The inside of the Bartowski family house looked like a small hurricane had ravaged it. At least that's what Chuck, Sarah, Jason and Samantha thought when they opened the door after returning from Jason's big game. Chairs had been tipped over, knitting yarn was all over the place and the rugs were rumpled. And they knew perfectly well who the culprits were. One clue was the ripped up bag of catnip on the kitchen floor.

"How on earth did Lucy find the catnip?" Chuck asked his wife. "I thought we'd put it where she couldn't reach it."

"She had help," Sarah replied, smoothing the carpet with her foot, lest someone trip on it.

"And the perps are right here," Jason announced, after finding the two family pets hiding together under a toppled easy chair. "Come out, you two." Rex and Lucy came out, looking guilty as sin and no doubt expecting some form of punishment.

"They didn't break anything," Sam commented. "Looks like they'll get off lightly. Mom, let's tidy up the place. I'll take the upstairs rooms."

"Sure," Sarah replied. Together, the two witches straightened the place out in no time at all.

"You never told me, Mom," Sam said when the family reconvened in the living room, "how exactly did you take up knitting and why?"

"My Mom taught me. Although, I didn't knit much until you and your brother came along. It was towards the end of the seventh month of my pregnancy when the doctor recommended that I rest more, as you two were growing quite big, which was actually a good thing. So, I took up knitting again, lest the inactivity drive me bananas."

"Sarah made many fabulous things back then, including my beloved Orion scarf," Chuck added, hugging his wife.

"I'll go shower and change," Jason announced. With all the celebration after winning the game, he and his teammates had not had the time to shower in the locker rooms.

"It's about time, brother. You stink," Sam said.

"Not funny, sis. As the game's MVP, I would expect better treatment."

"Don't let it go to your head."

"Hurry up and go get your shower," Sarah said. "We have the weekend plans to discuss."

By the time Jason got back downstairs, Sarah had a light lunch ready for all of them. Even the pets' food and water bowls were full. He took his usual seat at the table and rubbed his hands in delight as his mother served the meal.

"You said we have some talking to do," he said between bites.

"Yes," Sarah agreed. "Chuck and I were talking at work today and he made me realize that I am late keeping a promise to your sister."

"And therefore we decided to spend the weekend at the cabin in Bishop. Once there, our two witches can work on Sam's own flying broom."

"Really?" Sam was quite surprised – and elated. "Thanks guys!"

"What are we going to do with Rex and Lucy? Are we going to take them with us?"

"No," Chuck replied. "I think they'd rather stay here and I have already found a bunch of willing pet-sitters. Clara and Mike talked Ellie and Morgan into letting them pet-sit for us." Mike Grimes was Morgan and Alex's son and he was eight months older than the Bartowski twins.

"So, which one is staying with Clara and which with the Grimes'?"

"The idea is for both to stay here, with the kids dropping by to check on them, feed them and take Rex on walks. If they want to take them to their places, no problem."

"Looks like you've thought of everything, Dad."

"I would certainly hope so, Sam. What about you, have you decided on a design for your broom?"

Sam smiled. "I think I'll go with something classic."

"Classic," Chuck echoed.

"I'll buy mine in Bishop."

"Don't you want to make it yourself? Your Mom did."

"Dad, we are in the 21st century. I can buy a broom with a perfectly straight stick and a nice straw brush."

"Let Sam have this one, honey," Sarah said. "Besides, the fun is in casting the spells to make it fly. The making of the broom itself is the boring part."

"Speaking of flying brooms, I found something this morning," Chuck said.

"Care to share with us?"

"Certainly. Remember the pictures I took of you the first time you showed me your broom in Bishop?"

"Yes," Sarah nodded.

"Including the ones I took for an advertisement idea I had?"

"How can I forget?"

"What idea?" Jason and Sam chorused.

"It was about our fast customer service. Chuck took a picture of me on my broom. I was wearing a business suit and I was holding a laptop in one hand and a wand in the other."

"It was before your time," Chuck added. "We weren't even engaged back then, although we'd been together for about a year."

"And?"

"Sarah eventually came up with a better idea, but I kept the pictures and even made this for her." He reached into a cigar box that was resting on a shelf and retrieved a plastic figurine. It was essentially a statuette of Sarah in the pose they had just described to the kids.

