A/N : I got a lot of reaction to the last chapter. So to sum, is this story done, yes. Might I return to this universe, maybe, possibly. I'd need a good story. If I did, you'd have to ignore this ending…well, we'll discuss that at the end. Before we get to it, this was actually an idea from a friend, that kinda bloomed. I actually kinda foreshadowed this in Chapter 4. There's an old writing adage that you shouldn't do this, the reason is you didn't have a real ending. I disagree; we had an ending, now we have another possible ending. The reason I'm doing this is one single comment made by her, and at the end I'll share it. Welcome to the optional epilogue, Ch 13, Don't Stop Believin'

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, and if you ever see anything published by me that screws up Charah, someone hacked my account.

Sarah woke, feeling strange, she squeezed her arms gently, and felt him under her. She raised her head, saw him, and smiled. Chuck had a goofy grin on his face. She kissed his cheek and slipped out of bed. She padded lightly down the hall, checking the first room and then the other. Both Molly and Samantha were asleep. She sighed quietly, and shook her head. She wanted to go back to bed, but thoughts of the past were creeping in now, and she had to deal with them.

She made her way downstairs, opened the back door, went outside, found her comfy seat, and sat on the porch. The stars were somewhat visible, the night peaceful and pleasant. Her thoughts of those years wouldn't leave her. 2002. It seemed so long ago, and just like yesterday. What would have happened if she had made one single different choice at any point, had plagued her thoughts for years. She sat there quietly listening to the night, at peace. She heard the door opened, and grinned. Two arms wrapped around her, pulling her in close. She lay her head on Chuck's chest.

"I take it you can't sleep?" he asked.

"I had a weird dream," she admitted. "More like a nightmare." She was quiet, and Chuck didn't say anything…for a bit…it was Chuck after all.

"Wanna talk about it?" he asked gently. She sighed.

"I left," she said. She felt the confusion. "Do you remember the football game at Stanford when we met?" Chuck grinned.

"Hmmm, it was a while ago," he said. She elbowed him lightly. "How could I ever forget that night?"

"You know I had orders that night…uh…morning, to leave," she continued.

"Mmmmhmm," he said, his lips on her neck below her ear.

"In this dream I left when I got the text," she said. Chuck pulled away, laughing.

"You mean when you got the text, and said screw that?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah," Sarah grinned. "The text when I called him back and asked him why he was pulling the protection detail."

"I'm not pulling it, I just think it would be better if it was a male," Chuck said in his best Graham voice. He laughed at the thundercloud on her face.

"You needed protection from the threats the company got, your parents had a big CIA contract, I had Secret Service experience for over a year," she said, still fuming.

"Plus, I don't think whoever they sent would have given me the level of attention you did," Chuck said. Sarah gave him a "you are so stupid sometimes, but I love you look," and shook her head.

"That's also when I told you my name, and what I was doing there. Boy was Graham pissed." She turned to him. "Did I tell you he thought I got pregnant on purpose?"

"Uh, no," Chuck said, laughing. "I mean after you told me everything and I found you that lawyer, giving you legal means to get you out of the shady way they got you into the CIA if you chose to pursue it, you'd think that he would know we had all sorts of options. Besides, he agreed it wasn't the life for you."

"In the dream I left, went back to the CIA, found out I was pregnant, and your father had gone batcrap crazy," she said, leaning back into him, just enjoying the night and her husband. "He kept working on something called the Intersect, some kind of computer program you upload into your head."

"You've watched one too many sci-fi movies, Missy," he said, tickling her under her ribs, causing her to squirm. "Wait if you were pregnant…do I want to know?"

"I kept the baby from you," she said. "I'm sorry."

"Baby, it was a dream," Chuck said. "Don't be upset. Wait, if Dad was nuts and building a crazy computer thingy."

"Intersect."

"Right," Chuck said. "Where was mom?"

"I think someone else had the Intersect, and she was working for the CIA trying to get it out of this other guy," she said. "You know dreams, they don't always explain everything."

"You have to tell her this," Chuck said. "Dad crazy, and mom in the CIA…wow, the two heads of Orion Industries…" Chuck trailed off, chuckling. Sarah was laughing.

"They called her Frost, which she can be in some of those board meetings," Sarah said. Chuck burst out laughing.

"She'll love that," Chuck said. "What about your parents?"

"Oh, that was the one thing it got right," she said, shaking her head.

"Okay, so you had the baby, and what happened to her, him?" Chuck asked, now curious.

"Well, I named her Molly, just like our daughter, and Mom raised her," Sarah said. Chuck just looked at her.

