Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The team had been called in for an emergency briefing, which wasn’t out of the ordinary, but this one felt different. Castle felt like it was holding its breath. General Beckman didn’t waste a second.

“This briefing is above Omega clearance. Nothing leaves this room.” Chuck stopped spinning in his chair. Casey straightened, turning his body fully to face the screen. Sarah felt a pressure building behind her ribs — the kind that warned her something long-buried was about to surface. Beckman clicked a key. A classified program file appeared.

PROJECT ARTEMIS – CHILD UNIT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Status: Terminated
Subjects: 37
Survivors: 7

Chuck’s eyes widened.

"they were children?” he asked, shocked.

"Rumors said it was bad. Guess the rumors undersold it.” Casey muttered. Sarah stared at the screen, cold dread curling under her skin. Beckman tapped again, and a child’s photo loaded. A little girl, staring straight into the camera, sitting at a cold interrogation table alone. A tiny, trembling frame. Familiar eyes. A blank expression that made Sarah’s heart twist.

“Oh no… she looks terrified.” Chuck whispered. Casey leaned closer.

“Her name is Charlotte Larkin. This is her at eight years old.” Larkin. The room spun. Chuck turned to Sarah slowly.
“Larkin… as in—” Beckman answered for her.
“
"Larkin’s biological child. After his death she went into the foster system. We lost any trace of her until recently, when these files were declassified.” Sarah felt the breath leave her body. She barely heard Beckman continue.

“Charlotte was born the year before Agent Bartowski received the Intersect. Bryce kept her hidden for her safety. And Agent Walker agreed it was the only way to protect her.” Sarah closed her eyes. She could still remember holding her newborn in her arms, Bryce laughing and crying at the same time. Then the tightening fear: Fulcrum, the CIA, her enemies — they would find her. They would use her. Then Sarah had walked away, believing it made her safe. Her daughter. She couldn’t look over at Chuck, knowing his eyes were on her. Casey exhaled, the anger in his voice softened.

“Kid lost everything.” he said. Beckman brought up the next file.

CURRENT NAME: Charlotte Larkin
Age: 15
Current Location: Mendon, Vermont
Status: CIA Junior Operative — recruited age eight

The screen showed a teenage girl in a racing suit, smiling and waving at the camera, messy hair in a braid, helmet tucked under her arm. Sarah touched the table to stay steady. Her smile, it was Bryce, just younger. Beckman continued:

“When Bryce died, Charlotte was placed into protective foster care, but her name remained Larkin. At age eight, she was evaluated for aptitude and quietly recruited into a junior training program.” Chuck flinched.

“Eight? She was a child.” Casey shook his head.

“That’s barely old enough to tie your shoes. And she survived the program? That’s… rare.” Chuck looked over at Sarah.

“She’s your daughter, isn’t she.” he said. Sarah looked down.

“You… you two had a baby?” His voice cracked on “baby.” Sarah finally looked at him, and he saw her eyes were filled with tears. she couldn’t speak, she was just staring at a picture of her daughter, now a young woman with an entire life she hadn’t known. She opened her mouth, but Beckman pressed on.

“Now that we’re aware of the existence of these children, we want to place them in teams that will protect them, have their best interests at heart. I want you to go to Vermont, and recruit Agent Larkin into your team. She will be relocated to live with you all here.” Beckman hung up the call. Chuck turned to Sarah. She finally spoke, voice barely above a whisper.

“Chuck, please—listen—” He staggered back.

“I— I don’t understand. Sarah, that was before I even knew you, but… why didn’t you ever tell me? Why did Bryce—? Why did you—?” He couldn't speak in a full sentence. He couldn’t understand how she had hid this from him for so long.

“It was the only way I could protect her. I never wanted to leave her, when Bryce died I was told she lived with a family member of his. I didn’t even know her name, Chuck. I did all of this to protect her.” Sarah tried to explain, pleading with Chuck to understand where she had come from.

“You were scared, and alone. I understand that. What I don’t get is how you kept this from me even after everything we’ve been through.” he said, trying to stay calm. Sarah’s eyes were fixed on the image of the girl on the screen, the daughter she lost.

“I had to protect her.” she said. “That’s all I knew. She needed to be safe, and that meant never being near me. But that didn’t even work, so this means it was all for nothing.” she said. Chuck blinked. Hard.

“Okay. Okay. Cool. Cool cool cool.” He nodded way too fast. “No big deal. Just finding out my dead ex–best friend had a secret child with the woman I’m in love with. Totally normal Wednesday.” Sarah winced.

“Chuck…” He immediately raised both hands like he was afraid she might vanish.

“Sorry! Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just—processing. Very slowly. Like dial-up internet.” He paced three steps, turned, paced back. Sarah stepped closer, voice gentler.

“I wasn’t hiding her from you. I was hiding her from everyone. I wanted to tell you Chuck, I wanted to so bad. I wanted her to come with us, but I didn’t even know her name.” Chuck swallowed, nodding.

“She’s a kid,” he whispered. “She was just a little kid.” he looked at the girl on the screen, so full of life and light, and he couldn’t even imagine the things she went through for years. All alone.

“I know,” Sarah said, voice tight. “I know.” He looked at her, really looked at her — at the guilt she carried alone for years. Something in his expression softened.

“You did what you thought would keep her alive,” he said. “I get that.” Sarah’s eyes flickered — grateful, but afraid he was saying it just to be kind. Chuck continued, more certain now.

“And… hey. She’s your daughter. Bryce’s daughter.” He let out a breathy laugh of disbelief. “That means she’s probably smart, brave, extremely stubborn, and armed with at least three emergency plans at all times.” A tiny smile grew on Sarah’s face.

“…That’s probably accurate.”she said. Chuck sat on the edge of the table, rubbing his forehead.

“I guess I’m just scared,” he admitted. “Because this isn’t like protecting a normal asset. This is your kid. And Bryce’s kid. And I want to help. I want to. I just don’t want to screw it up.” Sarah came to stand in front of him, hands resting lightly against the table beside him.

“You won’t.”

“How do you know?” he asked.

“Because you’re Chuck,” she said simply. “I think she probably needs someone exactly like you in her life.” Chuck’s heart visibly melted and panicked at the same time.

“It’s hard because, I know… I know how it feels for your parents to be gone. I remember for years feeling like I did something wrong. Just knowing that she probably feels that way… it hurts.” he said. Sarah nodded.

“I understand. I’m so sorry Chuck. This is probably so hard for you, and I don’t know how I can make it better.” she said. A tear slipped from her eye. Chuck took her hand.

“Okay,” he whispered. “Okay. I can do this. I love you, Sarah. Even with this. And now, now we have a kid. A teenager. Is it okay to be scared?” Sarah laughed — real, warm, tiny.

“Yes. I’m scared,”she admitted. “What if she hates me?” she asked. Chuck squeezed her hand.

“No one could hate you, Sarah Walker. Well, unless you count the bad guys whose asses you kick on a daily basis.” he joked. She laughed weakly.

“I’m sorry, Chuck. I know it’s not enough-” he cut her off.

“I know. It’s okay. You were just trying to protect your daughter. I just want you to know when I say you can trust me, I mean it. With anything.” Sarah nodded. She placed her head on his shoulder.

“Right. Okay. I’m ready.” he said. He was absolutely not ready. But he was going to try. They stood up and walked towards the door.

Chapter Text

Snow fell in slow spirals around Killington Mountain, soft enough to seem peaceful but cold enough to sting. Chuck pulled his jacket tighter as he stepped out of the SUV, heart pounding harder than the altitude should’ve allowed. Sarah stood beside him, staring upward at the mountain with a stillness that made Chuck’s chest ache. Casey was already scanning the area, unimpressed with Vermont tourism. Chuck tried to breathe normally. He failed. Sarah had a daughter. A daughter she’d walked away from to protect. A daughter who had lived through hell. He didn’t know what that meant yet. He wasn’t sure he was allowed to feel anything yet. But the truth sat in his chest like a warm, confusing weight.

“Chuck.” Sarah’s voice was soft but sharp enough to pull him back. “You okay?” He nodded too fast.

“Yeah—yes. Totally. Definitely.” Then, more honestly:

“No. Not really. I mean—this is huge. For you. For us.” Sarah exhaled slowly, eyes flicking back to the chairlift.

“I don’t know what she’ll think of me. Or if she’ll even want to know me.” Chuck stepped closer.

“She’s your daughter, Sarah. That has to mean something.” Sarah didn’t look convinced. Casey, meanwhile, grunted at the race schedule pinned to the board.

“Junior qualifiers. Great. Hope her enemies don’t include sixteen-year-olds on snowboards.” Chuck elbowed him.

“Casey, come on—”

“She’s on heat four,” Casey added, focusing again. “Five minutes.” Sarah tensed.

“We should take positions.” Chuck nodded, but he stole one last glance at Sarah. She was standing rigidly, hands clenched in her pockets, jaw tight. It hit him: Sarah Walker was scared. Not because they were meeting a terrifying child assassin that could probably kill all of them in their sleep, but because she was meeting her daughter. Chuck’s heart squeezed painfully. The announcer’s voice boomed over the speakers.

“Next up, Heat Four.” Chuck turned toward the starting gate—and froze. A girl stepped into position, ponytail trailing down her back, goggles pulled down, but her expression beneath was unmistakably guarded. She scanned the run with a stony expression. For a moment, in her posture, Chuck saw Bryce’s athletic confidence. She smirked slightly, a Larkin move. She adjusted her position, and he saw Sarah’s strength.

“That’s her…” Sarah didn’t breathe. Casey murmured,

“Mini Walker. With Larkin attitude.” Sarah shot him a look, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. The gate buzzed, and Charlie launched down the mountain, fast but controlled, weaving around the gates like she’d done it a million times. No mistakes were made, just careful fast movements.

“How does she ski like that?” Chuck asked, focusing on the precise movements.

“Muscle conditioning,” Casey answered. “Trained reflexes. You don’t get that good without—” He stopped. Because they all knew: Without surviving things she shouldn’t have survived. She wasn’t just the best on her team from practice, it was from what she’d endured as an agent. Sarah watched every turn like she was memorizing her daughter’s silhouette. She crossed the line with the fastest time and skidded to a stop. Sarah held her breath and Chuck took her hand. Charlie pulled off her helmet and waved to the crowd, in their direction. She smiled brightly at a group next to them and made a face. Chuck looked over to see a family next to him, with a little girl making the same face back. He nudged Sarah.

“That must be the foster family,” he said, pointing. Sarah looked for a moment, then looked back at her daughter.

“She looks like Bryce,” she whispered, watching her walk over to the gate.

“She looks like you.” Chuck said.

They found her just after her race, walking with her family - a woman, three preteen boys throwing snowballs at each other, and a young girl talking to Charlie. She was laughing, cheeks pink from cold, a medal around her neck and backpack slung over her shoulder. Sarah stopped in her tracks, Charlie’s laugh hitting her like a train. She was reminded of the tiny version she’d held once, just once, and the man she’d loved, who had laughed just like that when he first saw her. Charlie slowed when she noticed the three agents staring at her. She didn’t look scared, just wary. Prepared and measured, as though she was scanning them for a potential threat. Her foster mom placed a hand gently on her back.

“You okay, sweetheart?”

“Yeah. I’m good,” Charlie said quietly, eyes still on the trio. Chuck stepped forward, nervous smile in full force.

“Hi. Hello. Uh—hi! We’re—um—looking for Charlie Larkin?” The three boys immediately circled around Charlie like guard dogs. The first one narrowed his eyes.

“Why do you wanna know?” Another one added,

“Who even are you?” The last one chimed in,

“Do you work for the ski team? Because she already passed inspection.” Chuck looked panicked.

“No—no! Not inspections! No one is inspecting anyone!” Sarah stepped forward, calm and kind.

“We’re not here to cause trouble. We just need to talk to Charlie. Privately, if that’s okay.” the young girl hugged Charlie’s arm.

“Do you know them?” she asked, looking up at her. Charlie swallowed.

“No.” But she didn’t step back or run. She looked straight at Sarah, and Sarah could tell Charlie knew exactly who she was talking to. She knew who they were. Finally, Charlie nodded once.

“Okay. We can talk at the house.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warmth hit them instantly when they stepped inside — wood stove heat, soft rugs, smells of cocoa and dinner. There were snow boots piled by the door, kids’ drawings on the fridge, and toys strewn around the room. This was safety, in a way Sarah had never known growing up, in what she hoped her daughter could find. Charlie shed her jacket and was immediately attacked by her youngest sister.

“Did you win? Did you win? Did you win?” Charlie smiled.

“Yeah. first place. Wanna see the medal?” the little girl gasped dramatically.

“YES.” She carefully placed it in her hands. Watching her with the gentleness of an older sister who’d been doing this for years, Sarah’s chest tightened. She felt a bit sad, knowing she would be leaving her family. Charlie’s foster dad entered, offering his hand politely.

“I’m Mark. This is my wife, Elena. The tornado you saw was Austin, Matt and Leo, and our girls are Piper and Taylor. Charlie says you’re… government?” Casey stepped in.

“We’re here for classified reasons, sir.” Mark nodded slowly.

“Thought as much. Just don’t scare her.”

“We won’t,” Sarah said quietly, and she meant it, with her entire heart. Taylor immediately gave all of them hugs, Casey grunting in surprise. Charlie tried to suppress a laugh.

“We can come up to my room.” she said. They followed her upstairs to a small bedroom painted pale green. Ski ribbons hung along the wall, pictures of her siblings and friends filled a small corkboard. The walls were covered in posters from shows and bands. A shelf held a few simple things: a stuffed animal, a lamp, a stack of books. It was cozy and lived in, with a warmth and personality to it. Charlie sat on the bed, hands clasped.

“Okay,” she said. “You guys can talk now.”Chuck and Sarah exchanged a look — letting Casey start would be a disaster. So Sarah stepped forward slowly, gently.

“Charlie… my name is Sarah Walker.” Charlie’s eyebrows rose.

“Yeah. I know who you are.” She said, Sarah’s breath caught.

“How?”

“You look like me,” Charlie said simply. “And I found part of my file years ago. Didn’t say much. Just your name.” Sarah felt the room tilt.

“You… found a file?” she asked.

“Kids in training find things,” Charlie said with a tiny shrug. “We learn to. I know you’re my mother, I know my father is dead.” Chuck’s stomach twisted. Sarah’s heart cracked. Casey’s jaw clenched. Charlie swung her legs idly, like she wasn’t talking about something horrifying. Chuck cleared his throat gently.

“Charlie, I’m Chuck, Sarah’s husband. This is Casey,”he said. She nodded. “I’m really glad to meet you. We’re not here to take you from your family,” he started.

“They will stay that way,” Sarah said instantly. Charlie’s eyes softened, just a little. Casey stepped forward.

“We read your file. The full one.” Charlie stopped swinging her legs.

“Oh.” Chuck’s voice was soft.

“You went through things no kid should go through.”he said. Charlie shrugged.

“I survived.” Chuck’s mouth opened and closed.

“And that’s why we’re here. To protect you now. To bring you somewhere safe. With people who understand.” Sarah said. Charlie looked up at her.

“Okay,” she said simply. No anger, no questioning, just acknowledgement. Chuck stepped in gently.

“Charlie, We're here on Beckman’s orders to bring you to Burbank. But we wanted to meet you first. The real you. Not the file.” Charlie looked at all three of them. Measured them again.

“I’ll go with you. But only if I can say goodbye like normal.” she said, standing. Sarah nodded instantly.

“Of course.” they walked back downstairs, Charlie leading the way.

“We’ll head back tonight, get everything ready for you. Beckman wants you to fly out tomorrow.” Sarah said. Charlie nodded.

“Sounds good.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The living room was in loud chaos. Austin hugged Charlie fiercely.

“You better send us pictures.”he said

“I will.” Leo ruffled her hair, rubbing in the fact that they were the same height.

“Don’t let these government people make you boring.”

“I won’t.” Charlie laughed a bit. Matt smiled at her.

“You’ll come back for Christmas, right?” he asked.

“I’ll try.”Piper latched onto her waist.

“You promised cards.”

“I’ll video call you.” Taylor held her medal and whispered, “You’re my hero.” Charlie kissed her forehead.

“You’re mine.” Mark hugged her with dad strength. Elena smoothed her cheek, whispering,

“You always have a home here.”Charlie nodded hard, blinking faster than usual. Then she grabbed her bag, breathing out.

“Okay. I’m ready.” she said.

“Remember to text when you get there, tell us when you find them. And be safe. We love you.” Elena said. Charlie smiled.

“I love you guys too.” She walked outside and got in the cab, blinking the tears away.

Chapter Text

LAX was as loud and chaotic as ever, but Charlie didn’t flinch. She wasn’t as nervous as she thought. At least they were nice. When she saw Sarah, Chuck, and Casey waiting just outside the security line, she didn’t freeze or tense like before, she simply stopped in front of them, duffel strap over her shoulder.

“Agent Walker. Agent Bartowski. Colonel Casey,” she said softly. “Hi.” Chuck winced at the formality. Sarah hated how small Charlie’s voice sounded — obedient, resigned. Sarah stepped forward first.

“Hi, Charlie. Long flight?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Sarah smiled gently.

“Sarah,” she reminded. Charlie nodded once, still not quite able to say it without hesitation. “Sarah.” Chuck tried to be casual, relaxed, cool — a disaster waiting to happen.

“It’s nice to see you again,” he said softly. “I mean, obviously not under, uh, ideal circumstances. Not that this is bad circumstances, it’s just— okay, I’m doing the thing again. The rambling thing. Sorry.” Charlie blinked, expression unreadable.

“It’s okay. It’s funny.” she said. Chuck looked like someone had handed him a medal.

“I’ll take it,” he whispered proudly. Casey jerked his chin.

“Let’s move. Traffic gets worse if we wait.”Charlie hoisted her bag higher on her shoulder and silently followed them out to the car. She chose the far back seat again, next to Chuck. Sarah watched her through the rearview mirror, reading every micro-expression the way only a mother could — even if she wasn’t allowed to show it yet. Charlie stared outside as they drove, eyes tracking every sign, every palm tree, every unfamiliar piece of LA.

“Different from Vermont,” Chuck said, trying to start a conversation. Charlie answered without turning.

“Very.”

“Uh… in a good way? Bad way? Loud way?”

“Just different,” she said. Which was true, just not the whole truth. Sarah twisted slightly in her seat.

“If you prefer quiet spaces, we can make sure you have that at home. Noise-cancelling earbuds, whatever you need. You just tell us.”Charlie considered it.

“I don’t need adjustments,” she said politely. “I’ll adapt.” Chuck winced.