"I thought we'd lost this one," Sarah said, taking the figurine of her sitting on her broom with her long legs crossed in her hands. The detail was perfect, as it had been made and painted on Orion machines. Even the short skirt and stiletto heels had been perfectly replicated.

"Nope, just misplaced it," Chuck replied. He turned to the kids. "Sometimes, I think the only reason she came up with something else was because she didn't want this gracing the sides of our customer service vans."

"What's ours is ours," she countered.

"I agree, but as an idea it needed stating. Besides, we wouldn't put your face in the ad, not unless you wanted us to."

"That's not the point."

"I know where you're getting at, love. And I have to agree that your idea was even better."

"Good. Now, when we're done here, the kids should do their homework and we should pack for the trip to Bishop."

-o-

"Hey Casey," Chuck greeted his friend while carrying some luggage out to the car.

"Good morning Bartowski. Going somewhere for the weekend?"

"Yeah, Sarah and I decided to take the kids to the cabin in Bishop."

"Kathleen said that she heard something about my grandson volunteering to take care of your pets while you're gone."

"You heard right. Is it a problem?"

"Heck no, I like your pooch, as you perfectly well know, and so does everyone else here."

"Morning John," Sarah greeted him, also carrying stuff to load in the car. "How are you and Kath doing?"

"We couldn't be better," Casey replied. "Where are the troublemakers you call kids?"

"Right here, Uncle John," Jason replied cheerfully. "We left Rex with Mike and Lucy with Clara. We also checked to see if we forgot anything."

"Did you?" Sarah asked.

"Mom, I'm offended you're even asking," Sam said facetiously.

"Then everything is ready. Hop in, kids." They said goodbye to Casey and got in the car. "Chuck, I hope you remembered to fill up the car."

"If I forgot, you can always help," he winked at Sarah.

"I won't have to. I checked the gas and the batteries last night," Sarah said, pulling the hybrid SUV's passenger side door closed.

"You are cheating, honey."

"Well, I'd rather use my magic for fun as opposed to mundane things."

"Come to think of it we had lots of fun the last time I ran out of gas."

"Oh yes, I remember. It was on the way back from Comic Con right after our honeymoon."

"What happened?" Sam asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"You don't want to hear about it. Trust me."

"I'll take your word for it, Dad."

"The first time Chuck took me to Comic Con, I had my reservations," Sarah said. "But I liked it in the end. We even met someone he knew from Stanford, which was great, because she was there with none other than Richard Castle."

"Ha-ha, I remember how she reacted when I called her K-Becks," Chuck laughed.

"Castle appeared to know about it. He also signed my copy of Blistering Heat."

"Kate told me that he'd already found out about her Nebula 9 obsession."

"Wait, Dad, is this Kate the tall leggy brunette in the pictures you have from Stanford?" Jason asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Did Mom go all Postal on her?"

"I had no reason to," Sarah said flippantly. "Chuck had never mentioned her as a former girlfriend and I knew she was with Rick Castle."

"He loves my games, too," Chuck added.

"Are we going to Comic Con this year?" Sam asked.

"We go every year, remember? After all, it's a great place to showcase our newest games," Sarah said.

"And mix business with pleasure," Chuck reminded her.

"How can I forget? You're always acting like a kid on a sugar rush every time we go there." She turned to face the kids in the back seat. "Once, he left me alone in the Orion booth to go see a special about some old sci-fi show or movie with Morgan and Bryce. We always have a busy booth at Comic Con."

"Dad, not cool," Jason said.

"Hey! Dare I remind you that you had lots and lots of fun with my Spacehunter collectibles?"

"Yeah, you're right, Dad."

When they arrived at the cabin, Sarah directed the guys to do some housekeeping chores while she took Sam to the town to find a nice broom for her to turn into a witch's flying broom. Chuck was a bit miffed, as he wanted to go buy stuff to barbecue on the classic Beast Master grill they had. In the end, he and his son resigned to wait for the ladies to return before embarking on their own shopping adventure.

-o-

"Here you go, Sarah, one medium rare burger."

"Thanks." Sarah took it and immediately placed it in a bun along with a slice of cheese, onions, a generous supply of pickles and the required condiments.

"Sam, you're next."

"Hand it over, Dad." She held out an open hot dog bun and her father deftly dropped a perfectly grilled sausage in it.

"So, did you find your perfect broom?"

