outside CIA headquarters.

The man in the photo wore all black and had dark hair. Sarah didn't recognize him, although she felt like she should know him. Chuck's gasp interrupted her thoughts and she looked over at him in concern. "Chuck?"

He was staring at Director Graham. "Bryce Larkin?"

Bryce . . . that was Chuck's roommate from Stanford. The one that was already an agent when Chuck was recruited, the one who had tried to get Chuck kicked out of school and blackballed from the CIA. Sarah looked back at the file, her eyes widening when she read the latest information. "He went rogue?"

"That was what we thought," Graham said, leaning back in his chair. "Agent Bryce Larkin left his assignment in Toronto six months ago against orders. It was suspected that he began working for Fulcrum. However, it would appear that isn't correct."

"He's not a double agent?" Chuck asked, sounding desperate for confirmation that his former friend wasn't the enemy.

"Given that he shot Daniel Shaw, it appears so." Graham looked at them. "Your first assignment is to find Agent Larkin and find out what he knows about Fulcrum. His knowledge might be just what we need to eliminate Fulcrum, once and for all. Given your relationship with Larkin, you're the perfect person to find him, Agent Bartowski."

Chuck's body was full of tension. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting this and he was fighting his emotions at this piece of news.

Sarah closed her folder and tugged on Chuck's hand, pulling him to his feet as she stood up. "Thank you, sir," she said to Graham, speaking for both Chuck and herself. "We'll get right to work."

The director nodded. "Congratulations on your engagement and good luck on your assignment."

"Yes," Sarah said, leading Chuck towards the door. He moved slowly, lost in his thoughts. Once they were out of Graham's office, Sarah walked with him towards the building's exit, not caring who might see their joined hands. Chuck would need some time in his head to figure this all out; in the meantime, she could get him somewhere they could talk.

It wasn't until they were outside that Chuck seemed to come back to Earth. "I . . . I've been sending Bryce emails every couple of weeks since graduation," he said quietly. "He never answered any of them. I just assumed he was still mad at me for joining the CIA."

She gently rubbed his hand with her thumb. "Given the circumstances, it looks like something else was going on."

Chuck nodded slowly, then looked at her. "So . . . so at least we spent the last week and a half worrying for nothing?"

"Yeah, that's what it looks like," Sarah said, moving closer to him. "But I don't mind, because we're going to be able to stay together." She gazed up at him. "I can be here when you need me."

"I always need you," Chuck said softly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "And it goes both ways, you know. If you need me, I'm here."

Sarah nodded, leaning against him as they walked slowly towards the car they had rented upon their arrival in D.C. Before the meeting with Graham, her biggest worry had been about being separated from Chuck. Although that wouldn't happen now, it didn't mean there was nothing to worry about. With the challenges facing them, they would be tested. The last time, they had nearly let their relationship be destroyed. She didn't want that to happen again.

Taking a deep breath of the chilly air, Sarah made herself focus. She had meant what she said to Chuck: they could face life's challenges knowing that they had each other. Whether it was personal or professional, they could face those challenges together.

Chuck gently kissed her temple. "How about we get some dinner? We can start talking about who to tell first about the engagement."

She gave him a small smile. "You already told your dad."

"Yeah, I did," Chuck said, giving her a small smile as he fumbled in the pocket of his suit coat. "But I had to tell him after I asked him for this." He produced a small red box from his pocket and held it out to her.

Something about that box made her feel both curious and nervous. She took the box from him, watching him to see his expression, but he just smiled. "Open it," he said softly. There seemed to be an extra layer of meaning to his words, which must explain why her fingers trembled a little as she opened the box.

The rays of the setting sun, even in January, were bright enough to illuminate the diamond ring inside the box.

Sarah looked at Chuck, her eyes going wide. He smiled at her and took the box back, easing the ring out. "This was my grandmother's. It was in my dad's safe-deposit box, so the morning of Ellie's wedding, I asked him to get it out for me." He paused and looked at her, his eyes full of love. "Because I knew who I wanted to have this ring."

Chuck reached out and took her hand, gently sliding the ring onto her finger. "I wanted it for you, Sarah. Because you're going to be my wife."

Somehow, a tear breached her defenses and slid down her cheek. She shouldn't be crying, because she had never been so happy as she was at this moment. She didn't want Chuck to think she was sad. But when she looked up at him and saw that his own eyes were watery, too, she knew he understood.

And that meant the only thing to do was to wrap her arms around him and kiss him with everything she had. So that's what Sarah Walker did: she kissed Chuck Bartowski, her husband-to-be.

End.

XXX

Author's Note 2: And just like that, this version of Chuck and Sarah goes off into the sunset . . . for now. Many readers have been kind enough to ask if there's going to be a third story, one that takes us up to the wedding of Chuck and Sarah. The short answer is, maybe.

Even before I started this story, I outlined half of a third story, one that would feature Chuck's search his mother and the reappearance of Bryce. So I know where I'd want to go with another story.. But I also know that I need to take a break for a while. I have a few one-shot ideas, as well as a long AU Chuck/Sarah story, rattling around inside my head. Plus, I'm running a fic challenge on Tumblr leading up to the finale anniversary. (Look for chuckvsinbetween on Tumblr for more info!)

If I do write a third story in this universe, it won't be coming until sometime in spring 2013. I want to keep writing Chuck fanfic, I just don't know what my muse will be interested in. But I do love the version of Chuck and Sarah that I've created in Discovering Omaha and Building Rome, so there might just be a fairy-tale wedding in the works for them.

In case you were wondering, the title of this story is a play on the old expression: "Rome wasn't built in a day." That saying served as a metaphor for Chuck and Sarah's relationship in this story. I hope you enjoyed my interpretation of Chuck and Sarah's lives together and I hope to bring you more of them in the future! Thank you for reading.