“Charlie… It's not about adapting. You don’t have to—”

“Bartowski,” Casey muttered. “Let the kid breathe.”Chuck sank back in his seat. After a moment, Charlie looked up at Sarah in the mirror.

“I appreciate the offer, though.” she said, voice soft but sincere. Sarah’s heart cracked a little.

As they approached Echo Park, Sarah walked beside Charlie through the courtyard, letting her take the new environment in. The warm LA air, the sound of distant traffic, the gentle burble of the fountain. Charlie observed everything silently, processing, analyzing, filing away exits and blind spots. Chuck whispered to Sarah,

“She’s doing the tactical sweep, right? The little scanning thing Casey does?”

“Mm-hm,” Sarah murmured. Casey grunted,

“She’s thorough. Good.” Charlie stepped inside the apartment when Sarah nodded permission. But then—
Lights off.
A beat of silence.
Charlie stiffened instantly.
Her hand twitched toward her boot again in instinct, muscle memory, and a touch of fear. Sarah touched her elbow.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. Charlie forced her shoulders down. LIGHTS ON.

“SURPRISE, CHARLIE!” Charlie froze completely. Ellie’s banner sagged a little on one side, Awesome was holding brownies and beaming, little Clara squealed and ran in circles, Morgan waved glow sticks like he was signaling aliens, and Alex gave a tiny wave. Charlie stared.

“Wow. Just… wow.” she said, staring at the room with wide eyes, almost looking like a deer in headlights. She looked overwhelmed. Ellie stepped forward, a smile on her face.

“Hi Charlie. I’m Ellie. Chuck’s sister. It’s really nice to meet you.” Charlie nodded politely.

“Yes, Dr. Woodcomb. Thank you, it’s nice to meet you too.” she said, extending a hand to shake. Ellie pulled her into a hug.

“Oh my gosh, please call me Ellie,” she said instantly.

“Ellie,” Charlie repeated, stiff as a board. Awesome leaned forward, all sunshine.

“Welcome to the best home base on Earth! We made brownies!”

“Cool.”she said. Clara ran over, holding up a sparkly star paper. Charlie bent down slowly, accepting it with both hands.

“For me?” she asked, smiling. Clara nodded enthusiastically. Charlie’s face warmed — not fully, not openly — but her eyes softened at the edges. Morgan immediately pounced.

“So, Charlie! I have questions. A LOT of questions. Vermont questions. Spy questions. Moose questions. Ski questions. Okay first — is it true they have like a hundred types of syrup? What’s the scariest thing you’ve seen on a mountain? Do people actually get lost for days? Can you out-ski a bear? Have you ever—”

“Morgan,” Alex sighed, pulling his sleeve, “give her a second to breathe.” Morgan grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry. You’re just very fascinating!” Charlie stared at him.

“No one’s ever described me that way.”

“Well, get used to it!” Morgan declared proudly. Charlie’s mouth twitched, the beginnings of a micro-smile. Chuck approached slowly, careful not to overwhelm her, staying at a polite distance.
`
“Welcome home, Charlie,” he said gently. She looked up at him. His smile was warm, hopeful, soft.

“Thank you,” she said. “For… all this.” He nodded, swallowing a little.

“Anytime,” he whispered. Casey leaned on the wall, arms crossed.

“Looks like the kid’s handling it.” Casey grunted. Charlie didn’t know it yet — but that was his version of approval. Sarah stepped beside her, voice barely above a whisper.

“If there’s anything you need… ever… just tell us.” Charlie nodded once.

“I will.” And for a moment — a tiny, careful moment — she let herself feel the warmth in the room. Music played, food was served, Clara had climbed into Charlie’s laugh and had locked her arms around the teenager’s neck, playing with a strand of her hair. Morgan was rapid-firing questions at Charlie again (“But seriously, Vermont winters—are you part-moose?”), and Sarah hovered nearby, pretending she wasn’t watching Charlie’s every move like a protective hawk. Charlie laughed at Morgan’s question, rocking Clara gently. Ellie refilled a bowl of chips, looked around, spotted Chuck, and immediately narrowed her eyes.

“Okay,” she said, grabbing his elbow and dragging him into the hallway. “Talk.”

“What? Ellie, I’m mingling.”

“You’re pale, you’re sweating, and you look like you’re about to pass out. That’s not mingling. That’s panicking.” Chuck exhaled. Fair. Ellie crossed her arms.

“Is this about the teenager you suddenly have living with you? Who’s also your wife's daughter? Who you didn’t know existed until a week ago?”

“…Yeah. That.” Ellie softened instantly. The doctor face melted into the big-sister face—the one that had patched up scraped knees and broken hearts with equal efficiency.

“Chuck,” she said gently, “what’s going on in your head?” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Everything. I mean—she’s Sarah’s kid, El. Sarah had a whole life I didn’t know about. A daughter. And Bryce—Bryce was the dad.” Ellie winced sympathetically. “Oof.”

“Yeah. Big oof.” Chuck glanced back through the doorway toward the living room, where Charlie was listening politely to Awesome explaining the benefits of electrolytes.

“And now she’s here. In our lives. And she’s… she’s amazing, Ellie. Just this tough, smart, ridiculously calm kid who’s been through more than most adults.” Ellie touched his arm. “So what’s the problem?”

“That’s the problem,” Chuck said in a low rush. “I want her to like me. I want to be someone she feels safe with, not just ‘my mom’s husband.’ I want to… I don’t know. Help. Somehow. But she barely knows me.” He let out a breath.

“And part of me keeps thinking I wasn’t prepared for this. For her.” Ellie smiled warmly, shaking her head as if he’d just said something profoundly silly.

“Chuck. No one is prepared for teenagers. Not even the ones who aren’t the child of their ex best friend and wife.”

“Okay, that makes me feel a little better.” She cupped his face with both hands, squishing his cheeks in big-sister fashion.

“You are good at this,” Ellie said firmly. “You’re good at people. You’re patient and kind, and kids gravitate to that—especially ones who’ve had to grow up too fast.” Chuck blinked at her.

“You think she’ll… eventually…?”

“I think,” Ellie said, “she already trusts you more than she wants to admit. And if Sarah trusts you with Charlie, that tells me everything.” Chuck swallowed. That hit him harder than he expected. Ellie smiled and squeezed his arm before letting him go.

“Give her time. Don’t force anything. And stop panicking before you sweat through your shirt.”

“I absolutely cannot guarantee that.” Ellie laughed and nudged him back toward the living room. “Go. Be normal.”

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been normal, but I’ll try.” When he stepped back into the party, Charlie looked over at him for half a second—just a glance, but it wasn’t wary. More like checking to see if he was still there. Chuck’s chest loosened just a little. Maybe Ellie was right. Charlie already looked more at home, with Awesome and Morgan chatting next to her, Clara in her arms, and Ellie forcing food on her. Maybe it would be okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The party slowly wound down. Ellie boxed leftover brownies, Awesome washed dishes lightning-fast, Clara fell asleep halfway through a picture book on Sarah’s lap. Morgan tried to convince Alex that Charlie absolutely needed a glow-stick collection “for morale.”Charlie stood quietly near the kitchen counter, holding the sparkly paper star Clara gave her. She turned it once between her fingers — slow, careful — as if trying to understand what it meant. Sarah watched her from across the room, trying not to stare. Chuck drifted up beside Sarah.

“She’s doing okay, right?” he whispered. Sarah exhaled softly. “I think so.”

“You think so in a good way or think so in the ‘Chuck please stop talking’ way?” She smirked despite herself. “In the good way.”

“Okay,” he whispered back. “Good.” Ellie finished stacking dishes and approached Charlie with her warm doctor-smile.

“Before you officially move in,” she said gently, “I just want to check something. I promise I won’t be weird.” Charlie blinked.

“Uh, Okay.”

“Kiddo, do you have any injuries from your trip? Sore muscles? Headache? Anything?” Charlie’s brow knit slightly — confused at the concern.

“No. I’m fine.” Ellie softened.

“You don’t have to say ‘fine’ if you’re not.” Charlie hesitated, and looked down.

“I’m really okay.” she whispered. Sarah’s heart twisted. Ellie nodded, satisfied.

“Great. Because if anything ever hurts — physical, emotional, anything — I’m your girl.” Charlie gave a tiny nod.

“Thank you Ellie.” she smiled lightly. Ellie squeezed her shoulder lightly, then stepped back without pushing further. Sarah silently mouthed: Thank you. Ellie winked. Casey approached next, trying to look casual. It did not work.

“You eat?” he grunted. Charlie nodded. “Yes sir.”

“Good. You’re too small to skip meals.” Charlie stared.

“I’m not small.”she said. He grunted in reply. Her brows pinched. Was that… teasing?

“You’re less intimidating when you joke,” she said honestly. Casey frowned.

“I wasn’t joking.” Charlie laughed. Casey blinked. Chuck, from across the room, mouthed: It’s starting. Casey huffed and turned away — but Charlie noticed the faintest smirk tugging one corner of his mouth. Sarah walked up to Charlie.

“Can I show you something?” she asked. Charlie nodded slowly. Sarah guided Charlie down the hall to the small bedroom they’d prepared. It was simple: A bed with a soft blanket. A small desk. Warm lighting. A shelf with nothing on it yet. A window overlooking the courtyard. Nothing overwhelming. Charlie stepped inside slowly.

“This is yours,” Sarah said. “Your space. Your privacy matters — no one comes in unless you say so.” Charlie ran her fingers lightly over the desk. As if trying to believe it was really hers.

“The walls are green,” Charlie murmured. Sarah smiled lightly.

“Elena said you liked green.” she said. Charlie smiled slightly. And then, more quietly,

“Thank you.” Sarah’s breath hitched — just for a second — but she kept her voice steady.

“We’re glad you’re here.” Charlie didn’t answer. Instead, she touched the blanket and nodded once, like she was filing away that the bed was soft. Then she said the first thing that surprised Sarah tonight:

“Can I ask you something?” Sarah felt her heart leap. “Of course.”

“Did you know about me? Like, where I was, who I was, all that?.” Sarah froze. Then she crossed the room slowly, stopping just close enough for Charlie to step back if she needed to.

“Charlie,” she whispered, “I agreed with your dad that to be safe, you needed to be hidden. I didn’t even know your name.” Charlie looked at the floor. Her voice cracked, barely audible.

“Oh.” Sarah swallowed hard.

“I’m sorry, Charlie. That I wasn’t able to be there for you.” Charlie looked up.

“I forgive you.” she said. Not much, but it felt like a step forward. Sarah reached into a drawer on the desk and pulled out a small package.

“Chuck and I got this for you. It’s not much, but we wanted you to have these.” Charlie opened the package and pulled out its contents. Two photographs in frames. In one, a man, sitting in a rocking chair looking down at a tiny bundle in his arms. Bryce Larkin, and baby Charlie. She touched the photo, eyes getting slightly misty. She flipped over to the next frame, which was a selfie: Sarah and Bryce, smiling brightly, Sarah holding up a small picture. Charlie squinted.

“What is that?” she asked. Sarah swallowed.

“That’s my ultrasound. When we found out about you.” Charlie nodded softly, placing both photos on the shelf, facing them towards her bed.

“Thank you, Sarah.” she said. She smiled at her, one of the first real ones Sarah had seen.

“Of course.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Sarah and Charlie returned, the living room was mostly empty aside from Chuck and Casey packing up leftovers. Morgan popped out of nowhere like a human jack-in-the-box.

“So, Charlie,” he said brightly, “on a scale of one to ten, how Vermont are you?” Charlie blinked.

“Huh?”

“Do you own flannel pajamas?”

“Yes, actually.”

“Do you chop firewood?”

“I have.”

“Have you ever befriended a woodland creature?”

“I wish.” Morgan gasped. “Then you’re only, like, a six!” Charlie shrugged apologetically. Alex dragged him away again. Charlie looked up at Chuck.

“Does he ask everyone these questions?” she asked seriously. Chuck grinned.

“Only the people he likes.” Charlie laughed slightly. Chuck fought the urge to fist pump at the victory. He cleared his throat gently.

“We, um… we’re going to go grocery shopping tomorrow. Get you whatever food you want. Any snacks. Anything you like.” Charlie raised her eyebrows

“You don’t have to do that.” she said. Chuck shook his head. “We want to.” She hesitated, then nodded once.

“Okay, cool.” Casey snorted from the kitchen.

“Kid doesn’t realize Bartowski stress-shops at grocery stores.”

“Casey,” Chuck hissed.

“I’m not wrong.” Charlie’s eyes flicked between them, amusement flickering in her expression.

An hour later, everyone had gone home. Sarah knocked gently on Charlie’s door.

“Hey,” she said softly. “We’re right across the hall if you need anything.” Charlie nodded, hands clasped.

“Goodnight, Sarah.” Sarah smiled.

“Goodnight, Charlie.” Chuck waved awkwardly from behind her.

“Sleep well! Or, uh, sleep… peacefully? Comfortably? Non-anxiously? Goodnight.” Charlie blinked.

“…Goodnight, Chuck.” Sarah pulled the door halfway shut. Inside, Charlie stood in the quiet room, staring at the bed. She placed the sparkly star from Clara on the nightstand. She reached into her suitcase and pulled out a photo: Her and her siblings, smiling in front of their house in Vermont. She placed it carefully on her nightstand.

“Goodnight, guys.” she said, before turning off the light and going to sleep.

Chapter Text

The next morning, the apartment was surprisingly quiet. It was different than what Charlie was used to, no little siblings running around or ski races to rush off too. Just Chuck, Sarah, Casey, and Charlie — the actual team. Charlie sat on the couch with her knees pulled up, eating a bowl of cereal while flipping through a thin CIA briefing packet. She didn’t feel stressed, or scared, or even annoyed, which she expected to feel. More curious. Like this was just a normal Wednesday, and she was just a normal kid, moving in with her new family. Chuck stepped out of the kitchen with a mug of coffee and what he hoped was a relaxed, totally-not-awkward smile.

“Hey, how’s your first full day in Burbank going so far?” Charlie shrugged.

“I’ve been awake for twenty minutes, so… pretty good, I guess.” Chuck nodded like she’d given a detailed psychological evaluation.

“Great. Good. Excellent.” Sarah lightly elbowed him on her way to the table.

“Subtle,” she teased. Casey entered last, tossing a duffel on the floor.

“Alright, kid. Gear up.” Charlie blinked.

“It’s eight in the morning.”

“National security doesn’t wait for your beauty sleep,” Casey replied, deadpan. Charlie snorted — actually snorted — and stood.

“I wasn’t sleeping anyway.” Chuck looked at Sarah, astonished.

“She… joked with him.” Sarah crossed her arms, smiling proudly.

“She’s warming up.”

“Already? Sarah, it took Casey three years before he let me joke at him.”

“Chuck, that’s not true. Casey lets you joke at him all the time.” Casey growled,

“No, he doesn’t.” Chuck pointed.

“See?! That’s what I mean!”

Charlie watched them all with a small, confused smile — the kind kids get when they’re still figuring out the family dynamic of a group they’re… maybe… part of.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They started with basic warm-ups in the Castle training room. Chuck stretched like someone who had never stretched correctly in his entire life. Sarah moved with quiet confidence. Charlie rolled her shoulders, bounced on her toes, and waited. Casey tossed her a rubber ball.

“No weapons. No fancy acrobatics. Just reflexes. You dodge, you catch, you keep moving.” Charlie nodded.

“Okay.” He threw the first ball unexpectedly hard. She caught it one-handed without stepping back. Chuck nearly swallowed his tongue. Casey didn’t react.

“Beginner’s luck.” He threw two more. She dodged the first, caught the second behind her back, and spun it in her palm before tossing it up and catching it again. Casey squinted.

“You showing off?” Charlie shrugged. “You threw fast. I reacted fast.”

“Don’t get cocky.”

“I’m not. I just know how to catch balls.” Chuck choked.

“Okay! Ha! Kids today—” Sarah smacked his arm with the back of her hand.
“Not helping, Chuck.” Charlie laughed — a short, sharp sound she seemed surprised escaped her. Casey grunted.

“Good reflexes. But let’s see how you do when you’re tired. Five laps, kid.”

“Only five?” she said, genuinely confused. Casey paused. Stared.

“…Ten.” Charlie tightened her ponytail and started running. Chuck whispered to Sarah,

“Is he punishing her or bonding with her?”

“A little of both,” Sarah whispered back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After drills, they gathered in the briefing area. Charlie sat with her knees bouncing slightly, looking between the monitors and whiteboards. Chuck took a deep breath. This was his moment. Bonding. Soft. Friendly. Normal.

“So, uh… what are you into? TV shows? Music? Hobbies? What do kids like these days?” Charlie blinked at him.

“I’m fifteen, not an alien.”

“Right! Yes. Good clarification.” Sarah rubbed her forehead. Charlie thought a moment.

“Um… I like skiing, obviously. I like Batman, and I like sitcoms, and I like folk and indie music, but also alternative, I guess, and I like to paint.” Chuck nodded slowly.

“Okay. Skiing, sitcoms, painting, music. Got it. That’s basically… a very cool human.”

“Thanks,” she said, awkward but sincere.

“You’re welcome,” Chuck replied, also awkward and sincere. Sarah smiled softly, watching both of them — the kid who didn’t know how to be a kid, and the man who didn’t know how to be intimidating trying desperately to be comforting. Charlie peeked at Chuck again.

“You don’t have to, like… try so hard. I’m fine.” Chuck froze.

“I’m not—well, I mean I am—but I just want you to feel welcome.”

“I do,” she said simply. Chuck stuttered.

“Oh. Good. Great. Cool.” Sarah whispered,

“You did fine, Chuck.” Charlie nodded.

“He did.” Chuck looked like he’d just won a lifetime achievement award.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Training slowed. Casey left for paperwork. Sarah stepped out to make a call. Charlie sat at the big Castle table, turning the rubber ball Casey had used earlier over in her hands. Chuck approached quietly.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Just… thinking.”

“About?” he asked gently. She shrugged.

“Today. Everything. It’s weird being here. Not bad-weird. Just… weird.” Chuck nodded.

“Yeah. I get that. When Sarah and Casey first showed up in my life, I thought everything was weird too.” Charlie smirked.

“Chuck, you downloaded a government supercomputer into your brain. My weird doesn’t compare.” Chuck blinked.

“…Okay, fair point.” Charlie tossed the ball in the air. Caught it. Tossed it again.

“I don’t feel sad,” she said, almost casually. “About… everything before this. I know I’m supposed to. But I don’t.” Chuck softened.