"Secret Ninja Mama Emma raised Molly?" Chuck said.

"She could do it," Sarah said.

"When would she have time, she's always sneaking up on me!" Sarah laughed out loud. "I'm sorry, go on." She was quiet for a second, and when she spoke her eyes were thick with emotion.

"You weren't there, Chuck," she said, softly. She was looking at him, tears running down her face. "You weren't there when I had her. You weren't there to hold my hand through labor, to encourage me, to let me know you had my back, to be told we weren't having sex again, EVER." Chuck grinned, and she tried to smile, but she had to get it all out. "You didn't hold her when she was born, or any time when she was a baby. You didn't see her walk, say her first word, or any of that." Tears streamed down her face, and he pulled her in tight. "It was all my fault because I wasn't brave enough. Your Dad was blackmailing Graham, and he held my father's probation over me. I chose him over you."

"So the Kobayashi Maru," Chuck said. Sarah pulled back, looked at him, and rolled her eyes. Chuck grinned. "You're trying to act mad because I turned this nerdy, when you're really mad because you exactly know what that is." Sarah smiled and grinned.

"Yes, Chuck," she said, sounding defeated. "I know the Kobayashi Maru is the no-win scenario. But I didn't have any way like Kirk to cheat it."

"Really, because I have a feeling even dream Sarah wouldn't let what happened stop her," Chuck said. "We ended up together, right?" Sarah just grinned. "Isn't that what's important in the end?" She grinned at him.

"So I had to do a Red Test, kill someone, and I talked to dad beforehand, and quit the CIA. I didn't have it in me after having Molly," Sarah said.

"Wait, a Red Test is to kill someone?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah, you can't join the CIA per my dream without taking it," Sarah said, shaking her head at how crazy it all was. Chuck was chuckling and shaking his head as well.

"Now you've been watching too many crazy TV shows," Chuck said. "I can see your dad talking you out of it."

"So, I came home, here, but didn't tell you," she said, grinning. "You got framed at Stanford for cheating by Bryce because your dad wanted you out of there. Apparently you were about to get recruited by the CIA. Your dad thought you and I would end up like him and Frost."

"And since I didn't have my amazing wife to scare my professor half to death when I was accused…" Chuck trailed off, laughing.

"Right, you got kicked out, and went to work at the Buy More," Sarah said, turning to see the look on your face.

"Hush yo mouth, woman," Chuck said, his eyes wide. "THE BUY MORE!" Chuck groaned.

"You came and set up the wiring for mine and mom's company," Sarah began.

"Emma, super-secret ninja grandma?" Chuck said. Sarah laughed.

"Yes," Sarah said, shoulder bumping into him. "Super-secret ninja grandma planned it for you to meet Molly and me." Chuck turned to her, grinning. "Oh you know she thinks we're perfect together."

"She's right," he said. She laughed, a sound that always put Chuck at ease.

"Anyway, I made it my mission to get you into my and Molly's life," Sarah said.

"I can't believe that was very hard," Chuck said. She gave him a look. "Oh, come on, when it comes to you I'm easy." Sarah snorted.

"You were hurt, and resisted a bit," she said.

"How long?" he asked.

"How long what?" she asked smirking. Chuck waggled his eye brows.

"You moved into my house that night when my mom went and got you," she said. Chuck closed his eyes, snickering. "To be fair she brought Molly to meet you and Ellie."

"So our daughter was deaf after that?" Chuck asked. Sarah shook her head.

"Ellie showed a bit of restraint," Sarah admitted. "The next night, your father showed up on the computer screen and told you to get away and you exploded on him. I took you to bed that night and held you." Chuck just looked at her. "You even said the next morning that I didn't take advantage of you the way you didn't take advantage of me at Stanford."

"By the way, do you know how hard it is to be a good guy when you're throwing your clothes at me?" Chuck asked. Sarah laughed and fell into him.

"So," she said, after slowing the laughter. "The next night I crawled into your bed because my feet were cold."

"We really have no restraint around each other," Chuck said, grinning. Sarah shook her head, the same grin on her face.

"None," she agreed. "I told you that either move in with me, or I was coming into your room each night."

"That's a pretty effective negotiation ploy right there," Chuck said. Sarah shrugged.

"I did get a business degree at Harvard," she said. "While pregnant."

"Away from me," he added, with a forlorn look on his face. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"And after I was done we've been together ever since," she reminded him. Chuck kissed the side of her head. "So you agree to move into my room, not necessarily to make love, but to be with me, because I need you. Then you tell me you love me."

