It's a Wonderful Cover Life (Chuck Fan Fiction)

Chapter 15

65. In a Tight Spot

"I wanna go see the horses, Daddy." Maggie was bouncing like the bubbles in the grape soda Morgan was so fond off.

"Then keep still, Boo." Chuck ran his fingers along the shoulder straps, trying to find the buckle that was supposed to release her from the seat, but with no luck. It was a later model than the one he was used to - a purchase Sarah had made and had neglected to tell him about earlier, but instead had Casey install into a Sienna Chuck had never seen parked in the garage before. It wasn't a new car, but well taken care of, and he wouldn't put it past Sarah to have gotten it off a mom at the mall. He had to admit, though, the automatic sliding doors were cool, and a lot easier to operate than the Fort Knox of booster seats. Of course it would've helped if he'd strapped in Maggie himself, but Beckman had offered to do that while he and Sarah were busy loading the food and other gear into the back.

He glanced through the windshield to where Beckman stood, deep in conversation with the ranch owner, Mrs. Winterbottom, about one of the rose bushes. There was no sign of Sarah. He seriously doubted that she would know how to operate the seat anyway and he couldn't exactly ask Beckman without blowing their cover and then having to explain the kiss Maggie had so matter-of-factly pointed out to her. Of course he'd much rather explain it to Beckman than to Maggie, but lucky for him he'd been spared from his daughter's curious 'whys', for the time being at least.

In a desperate attempt to locate the locking mechanism Chuck wedged himself between the front- and backseats to get a better look.

"What are you doing?" Sarah's voice startled him and he jerked, hitting his head on something hard.

"Ow!"

"Careful." She grabbed his bicep and helped him up from the floor. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." Chuck rubbed the back of his head. Relieved to find no bump he gestured towards the booster seat. "I think I'm gonna need the manual."

"But you use one of these every day."

"They're not all the same."

"Am I stuck?" Maggie asked, her eyes wide with worry.

"No, sweetie," Sarah replied. She ruffled Maggie's fringe. "We're gonna have you out of there in no time, but first I need to talk to your dad for a second." Sarah grabbed Chuck's arm again and pulled him away from the car. "You fix computers for a living. Surely this can't be that difficult."

"It's not the same thing. But I'm sure I'll figure it out," he added when Sarah started to look a little distressed herself.

"Daddy! Kitty!" Their heads turned to see Maggie holding up the straps in triumph. Then they looked at each other in alarm.

"Oh, that's not safe," Sarah said.

Chuck shook his head and reached the door in two long strides. "Maggie, how did you do that?" he asked.

"I pushed the button. Mr. Oink was sitting on it."

Chuck was sure he'd checked under the stuffed pig, but that was not important. He leaned into the car so he was face to face with his daughter. Her arms dropped, as did her excited expression.

"Maggie," he said in his serious dad voice, "you may never ever let yourself out of this seat, okay? Never. Ever."

She nodded, then furrowed her eyebrows. "What if zombies attack me and I have to get away?"

"Not even then." Chuck lifted her out of the seat. "You do remember that zombies aren't real, right?" They'd had a lengthy discussion on the issue after Maggie had accidently walked in on him and Morgan watching Zombieland.