“That doesn’t make you wrong. It just means you learned how to survive.” Charlie looked at him for a long moment. Then:

“…Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” he said quietly. She tossed the ball one more time. Caught it.

“And… I like being here,” she admitted. “I just don’t know how to act yet.” Chuck smiled warmly.

“Just be yourself. We’ll figure the rest out together.” Charlie let the tiniest smile slip.

“Okay.”

Chapter Text

“Good morning team. We have a developing situation. This will be Agent Larkin’s first field operation with you.” Beckman said from the screen. Charlie exhaled silently but said nothing. She didn’t seem nervous, almost excited. Chuck looked like someone had switched him to “panic mode,” which seemed to be his default at the moment. Beckman continued.

“The scientist you apprehended had a partner. He intends to sell encrypted prototype data. We need eyes on the exchange tonight — quiet eyes. No violence unless absolutely necessary.” Casey scowled. Beckman looked directly at Charlie.

“Agent Larkin, you’ll run rooftop observation with Colonel Casey. Walker and Bartowski will provide backup.” Chuck burst out,

“Observation? With Casey? She’s fif—”He froze mid-syllable.“Fff… fantastic. That’s great. Very safe-sounding.”Beckman blinked once.

“Is that a problem, Mr. Bartowski?” Chuck’s voice squeaked.

“No! No, ma’am! Just invested. In… team… synergy.” Sarah stepped in smoothly.

“We’ve got it, General.” The briefing ended and Castle began to buzz with motion. Casey handed Charlie a comm.

“Don’t mess with the frequency dial unless you want to fry our ears.”

“I know,” Charlie said calmly. “I’ve used one before.” Casey grunted. Which for him meant: Fine, you pass level one. Chuck hovered beside Sarah whisper-rambling.

“She’s fifteen. She shouldn’t be on a roof with Casey. If she falls or — or gets spotted or—”

“Chuck,” Sarah said firmly but gently. “She’ll be okay.”

“She’s fifteen,” he repeated helplessly.

“She’s trained,” Sarah corrected quietly. “She’s been doing this a long time.” Chuck’s face twisted, not disagreeing, just hurting for her.

“I just… wish she didn’t have to.” Sarah’s eyes softened. “I do too.” Across the room, Charlie tightened her vest straps and pretended she didn’t hear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buy-More Rooftop. The night air was sharp with wind. Charlie lay beside Casey, binoculars steady in her hands. She brushed her hair out of her face and readjusted, shivering a bit in the cold. Chuck and Sarah watched from the surveillance van. Casey whispered,

“Targets approaching.” Charlie adjusted the lens slightly.

“Two extra men. Armed.”

“Good eye,” Casey muttered. Down below Sarah’s jaw tensed. Chuck made a strangled noise. Into the comm he whispered,

“Charlie, you okay up there?”

“Chuck,” she replied, tone dry but gentle. “I’m literally lying down. I’m fine.” Casey snorted.

“Kid’s calmer than you, Bartowski.”

“That’s because I care!” Chuck hissed. He turned to Sarah.

“Sarah, I really don’t like this. I know she’s not my kid, and it’s supposed to be fine, but I don’t like it. She should be out doing something fun, or stupid, not working for a government organization. This is insane. Is Beckman insane?” he was cut off by Charlie over the comm.

“You know I can hear you, right?” she asked, laughing a little. Chuck froze. He did not know that.

“Of course I did.” he lied. Casey rolled his eyes. “Idiot.” Charlie let out a tiny laugh. Casey immediately side-eyed her.

“What’s funny, Larkin?” he asked. Charlie shrugged.

“Nothing.” she said. A car pulled into the lot - the buyer. Charlie straightened, and Casey tightened his hold on the gun.

“Where’s the seller?” Chuck asked.

“Clearly he’s not here yet, Bartowski,” Casey growled. Chuck made a face. Charlie looked over to the right and swore.

“Bogeys.” she said, motioning to two armed men. Casey frowned.

“Great.” he said.

“Casey, get Charlie out,” Sarah snapped. Charlie looked offended.

“Negative,” Casey said. “They don’t have eyes on her.” Chuck’s voice cracked through the comm.

“But what if they do? She’s still a kid—”Charlie cut in calmly.

“Chuck. I’m fine.” Her voice was steady, steadier than his. That scared him. Casey checked her line of sight.

“Bartowski, she’s fine. She’s got cover.” Charlie zoomed in the camera lens and captured the buyer’s face perfectly.

“Got him,” she whispered. “Sending now.” Sarah checked the image. “That’s him. Nice work, Charlie.” Charlie didn’t smile. She just nodded.

“Copy.” There was a little bit of pride in her eyes. She was also just glad to get off the cold roof.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in Castle, Casey disappeared to do mountains of paperwork about the mission, grumbling about bureaucratic nonsense, Sarah following to change out of her gear. Charlie sat on a bench, unlacing her boots. Chuck hesitated, then sat beside her.

“You did really great today,” he said.

“Casey did most of it.” she said, pulling on her sneakers.

“Nope,” Chuck replied immediately. “You noticed things even he didn’t.” Charlie paused, surprised.

“…Thanks.” she said, warily, like she thought there was something behind Chuck’s very obvious attempts to bond. Chuck nodded toward the stairs.

“Uh, so… if you want a snack, Ellie sent over a care package. Sarah said half of it is edible, which is pretty good odds for us.”Charlie let out a short laugh.

“Sure.” They walked toward the elevator, dropping off their gear on the way.

“Hey,” Chuck said carefully. “You know… you don’t have to be unbreakable all the time. If anything freaks you out, or you need something, you can tell me or Sarah. That’s allowed.” She didn’t respond at first, taking a moment to think about her next words.

“I know,” she murmured. For the first time, it didn’t come off as guarded, or defensive. It was just honest. Chuck grinned.

“What are your thoughts on Chinese?” he asked. Charlie shrugged.

“I like it.” she said “I don’t have it often.” they walked out of Castle and into the parking lot, over to Chuck’s car.

“Sarah will be home soon, we can pre-order if you want,” he offered. Charlie nodded, getting in the car.

“Sounds good.” Chuck paused for a moment.

“Just to warn you, Beckman and Sarah decided you do, unfortunately, have to go to school. We have to go to an enrollment meeting tomorrow.” Charlie actually looked more scared at that, than the prospect of being held at gunpoint. Chuck flashed her a smile.

“It won’t be that bad.” Charlie did not look like she believed him.

Chapter Text

Burbank Preparatory School did not look like any school Charlie had ever stepped foot in. The building was old and ivy covered, with a fountain in front. A fucking fountain. Students were wearing pressed uniforms; plaid skirts or slacks, matching navy blazers, and polished shoes. There were banners with the school crest, stone benches, and fancy cars parked in the lot. Charlie adjusted her brand-new blazer. She’d faced assassins, terrorists, and many other things that would make a kid her age shit their pants, but this? This was terrifying.

“This is… a lot,” she admitted. Sarah fixed Charlie’s collar, gently, without crowding her.

“It’s a good school. Smaller classes. Good structure. And plenty of room to blend in. Plus, we’ll be able to excuse your absences if a mission comes up.” Charlie nodded, even though her stomach tightened. Chuck straightened his tie for no reason.

“I, uh… I feel underdressed. And overdressed? Somehow both?” Sarah whispered, “We’re not enrolling you, Chuck.”

“Still,” he muttered. “Prep schools smell intimidating.” Charlie smirked a little. Inside the main office, the receptionist tapped away at her keyboard. Antique lamps, framed university acceptances, and a photo of the debate team gave the room a fancy but slightly suffocating atmosphere. Charlie gulped.

“Ah, you must be Miss Larkin, our new student.” the receptionist said, “your student liaison is on her way.” Right on cue, the door swung open and a small blonde girl walked in with a big smile.

“Hi! You must be Charlie!” she said brightly. “Welcome to Burbank Prep! I’m Amber, I’m your assigned student liaison — basically your guide-slash-friend for your first month!”Charlie blinked.

“Month?” Amber nodded enthusiastically.

“Yep! They extended it for transfer students this year — which is great, because you seem awesome and I like meeting awesome people—” Charlie looked like she didn’t know how to react to this talkative person. Chuck made a small, strangled noise. Sarah pinched his arm. Amber turned to them.

“You must be Charlie’s parents!” Sarah froze. Chuck froze harder. Charlie rescued them. “They’re my… guardians.”she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. Amber nodded.

“Got it! Guardians! Very cool.” Sarah exhaled in relief. Amber handed Charlie a sleek folder.

“Your schedule, map, event calendar, and a list of clubs. Trust me — this place loves extracurriculars. If you don’t join at least two, the school counselor starts hovering.”Charlie looked alarmed.

“Don’t worry,” Amber said, patting her arm. “Some clubs literally just do board games.” Chuck whispered to Sarah,

“This place has clubs for clubs.”

“Shh,” Sarah hissed. Amber gestured for Charlie to follow. “Ready to go? I’ll introduce you to my friends first, they want to join us on the tour, if that’s okay.” Charlie nodded. She gave a small wave to Chuck and Sarah, and followed Amber outside into the courtyard.

“So you moved from Vermont?” Amber asked. Charlie nodded.

“Yeah, very different from this.” she said, quietly.

“Don’t worry. I know it seems like a lot, but that’s only because it’s new. And ignore all the people looking, this is just a small school, and we don’t usually get new people. Especially transfers a month into the year. There’s everyone!” she said, pointing over to a group of five teens sitting at a table, smiling and talking with one another. Charlie gulped.

“Hey guys! This is Charlie!” Amber introduced. The teens looked over at her. A brunette girl with hair pulled into a neat ponytail stood up and shook her hand.

“Charlie?” she asked, voice steady and confident. Charlie nodded.

“Yeah.”

“I’m TJ. Welcome to California.” she said, smiling. Charlie smiled back, feeling slightly less out of place. The other girl walked over with an effortless coolness, braids neatly falling around her shoulders.

“I’m Delia,” she said warmly. “It’s nice to meet you. If you need anything, let me know,” she said.

“That’s… helpful.” Charlie said, unsure what to say.

“Always,” Delia said, grinning. A tall, broad-shouldered boy stepped forward next, with soft eyes and a friendly grin. He fist-bumped her.

“I’m Rex. So, Vermont?” Rex asked. “I’ve always wanted to go, it seems cool.” Charlie nodded and opened her mouth to reply, only to be cut off by a boy jogging up, looking like he’d sprinted from the other side of campus.

“Sorry! Choir teacher trapped me in a conversation about vowel shapes,” he said, shaking his bangs out of his eyes. “I’m Jason.” He smiled, a warm sweet smile, and extended his hand. Charlie shook it. Jason grinned at her.

“So what’s your take so far? Stressful? Overwhelming? Both? That’s normal.” Charlie let out a tiny exhale.

“Mostly overwhelming.” she said quietly.

“Great! You’ll fit right in.” TJ rolled her eyes.

“Don’t believe him, nothing can overwhelm him. Jason’s annoyingly good at everything.” Jason shrugged, like he couldn’t help it. Delia stepped closer to her, causing Charlie to step back a bit.

“We usually hang out together between classes. You can join, if you want. No pressure.” she said. Rex nodded.

“Okay, sure.” Charlie said.

“Tour time!” Amber said, excitedly. She led the group back into the building, excitedly pointing out classrooms so quickly Charlie’s head was spinning.

“Okay, so that’s the science wing. Most teachers are nice, except Mr. Kerrigan — don’t let him catch you chewing gum.”she said, pointing down a hallway. TJ added, “it’s freezing down there, so bring a sweater. And never sit under the vent in Chem.” Delia gestured toward a hallway painted in bright colors.

“The arts wing is my home. If you ever need quiet or want to draw or listen to music, come find me. Do you like art?” she asked. Charlie nodded.

“I paint.” she said quietly. Delia smiled at her. Rex pointed at the field out the window.

“Football, soccer, lacrosse. This school has a crazy amount of sports, anything you want, really.” he said. Jason pointed at a large set of double doors

“Choir and theater live there. We know people who build the sets, so if you want to see anything, we can get you in for free.”Charlie blinked.

“How are you all… involved in everything?” she asked, looking around. Amber shrugged.

“Prep school. Overachieving is the brand.” Charlie laughed under her breath.They continued walking. Students glanced at Charlie — some curious, some politely friendly — and she pulled her blazer tighter. The group was waving at people, saying hi to so many kids Charlie couldn’t keep it straight.

“Do you guys like.. Know everyone?” she asked.

“Kind of. It’s a small school though, so it’s not hard.” Jason said, high fiving a boy walking by. Amber leaned close to her.

“Hey. You’re doing great.” Charlie glanced at her.

“You don’t even know me.” she said, albeit a bit bluntly. Amber shrugged.

“I don’t need to. We’ve all been the new kid once. It’s hard, but we get it. It gets easier.” she said. Charlie smiled. She hoped so.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chuck and Sarah walked out of the school to their car. Chuck exhaled.

“Okay… those kids seem normal? Normal for prep kids? I don’t know.”

“They seem good,” Sarah said quietly. Chuck nodded, relief softening his face.

“I just want her to have… something normal. Something not trauma.” Sarah squeezed his hand.

“She deserves it.”Chuck looked down at the courtyard again.

“She really does.” Sarah’s expression softened in a way she didn’t fully understand yet.

“She’s going to be okay here,” she said. Chuck swallowed.

“Yeah. I think so too.” He went a bit quiet, thinking. Sarah nudged him as they got into the car

"What are you thinking about?" She asked. He hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words.

“I’m trying to be okay, with all of this.” he admitted. “Really, really trying.” Truthfully, he was. He felt proud of Charlie for doing something normal-scary, not spy-scary. The pride was nice, but weird. Almost like since she wasn't his daughter, he didn't deserve to feel that pride. Every good feeling he had about her came with a slight pain in his chest, a reminder that she was not his child and Sarah hadn't trusted him enough to allow him to be part of her life.

“You are okay,” Sarah murmured, trying to reassure him, but he shook his head.

“No. I mean… I want to be. But that’s not all of it.” Sarah waited for him to continue. He took a deep breath.

“I keep replaying everything from the moment Beckman showed us that photo,” he said quietly. “She was so little, Sarah. Bryce’s kid. Your kid.” His voice cracked over that last part. “And all I could think was—why didn’t I know? Why didn’t you trust me with this?” Sarah inhaled sharply, guilt flashing across her face, but Chuck wasn’t finished. He rubbed a hand through his hair, staring at the big brick buildings of the school.

“I keep telling myself it’s irrational. I know it was before we even met, and you were scared. I know you had no choice.” He swallowed hard. “But, Sarah… part of me is hurt.” He hated admitting it. But it had been sitting in his chest since Charlie had arrived in LAX.

“I always thought after everything we survived, after everything we shared that you trusted me.” His voice softened. “I thought you would have trusted me enough to let me carry something with you. Even something this heavy.” Sarah looked away, jaw trembling before she spoke.

“Chuck, I—” Chuck pressed gently forward.

“When we got married, I thought I knew you. But you kept this massive thing from me.” His chest tightened, but he forced the words out. “I wish you hadn’t.” The silence after that stretched, but not in a cold way. it almost felt like they were sitting in their own little world. Sarah’s eyes shimmered.

“I wanted to tell you,” she whispered. “So many times. But I didn’t know how I would even say it, or where she was, or if she was even still alive. Part of me felt like telling you made it real. Made what I did to her real.” Chuck’s heart squeezed painfully.

“Sarah…”

“I didn’t keep her from you because I didn’t trust you,” she said, voice breaking. “I kept her from everyone because I didn’t trust myself. I thought I ruined her life by bringing her into this world. And when Bryce died I thought that was it. The whole story. I didn’t even know her name.” A tear slipped down her cheek. Chuck felt something inside him fracture and reform at the same time. He reached for her hand.

“I’m not angry,” he said, voice barely above a whisper. “I’m hurt. That’s different.” She nodded, swallowing thickly.

“I know,” she whispered. “And you deserve to feel all of that.” Chuck let out a shaky breath, looking back at the school again. He hesitated.

“I want to do right by her,” he said. “Even though I’m terrified. Even though I feel like I’m impersonating a dad more than actually being one. She deserves something normal. Something good.” Sarah squeezed his hand.

“She deserves you,” she said. Chuck almost laughed, but it came out cracked and wet.

“I don’t know how to be a dad to a fifteen-year-old CIA prodigy,” he whispered. “I could barely maintain a cactus at that age. And a Larkin child? I could barely handle adult Bryce, a child version is a terrifying thought.” Sarah laughed lightly.

“You don’t have to know,” Sarah said. “You just have to try. And you already are.” He looked at her and realized with a quiet shock that Sarah wasn't scared, she was grieving. she needed him.

The guilt, the hurt, the jealousy about Bryce—they were still in him, yes. But suddenly, they felt like smaller pieces of a much larger picture.

“Sarah,” he whispered, “I’m still learning how to be in this with you. But I am. I’m in it. And I need you to promise me something in return.” Her breath caught.

“What?”

“No more doing things alone,” he said. “No more secrets. If Charlie is ours to raise, then we do this together.” Sarah’s eyes filled, but she nodded immediately, desperately.

“Together,” she whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The car was quiet. Not uncomfortably quiet, just the kind of quiet that happens when two people have said so much that there aren't words left yet. Chuck drove, one hand on the wheel, the other resting loosely between them on the center console. After a minute, he slid his palm over Sarah's. She squeezed his hand once, gently, but her eyes stayed on the road. Sarah leaned her head back against the seat and stared out the passenger window. A pressure bloomed behind Chuck's ribs. he cleared his throat softly.

“Do you ever think about him?” he asked. Sarah didn’t pretend not to know who he meant. Silence stretched between them. He regretted asking immediately. But then Sarah spoke.

“Not in a long time,” she said. “And not in the way you probably think.” Her voice stayed steady, but there was something fragile there too.

“When he died, I… shut the door on everything that hurt. Him. Our time together, the baby, all of it. I buried it and kept moving. I had to.” Chuck nodded, thumb brushing her knuckles.

“I don’t blame you.” He honestly didn’t.

“I know,” she whispered. The ache in his chest didn’t fade. it wasn't that he envied Bryce, not really. Not anymore. He envied the years Bryce had been part of Sarah’s life in ways Chuck hadn’t known about. He couldn't help but think, "Why not me?" The thought spiraled again, small and soft and raw. He hated that it spiraled at all. Sarah glanced over, her brow softening.

“You’re quiet.” Chuck smiled weakly.

“Just… thinking.”

“I know that look,” she whispered. “That’s the ‘Chuck Bartowski is spiraling’ look.” He huffed a breath—half laugh, half defeated exhale.