"That was a shocker to you I'm sure," Chuck snorted.

"I mean, I think I answered something like, 'It's about time you figured it out,'" she said. "It took a few weeks, a few dates, and finally on one of our dates I showed you Molly's birth certificate, it said Molly Bartowski." She was silent a second. "How could I ever take her from you? I mean in the dream, I was basically blackmailed, but even then…" She shook her head and Chuck pulled her close.

"It was a dream," he said.

"Felt real," she muttered. "Anyway, you FINALLY came around."

"Well, given what you told me, I'm sure I was my normal emotional stable self," he said. She turned and gave him a flat look. He exploded with laughter.

"Care if I skip to the end?" she asked. "We have that big presentation with your dad in the morning."

"Nope, fire away," Chuck said.

"Let's see, Carina and Morgan ended up together, Casey and Verbanski were…something, Mom and Dad remarried, and you and I got married. We found something to fix your dad. Your mom and dad went to Hawaii on a vacation to find each other again, and we were pregnant with Samantha, I guess…it could be a boy," Sarah got out.

"So it all ended well?" Chuck asked. She nodded. "Okay, Mrs. Bartowski, to bed?"

"To bed, Mr. Walker," she agreed. "Although I'm not that sleepy," her eyebrows waggling.

"And they say I'm the easy one," Chuck said, laughing.

}o{

After the meeting with the new client, that Sarah dazzled as usual, she was telling Mary about the dream.

"SPY?!" she said, laughing her head off. "That's almost as bad as when Chuck was a kid and thought he was John Connor because he thought I resembled Sarah Connor. Wow, that's crazy." She looked over at her husband. "Stephen has something he wants you two to look over. He won't even tell me about it, but he's real excited. It may be a bust, so take it easy on him, okay," she said, squeezing her daughter-in-law's arm with affection. Sarah nodded and Mary headed off. Sarah walked over to Chuck and Stephen.

"So, I wanted to show you two something I've been thinking about," Stephen said. He pulled out some plans. "I call it the Intersect." Sarah and Chuck exchanged a look. "It is to be a teaching tool. It takes skills and uploads them into your brain."

"Dad, I think that's a bad idea," Chuck said. "You haven't tested it on yourself, have you?" Stephen looked at him, guiltily.

"No," he answered. "I thought about it, but no."

"Are these the only plans?" Chuck asked. Stephen nodded. "Give them to me."

"Why?" Stephen asked.

"Because I know you, you'll push something too far," Chuck said. "And, the way you want it to be implemented could be used in nefarious ways."

"What?" Stephen said.

"Martial arts, sniping, foreign languages, schematics on anything," Sarah said. Stephen looked at her with his eyebrows raised as she rattled things off. "How to make a soufflé, all things the government could use in ways you never wanted." Stephen nodded, and handed them over to Chuck.

"You two know me, and I trust you," Stephen said. "Besides, you've dealt more with the government than me." With that Stephen walked off. Sarah took the plans, and dumped them in a trash can. She then set them on fire. Chuck looked at her. She looked up at him.

"Maybe your dream wasn't so crazy," Chuck said. Sarah smiled and walked toward him.

"Chuck, crazy or not, one thing is true no matter where I go," she said. "You're my home, and I will always be here."

"I might need very close protection later," he said, grinning. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him in.

"Who's you're mamma?" she asked, pulling him in for a kiss.

"Oh, boy!" he said.

A/N: So it could have been a dream. Why? Because something a friend said. I just can't believe Sarah left. How can I say Sarah wouldn't have left? In the pilot, she kept Chuck from being thrown into a deep dark hole. You think she's going to walk away from him? You think the woman that told Chuck she liked him, that laughed at him offering to be his personal baggage handler would have left? If Casey doesn't show up, seriously, what happens that night? I know what I think, and while I had a story to tell, it bothered me a little the way I did chapter 2. So when a friend said, I just don't think Sarah would have left, I agreed. So your choice, either you get the happy ending, or the really happy ending. What can I say, I'm a romantic Charah fluff writer, no apologies. Thanks for all the support of this and the other fics. Working to wrap Aces, and then then work a bit on Buy More High. Until next time….

A/N 2: So out of curiosity, anyone interested in an AU fic where there's this gruff police officer named say…John Casey…trying to catch a con artist who claims his father was framed for a crime he didn't commit and said officer has a civilian nerd working with him that falls for said con artist, and for a twist the con artist is a tall, male, curly haired brunette and the civilian nerd is a blonde female, without ninja like skills? Anyone? Anyone?

DC