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."
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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.
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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.”
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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.