“Yeah. Maybe a little.” They hit a red light. Sarah cupped his cheek, softly stroking his cheekbones. He leaned into her touch.

“I trust you more than anyone in my entire life,” she said. “I didn’t ever want to keep this from you.” His eyes stung, unexpectedly.

“I believe you,” Chuck whispered. “I really do. But I need time to… untangle everything. To hold the pain without letting it turn into something ugly.” Sarah nodded, her thumb brushing beneath his eye like she knew he needed grounding.

“I’ll give you all the time you need,” she said. The light turned green, and Chuck turned back to the wheel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chuck hadn’t planned to talk to Ellie. He’d planned to drop off a container of Sarah’s chili, beg her to give him some cookies to take back to his apartment, and leave. But Ellie opened the door, took one look at him, and frowned in that terrifyingly accurate big-sister way.

“Oh no,” she said. “You have feelings.” Chuck winced.
“I… maybe.”

“Come inside before you implode.” He followed her into the kitchen, sitting at the counter like he did when they were children. Ellie slid a mug of tea toward him. She waited.

“It’s everything,” Chuck blurted. “It’s all tangled. Like a big emotional knot that someone tied underwater with greased noodles.” Ellie stared.

“Wow. That’s… vivid.” He dropped his head into his hands.

“Ellie, Sarah had a daughter. Bryce’s daughter. And she never told me. And I get why—I do—but part of me is still so hurt.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “I feel guilty for feeling hurt. I feel guilty for being scared. I feel guilty for wanting to be important to Charlie when I have no idea what I’m doing.” Ellie softened, sliding into the seat across from him.

“Chuck… that doesn’t make you a bad person. It makes you human.” He exhaled shakily.

“I keep thinking about Bryce,” he admitted. “About the versions of Sarah he got to know that I never knew. The things they shared that she never shared with me. And then I feel awful because Bryce isn’t the enemy here. He did what he thought would protect his daughter. But I can’t stop thinking that he knew. He was trusted. I wasn’t.” Ellie reached across the table and took his hand with that steady, no-nonsense grip.

“You are not competing with Bryce,” she said firmly. “Not in Sarah’s heart. Not in Charlie’s life. You came into Sarah’s world later, yes. But you built something with her that is yours. Something she chose every step of the way.” Chuck sniffed, blinking fast.

“It just still hurts.”

“I know,” Ellie whispered. “And it should. Pain doesn’t mean anything is wrong. It just means something mattered.”He nodded. His throat felt thick.

“And Chuck?” Ellie added softly, squeezing his hand. “Sarah trusts you now more than she’s ever trusted anyone. That’s why she’s hurting too. That’s why she needs you.” He opened his mouth, but Ellie continued:

“And as for being a parent? Nobody knows what they’re doing, especially with teenagers. But Charlie already looks at you like you’re something safe. Something stable.” Chuck’s breath hitched.

“You really think so?”

“I know so,” Ellie said. “When we had her party, the entire time she was making sure you were in sight. She laughed around you. It might be taking her a bit to warm up, but she is getting there.”That thought hit him so hard he had to look away. Ellie squeezed his hand one last time.

“Give yourself grace. You’re allowed to take time to process. You’re allowed to feel everything. And you’re allowed to love her in your own way.” Ellie paused. “She’s lucky to have you.” Chuck’s chest tightened with a mix of grief and hope and something warm he couldn’t name yet.

“Thanks, El,” he whispered. She smiled.

“Always.”
When he finally stood to leave, he felt lighter. Like maybe in time, things wouldn't feel so weird. He liked that feeling. He walked back to his apartment, feeling a bit more ready to take on his new situation.

Chapter Text

By Monday morning, Charlie had memorized the layout of Burbank Prep—the quad, the gym, the science wing that always smelled faintly like bleach and anxiety. She walked through the stone courtyard in her crisp uniform blazer, backpack slung over one shoulder, posture straight and calm. On the outside, she could’ve passed for any other student. Inside, she was checking exit routes, scouting for threats, and counting what she could use as a weapon. She was, however, getting used to being there. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Amber met her at the front gate with a smile and a coffee. She waved cheerfully.

“Okay! Intro week continues. You remember your schedule?”

“I remember them all,” Charlie said, without thinking. Amber blinked at her.

"You memorized Monday through Friday? Already?"

“Yeah. Was that weird?” She asked, fidgeting with her sleeves.

“No!” Amber said quickly. “Just impressive. Most students take a while. Were you a Girl Scout?” Charlie huffed a quiet laugh, shaking her head no. She liked Amber’s confidence. She seemed genuinely nice. But, as Charlie learned, looks can be deceiving.

“Come on,” Amber said. “The others are saving us seats outside.” They walked over to a picnic table, where the group was sitting calmly, just hanging out. TJ gave them a wave.

“Charlie!” she called, scooting her bag aside so she could sit.

“How was your weekend? Do anything fun?” she asked.

“Nothing happened.” Charlie replied, looking down. TJ smirked.

“Then I’m going to assume spy things.” Charlie froze. Then TJ burst out laughing.

“Kidding! Relax. You’re so jumpy—are all Vermont girls like this?” Charlie resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“Yes. We’re very anxious creatures. Like deer.” Delia tapped her on the shoulder, sliding into the spot next to her.

“You have an interesting demeanor,” Delia said. “Like you’re ready to dodge something at any given moment.”

“Comforting,” Charlie muttered.

“I mean it as a compliment. Anyway, I have to photograph people for art, do you want to be a part of it? No pressure, just I’ve done mostly everyone already and I need a new subject.” Charlie swallowed.

“I’ll have to get back to you on that.” She couldn’t help but wonder if people in Vermont were just unfriendly, or if everyone in California was unnaturally friendly. It was a little creepy. For example, when she had woken up that morning, Chuck had offered her seven pancakes with a giant smile that seemed just a little terrified. She had initially figured Chuck was just a weird dude, but after being with him for longer, she'd come to think he either didn't like her dad very much (which she was starting to think not many people did) or he loved her dad, and wanted to love her too. she didn't know how to feel about that.

“You want a protein shake?” Rex asked, offering her one. Charlie shook her head.

“I’m okay, thank you.” Don't take drinks from strangers was basically spy 101. Even if Rex seemed harmless, she couldn’t be sure. Rex shrugged.

“Suit yourself.”he walked off to talk to a group of boys over by the door, smiling brightly. Jason slid into the spot beside her, smiling at her with an easy, sweet smile.

“Ready for your first real week?” he asked, looking at her. Charlie thought for a moment. Screaming NO extremely loudly didn’t seem to be an option.

“…Define ready.” Jason grinned.

“You’ll be fine. We got you.” he said, patting her on the shoulder. She stiffened, naturally, but luckily he didn’t notice. Charlie took a deep breath, and tried to remind herself that here, she was just a normal kid, starting school. It was difficult to remember.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Her morning classes were pretty chill. In English, she was two books ahead already (thank you, CIA), she finished the Biology worksheet before the bell, and realized statistics was just as bad in California as it was in Vermont. In History, the teacher tried to ask if she needed help adjusting, and she struggled to not run out of the room. So far, school was normal. Boring, even. Beckman had decided that during the week, to help her adjust, Charlie wouldn’t be doing hands-on spy work, just surveillance if needed, and Charlie almost felt a tiny bit grateful. It wasn’t bad. Chuck had decided that Charlie needed a "TV Education," because apparently she hadn't seen enough shows, so Monday dinner was spent with the TV on, playing some old show Charlie had never heard of. Tuesday night she asked Chuck for help with her math homework, and pretended she didn't see him give Sarah a huge smile and thumbs up. She noticed that some of the weird tension they'd had had dissipated. It made her feel a bit better. After all, it was kind of her fault Chuck had been upset. She would never tell them she thought that though.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It happened on Wednesday. Cafeterias had always been a lot, in every school she’d been at, but she had stayed up late trying to decode a Russian code from Beckman (even though she was told not to) and she was tired. There were too many voices, too many bodies moving in different patterns, too many overlapping conversations that her brain tried to track even though she didn’t need to. The exits were blocked, there was no way out. Charlie felt her heart pound. Her hands started clenching and unclenching, instinctively. She could feel her throat tightening as her brain ran with thoughts in all different directions.

“I’ll be right back,” she stood and left the lunchroom, her friends looking confused behind her. She walked into the bathroom, slamming the door and locking herself into a stall. Her hands buried into her hair, tugging and pulling, her breathing was shallow and forced, she was shaking, she couldn’t see straight. The sound of the bathroom door opening and closing almost sounded like a gunshot, like the ones that had killed thirty of the people she trained with, oh god, where did that thought come from? She could feel it now, the fear she’d felt so many times, but now there was no Elena to talk her off a ledge, no brothers to give her a hug. Just the sound of the shots, people barking orders inside her mind, the names of the kids that had died by her side replaying on a loop in her mind, over and over and over until -

Her phone chimed. She pulled it out from her pocket to see a call from Chuck - how did he know?

“Hello?” she asked, wiping her eyes.

“Hey! Hey kid! How’s it going?” he asked. Charlie tried to slow her breathing.

“It’s good. I’m at lunch.” she said, keeping her responses clipped and brief, so he wouldn’t know something was wrong. Somehow though, it seemed like he did.

“Everything okay? If it gets overwhelming, we can take you out today, family emergency,” Chuck joked. Charlie let out a weak laugh.

“I’m okay. Thank you though. I should probably go back, they’re waiting for me.”

"Charlie, wait a second." Chuck said. Charlie put the phone back up to her ear, leaning against the stall door.

"What?"

"I know new schools are hard, and I'm not your dad, but I'm here to help you, you know? If you need to talk, or anything, you can call me." he said. Charlie paused. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her hands, which were still shaking.

"It's just loud. That's all. I'm fine." She said.

"Okay, kiddo. Call me if you need me, okay?" Chuck said. Charlie nodded.

"Yeah." she hung up, putting her phone in her blazer pocket. Charlie walked out back to the table, where the group was waiting. She took her seat, pretending not to notice that they were all looking at her. Jason scooted closer to her, but not too close.

“You want to step away?” he asked, voice soft. “We can ditch lunch. Teachers won’t care.” Charlie hesitated then nodded.

“Yeah,” she whispered. “Thanks.” They didn’t make a scene, just gathered their stuff and led her to the quieter study area behind the library. Jason sat with his back to a tree. Charlie sank into the grass, knees pulled up, arms resting casually so no one would know she still felt shaky. Amber sat cross-legged, TJ sprawled dramatically, Delia sketched little flowers on her arm. Rex lay on his back staring at the sky, pointing out clouds that made funny shapes to make her laugh. After a minute, Charlie’s breathing evened, and her heartbeat slowed.

“You okay?” TJ asked.

“…Yeah.” she said. “Just some first week jitters, I guess,” Charlie avoided eye contact, picking at a string on her shoe. Rex grinned and nudged her.

“We’ve all been there. It’s okay.” he said. Charlie nodded.

“You’re more normal than you think, Charlie Larkin.” He joked, smiling at her. She snorted, because she was absolutely not normal. But she appreciated that they thought she was. They got up to head back into the building for the last block of classes. As they walked toward the front of the school, TJ slung an arm around Charlie’s shoulder.

“So listen,” she said. “This Friday is a home game, and Jason and Rex are playing,”she started. Jason snapped his fingers.

“Amber’s cheering.” Amber nodded enthusiastically.

“Do you want to come with me and TJ to watch? We could pick you up, my sister’s got her license." Delia offered.

“No pressure, but I’ll guilt you if you say no.” Rex said, pointing at her dramatically. Charlie blinked. She thought about it for a moment.

“…Okay.” And that was that. Decided. Jason grinned.

“Perfect.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When she got back to the apartment, Sarah was sitting at the counter typing away on her laptop, and Chuck was attempting (and failing) to fix the squeaky cabinet door.

“Hey, Charlie! How are you? Are you doing okay? How was school?” Chuck asked. She took off her shoes and set them carefully next to the door, trying to appear casual.

“It was… good.”she said, setting her bag down on a chair and grabbing a glass of water. Sarah glanced over.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Uh, you guys know the kids I met this week?” she asked casually, sipping her water. Sarah raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, what about them?” she asked, neatly hiding her suspicion.

“They asked if I wanted to go to the football game on Friday. They said they’d pick me up and everything, so you guys don’t have to drive,” she said. Chuck froze, turning to look at Charlie, whose ears had turned a light shade of pink.

“Wait—friends invited you to a thing? A real thing?” Charlie frowned.

“Don’t make it weird.”she said, taking a seat next to Sarah at the counter.

“I’m not!” he protested. “I’m—okay, I’m slightly making it weird, but in a very supportive way.” Sarah reached over and brushed a loose strand of hair behind Charlie’s ear in a gentle, instinctive motion that surprised both of them.

“I’m glad,” Sarah said. “Really.” Charlie felt her face warm. She looked away, mumbling:

“It’s… fine. It’s whatever.” she said. “Was I supposed to, like, ask you guys for permission?” she asked, looking up at them. Chuck and Sarah exchanged a look.

“Uh… maybe?” Chuck offered. Charlie tried to hide her laugh.

“We’re new to this, Charlie. So, maybe next time text? But you’re not in trouble.” Sarah clarified. Charlie nodded.

“Cool.” With that, she grabbed her bag and walked off to her room, shutting the door behind her. Chuck and Sarah stared after.

“She has friends.” Sarah said. "I never had friends in high school." Chuck sat down next to her, ditching the attempt at fixing the cabinet. He hesitated a moment, then slid his arm around her shoulders.

"I think she's doing okay." he said. Sarah nodded, staring intently at the computer screen. She finally looked away and looked at him.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked. He nodded slowly. Sarah tilted her head slightly.

"You can talk to me, Chuck." He squeezed her shoulder a little.

"I'm doing okay, really. I'm doing better with it." he paused for a moment. "She's a great kid, Sarah." Sarah smiled softly, eyes looking a little misty.

"I know." she said. Chuck kissed her cheek. He was doing better with it. Sarah leaned against him. Chuck could hear rock music playing softly from Charlie's room. She was adjusting, slowly but surely. He was adjusting too. And for the first time in weeks, since he'd learned about her, Chuck felt okay. It was nice.

Chapter Text

Friday at Burbank Prep wasn’t just a normal school day. It was Game Day. Every hallway buzzed with energy. Blue and gold ribbons were tied on lockers, students excitedly discussing plans for that night, and teachers pretending not to notice spirited chaos. Rex walked through the hallway like a celebrity, Jason behind him, laughing at every person who shouted their names. Charlie watched the chaos with an apprehensive and confused expression. Truthfully, even when she was in Vermont, she’d never been to a high school football game. She hadn’t really had the time, between missions and skiing. She was shaken from her thoughts by her group coming up behind her.

“Larkin.” Rex said, pointing dramatically. “Are you ready for tonight?” he asked. Charlie thought for a moment.

“Are you?” she asked. He laughed loudly, Jason joining in.

“Of course! We’re gonna kick ass! But everyone better be focused, this is the most important thing this week.” Charlie laughed, mostly because the night before they had gotten debriefed by Beckman on something that was decidedly more important than a football game (Thank you, Chuck, for arguing that Charlie was still settling in, and therefore couldn’t attend the all night stakeout with the team). TJ waved a mini poster she had made for Rex.

“This is art. You have to witness it.” Rex’s horrified expression showed that TJ’s art skills were not that lovely, to say the least. Delia shrugged.

“I'm totally gonna get photos of you falling over,” she said. Rex looked very offended. Delia had recently taken up sports photography, and was using it to bully her friends. Rex was not a fan. he began arguing with her about angles and his good side. Jason walked over to Charlie, nudging her with his shoulder.

“We’re gonna have fun, don’t worry.” he said. Charlie gulped. She didn’t stand a chance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a knock at the door, rapid and bright. TJ, definitely. Charlie froze halfway through tying her sneakers. Okay. Cool. She shook out her hands, trying to ignore the stupid flutter in her chest. She had killed people, for God’s sake. So why was this somehow scarier? Inviting them into the apartment she now shared with two near-strangers-who-were-also-her-parents? That was new. From the kitchen, Chuck peeked over the fridge door, looking excited.

“Is that them?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Charlie said, trying not to sound nervous. Sarah stepped out from the hallway, calm as always, but Charlie caught the tiny softening in her eyes—the one she only showed when she thought Charlie wasn’t paying attention.

“We’ll just say hi,” Sarah said. Charlie swallowed.

“Okay.” She opened the door. Delia was standing front and center, blue Burbank prep hoodie, wearing an eager grin like she was about to drag someone into an adventure. Beside her, TJ leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed, trying to look relaxed but bouncing one leg like she was full of soda, which, knowing her, was possible.

“Charlie!” Delia beamed. “Ready for the game?”

“Yeah,” Charlie said, stepping back. “Uh—come in.” Delia and TJ entered and smiled when they saw Chuck and Sarah. Chuck gave them the friendliest, most awkward wave in human history.

“Hi! You must be Delia and TJ. Charlie’s, uh… friends. From school. Hi.” Delia blinked. “Whoa. You’re Charlie’s…?”

“Guardians,” Sarah supplied, stepping forward with her usual calm assurance. She didn’t smile, but her voice was warm enough to balance it.

“I’m Sarah. This is Chuck.”

“Oh!” Delia straightened like she’d just been told she was meeting ambassadors. “Hi. I’m Delia. I like your place.” Chuck beamed. TJ raised a hand in a little wave.

“Hey. I’m TJ. We love Charlie. She’s really funny.” Charlie made a slight face, which didn’t go unnoticed by Chuck. Chuck brightened, surprised to hear Charlie described as anything other than terrifying.

“She is really funny.” Sarah shot him a tiny look—Not helping—before returning her attention to the teens.

“Thank you both for taking her out tonight.” Delia shrugged.

“Of course. She’s part of our group now.” Charlie couldn’t help but smile at that. TJ added,

“Yeah, we don’t let people sit alone at games. It’s like, morally wrong.” Sarah’s posture softened a fraction.

“That’s good to hear.” Chuck clapped his hands once, trying way too hard not to seem anxious.

“Okay! You all should get going if you want decent seats. And, uh, Charlie—text if you need anything. But not because we’re worried! Just, you know… standard parent… guardian… policies.”

“Chuck,” Sarah said gently.

“Right,” he muttered. Charlie slipped past him to grab her jacket. She hesitated before turning back to the adults.

“I’ll be back.” Sarah nodded.

“We’ll be here.” Charlie managed a tiny smile, quick but real, then followed Delia and TJ toward the door. As they stepped into the hallway, Delia whispered loudly,

“Your parents are, like… absurdly cool.” TJ nodded.

