Chuck Episode 5.08 Chuck versus The Baby

We open in Budapest, five years previous. Sarah is listening to a phone message from an unidentified woman telling her if she ever needs a home she has one waiting for her. Sarah's reflective moment is broken when the male voice in her earpiece asks whom she was talking to. Sarah tells him it was no one. She sneaks into a Budapest mansion and while remaining hidden, spots a group of roguery men drinking and laughing around a large dinner table. She tells the voice on the earpiece, "Ryker I'm in." Ryker, the man's voice in her earpiece, is sitting in a van monitoring the mission. Ryker tells her to take out the men around the table on his order. He also reminds her that those men slaughtered the people who own the mansion, and given the opportunity, they'd kill her too. Ryker gives her the go, and Sarah bursts into the room, guns blazing. She quickly dispatches everyone in the room and asks Ryker for her next order. Ryker tells her to go through the double doors. That's where the "package" is.

She enters the room and is surprised to discover a crib with a baby in it. Ryker tells her "the baby is the package." He tells her to grab it and get out of there. She hesitates, and he tersely reminds her he's her handler and she'd better move. We flash forward to present day Burbank where Sarah is on a computer at Castle reading an email sent by Shaw to Ryker that reads, "The baby is alive. Details to follow." Sarah says to herself, "He knows." Just then, Chuck comes down the stairs, and Sarah quickly exits the screen. Chuck asks her if she's ready for his big surprise. She tells him yes; he knows how much she loves surprises.

Chuck leads Sarah into a candle lit room whilst covering her eyes. He removes his hands to reveal they're in the living room of the house they've dreamed about and wanted to buy a few months earlier but couldn't because Decker had frozen their accounts. Sarah wonders what he did to arrange it. He tells her he convinced the real estate agent to lend them the keys for the weekend so they could give it a test run. She tells him she still loves the house but doesn't understand, especially if they can't afford it. He tells her they now can afford it because rejoining the CIA comes with a signing bonus they could use for a down payment. Sarah is at a loss for words. He tells her she doesn't have to say anything. Just visualize them living there and sharing their lives together. And raising a family.

Although she's happy, Chuck senses there's something bugging Sarah. He asks if he did something wrong. She tells him he didn't do anything and what he put together is perfect. She wants the house and life he has envisioned for them. She wants everything. But something urgent has come up. Chuck tells her she can tell him anything. Sarah tells him this time she can't. Flashback to Budapest five years ago and Sarah has the baby in a sling while Ryker is urging her via earpiece to get out of the mansion before more men arrive. She tells the baby, "It's going to be okay" before unleashing her automatic weapons on unseen assailants.

Chuck and Sarah are back at Castle. While Sarah packs enough firepower to invade a small country, Chuck continues to ask questions. He tells her he thought there were no more secrets between them. She tells Chuck she needs him to trust her. At that point, Casey and Morgan walk down from the Buy More after Chuck secretly summoned them. Casey asks Sarah what's going on, and she gives him the same vague answer she's been giving Chuck. Finally, when he realizes she's not budging, Chuck tells her he's willing to put all his questions aside because he loves her and wants to help. He offers the services of Carmichael Industries. No questions asked. She reluctantly agrees.

Sarah briefs the team with only the bare minimum of what they need to know. The man they're going after is Ryker (her old handler from the flashbacks). He's ex-CIA and very dangerous. Ryker received an email from Shaw after they took him down. She's going to send another email posing as Shaw to set up a meeting. She tells Morgan to stay in Castle in case anything goes wrong. She tells Chuck and Casey to pack their bags because they're going to Budapest that night. Casey asks Chuck if he can keep his mouth shut this time. Chuck tells him, "Yes Casey, you act as though I haven't learned anything in the last four years."