"I did," Sam beamed. "Mom is going to coach me while I cast the spell to make it fly at midnight."

"Midnight?" Chuck queried.

"Yes. It does nothing towards the efficiency of the spell, but it's cool. We're also going to light a small bonfire in the pit."

"Just be careful, OK?"

"Dad, it's me and Mom we're talking about. We are always careful." Without further ado, she turned around to add stuff to her hot dog.

After the barbecue dinner, Chuck and Jason did the washing up. Sarah sat on the porch swing with Sam, the book of magic open between them and a brand new broom resting against the wall of the cabin by the swing. Chuck was forcibly reminded of an earlier time, when Sarah used to sit with her children in either the living room or the study and help them with their schoolwork. It made him love her even more, if it were at all possible. Besides, what they were doing was homework, of sorts.

Having been curtly told to leave the two witches alone, Chuck and Jason had no choice but to watch a movie and play on the awesome gaming system after piling some wood in the pit for the bonfire the ladies wanted. Outside, Sarah watched as her daughter went through the motions of casting the spell on the (not for much longer) ordinary broom. Sam could become a good actress, for she accompanied the words with the appropriate gestures, not being able to keep her hands still.

"From the ground to the sky, from sweeping dust to dancing in the clouds, rise and fly whenever I desire," Sam recited the spell's words. "By these words I make you mine, on my whim you shall fly." She then sprinkled some of the potion she'd made beforehand and repeated the words. Finally, everything was ready. Sarah's proud smile confirmed that the spell had been cast correctly and Sam was eager to take her broom for a spin.

"You have a flying broom kiddo," Sarah said.

"Yeah, but what should I do now?" She looked around for the book. It was still on the swing, so she snapped her fingers and it came to her. Sarah kept quiet, wanting to let her daughter figure everything out by herself. Sam read a little. "Huh… I have to do, um, kick-start it." So she gestured for the broom to lift… and it did.

"You are ready," Sarah smiled. She was very proud of her daughter.

"Oh yeah! I'm gonna fly now!" Sam mounted the broom and took off.

Meanwhile, Chuck and Jason had been playing online as part of the team consisting of the two of them, Morgan, Bryce and their sons. They were having a great time, ripping opposing teams to pieces and after the game was over they played between them, when…

"OH CRAAAAAAAAAP!"

A window shattered and a pilot-less broom flew by in front of them until the opposite wall stopped it. Simultaneously, a crash was heard from the porch, along with a cry of pain.

"Samantha!" Chuck and Jason heard Sarah yell. They paused the game and ran to investigate. Sam was getting up from among the wreckage of a small wooden table.

"Sam, are you OK?"

"I busted my chops, but yeah, I'm fine, Dad."

"What happened?"

"As it seems, I need some flying lessons from Mom, before I try hopping on my broom again. I was flying just fine for a while, but then I lost control, I guess."

"Let me look at you," Sarah said, turning on the outside light.

"There's no need, I'm fine. Well, I'm fine except maybe for a couple of bruises."

"Indulge me, please. Let's go to your room and see if there's any serious damage."

"But…"

"No buts, young lady. Off to your room, now, march."

Chuck and Jason looked at each other. "I'll get a pan to sweep the broken glass," Jason volunteered.

"And I'll get a new pane from the storeroom." He smiled at his son. "When Ellie and I were your age, we broke a couple while playing ball with some other kids from the town. This prompted Dad to stock up on spares."

"Okie-dokie." Jason ducked inside and quickly found a dust pan. Smiling evilly, he also picked up Sam's broom and used it to sweep the broken glass shards into the pan.

"Hey! This is my broom!" Sam exclaimed when she and her mother entered the living room.

"Yes and it's actually being useful right now, instead of being an instrument of mayhem in the hands of an apprentice witch."

"Mom, he's dirtying my broom!" Sam complained.

"Jason, give your sister her broom back and find a normal one, now."

"Yes mom," he said grudgingly and handed it over. Sam grabbed it and went outside to clean it. Chuck soon arrived and replaced the broken glass pane.

"Come on, let's go outside," Sarah suggested. First, she picked up her own broom. "Sam, I want you to pay attention to this small demonstration."

"You're going to put on an airshow just for us, Mom? Cool!" Jason said.