“If my mom saw them she’d immediately try to impress them by offering dip.” Charlie snorted.

“They’re… okay.” But as they walked toward the stairs, she glanced back at the apartment door. She could almost picture Chuck fiddling nervously with something and Sarah checking the locks out of habit. She shook her head, and followed her friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The stands were packed. There was a pep band playing, parents yelling, students jumping and chanting. It was overwhelming, but Charlie stuck close to TJ and Delia, letting their excitement envelop her. She didn’t understand the game, like at all, but it was actually pretty fun. Rex scored a touchdown and ran back with such raw joy that Charlie found herself clapping even before she realized. Jason intercepted a pass, sprinting down the field. Charlie couldn’t help but think that if Beckman was seeing this, she would be wanting some new recruits.

“HE BETTER RUN!” TJ screamed, shaking Charlie’s shoulders. She had to quickly remind herself that this was a friend, not a secret agent that wanted to kill her. Then Charlie laughed—actually laughed—because shockingly, she felt okay. Not attacked, not chased, but okay. The scoreboard called for halftime, and Amber sprinted over to them from her spot with the cheer team.

“You’re doing great!” Delia said, hugging her tightly. Amber grinned brightly before turning to Charlie.

“Charlie,” she gasped. “Emergency.” Charlie tensed, scanning her surroundings. She could alert Chuck and Sarah, but she didn’t see anything.

“What happened?” she asked, hand going into her pocket, where she had a knife stowed away, just in case.

“You need to join cheer.”

“…What?”

“You have the energy for it! And the coordination! And the height—like the perfect height! And you learn fast! And—” Delia snorted. Charlie was genuinely speechless.

“Amber. Breathe.” Delia said. Amber grabbed Charlie’s wrist with surprising force for someone covered in glitter.

“We’re doing open skill checks tomorrow morning. Low pressure. Totally fun. Just try. Please.” Charlie blinked rapidly.

“Amber, I’ve never cheered in my life.” and she didn’t intend to, truthfully.

“Okay,” Amber said confidently. “But you could. And it’s fun. And you’d get a cute uniform.” Delia leaned in.

“It’s actually kind of a good idea. You like structure. Cheer has a lot of structure.” TJ added,

“Plus Amber will literally owe you a lifelong favor.” Charlie stared at them. It was possibly the most insane idea she had heard since the CIA came knocking at her door when she was eight. She genuinely couldn’t tell if they were kidding. Her attention was pulled to the field as the crowd cheered. Jason had scored another touchdown. Charlie jumped in surprise, smiling at her friend, who was just as in shock as everyone else. Amber pointed at her triumphantly.

“See? YOU HAVE SPIRIT!”

“I do not,” Charlie protested. “I have reactions. And reflexes. No spirit here.”

“You totally have it,” Delia insisted, nudging Charlie with her elbow. TJ nodded.

“You absolutely do.” Charlie groaned into her hands.

“…Fine. I’ll try out. But this doesn't mean I'll join.” Amber squealed so loudly half the bleachers turned. Charlie was already regretting this choice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Burbank Prep won by a landslide. The group met on the sidelines afterward. Rex was sweaty and loud and hugged her even though she tried to dodge. Jason jogged over, hair damp, grin wide.

“You came,” he said, slightly breathless.

“Yeah,” Charlie said, voice embarrassingly quiet. “You were great.” Jason blinked—then smiled even wider.

“I’m glad you were here.”he said. Charlie smiled at him. Her stomach flipped. She did not like it. Rex slapped Jason on the back so hard the boy nearly face-planted.

“JASON CARRIED US!”

“Dude—no I didn’t—”

“Yes,” Amber said firmly. “He totally did.” Delia snapped another photo of them. “For memories. And blackmail.” She showed Charlie a photo she'd taken of her during the game. TJ was next to her, mouth open in a scream. Charlie was looking out on to the field, hands clasped in front of her.

“You looked very intense,” Delia said.

“I’m always intense.” she said. The group laughed, even though she wasn’t joking. Charlie’s phone buzzed. It was Sarah, telling her they had come to get her, even though she had said not too. Oh well.

“I gotta go, but good job guys,” she said, turning to leave. Jason stopped her.

“Do you want to come hang out? There was supposed to be a party tonight, but Damian’s parents came back early, so he’s not throwing anymore, so now we’re just doing a little movie night. Just us, nothing weird.” he said.

“It’s at my house!” Amber offered, grinning. Charlie nodded.

“I have to ask Chuck and Sarah, so I’ll let you know. See you guys later.” she said, walking out to the car. Chuck and Sarah were waiting near the school gates. Sarah waved.

“Hey. How was it?” Charlie opened the car door.

“Loud. Confusing. But Fun.” Chuck gasped.

“She liked a high school event. Sarah, mark the date.” Sarah elbowed him, and Charlie tried not to smile. Chuck beamed. Sarah smiled warmly.

“We’re glad.” Charlie hesitated before adding:

“I’m trying out for cheer tomorrow.” Chuck almost choked on air. Sarah blinked rapidly.

“Really?” Sarah said.

“Amber wants me too, besides I think it could be good to develop my reaction time and flexibility. And it adds to my cover.”she said, looking at her fingers. Chuck clapped once like an overexcited seal.

“YES! I mean—cool. Totally casual energy. Good job.”Charlie rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to smile.

“It’s just a tryout,” she said. “Not a big deal.”

“We’re proud of you already,” Sarah said quietly. Charlie nodded.

“Thanks.” she said. She looked out the window to avoid conversation, staring at the street next to her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charlie was still buzzing from the game when they got back to the apartment. Sarah smiled at her, motioning for her to join them at the table. Charlie didn't move. She knew Chuck and Sarah were nice, but that didn’t erase the fact that she still wasn’t used to them. Living with the mother that left her, and her overeager husband would still take some getting used to. Sarah took a seat at the table, smile not faltering.

“You look like you had a good time.” she said. Charlie nodded, trying not to fidget. “Yeah. It was really cool.” Chuck emerged from the kitchen, holding a bag of popcorn and looking way too proud of himself.

“Future cheerleader cool or just general school spirit cool?” Charlie managed a small eye roll.

“I didn’t say I was joining yet.”

“That’s basically a yes,” Chuck said, pointing at her with the popcorn bag. “Trust me. Teen translation expert.” Sarah nudged him.

“Chuck, you barely have your adult translation degree.” Charlie pulled at the strap of her bag.

“Um… My friends want to do a movie night. it's at Amber’s, it’s close to here, I can walk.” she said.

“Go,” Chuck said instantly. “Be free. Escape us.” Sarah crossed her arms in mock disapproval.

“Check-in text when you get there. Eleven o’clock curfew. And share your location with us please, so if anything happens we know where you are. Make sure you don’t walk home alone - “ Chuck cut Sarah off.

“Have fun.” he said, slipping an arm around Sarah.

“Okay,” Charlie said quickly. “Thanks.” She slipped out the door before her nerves could tighten any further.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amber lived in a bright, renovated townhouse that felt nothing like the houses in Vermont. Charlie had to admit, it was nice. The door swung open the second she stepped onto the front step.

“CHARLIE!” Amber threw her hands in the air like she’d arrived at a surprise party. “Come in! Everyone’s here.” Inside, the basement was already buzzing with energy. Rex sprawled across the couch with a mountain of pizza slices, TJ was trying (and failing) to grab one from him, Jason sat on the floor leaning against the couch, laughing at the argument, and Delia was adjusting the LED lights with the precision of someone defusing a bomb. Charlie stepped inside, cheeks warm.

“Hi.”

“Larkin!” TJ said dramatically, tossing her a blanket. “Welcome. How did you like the game?” he asked. She settled on the couch next to Jason.

“It was fun,” Charlie admitted. “More intense than I expected.”

“That wasn’t even intense,” Rex said around a mouthful of pizza. “Wait until we play West Ridge.”

“Don’t scare her,” Jason said, smiling at Charlie. Amber plopped down next to her.

“I told you school events were fun!” she said, squeezing Charlie’s arm. Charlie gave her a small smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chuck and Sarah sat on the couch with the TV on low volume, mostly as background noise, but neither was watching it. Sarah’s arms were folded, lost in thought. Chuck was pretending to scroll through something on his phone, but he wasn’t really reading anything. Finally Sarah said quietly,

“You saw it too, right?” Chuck looked up.

“That she’s keeping a little distance? Yeah.”

“She’s trying, I can tell,” Sarah said. “But she still gets cold when we try to get close. Physically and emotionally.” Chuck let out a breath.

“She said thank you before leaving. That felt… new.”

“Progress,” Sarah agreed. “Slow, careful progress.” Chuck closed the tablet.

“Do you think we’re doing something wrong?”

“No,” Sarah said instantly. Then softer,

“No, I think we’re just unfamiliar territory for her. Stability isn’t something she’s used to, and we did just meet her. For us, she’s our kid, but for her, we’re strangers.” Chuck stared at the wall thoughtfully.

“It’s wild. We’ve dealt with rogue agents, assassins, global conspiracies… but trying to help a teenager feel safe? That’s the thing I keep overthinking.” Sarah gave a small, tired smile. “Because you care. Because she matters.” He nodded slowly.

“I keep thinking we should maybe bring up counseling to her. It helped me a lot, after my mom and dad left. But I don’t want her to feel overwhelmed.”

“Not yet,” Sarah decided, voice steady. “Right now she’s adapting. Learning what normal feels like. She has a friend group, a school she likes, a cheer tryout she’s excited about. She’s starting to be a normal kid, even if she won’t admit it. ” Chuck chuckled.

“She very much will not admit it.” Sarah leaned back.

“Let’s just be consistent, not push too fast. We can be safe people without smothering her.” Chuck looked toward the door, imagining Charlie laughing with her friends across town.

“Yeah,” he murmured. “We can do that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jason had chosen a horror-comedy, one so ridiculous that Charlie couldn’t help but laugh. Rex yelled at the screen every few minutes, Delia kept mocking the monster’s poor design choices, and TJ kept smacking Jason for quoting the movie before the lines happened. Amber was busy narrating the romantic subplot like she was hosting a sports broadcast. Charlie sank into the couch cushions, wrapped in her blanket. She had to admit, this was nice, just relaxing and being normal. A few times she caught herself looking at the door, instinctively checking her surroundings like she was waiting for something bad to happen, but nothing did. They were just friends watching a dumb movie. She wasn’t a spy today. Just a kid. When the movie ended, Amber stretched with a dramatic sigh.

“Okay, go, Larkin. Curfew awaits. And also—you’re absolutely trying out for cheer.” Charlie snickered.

“I’ll… think about it.”

“That’s basically a yes,” Jason said, quoting Chuck, without even realizing it. They walked her to the door, told her to text when she got home, told her she’d see them on Monday. She waved goodbye, and walked down the street.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charlie woke up to the sound of Casey slamming cabinets in the kitchen. She groaned, dragged a hand over her face, and muttered,

“…it’s too early for national security.” She got up anyway, and walked into the kitchen to find Casey angrily wrestling with the coffeemaker, Chuck trying to calm him, and Sarah sipping her own mug like she’d accepted the chaos long ago. Charlie raised an eyebrow. Casey jabbed the machine.

“Your appliance hates America.” Chuck held out a mug cautiously.

“It’s literally working, Casey.” Sarah noticed Charlie first.

Morning.” she said, giving her a warm smile. Charlie lifted a hand.

“Hey.” Chuck smiled.

“We didn’t mean to wake you.” Casey grunted.

“If she can’t handle a little noise, she shouldn’t be in the CIA.” Sarah shot him a sharp look.

“She’s fifteen.”

“So?” Casey shrugged. Charlie poured cold coffee into a cup, making herself a little iced latte with so much creamer that it was almost white.

“It’s fine. I’m used to noise.” That made all three adults go quiet for a moment.

“Because I lived in a house with five other children?” she said. Everyone seemed to visibly relax. Charlie shook her head and sat down. Sarah cleared her throat.

“Anyway. We’ve got a briefing today." Charlie paused mid-stir.

“Is something wrong?” Chuck and Sarah exchanged a look. Casey answered first.

“Yes.” Chuck sighed.

“Casey.”

“What? I’m not sugarcoating for a teenager.” Charlie gave him a look. Sarah set her mug down.

“Charlie, Something new came up with the Intersect.” Charlie straightened.

“Is Chuck in danger?” Chuck blinked.

“Wha—hey—we don’t need to jump to conclusions here.’” he said, hands up, trying to diffuse the situation. Charlie just stared at Sarah, waiting. Sarah nodded slowly.

“We don’t know if he’s in danger. That’s what we’re figuring out.” Charlie nodded, and put down her mug.

“I’ll go change.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

General Beckman came on-screen, looking even more stressed than usual. Charlie took a deep breath.

“Team, We’ve had a breach.” Chuck leaned forward.

“Fulcrum?”

“No.” Casey frowned.

“The Ring?”

“No. Something older. And more classified.” Sarah stiffened.

“Directorate N?”

“Not even they have access to what was compromised,” Beckman said. “We believe this leak is connected to a group we’ve been tracking since the Cold War. They call themselves ACHRON.” The air changed instantly. Sarah’s expression tightened — she recognized the name. Casey muttered,

“Fantastic. Mythical boogeymen. Exactly what I needed.” Charlie looked confused. “What’s Achron?” Sarah answered her quietly.

“A black-budget organization so old most agencies pretend it doesn’t exist. No public record. No oversight. No allies.” Beckman continued.

“Achron hasn’t made a move in decades, until now.” Chuck swallowed hard.

“Okay… what did they do?” he asked, leaning forward

“They accessed an encrypted CIA vault.” Beckman’s tone sharpened. “A vault containing early Intersect-related research. Plans, Fail-safes, Blind spots.” Chuck’s stomach dropped.

“Blind spots?” he asked. Sarah squeezed his hand.

“Anything ACHRON knows about the Intersect could be used to manipulate or incapacitate you, which puts national security at risk, and endangers the life of the asset.” Casey crossed his arms.

“So what’s the mission?”

“Surveillance,” Beckman said. “We intercepted communication suggesting an ACHRON asset is operating somewhere in Los Angeles. Your job is to identify them.” Chuck nodded.

“Okay. We can do that.” It honestly didn’t seem bad. No attack, just identification. Not difficult. Beckman shifted her gaze to Charlie with surprising softness.

“Agent Larkin, you will accompany the team for analysis only. No engagement. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.” she said.

“This isn’t about you, Charlie,” Beckman said. “But we have reason to believe that Achron may be working with James Donovan.” Charlie stiffened.

“Who is James Donovan?” Chuck asked. Charlie turned to him with a blank expression.

“He’s the agent who recruited me, and all the other kids. He ran the Artemis Project.” she explained.

“Once Donovan found out that we discovered the Artemis Project, he went black. We couldn’t locate him, but the information Achron has received is information he knew. Agent Larkin, if there is any confirmation Donovan is involved, I want you off the case. Understood? We cannot risk Donovan finding you, or any of your classmates.” Charlie nodded.

“Yes, General.” she said. The screen blinked off, and Charlie exhaled slowly. Chuck turned to her.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “Donovan’s just a bit of a touchy subject.” Sarah nodded.

“It’s a lot. Even for us.” Charlie nodded. Chuck put a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay. Donovan won’t find you.” he said. Charlie turned to him, confused.

“I don’t care if he finds me.” she said. Chuck was confused. “I’ve wanted to kill him for years. If he finds me, I will make that happen.” she said calmly, as if she was describing doing her math homework, not killing a man. Chuck swallowed.

“Charlie, we try to avoid killing people. We’re supposed to be the good guys, and all that stuff.” he said, laughing weakly. Charlie looked at him blankly.

“I know. But he deserves it. And if he shows up, I’ll kill him.” With that, she stood up and walked out of Castle, leaving a stunned team behind her. Casey grunted.

“Now that was a Walker thing to say.” Chuck rubbed his face with his hands.

Chapter Text

Chuck Bartowski had survived the Intersect, Fulcrum, the Ring, Casey’s driving, and a handful of near-death experiences. He was not sure he would survive high school pickup duty. Sarah was very against letting Charlie take the school bus, and Chuck had volunteered to get the girl from school. He was regretting this choice. He adjusted the rearview mirror for the eighth time, straightened his shirt, and opened and closed the glove compartment.

“Just… look chill,” he told himself. “Be normal. You are a normal parent picking up a normal teenager from a normal school. Even though that teenager is a spy assassin, and doesn’t recognize you as her parent, and fully admitted she would kill a man less than 48 hours ago. Okay, not helping.” The doors opened and the students started pouring out, waving to parents, smiling, laughing with one another. Chuck spotted her. Charlotte Larkin, smiling. Chuck tried to suppress his shock. She was walking with her group, Amber, who he had met, TJ and Delia, who he remembered, Rex, who he had seen in photos when Sarah had looked them all up to make sure none of them were actually evil, and Jason. Chuck stiffened. Jason walked close to her, his shoulder brushing hers. He made a joke that made Charlie elbow him, laughing. He nudged her back, with a small smile. Chuck began to whisper to himself,

“Nope. Nope. Too much smiling. Abort mission.” Charlie finally waved goodbye to her group and slipped into the passenger seat, tossing her bag in the back.

“Hey,” she said, casually, buckling her seatbelt.

“HELLO,” Chuck squeaked. He tried to appear calm. He failed. Charlie gave him a weird look.

“So uh… school. How was?” he asked. Charlie continued giving him a weird look, probably because he was acting very strange.

“It was good.” She said, looking out the window as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“Nice.” He nodded too fast. “Um. Jason seems like a… boy.” Charlie nodded slowly.

“Yes. Because he is one.” she said, like she was unsure where he was going with this. He was also unsure, because he hadn’t planned for this.

“And he talks to you.” no shit, Charles.

“He talks to everybody.”

“But he… talks to you. Like, specifically. With a… smile.” Charlie turned her head and looked at him like he had three heads.

“Are you having a stroke?” she asked, with an expression that was very Sarah Walker.

“No! I’m just—Concerned? Curious? Confused? All of the above?!” Charlie sighed. “Chuck, I’m fine. He’s my friend.” Chuck nodded, pretending he understood.

“…Please never bring this up again,” she said, putting in earbuds. He nodded again.

“Deal.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time they reached Castle, Chuck had willed himself into professionalism. Sort of. Mostly not. Casey stood at the briefing table, polishing a gun with an amount of aggression that Chuck didn’t think was necessary. Sarah typed something into the computer, calm and graceful as always.

“You’re late,” Casey grunted as Charlie took a seat at the table.