Chuck tells Morgan that he needs to know what's going on with Sarah, so he's been doing research on Hungarian culture cross-referenced with horrible things that Sarah might want to keep a secret. Morgan reminds him he told Sarah that he wouldn't ask questions. He thinks Chuck should give Sarah the benefit of the doubt. Chuck agrees, but he's just worried they won't be prepared if something goes wrong. Morgan is disappointed about the timing of the Bulgaria trip because he's going to have to cancel game night with Ellie and Awesome. Alex was supposed to attend as well, and Morgan worries about where they stand. Chuck tells Morgan he doesn't have to cancel. Just have game night at Castle. Ellie and Awesome have been asking to spend more time there to check it out anyway.

Sarah sends an email posing as Shaw to Ryker that sets up a meeting in Bulgaria. With Chuck not around, Casey takes the opportunity to ask Sarah what the real secret is. She refuses to tell Casey. She thinks the less he knows the better. Flashback to Budapest five years ago. At a sidewalk, cafe Ryker is enjoying an espresso and waiting to meet Sarah. Sarah brings the baby in a stroller. She wants to know what's going to happen to the baby before she hands it over. Ryker declines to answer and tells her it's above her pay grade. Sarah then asks if her mission was even sanctioned by the CIA. Ryker's silence all but confirms her suspicions.

Ryker tells her they did a good thing. The men Sarah killed murdered the baby's entire family. The baby is the only heir to a massive fortune, and whoever has the baby has access to the fortune. Sarah asks if he only wants the baby for the money. He tells her being a spy and keeping secrets isn't enough. She still wants to know what happens to the baby after he gets the money because the baby has a legitimate claim on that fortune. She can't believe Ryker's going to let her live. Just when Ryker is about to shoot Sarah, it's revealed there is no baby in the stroller. Sarah had instead stashed a gun in anticipation of trouble with Ryker. She grabs it and shoots him in the shoulder. She then runs for her life, managing to get away. She returns to her Budapest apartment where the baby was safely hidden from Ryker the entire time.

Flash-forward to the present and the team is in Budapest. Sarah is busy assembling a sniper rifle. Chuck asks her if there's anything they should know about Ryker. Again she refuses to tell him anything. She tells them she's going to meet Ryker at the cafe across the street. She needs them to survey the situation and make sure no one else is watching her. Yet again Chuck pleads with Sarah to give him more information, and again she refuses. He wonders what she's going to do when she meets Ryker. She says, "I'm going to kill him."

While Chuck and Casey are in the room watching Sarah take a seat at the cafe across the street, Chuck asks Casey if he's overreacting. Casey tells him that this time he might have a point. Casey tells Chuck he looked up Ryker in the CIA files and found his whole record redacted. That means whatever happened between Ryker and Sarah ended badly. Just then, a waiter brings a glass of water to Sarah. She tells him she didn't order water before noticing a note on the bottom of the glass. The note tells her to get on the next bus alone and meet at a secondary location. Via earpiece Chuck asks Sarah what's wrong. She tells them its nothing, but they should follow up on the waiter because he may be working with Ryker. She gets up to leave while Chuck and Casey move fast downstairs. They get to the cafe just as Sarah gets on a bus and drives away. She tells Chuck via earpiece that she's sorry but has to go on her own.

Back at Castle, Morgan, Alex, Ellie and Awesome are playing the game of Life. Morgan finds a way to weave in snarky remarks via the game that relate to the ambiguity of his relationship with Alex. Ellie and Awesome are a little annoyed by the residual tension between Morgan and Alex. Awesome is able to finish the game, so Morgan and Alex can be left alone. Ellie and Awesome leave the table and start to explore Castle. Alex senses Morgan's tension and asks him why he invited her in the first place. She tells him there's no quick fix for their relationship. It's going to take some time.

Sarah sneaks into the meeting place Ryker set, which turns out to be the same mansion from the baby mission. She manages to surprise Ryker and get the upper hand. She demands to know everything Ryker told Shaw. Just then, she's distracted by the cries of a baby in the other room. We flashback to five years earlier, and Sarah is holding the crying baby. Not knowing what to do to calm the baby and having no other options, she calls her mother. Her mother is surprised to hear from Sarah and asks if she's okay. She tells her mom about the crying baby and asks her what to do. Her mother tells Sarah to bring the baby close to her body, so she feels safe. After that doesn't work, her mother tells her not to freak out. She then tells Sarah to try singing the lullaby she used to sing to her when she was a child. It seems to work, and the baby calms. Flash-forward to the present and Sarah has led Ryker at gunpoint into the room where the earlier baby cries were coming from. Sarah checks the crib and instead of a baby finds a digital recorder playing baby cries. With Sarah distracted, one of Ryker's men jumps from the ceiling and surprises Sarah with a knock-out punch.

