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

Chapter 5

19.  Letters to Santa

Chuck cut off another piece of rosemary lamb and popped it into his mouth, all the while keeping an eye on Maggie to make sure that she ate her cheesy scallop potatoes instead of decorating her dress with them.  He still wanted to take a picture for Ellie and wished he had the guts to ask Sarah to pose with her.  She and Maggie’s dresses accentuated their eyes and, in Sarah’s case, a few other assets, and he briefly wondered if the color matching was planned or merely a coincidence.  If, like Beckman, he didn’t know better, Sarah could easily pass for Maggie’s mother.  The thought caught him off guard and he reached for his wine, swallowing both down.  He couldn’t go there – his days of casual dating were long over and Sarah was his boss, two very good reasons to avoid almost kisses and fake ring exchanges.

He ventured a glance at her, seated at the opposite end of the table.  She was deep in conversation with Carina and Diane over the economy and the possibility of a second recession, a topic for which, aside from how it affected him directly, he had limited knowledge.  At least no one seemed to notice that he wasn’t actively taking part in the discussion, so he didn’t run the risk of making a fool of himself.  Neither did he have to pay too close attention to his ‘wife’, which could result in the same outcome.

Casey stepped up to the table to refill everyone’s glasses and when he walked past Chuck, the big man grunted something that sounded like a warning.  Chuck couldn’t make out what he was saying, but it wasn’t that hard to guess.  His eyes dropped back to his half-eaten dinner and he didn’t notice Beckman’s attention turning to his daughter.

“Maggie,” she said, waiting patiently until the four-year-old looked up from arranging her peas in a crooked half circle on the bottom of her plate.  “Have you written your letter to Santa yet?”

The little girl’s face lit up and she nodded enthusiastically.  “Yes,” she replied, “Aunt Ellie helped me.  I asked him for a baby brother.”

Chuck’s fork hit his plate with a clatter and his head snapped up.  That was not what Ellie had told him.  He struggled for something to say and looked over at Sarah out of desperation.  She was trying to hide her amusement behind her wineglass, taking a large sip, but when she saw his shell-shocked expression the implications of Maggie’s words must have dawned on her too as her eyes grew wide with panic and she almost choked.

“That sure is a big gift,” Beckman said, struggling to hold in her laughter.

“I know,” Maggie replied, a little less excited than a moment before.  “Uncle Devon says brothers are awesome, but it takes time to make one.”

“It’s not so much the making that takes ti–” Carina started to say, but cut herself short with a wince, which Chuck attributed to a possible kick from Sarah under the table.  Again he tried to come up with a response to salvage the situation or change the subject, but Maggie beat him to it, unknowingly saving him.

“I asked for a pink bike and a Barbie too.”

“Well, Santa doesn’t disappoint,” Beckman said with a smile.  “You just have to believe.”

Chuck jumped at the opening.  “And be a good girl,” he said, “which means you have to finish your peas.”

Maggie’s shoulders sagged as she picked up a pea between her thumb and forefinger and stared at it before reluctantly putting it in her mouth.  She chewed for longer than was technically necessary to turn the small green vegetable into mush before reaching for a second one and repeating the process.  By the fourth one, Chuck caved.  Keeping his eyes on his own plate, he snuck a forkful of peas from Maggie’s.