“School ended three minutes ago,” she retorted, giving him a patented Charlie look.

“That’s three minutes I could’ve used for drills.” Charlie stared at him.

“Sorry, next time I’ll tell my algebra teacher I have to leave for national security reasons. That’ll go over well.” Casey grumbled something about “Larkin attitude," which made Chuck smile. General Beckman appeared on the monitors.

“Team. Tonight’s surveillance target is the Wilmont Hotel.”A picture of a sleek, modern luxury hotel appeared — glass walls, gold lighting, valet attendants in tuxedos. Casey let out a low whistle.

“They're hosting a political fundraiser suspected of being used as an ACHRON relay point,” Beckman continued. “Your objective: watch. Identify. Record. No contact.” Casey grunted approval. Charlie scooched forward in her seat. Chuck raised a hand.

“Uh… is this like, fancy-fancy? Or like, rich-people-fancy?” he asked.

“Chuck. It’s the Wilmont.” Sarah replied, gesturing to the board. Chuck felt himself get paler.

“Oh no,” he whispered. Casey rolled his eyes.

“Try not to embarrass the country, Bartowski.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Wilmont looked like every rich fancy hotel they had done recon at. Glass chandeliers, marble floors, a gold-lit grand staircase, and at least five people carrying champagne who looked too fancy to even blink. Chuck tugged at his bowtie, feeling sweat drip down his back.

“Do I look like I belong?” he asked.

“You look like you wandered in by accident,” Casey muttered.

“You’re not helping,” Chuck hissed. Sarah smoothed down his jacket with a gentle but firm pat.

“You look fine,” she whispered. Charlie surveyed the space with a calculating gaze. She was calm, calculated. Casey watched her out of the corner of his eye.

“Don’t walk too loud, Larkin.”

“I’m literally standing still.”

“Be quieter.”

“How do you expect me to do that?”

“Stop talking.” Charlie gave him an incredulous look.

“Take your own advice.” Chuck nearly choked trying not to laugh. Sarah gave them both a look that roughly translated to, “Cut it out.” The fundraiser was packed with wealthy donors, politicians, and the upper class who probably spent Chuck’s yearly salary in a day. The team took positions around the balcony overlooking the event. Sarah pointed discreetly.

“ACHRON contact should be entering from the north mezzanine.” Charlie lifted a compact camera disguised as a small powder compact and began scanning faces. Chuck watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was disciplined, intentional, and discreet. Traits of an agent twice her age. Casey murmured into the comm,

“Target approaching. Black suit, red tie.” Charlie adjusted her angle, and squinted slightly.

“The badge,” she whispered. “Bottom left corner. It’s the wrong font, it doesn’t match.” Sarah raised an eyebrow, impressed. Casey muttered,

“Well I’ll be damned.” Charlie didn’t look up from the camera.

“You’re welcome.” she said, smoothing down her hair. Casey’s jaw twitched — the closest he ever got to pride. As the target moved through the room shaking hands, something shifted. A second man entered, dressed identical to the first. Sarah stiffened.

“Decoy.” Chuck leaned in.

“What do we do?”

“We track both.” Casey said. Charlie smirked.

“On it.” She switched angles, tracking both men in frame, switching between both with perfect precision. Chuck said quietly:

“Wow.” Sarah smiled softly. He could see it in her eyes, she was proud. The decoy tactic was logged. The real contact met briefly with three people, then left via the east exit. The team filed into a service hallway. Casey crossed his arms and looked at Charlie.

“You did good, kid.”

“Uh… thank you?” she responded, raising her eyebrows. Casey scowled.

“Don’t make it weird.” Charlie held up her hands in surrender. Chuck grinned so wide it hurt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they got back, Charlie headed straight to her room without speaking, shutting the door behind her. Chuck paced in the kitchen like a caffeinated squirrel. Sarah looked at him quizzically.

“What is up with you?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“Jason.” Sarah blinked.

“Oh boy.”she muttered. Chuck threw his hands up.

“Tonight she was this… this spy. This precise, perfect little James Bond. A mini Bryce Larkin. Then in the morning, she goes to school and just… hangs out with boys??”

“Chuck—”

“I saw her smile today! Like actually smile. And it was at Jason, with the hair and the shoulders, and the smiles-”Sarah cut him off.

“Shoulders?” Chuck continued pacing, ignoring her comment.

“She deserves it! She deserves normal. But she also has this whole other world, and I don’t know how to help her balance it. What if she likes this kid? What if he hurts her? And then—”

“Chuck.” He froze mid-panic. Sarah stepped closer and spoke gently, placing her hand on his. .

“She’s okay. She’s more than okay. And you’re helping more than you realize.” Chuck swallowed.

“I just… want her to have a normal, safe life.” Sarah softened.

“I know. I want to make that happen.” she promised. “It’s just going to take time.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Charlie was at the kitchen table, eating cereal and looking at her phone. Chuck poured himself coffee and tried to be casual.

“So, uh… Amber mentioned cheer tryouts today.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And you’re… gonna go?”

“I guess.” Chuck nodded. Sarah entered, tying her hair back, looking very awake despite the hour.

“Morning,” she said. She kissed Chuck’s cheek. “Charlie, you look tired.” Charlie shrugged.

“It’s early.” Sarah cracked a smile. Charlie stirred her cereal.

“I’ll be late to training tonight, so you don’t have to pick me up.” she said. Chuck nodded.

“Just send us a text when you’re on your way.” Sarah said. Charlie nodded, taking a sip of her water.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The gymnasium was full of people stretching. Charlie felt a bit overwhelmed. Amber spotted Charlie instantly and sprinted over.

“CHARLIE LARKIN!” she sang. “Today is the day.” Charlie raised an eyebrow.

“Is it?”

“Yes!” Amber threw an arm around her shoulders. “You are going to try out, and then you are going to join the squad, and then we’re going to be famous, like the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.”Charlie opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off.

“Okay, so how much experience do you have with tumbling?”Amber asked, leading her over to a group of girls.

“I did gymnastics for a little,” Charlie said. Amber beamed, clapping her hands together.

“Perfect!” She turned to the crowd. “OKAY EVERYONE! LINE UP!” Charlie took her position in the middle. She took a deep breath. They began. Amber ran the tryout with a vigilance Casey would be impressed with. The choreography looked like it was invented by someone with too much coffee in their bloodstream, but Charlie moved well. Years of CIA agility drills translated alarmingly smoothly into cheer motions — high kicks, jumps, clean lines. The Larkin DNA helped too. By the end, Amber bounced over with a big smile.

“So… you’re in.” she said.

“What?” Charlie blinked. “Are there… results? Or a list?” Amber waved her hand.

“I am the list.” she said, slinging an arm around her shoulder.

“Practice starts tomorrow, so be ready. After classes. I’m so excited you joined!” Charlie exhaled. What had she gotten into?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chuck came to pick up Charlie again — despite her saying he didn’t have to.

“Good day?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said, cheeks pink. Casey was waiting in the courtyard when Chuck and Charlie got home, arms crossed, looking like a terrifying statue. Charlie let out a groan.

“Oh, come on. I literally just cheered for two hours. I also have homework.” she said. Casey didn’t blink.

“The country doesn’t wait for your biology paper, Larkin.” Chuck muttered to Charlie,

“I can’t save you.” Casey jerked his head toward the training room.

“Let’s go, Larkin.” Inside Castle, Casey tossed her the same rubber reflex ball he always used for warm-ups.

“Simple drill,” he said. “Don’t let it hit the ground.”

“Okay.”

“Blindfold.” Charlie stared at him like he had three heads.

“Why do you do this to me?” she asked, tying the blindfold around her head, trying to remind herself it was illegal to kill him.

“Bonding.” Chuck snorted. Casey glared at him too.

“Not with you.” Casey bounced the ball against the wall. Charlie hit it back every time. Casey watched her carefully, analyzing her movements and reactions. After a while he said, low:

“You meant it, didn’t you.” Charlie froze mid-step, hand in the air, tracking the ball by sound.

“Meant what?” she asked, neutral, guarded. She knew what he meant.

“What you said the other day.” Casey said. “That if you ever saw Donovan again, you would finish the job..”Chuck inhaled sharply from the corner. Charlie’s hand twitched — just for a second, before knocking the ball back with perfect precision.

“Yes,” she said simply. Casey didn’t say anything for a beat.

“What would you have used?” he asked. Chuck’s mouth dropped open.

“CASEY!” Casey ignored him. Charlie tilted her head as if thinking. She tossed the ball between her hands.

“Gunshot to the head,” she said flatly. “Quick. Clean. No trace. But painful.” Casey’s eyes flickered — approval and understanding, not judgment.

“Good,” he said. “Poison’s too slow.”

“Casey!” Chuck squeaked again. Charlie shrugged, impervious to Chuck’s shock.

“He deserved worse.” Charlie said. Not mean, not sad, just factual. As if she was talking about the weather. Casey grunted.

“Agree.” Then he threw the ball harder, twice as fast, and she still blocked it every time. After another minute, Casey snatched the ball mid-bounce.

“You’re done.” Charlie tugged her blindfold up, sweating, cheeks flushed.

“Finally,” she muttered. Casey studied her — actually studied her. He walked closer to her.

“Kid,” he said, voice lower, “you got instincts. You got strength. And you got reasons. But you need to make sure you don’t let your emotions control you.”Charlie nodded, understanding. Chuck exhaled loudly.

“Can we… maybe NOT talk about murder motivations during training?” Casey shrugged.

“Relax, Bartowski. It was hypothetical.” Chuck threw his hands up.

“That doesn’t make it better!” Casey rolled his eyes. They walked into the briefing room, Chuck still thinking about what she had said. Beckman appeared on screen again, startling them.

“We analyzed your footage,” she said. “ACHRON’s decoy maneuver? Not random. It signals hierarchical movement.” Chuck frowned.

“Meaning…?”

“Someone above last night’s contact has arrived in Los Angeles. Someone with clearance and influence.” Casey narrowed his eyes. Chuck felt a pit in his stomach.

“We’re working on it,” Beckman said. “Expect updates. In the meantime, be ready. We may need you.”The feed cut. Charlie stared ahead, expression blank. Chuck swallowed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chuck insisted on driving Charlie to school again. He insisted so loudly and enthusiastically that even Sarah, professional spy and expert interrogator, couldn’t figure out why he cared that much.
Charlie climbed into the passenger seat, still tying her shoe.

“You know that buses exist, right? You don’t have to drive me every day.” Charlie said.

“Today is a big day, I wanted to be there.” Chuck replied. Charlie raised an eyebrow.

“It’s Tuesday,” Charlie said, adjusting her backpack. “Nothing special.”

“Incorrect, little Charlotte. Today, today is your first day as a cheerleader.” he said, doing a small drumroll on the wheel. Charlie rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything. They pulled into the parking lot, and Charlie began to gather her things. Jason appeared, jogging over to the car with a wave. Chuck nearly stalled the car.

“Hey,” Jason said, leaning down to the open window. “Morning, Mr. Bartowski.”

“HELLO, JASON,” Chuck blurted at top volume. Charlie closed her eyes, sighing. She hopped out of the car, shutting the door behind her. Jason straightened up and gently tugged Charlie’s backpack strap.

“You ready? Want me to carry that?” he asked. Charlie grabbed it back. Chuck suppressed a smile, knowing Charlie had about six weapons in there, and was very worried about people finding out.

“No, I’ve got it.” she said.

“BYE CHARLIE! BE SAFE!” Chuck yelled, pulling out of the parking lot. Charlie rubbed her temples.

“Walk you to class?” Jason asked, smiling at her. Charlie cleared her throat.

“I walk fine.”she said bluntly.

“Cool. Me too! I’ll walk with you.” he said. Her face warmed. She hid it, thanking her spy life for giving her a fabulous poker face. Jason started chatting about… something, and the two began to walk into school, meeting up with the group.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The apartment was unusually quiet. Sarah had stayed behind to clean up the breakfast dishes, but she kept glancing at Charlie’s closed bedroom door. She didn’t mean to snoop. Truly. But it had been two weeks, and she hadn’t been inside. After a long moment, she exhaled, wiped her hands on a towel, and walked toward the door. She knocked out of habit, even though no one was inside. Then she pushed it open. The bed was made neatly, hospital corners, smoothed pillows, and a small stuffed animal tucked between the pillows, as if Charlie was hiding it. Her desk had neatly lined mechanical pencils, a brand-new school planner, and a small photo of three girls dressed in ski gear, smiling brightly, Charlie in the middle. On her nightstand sat a cheap friendship bracelet Piper must’ve made, frayed at the ends.

Sarah walked slowly, absorbing each piece. She saw the little Vermont family photo stuck into the mirror, and walked over to get a closer look. They were posed in front of their house, the three boys next to each other with their arms around each other’s shoulders. Taylor and Piper were standing in front of them, smiling brightly. Kneeling next to Taylor, smiling softly, was Charlie. Sarah’s throat tightened. She sat gently on the edge of Charlie’s bed, running a thumb over the stitching in the comforter. There was a photo partially tucked into the headboard of the bed. Sarah pulled it out, and looked. It was a little toddler, dressed in a red coat, holding up a tiny snowman. Behind her, a man with dark hair and familiar blue eyes knelt, looking at her with so much love. Bryce. She looked at the photo for a moment, smiling. Part of her was sad, thinking about the family she was never there for. A knock sounded at the door. She looked up to see Chuck, leaning against the frame. He raised his hand in a wave.

“You okay in here?” he asked. She nodded. Something caught her eye. On the shelf, carefully placed, a photo of Bryce and Sarah smiling, holding a piece of paper. Her ultrasound. Sarah froze. She stepped closer, her fingers hovering over the frame but not quite touching it. Chuck walked over and put his arm around her shoulders.

“She has that.” he said plainly, looking at the photo. Sarah nodded, still staring at it, at the person she was

“She kept it,” Sarah whispered. “I didn’t think she would have kept it.”

“It makes sense. He raised her those first years. She loved him. And… you’re her mom, Sarah. She’s trying. This shows that.” he said, smiling slightly. Sarah’s throat tightened and blinked back the emotion building in her eyes.

“She put it on the shelf,” Chuck added just as softly. “Not in a drawer, or thrown away. She wanted it where she could see it.” Sarah stared at the frame for a long moment.

“She never says anything about him,” Sarah murmured. “I mean, I don’t either, but she’s never even asked me any questions about him.” Chuck nodded.

“She will. When she’s ready. It hasn’t been that long.” Sarah swallowed hard.

“I just… I want her to know she wasn’t abandoned. That she was loved.” she said. Chuck gently touched her shoulder.

“She’ll know,” he said. “Because you’re here now, and you’re trying so hard with her. Even if she doesn’t show it, she sees it.” Sarah closed her eyes briefly, pulling in a shaky breath. She looked back at the room, at Charlie’s neat desk, at the sneakers, at the photos of her friends, at the picture.

“She’s building a life,” Sarah whispered. “With us in it.” She reached up and touched the frame lightly. Then she straightened the comforter on Charlie’s bed, smoothing it out with slow, thoughtful care. She stood, and followed Chuck out of the room, softly shutting the door. They walked back into the kitchen, Chuck taking a seat at the counter and Sarah pouring a cup of tea. Chuck cleared his throat.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked, a bit hesitantly. Sarah nodded.

“Of course.” she said, turning to face him. She had a feeling that whatever he was going to ask was going to be a heavy question.

“I know Bryce asked you to run away with him. I thought you didn’t leave because of me, but if you knew he had Charlie, why didn’t you go? After he died, why didn’t you leave to find Charlie?” Sarah took a deep breath, leaning against the counter. Chuck got up and walked over to her, taking her hand.

“I’m not judging you, I’m just still trying to put all the pieces together. That’s all.” he said. She nodded.

“When I left her with Bryce, we came up with a plan. If anything happened to him, she would go to a family member he trusted, someone who wasn’t in the spy life. I told him to never tell me the name of the person he left her with, so it couldn’t be tortured out of me, and no one could ever find her. All I knew was that the person was on Roosevelt Island, in New York. I don’t know when Charlie went to Vermont, or anything like that.” she explained. Chuck nodded.

“And why I didn’t go with Bryce… It's complicated.” she said. Chuck waited for her to continue.

“If I went off with Bryce, I would be leaving you. But if I didn’t go with him, I was leaving my baby. I was going to go with him, but then I thought about it. If I went, Charlie’s life would never be the same. Bryce had a good cover, where he lived. Charlie had a good cover. They had lots of protection. If I went, the chances someone would find them would get higher. I couldn’t risk it, not for either of them. Bryce always wanted us to be a family, but I knew it was never possible. Not the way he wanted.” Tears fell as she talked, her voice shaking. Chuck wrapped his arm around her, kissing the top of her head.

“It's okay." He said. Sarah wiped her face, tucking her hair behind her ears in a very Charlie fashion. She took a deep breath.

"Bryce is never an easy subject for me to talk about. I know you know that." She said. Chuck nodded.

"I know. He's hard for all of us. I wish he was still around, I have about a million questions to ask him, not even just about Charlie. All we can do now, is move forward, you know." he said. Sarah nodded.

"You're right." she said. "I just think I'll always feel guilty for not going back with him." Chuck's throat tightened.

"That's probably true. You can't change the past though, you can only be there for Charlie in the future." he said. Sarah smiled at him, kissing him on the cheek as a thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cheer practice at Burbank Prep was a monster. It looked like CIA training, but with significantly more color. And glitter. Seriously, Charlie felt like she was inhaling it. Amber ran the squad like a commander, instructing people through a loud megaphone.

“Charlie! FRONT ROW!” Amber called to her, pointing to the front row. Charlie gulped.

“Front row?”

“Front. Row.” Amber snapped her fingers. The music blasted. Amber shouted counts. Charlie jumped, turned, kicked, landed, on par with the squad, even though she’d never even tried any of it before. Her CIA agility and good memory definitely helped, but she also felt weirdly strongly about not disappointing these people. Amber clapped.

“YES! Great work ladies! Keep it up!” she yelled, high fiving one of the girls. Charlie caught herself smiling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After practice, Charlie gathered her things and started to walk up, when Amber stopped her.

“Charlie!” she flung an arm over Charlie’s shoulders, squeezing her. “You did amazing today. You’re a natural, truly. Good work!” she said. Charlie laughed, and walked out of the gym. She noticed Jason leaning against the wall outside the gym, backpack over one shoulder, hair still damp from football drills.

“Oh, hey.“ she said, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

“Hey,” he said back, smiling warmly.

“You waiting for Amber?” she asked, hoisting her bag higher on her shoulder.