"I'd hardly call it an airshow, but it's always fun to use my broom." She mounted her broom and it effortlessly took her into the air. Sarah flew a figure eight pattern over the front yard, made a low pass in front of her family, returned with a slow pass and finally made a smooth landing. "See? It's not that hard. You just tried to do too much on your first try."

"Can I try again, Mom?" Sam asked.

"Yes, but be careful."

"Sarah, you can fly right alongside and take over if she overdoes it again," Chuck suggested.

"Not bad," she agreed. "Get ready, Sam."

Sam mounted her broom again. "Ready," she called.

"Liftoff in three, two one, go," Sarah said. They took off together, and Sarah coached her daughter as they flew in close formation. They did a circuit around the cabin, and eventually Sam felt comfortable enough to try some tight turns and high speed runs, with Sarah always in close attendance and ready to intervene if anything went wrong. Fortunately, the girl soon got the hang of it and there were no more incidents.

They landed together in front of the porch. Chuck and Jason applauded enthusiastically. The ladies smiled and bowed to their audience.

"You did great, sis," Jason said, bumping fists with her.

"Thanks bro."

"Jason," Sarah said, "I believe you were promised a flight on a broom. Since Sam is not yet ready to take passengers along, would you like a ride on mine?"

"Mom, you don't even have to ask."

"Hop on. It's just like riding a motorcycle."

Jason didn't have to be invited twice. He hopped on his mom's old broom and held on to her. "Ready," he called.

"Let's go."

Chuck wrapped an arm around Sam's slender shoulders and together they watched as Jason got the first broom flight of his life. And he was obviously enjoying himself a lot up there.

"He's having fun, Dad. Was it like this for you when Mom took you up for the first time?"

Chuck's smile got even wider. "It was," he told Sam. "We were on vacation here, like we told you before, and she offered me a late night ride on her broom." Naturally, he didn't tell Sam anything about what had happened next: He and Sarah had flown to a secluded spot and skinny-dipped in the river. "It was simply fantastic."

"When I went up for the first time, it felt like… it was awesome, simply awesome."

"Say, are you willing to give your old man a ride when you've practiced more, or would it be not cool?"

"I'd love to give you a ride some day, Daddy. And it is going to be completely cool."

Sarah landed her broom and Jason hopped off. Then she also dismounted and hefted the broom.

"Just like old times," Chuck said, giving her a kiss.

"I'd missed all this, Chuck. The magic, the broom rides, everything."

"So did I, but we were busy with those two, so I don't regret it."

"Yeah, me neither," Sarah agreed. They watched as Sam performed some magic tricks for her brother's amusement. "She used magic at school," Sarah informed Chuck. "She confided to me the other day and she told me all about it."

"Did you remind her again to be extra careful every time she does?"

"Of course I did. Do you want to know what it was all about? She said I could tell you."

"Please do." He was curious as to what had prompted his daughter to use her powers while at school.

"She saw a boy bullying another boy. She couldn't let it go, so she caused a number of embarrassing accidents for the bully, all in front of a large audience. She felt that humiliation was a fitting punishment. She said she'd made sure no one would get hurt."

"I'm so proud of her. I always am, but she always does something to make me even more so. Both our kids do."

"We are raising them well, Chuck."

"Are you up for some mutual… congratulating later, Mrs. Bartowski?" He gave her his famous eyebrow dance.

"Why, I thought you'd never ask, Mr. Bartowski," Sarah replied with a salacious grin. But she was willing to give him a foretaste, so she kissed him languidly.

"Remind me to thank Dad again for soundproofing the master bedroom so well, even though I shudder every time I think about why he did it."

"Ten to one Jason will be just as grateful when he's older."

"When did the conversation jump from all the delicious things we want to do to each other tonight to becoming grandparents? Speaking for myself, I'm not really in such a hurry."

"I'm not in a hurry to be called Grams, either," she admitted.

"You are going to be a very hot grandmother when the time comes, Sarah Lisa Bartowski."

She smiled a crooked grin before calling for the kids to head up inside and get ready for bed. She and her beloved husband had plans and they wouldn't be delayed, not if she could help it.

And they all lived happily ever after.

A/N: That's all, folks. For now. Thank you for sticking around throughout this one and I really appreciated your support. It was nice to see you had good laughs with the story. Hopefully, it won't be long before the next one begins. It all depends on how much free time I'll be having in the near future.