“No, I was waiting for you,” he replied cheerfully. Her face warmed instantly. Great.

“I can walk you home,” he offered. “If you want. You’re at that apartment, right? With the fountain?” Charlie nodded.

“I’m right by there.” he said, smiling. She nodded.

“Okay.” She followed him out of the building.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They walked side by side through the sunny Burbank streets, making small talk. Jason kept sneaking glances at her like he thought she didn’t notice.

“So,” he said. “You joined cheer.” she nodded. Jason smiled at her, that warm, genuine smile that made her so confused.

“Amber’s been talking about it nonstop.” he added.

“That tracks.” Jason grinned. Charlie kicked a pebble out of her path. They walked a little longer, Then Jason asked quietly:

“Hey, you doing okay? Like with the new school and everything?.” Charlie’s throat tightened a little. She shrugged.

“I’m still figuring it out, I guess. It’s definitely a lot.” she said, looking down.

“Well if you ever need someone to talk to,” he said, “or someone to walk you home, or study biology stuff—”

“Jason,” she said, flustered. She stopped walking.

“You don’t have to do all that.” she said, putting her hands up in front of her, almost like a shield.

“I don’t mind.” he said gently, nudging her shoulder.

“Actually, I kinda like it. You’re a cool person, Charlie.” Charlie’s stomach flipped over itself.

“Oh,” she said, which was as good as she could get. He smiled at her like he understood. For some reason, she believed he would understand, even if her life wasn’t understandable. They reached the courtyard of her apartment complex. He stopped at the gate, pointing at it with his thumb.

“This you?” he asked. She nodded, opening the gate.

“Hey, I'll See you tomorrow?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Charlie said. He waved and jogged off, turning to smile once more before disappearing around the corner. She took a deep breath, stifled a scream, and walked into the courtyard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dinner that night was lively, unexpectedly so. Chuck made pasta and garlic bread, Sarah made salad. Charlie actually talked a bit about school. Someone knocked at the door. Chuck got up and opened it to see Casey. Chuck grinned.

“So you accepted my dinner invite.” he said, gloating. Casey growled.

“My oven is broken, Bartowski,” he grunted. Chuck mouthed “lies”. Sarah snickered. Casey sat next to Charlie, looking over at her. He stabbed a forkful of pasta.

“So Casey,” Charlie asked, looking up at him. He grunted.

“Larkin junior.”

“I read your file,” she said casually, eating a noodle. “All of it.” Casey looked over at her with a raised eyebrow, Chuck dropped his fork, Sarah stiffened. Charlie continued:

“You shot my dad.” Silence hit the table like a dropped weight. Chuck choked. Casey nodded, not shocked in the slightest.

“I did,” he said. “I had my orders.” Charlie nodded slowly, not fully convinced.

“I thought he was a traitor. He wasn’t. And he lived. Annoyingly.” he said. Sarah took several large gulps of wine while Chuck made slashing motions across his neck at Casey.

“Not after being detained for a year.” Charlie muttered. Casey leaned forward.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Casey, maybe—” Casey, shockingly, ignored Chuck, who was beginning to get worried his step-daughter was going to shoot his partner at the dinner table.

“Larkin, I had my orders. Your father was an annoyingly cocky moron, but I wouldn’t have shot him just because of that. Even though I did think about it.” he said. Charlie looked up at him, giving him a look. She thought for a moment, then nodded.

“Okay. I wasn’t like, mad, or anything. Just curious.” she said. “But just know, every time you try to torture me, I will bring that up. ” Casey studied her for a long beat. Then he grunted.

“Okay.” Everyone else at the table went back to eating like nothing happened. Chuck exhaled like he’d just survived water torture.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later, in the living room, Chuck paced.

“I mean—Charlie could’ve maybe waited until dessert? Or NEVER??” Sarah sat on the couch, calm.

“She’s fifteen, Chuck. Fifteen year olds aren’t exactly known for their tact. Plus, she was curious.” she said.

“But bluntly pointing it out? Very awkward dinner conversation, don’t you think?” Chuck asked, whipping around to see Sarah.

“Yes, I know, not tactful. But Charlie’s a spy, she’s going to ask things directly. And Casey’s used to questions like that, you said you asked him about Bryce when you met him.” Sarah said softly. Chuck sat down, deflated.

“I just… it makes me so sad that she can talk about stuff like that so normally. Like it doesn’t even affect her.” Sarah nodded.

“I know, but that’s something we can work on with her. It’s going to take time.” They both looked toward Charlie’s room. Music was playing, and a soft light was on. The door was open just a crack, as she’d been doing since she got there. Sarah leaned her head on Chuck’s shoulder.

“We’re doing okay,” she said. Chuck believed her. Mostly.

Chapter Text

Chuck had decided he should “play it cool” this morning. Apparently, playing it cool meant parking crooked, waving at Charlie before she got out of the car, and yelling that she and her friends should have a “Cheerfully educational day,” which is not something normal people said. Charlie gave him that look — that patented teen “you’re weird, please stop embarrassing me,” look. At the entrance, Amber spotted Charlie and shrieked happily. Chuck saluted her from the car window. She pretended not to see. Amber waved happily.

“Charlie!” Chuck yelled. Charlie turned slowly.

“Yes?”

“Could you possibly walk to the buy-more after school? I have to work late.” he said apologetically. Charlie gave him a thumbs up. He grinned.

“I’ll take it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cheer practice ran long, and Charlie was feeling the impacts of Casey training and cheer. Everything hurts. When practice ended, most of the girls drifted toward the gym lockers. Jason was waiting beside the double doors again. He grinned when she saw him.

“Survived practice?” he asked.

“Barely,” she said, smiling slightly. Jason stepped closer.

“Walk you to the Buy More?” Charlie blinked.

“Huh?”

“You mentioned meeting Chuck there after school, and I need to get some batteries for my mom, so I thought I’d walk you.” He shrugged awkwardly. “If that’s okay.”

“Oh.” She adjusted her strap. “Yeah. Okay.” They started down the sidewalk together, shoulders bumping.

“So,” Jason asked lightly, “you’re from Vermont?”

“That’s what they say.”

“Was it cool there? Like snow and stuff?” Charlie laughed.

“Yes, Jason. Vermont has snow.” He nudged her shoulder.

“I’m trying to make conversation.” She smirked.

“Try harder.” He pretended to be wounded, dramatically clutching his heart.

“Wow. Okay. Brutal.” She rolled her eyes but her ears were faintly pink, betraying her true feelings.

“So you lived with your foster family a long time?” he asked gently.

“Yeah, since I was three.” She shoved her hands in her pockets. “It was good. Really good. I had five siblings.” Jason lit up.

“Whoa. That’s a lot.”

“Yeah. Three thirteen year old boys — Austin, Leo, Matt. And two girls, Piper and Taylor.” she said, smiling a bit.

“Do you miss them?” he asked.

“Every single day.” she said, more sincerely than she’d intended. Jason nodded, softening.

“You can tell me about them sometime. If you want.” Charlie looked away, trying to hide a tiny smile.

“Are you going to ask about them until I tell you?” she asked. Jason blushed.

“...maybe.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The automatic doors opened with a cheerful ding, and the teens were greeted with the bright lights of the Buy More. Morgan screamed from across the store:

“CHUCK, YOUR KID IS HERE—HI CHARLOTTE LARKIN!” Jason blinked.

“…He knows your entire name?” Charlie sighed. “Yes. I don't know why he's screaming it.” she said, regretting this immediately. Jeff popped up behind a shelf, staring at them. Charlie raised an eyebrow.

“New girl.” he commented. Jason tried (and failed) to stifle a laugh. Lester slid into view. He circled around her, looking her up and down.

“Quiet aura. Mysterious. Very Wednesday Addams.” Charlie blinked.

“Who?” Lester gasped.

“We’ll work on it.” Big Mike lumbered out of the break room, donut in hand.

“This her? The niece or cousin or whatever?” Jason whispered,

“Do you need help?”

“Probably.” Charlie admitted. Morgan ran over, skidding to a stop, big smile on his face.

“So!” he said excitedly. “How’s Vermont? Beautiful this time of year? Foliage? Maple syrup? Moose?” Jason laughed.

“Why would I ever leave.” Charlie deadpanned. Morgan nodded sympathetically, not picking up Charlie's sarcasm.

“Right. Right. City life is hard.” Charlie stared at him.

“Morgan, can I ask you something?” he nodded. “What is with you and mooses? This is like the third time you’ve asked me about them.” Morgan opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by Chuck, who had decided that Charlie had suffered long enough at the hands of the Buy-Morons.

“Oh hey!” Chuck beamed. “Who’s this?” he asked, motioning to Jason, pretending that he didn’t rant about him to Sarah for the past four days.

“Chuck,” Charlie hissed. Jason stepped forward, polite, holding his hand out for a handshake.

“Hey, Mr. Larkin. I’m Jason.” Chuck blinked. Charlie cleared her throat, and whispered to Jason.

“Not Larkin. Bartowski.” Jason flushed a bit.

“Sorry, Mr. Bartowski.” Chuck grinned, widely.

“Don’t worry about it! You have manners!” He turned to Charlie. “He has manners!” Charlie glared at him, begging him to shut up. Chuck cleared his throat.

“Right. Cool. Um. Thanks for walking her here?” Jason shrugged.

“Yeah. Anytime. Charlie’s the best.” Charlie’s ears turned pink. Chuck felt seventeen emotions at once.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charlie returned home and barely had time to drop her backpack before Casey barked:

“Training room. Now.” She groaned.

“Seriously? I just—”

“Now.” Charlie let out a quiet stream of swear words that would not only shock a sailor, but would make Bryce Larkin very proud. Casey had her doing a moving obstacle dodge drill, precision throws, footwork corrections, balance tests, and a new “reaction drill” using tennis balls that Charlie was pretty sure was illegal. She was sweating, hair sticking to her forehead.
Casey stood back, arms crossed.

“You’re improving.” Charlie blinked, a slow grin covering her face.

“…Was that a compliment?”

“No.”

“It sounded like—”

“It wasn’t.”

“Thanks, Casey.” Casey grunted. Which, from him, meant thanks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Bartowski-Larkin clan stood on Ellie's doorstep for a mandatory family dinner. Charlie picked at the sleeves of her sweater nervously. Chuck knocked. Ellie answered the door with an excited smile.

“Charlie!” Charlie blinked as she was swept into a hug before she could escape.

“We’re so glad you came.” Awesome appeared behind Ellie, holding Clara, who pointed at Charlie with a big smile.

“Welcome, little Charlie!” he boomed. Charlie stared at him. Ellie ushered everyone in, talking excitedly.

“I made lasagna, salad, and garlic bread! I made another lasagna because Devon said one wasn’t enough, so I hope we have enough food.” she said, smiling brightly. Awesome nodded proudly.

“It’s awesome.” Charlie sat between Chuck and Sarah, looking at Chuck for instructions. Clara scooted her chair in between Charlie and Sarah, making sure to be right next to her. Charlie smiled softly. Ellie started immediately.

“So! School! How is it? Do you like your classes? Your teachers? Your social life? Any new friends??” Charlie glanced at Sarah for help. Sarah gave her a nod.

“It’s… good,” Charlie said. “Cheer practice is intense, I like my classes, and I have friends.” she said. Ellie smiled.

“I love that you’re a cheerleader! Do you have any games soon?” Charlie blinked.

“Uh, yeah. We have one on Friday." she said. Awesome smiled.

“We’ll be there!” he said. Charlie swallowed hard, flushing a bit from all the attention. Ellie leaned closer to her, smiling invitingly.

“You said you made friends, how are they?” she asked.

“Good,” Charlie said. “They’re good.” Chuck perked up slightly.

“Oh! Speaking of that — Jason—” Sarah kicked him under the table.

“Ow—right,” he said. “Shutting up.” Charlie’s ears were turning red. Ellie’s eyes sparkled.

“Oooh. Jason.” Charlie said, a slightly confused look on her face.

“He’s just a friend.” Ellie smiled knowingly.

“Sure.” Sarah shot her a look: Don’t scare her. Ellie held up her hands.

“Okay, okay.” Clara tapped Charlie on the shoulder. She leaned down to be able to hear her question.

“Do you like unicorns?” she asked. Charlie nodded.

“They’re cool.” she said. Clara gasped excitedly. She grabbed Charlie’s hand and dragged her off to her room, most likely to show her a multitude of unicorns and toys. Ellie’s expression softened.

“She's really good with kids.” Ellie commented, talking to Sarah. Sarah smiled.

“She had those siblings in Vermont. She really loved them.” she said. Chuck looked down.

“So,” Ellie said. “How has it been with you guys? Tell me everything.” Chuck panicked instantly.

“Everything? Like—everything everything? Because that’s a lot.” Sarah, calm as always, squeezed his knee under the table. Awesome leaned back, arms crossed, smiling gently.

“She seems like a great kid.” Ellie nodded in agreement.

“She’s wonderful. Sweet. Polite. Quiet, but not in a sad way. Just… careful.” Sarah’s expression softened.

“She’s still figuring out how much space she’s allowed to take up.” she said. Ellie sighed.

“I can see that. But she lights up around Clara. And you said she has good friends,” Ellie smiled brightly. “Chuck, she’s doing great.”Chuck swallowed. His emotions were convoluted. .

“I just want her to feel safe,” he said quietly. “I want her to feel at home here, that this is her life now. That she has people.” Ellie reached over and squeezed his hand.

“You’re doing that,” she said. “You and Sarah both.” Sarah’s eyes softened. Awesome nodded.

“Kids pick up on stability. She feels it here, You can tell.” Ellie lowered her voice, glancing toward the stairs, where Charlie had disappeared with Clara.

“She trusts you,” Ellie said. “She wouldn’t still be here if she didn’t.” Sarah exhaled — a long, subtle release of breath she didn’t even know she was holding. Chuck sat back, absorbing it. Awesome smiled.

“You guys are a family. You can see it from the doorway.” Chuck blinked rapidly.

“Wow. That’s… nope, I’m not crying, that’s allergies.” Sarah gave him a small smile, and squeezed his knee. Chuck wiped his eyes.

“Who wants dessert?”

Chapter Text

It was game day, the big day that the Bartowski-Walker-Larkin house had been waiting for. A flurry of loud knocks sounded at the door. Sarah put her book down, eyebrow raised in a perfect arch. Chuck opened the door to see Amber Riley, blond hair pulled into an incredibly tight ponytail, almost vibrating with excitement.

“I NEED CHARLIE RIGHT NOW,” She declared, bouncing up on the balls of her feet. Chuck blinked.

“Um. Hi Amber.” Amber waved at him, and walked past into the apartment.

“Hi Mr. Bartowski! Where’s Charlie?” Sarah stood up and smiled.

“Charlie’s in her room. Go ahead. First door on the left.”Amber zipped down the hall like she owned the place. They heard an excited squeal from the room that was most definitely not Charlie. Sarah smiled again, leaning against Chuck.

“I like Amber. She’s good for Charlie. Very outgoing,” she said. Chuck nodded.

“She scares me.” he said.

“MISS WALKER!” Sarah whipped around to see Amber standing on the stairs, holding a large tote bag.

"Can you come help us? Charlie’s not letting me do anything fun.” Sarah stifled a laugh, and followed Amber into Charlie’s room. Charlie was sitting on the bed, staring at the pile of stuff Amber had dumped out. Three hairbrushes, a curling wand, multiple ribbons, a small makeup bag, glitter spray, emergency deodorant, emergency extra deodorant, fruit snacks and a large tub of gel. She looked overwhelmed. Sarah stifled a laugh. Amber began brushing Charlie’s hair with military precision.

“So,” Amber said. “We all do ponytails, but you have thick hair, so I need to use gel, and a lot of it. Also, I have four different colors of eyeliner, lash clusters, liquid highlighter, not liquid highlighter, and six lip glosses. ” Charlie raised an eyebrow, and then looked at her own makeup drawer, which did have six different mascaras (each had a different purpose), but other than that, only concealer, a small blush palate, a dual highlighter and contour stick (that she was actually quite proud of) and a small black eyeliner pen. Sarah laughed slightly.

“How about we keep the makeup light? She’s new to the squad.” Amber nodded thoughtfully.

“True. Plus, you have sensitive skin.” Amber pulled Charlie’s hair into a tight ponytail, as Sarah carefully helped slick it back. Charlie put on her makeup with artistic precision, wiping off the excess glitter on her nose and curling her eyelashes for what seemed like the thousandth time.

“Okay Charlie, tilt.” Charlie tilted. Amber aggressively spritzed glitter into the air. Sarah gently grabbed the bottle before Amber turned her into a Charlie shaped disco ball.

“Maybe… less glitter?” she suggested. Amber sighed but relented.

“Fine.” Sarah carefully adjusted the ribbon in Charlie’s hair.

“There,” Sarah said. “That’s better.” Charlie looked in the mirror. She smiled — small at first, then real. Amber squealed.

“You have such a pretty smile! This is gonna be so fun.” From the hallway, Chuck made a distressed sound.

“No smiling! Stop making her smile, she’s growing up too fast!” Charlie rolled her eyes, badly hiding a giggle. Sarah leaned out the door.

“Chuck, relax.”

“I AM RELAXED,” he lied. Charlie adjusted her skirt and looked in the mirror, rubbing some excess powder off her cheek.

"New to makeup?" Amber asked, flopping down on Charlie's bed. Charlie shook her head.

"No, I wear it every day. I just never wore a ton, mostly because I couldn't really afford more than the drugstore basics. you know, mascara, concealer, that stuff. My sister got me eyeliner for my birthday last year, so that was the first new thing I added in like, years." She said. Sarah smiled softly.

"If you want more, we can always go get some." She offered. "Maybe you and I could go together," Sarah said. Charlie smiled at her.

"I'd like that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amber dragged Charlie to school early to hang out with some of the other cheer girls. A small group circled around Charlie, full of energy, talking all at the same time. Charlie shifted awkwardly, touching her hair. One girl, Lila, grinned.

“Don’t stress. The first game’s always chaotic. Just follow Amber. You’ll do great.” Amber slung an arm around Charlie.

“You’re amazing! Don’t doubt yourself, you got this, Char.” Charlie raised an eyebrow.

“Char?” Amber shrugged.

“New nickname.”

“Okay.” she said. Amber dragged her off to the gym for warmups. Charlie looked at her reflection quick, and couldn’t help but smile. For once, she felt like a normal kid. It was cool. Even if she was already getting a headache from the very tight ponytail.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As cheer warm-ups finished, Charlie stepped outside to breathe, feeling a bit claustrophobic in the loud gym. Jason was leaning against the wall, helmet in hand, fidgeting with a small braided bracelet on his wrist. He looked up immediately.

“There you are.” he said. Charlie blinked.

“Here I am.” She waited a second, thinking about her next move. “Were you looking for me?” she asked, tilting her head. He laughed, nodding.

“Yeah, I wanted to see you before the game,” He said, stepping closer.

“You uh, you look really nice. I like the uniform.” he teased. Charlie rolled her eyes.

“Please stop.” she said. Jason laughed.

“Okay, okay. I’ll rephrase. You look happy. It’s nice to see you smiling.” Charlie shifted her weight.

“I guess. Amber made me wear lip gloss, so that’s probably part of it. Makes me smiley.” Jason nodded, acting all serious.

“Probably.” Charlie looked down at her feet, then back up at him. His cheeks were pink. She laughed a bit at that. He grinned.

“Walk out with me?” She hesitated, then nodded. He walked her back toward the field slowly.

“Your family coming?” he asked. She groaned.

“I guess. I’m actually a little nervous.” she admitted, tugging on the ends of her sleeves. He put a hand on her shoulder.
“
You’re gonna be great, don’t worry.” he said. He hesitated a bit, like he wanted to say something.

“Well, I gotta go. I’ll see you. Good luck!” he said, running off. Charlie waved and turned back to the gym to see Amber standing at the gate, giant smile on her face. Charlie scowled, throwing a nearby rock at her. Amber dodged it, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Shut up.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By kickoff, the stands were packed. Ellie, Awesome, and little Clara sat with Chuck and Sarah. Clara had somehow gotten hold of a foam finger (probably Awesome’s) and Chuck excitedly looked around for Charlie, holding out his phone to video the minute she stepped out on to the field. Ellie shot him a knowing look.

“You've really committed to this whole dad thing," she teased. Chuck sputtered.

"No! No, this is for.. research! Research on the habits of ex assassin teenagers." He said. Sarah elbowed him in the ribs. The football and cheer teams ran out, waving at the crowd. The student section screamed loudly. Chuck overpowered them.

“THAT’S OUR...PERSON WE CARE ABOUT A LOT BUT ARE STILL FIGURING OUT THE LABELS FOR!” Chuck screamed. Sarah clapped and cheered next to him. Charlie looked like she was hoping a lightning bolt could come and kill her right then. Sarah hid a laugh.

“I hate my life.” Charlie muttered. She did not look like she hated her life. Amber laughed at her, then waved to Chuck and Sarah. Jason, across the field, caught her eye and gave her a big smile, waving. Charlie looked away quickly. She took her position and raised her hands, perfectly in formation. Sarah gave her a thumbs up. Charlie couldn’t fight back her smile and gave Sarah a small wave. Ellie elbowed her gently.

"She waved!" she said. Sarah smiled. Once the game started, Chuck was reminded of exactly how little he knew about football. Not that he was really paying attention to the game. All his attention was on Charlie. She was smiling brightly, hair messy, nailing each complicated move. Sarah was staring too, a smile on her face that looked a bit sad. Chuck nudged her gently.

"Something wrong?" He asked. Sarah shook her head, leaning on him a little.

"No, not at all. I was just thinking." She said. Chuck raised an eyebrow. Sarah laughed a bit.

"She looks like Bryce. That's all." She said. Chuck looked. She totally did. Chuck had gone to tons of Bryce's gymnastics meets back at Stanford, so many that he could probably perform Bryce's routine, although extremely badly. Charlie's smile, her confident movements, the way his eyes were just naturally drawn to her. He laughed lightly.

"She does." He said. "But she also looks like you." Sarah looked surprised.

"Really?"

"Totally. She's the most focused person out there." Chuck said. Sarah laughed.

"She is." The noise of the crowds brought them back out of their own little world. Number 87, who Chuck was pretty sure was Charlie's friend Rex, had just scored a touchdown, and was jumping around in a circle. Chuck saw Charlie and Amber laughing hysterically. The whistle sounded for halftime, and the football players went running to their bench, jumping and cheering, taking off their gear. Jason waved to Charlie and Amber as he was running over. Rex make a dick sucking motion (Which Charlie returned with an equally vulgar motion that Chuck was NOT happy about). The cheer squad took a water break near the gym, and Charlie walked out to find Chuck and Sarah. Sarah met up with her at the gate.

“Hey! You’re doing great!” Sarah said, handing her a granola bar. Charlie immediately shoved it in her mouth, clearly starving. She swallowed her massive bite and said,

“Thank you.” Chuck waved at them from the nacho line. Clara had convinced him to get her nachos, and Chuck was a sucker to puppy eyes. So he had basically run over to the line, and knocked over some unhappy person. Charlie waved back, smiling. Her smile faltered as she spotted it. A man slipping quietly down the hall near the storage rooms, his movements too quiet and too controlled. Sarah’s eyes narrowed.

“That’s not a parent.” Charlie nodded.

“Should we-?”

“Probably,” Sarah whispered. Charlie placed her water bottle back in her bag.

"Let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The hallway was dimly lit by the lights outside the windows. The man moved with precision, quietly, and sticking to shadows. Charlie and Sarah tailed him quietly. They stuck close to the far wall, making sure to stay unnoticed. As he passed the science lab, Sarah motioned to Charlie. Charlie nodded. She snuck up closer behind him, and grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm up his back. He yelled, trying to turn. Sarah swept his legs out from under him, swiftly pinning him down. he flipped Sarah over, pinning his arm against her neck. She struggled, kicking up. Suddenly, he passed out, going completely limp. Sarah shoved him off her to see Charlie, holding a tranq gun. Sarah stood up. she narrowed her eyes.

"Where did you get that?" she asked. Charlie wasn't allowed to have any guns at school, only various knives and they had to be in a locked case in her backpack. Charlie smiled sheepishly.

"Chuck." She said. Sarah stared.

"You stole it?" She asked, wondering if grounding children actually does anything or if it's just bullshit. Charlie shook her head.

"No, not technically. he left it on his seat in the herder, and I remembered it." She said. The loud horn rang upstairs, signaling the beginning of the second half. Charlie swore. Sarah sighed, and waved her hands.

“Go. I'll call Casey, he can help me with this. But you will be punished." Sarah said. Her threat did not sound convincing. Charlie tried to hide a laugh, before running up through the tunnel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The game ended in a roar. Burbank Prep won by two touchdowns, and the whole student section exploded into cheers. The marching band was blasting something vaguely victorious, cheerleaders were jumping up and down with excitement, players were fist-bumping, and the bleachers were shaking with noise. Amber caught Charlie in a hug before she could escape, grinning and laughing.

“You did so good!” she had said, clapping her on the back. Charlie smiled, adjusting her hair. She walked over to the fence to grab her water, before hearing someone yell to her.

“Charlie!” She turned to see Jason running over from the field, taking off his helmet. his hair was messy and sweaty, and he was grinning. Rex was behind him, yelling to Amber and their other friends.
Jason stopped in front of her. Charlie stepped back.

"You did great tonight." He said. Charlie shuffled her feet.

“I was just doing the same thing everyone else was,” she said, shrugging in a way she hoped was nonchalant.

“Yeah,” Jason said, “but it was still great.” He said. Charlie smiled. Jason rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. A loud squeal sounded behind them, making Jason jump.

“OH. MY. GOD.” Charlie closed her eyes and prayed that this wasn’t actually happening. Amber gasped, materializing out of thin air with TJ and Delia at her side. Jason’s ears turned bright red.

“What do we have here?” TJ asked, lightly shoving Charlie’s arm. Delia snickered. Charlie shot them both a glare that looked very reminiscent of Sarah Walker.

“Stop speaking.” Amber took one look at Jason’s blush, squealed, and almost tackled TJ in excitement. Jason rubbed the back of his neck and leaned in a bit so only Charlie could hear, not their excited friends who were currently debating whether or not Rex shaving his head would make him more aerodynamic.

“Hey, so I was actually looking for you,” he said. “That’s why I came down so fast. I wanted to talk to you, like, before our crazy friends came over.” Charlie furrowed her eyebrows. Clearly, he was an enemy who wanted to kill her. That was the only possible explanation. It would explain the weird knot feeling she had in her stomach right now.

“Oh,” she said, very eloquently. Totally in line with a super intelligent, skilled government agent. Jason chuckled.

“Do you… wanna walk with me? I mean—just to the gate. I figured your family’s here. I haven't met them yet, and you don't talk about them much, so I guess I wanted to meet them." Charlie nodded slowly. She swallowed hard, reminding herself that she had been in much more terrifying situations than this.

“Okay,” she said softly. Jason’s smile widened to something very real and warm. He stepped closer to her, casually letting his hand brush hers as they started walking through the crowd. Charlie tried to pretend she didn’t notice that. Amber did not pretend at all. She grabbed TJ and whispered loudly enough for the universe to hear:

“THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE.” Charlie turned around to shoot her the patented Charlotte Larkin look, but it did nothing. She just gave Charlie a big thumbs up. TJ laughed. Charlie turned back around just in time to see Clara sprinting at her with the determination of a bull looking at a stop sign factory. (I don’t know)

“Clara!” Charlie laughed, bending down to grab the preschooler and pull her into her arms. Charlie straightened up with a smile, and Clara wrapped her arms around her neck, kissing her cheek.

“You are SPARKLY,” Clara announced happily. Charlie choked on a laugh.

“Thanks, girly.” A wide smile appeared on Jason’s face as he watched Charlie giggle with Clara. Behind Clara the rest of the family came into view, smiling and waving. Amber snuck up behind Charlie and whispered,

“Your family looks like a sitcom. Also, your mom is ridiculously hot, I forgot to tell you earlier.” Charlie gave her a weird look.

“Please never say that again.” She turned back to Jason, motioning for him to walk with her. Jason’s smile widened just slightly. He kept pace beside her as she carried Clara. As they approached the family, Chuck’s eyes widened and he immediately began to panic.

“Sarah, why is he coming over? Why is he with her? Why does she want to be around a boy this long? Oh my god do we have to give her the talk—Jason! Hi! Hello! Jason! AGAIN! Nice game!” It came out at three different volumes. Charlie looked like she wanted to murder everyone in the room and then herself. Jason smiled politely, ignoring Chuck’s freakout.

“Thanks, Mr. Bartowski.” Ellie smiled at him, telling him he did a good job. Awesome gave Jason a fist bump before Jason even extended a hand. Sarah offered a polite smile and shook his hand. Chuck hovered close to Charlie like he thought Jason was going to grab her and run away. Clara tugged Charlie’s ponytail.

“Is this your friend?” she asked loudly. Jason grinned.

“Uh… yeah. I’m Jason.” Clara nodded approvingly.

“You have nice hair.” Charlie snorted, causing Sarah to raise her eyebrows in surprise, unaware her normally poised daughter could make that noise. Jason looked deeply honored by the compliment. Chuck cleared his throat very loudly.

“So. Jason. Football’s… a sport. Good. I was never a sports person myself, but I enjoyed a good sports-wait-” Sarah placed a hand on his arm before he spiraled. Jason smiled politely, then looked at Charlie.

“See you soon?”

“Yeah. See you.” He jogged back toward his team, and as soon as he was out of earshot, Amber grabbed Charlie’s arm.

“He’s into you,” she whispered. Charlie ignored her. That was not a thought she was even going to encourage. She walked back over to Chuck and Sarah, who were waiting by the gate for her. Chuck grinned widely, pointing at her.

"Charlie! Cheerleader extraordinaire! You did incredible tonight kiddo." He said. Charlie shot him a small smile.

"Thanks." Sarah handed her a pack of Reese's peanut butter cups. Charlie looked up at her, surprised. Sarah shrugged.

"They were your dad's favorite. I had a hunch." She said. Charlie smiled.

"Thank you." They walked towards the car, Charlie quietly eating her candy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The apartment was dark except for the soft blue glow of the TV, playing some old sci-fi rerun Chuck wasn’t really watching. He wasn’t even looking at the screen, just blankly down at his hands, lost in his head. He hadn’t been able to sleep, thinking about how to be there for a kid that barely knew him or any form of normalcy, whose father was the most complicated figure in his life. He didn’t hear Charlie at first, until the fridge door opened. He turned to see her standing in the kitchen holding a glass of water, dressed in a pair of pj pants with little bears on them and an old sweatshirt. He swallowed.

“…You’re awake too?” she asked quietly, her voice small. Chuck was a bit surprised how young she sounded.

“Yeah,” he said, sitting up a little. “Couldn’t sleep. You okay?” She hesitated before walking closer, moving like she wasn’t sure if she was allowed to. Chuck lifted the blanket a little in silent invitation. Charlie sat on the other end of the couch, hugging her knees.

“It was loud tonight,” she explained. “The game. I enjoyed it, but it was like…kind of a lot. It feels like my brain doesn’t know what to do with that kind of noise.” Chuck nodded gently.

“I get it. I really do.” Charlie stared at the dark TV screen, her reflection warped in the blue light.

“I keep thinking about how if I’d been less-” she paused, searching for words. “-Busy in Vermont, I would have gone to so many. I felt like…unprepared.” Chuck’s chest tightened.

“I’m so sorry, Charlie,” he said immediately. She nodded slowly, like she didn't really know what to say. After a long moment, she whispered,

“Did you know him?” Chuck blinked.

“Who?”

“My dad.”
She said it plainly, without a stutter or a flinch, but she sounded softer. Sadder. Chuck froze just with the weight of the question, heart clenching like it always did when he thought of Bryce. He exhaled slowly.

“Yeah. Okay. Um… yeah. I knew your dad pretty well.” Charlie shifted, giving him her full attention. Chuck gathered his thoughts, well aware that Bryce Larkin was not a simple story. Definitely not an easy one to explain to the daughter he never knew Bryce had.

“He was my roommate,” Chuck began. “At Stanford. He was the guy who pulled me out of my shell and dragged me to parties and made me watch terrible action movies at two in the morning.”
Charlie’s brows raised slightly, surprised. She looked a little curious.

“He was… intense,” Chuck said with a small laugh. “He had this energy to him. Like he was always five steps ahead of everyone else in the room and maybe a tiny bit too proud of that.”

“That sounds familiar,” Charlie muttered, a bit sarcastically. Chuck smiled.

“Yeah. You’ve got a lot of him in you. The intelligence. The instinct. The way you can read people without even trying.” Charlie looked down, unsure what to do with that. Chuck continued, sighing a bit.

“Bryce was also loyal. Really loyal. He was the kind of friend who would show up at 3 a.m. with pizza because you sounded sad on the phone. Charlie listened carefully, brow furrowed. She could tell that there was more to the story.

“And then?” she asked quietly. Chuck felt the familiar punch in his ribcage.

“And then he got me expelled.” Charlie stiffened, eyes widening. She turned fully towards him.

“What?”

“Yeah,” Chuck said softly. “He betrayed me. Or…I thought he did. For years. I thought he’d blown up my life because he didn’t believe in me. Or because I wasn’t good enough.” He swallowed. “We didn’t talk after that. Not for a long time. Not until he showed up years later in Burbank.” A long silence passed.

“He did it to protect you, right?” Charlie asked finally. “That’s what the file said. That you were… chosen for something, and he didn't want you to do it, so he got you kicked out.” Chuck nodded.

“Yeah. He didn’t tell me. He didn’t give me a choice. But he did it because he thought it was the only way to keep me alive.” He smiled sadly. “That was Bryce. He’d jump in front of a bullet without ever asking if you wanted him to.” Charlie looked down at her hands.

“He died protecting you guys, right?” she asked, voice shaky. Chuck felt that sting in his throat, the one he always felt when thinking about Bryce and his final moments in the cold white room.

“Yeah,” Chuck whispered. “He died a hero. And as much as he frustrated me, as much as he hurt me, I owe him my life. More than once.” Charlie took a shaky breath.

“Do you hate him?” She asked quietly, staring at her hands. Chuck stared at her.

“No,” he whispered. “I could never hate Bryce. I was angry, yeah, but he wasn’t a bad person. He was a complicated one. A good man who made hard choices and didn’t always explain them.” His voice softened. “He loved your mom. And he would’ve loved you.” Charlie’s eyes glistened in the dim light.

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

“You know, I don’t remember him,” she said. “Not even little pieces. I’ve tried. But there’s nothing.” Chuck’s heart ached.

“That’s not your fault,” he said gently. “You were too little. And me and your mom remember him. We can tell you about him, any time you want.” Charlie nodded. They sat quietly for a little bit, just looking at the screen, not really watching. Charlie took a deep breath.

“I know that I'm not exactly...easy to have here. Because I'm his kid. So... I'm sorry.” Chuck instantly reacted, moving closer to her. He put his arm around her shoulders. She stiffened, but didn't move away. Chuck’s throat closed.

“Charlie,” he said, voice breaking, “You don't ever need to apologize. I know that since you've been here, you might have heard some things, but I need you to know that you never ever have to apologize for being born. I like having you here. Was it a surprise? Yes, but that’s not a bad thing.” She let out a tiny, shaky exhale, and leaned her head on his shoulder, finally relaxing a bit. Chuck rested his cheek on top of her head, squeezing her shoulder lightly.

“Do you think my dad would… be proud of me?” Chuck laughed a bit

“I think Bryce would brag about you every chance he got,” he whispered. “He would never shut up about you. He loved you so much, Charlie. and wherever he is, if you believe in God or anything like that, I think he's still watching you, and rubbing it in everyone's face that his daughter is a badass.” Charlie giggled lightly.

“Okay,” she whispered. They sat there like that, in the blue glow of the TV for a while, just together. After a while, Charlie got up to go to bed, and Chuck followed her down the hall. Before turning into his room, he stopped in front of the closet. There was a box of his old college stuff in there. Chuck pulled out a small photo, in a frame, one of him and Bryce in their dorm, grinning brightly and holding up Chuck's tron poster. Chuck smiled, and walked out into the living room. He placed the photo on the shelf, next to the picture of Sarah and him at their wedding. He smiled at it, then walked up to his room.

Chapter Text

Hey guys, I know this isn't a scheduled update as normal, but I was thinking a lot about a comment I got asking about why Sarah and Chuck didn't have any children of their own. This got me thinking, and I kind of have the urge to go back and change literally EVERYTHING I've written so far and add in a child of their own. I know this is a little insane of me, so please leave a comment if you would be interested. I'm thinking of either finishing this fic then doing another one with the child, or just completely redoing this one. let me know what you all think I should do! Also, thank you to olot007, who commented this, and who's been giving me a ton of feedback. I really appreciate it. So anyway, let me know if you think I should keep as is, redo, or make another story to go alongside this one. :)