Sarah is tied up and surrounded by Ryker and his men. Ryker tells her the fake email from Shaw was a good idea but that he already knew Shaw was back in jail. He wants to know why she came back to Budapest. Was it to have a cup of coffee with her old handler? Sarah headbutts Ryker and asks him to get to the point. He tells her the point isn't about money anymore. He discloses the reason that he requested to be her handler was because her file screamed "loner." No family to speak of, and she didn't trust anyone. He knew she could keep a secret because she had no one to tell. In fact, probably no one knows she's there now. And that's why she's going to die unless she tells him where the baby is. Sarah tells him she came to Budapest to find out if he knew where the baby was, and now that she knows he doesn't, she'll never tell him. Ryker is interrupted by one of his men who tells him there's a problem in the foyer. When Ryker goes to check it out, he discovers it's the waiter from the cafe tied up and gagged. During the distraction, Chuck and Casey take out Ryker's guys and free Sarah.

Ellie and Awesome are at Castle role-playing. Ellie has a bandoleer across her chest. In her role as interrogator, she demands to know where "the nukes" are. Awesome responds with a poorly executed English accident. Ellie then starts to unbutton his shirt, but before things can progress, her earring gets stuck to Awesome's outfit, killing the mood. It's then they notice Morgan and Alex arguing in the other room. Alex is still mad at him and doesn't know how she can ever trust him again. She wants to leave. Ellie and Awesome realize they have to step in and help.

Awesome stops Alex before she leaves, and Ellie grabs Morgan. Morgan tells Ellie he doesn't think she's going to understand what he's going through. She tells him early in her relationship with Awesome that they actually took a little break from each other. Meanwhile Awesome is relaying the story to Alex about how he let being an Abercrombie and Finch model go to his head. Ellie tells Morgan that on their first anniversary she broke up with him because Awesome gave her an autographed photo of himself. Awesome tells Alex he knew he screwed up, so he tried his best to get her back. Ellie tells Morgan nothing Awesome did worked until one day she came home to find him waiting on her doorstep. He was sitting there with calla lilies and on the phone with his mom. He was so sweet and kind with his mom, and she realized then she truly loved him. Alex still wants to leave, but Awesome makes sure she realizes Morgan really does love her. Ellie tells Morgan to be himself. He's a catch. Alex will realize soon enough.

Sarah awakes at home while Chuck puts away items from the Budapest trip. He tells her hiding secrets was a mistake. She was wrong. Sarah agrees and only realized that when Ryker captured her. She still had residual habits from her life as a spy, relying only on herself and not trusting anyone. She tells Chuck she trusts him completely and wants him to know the whole truth. We flashback again to five years ago and CIA Director Graham is on the phone with Sarah. He tells her he knows what Ryker made her do and asks if she has the baby. Sarah wonders if the CIA can guarantee the baby's protection. Director Graham tells her he can't; and besides the CIA would keep records, and Ryker might be able to get his hands on that information. Sarah lies to Graham and tells him she doesn't have the baby.

Still in flashback, Sarah is standing on her mother's front porch. Her mother is holding the baby and tells Sarah, "It doesn't have to be like this." Sarah tells her she's thought about it and can't stay because they're not safe and must leave. She can never see them again. She tells her mom that when she was on the run with her dad they changed their identities so much they never actually knew her mother existed, and she can't let anyone find out now. Her mother tells her all she wanted for Sarah was a normal life. She never got to go trick or treating, play soccer or attend the prom. She wishes she could have given Sarah some of those memories. Before Sarah leaves, she gives her mom a silver baby rattle and asks her mom to make sure the baby gets everything Sarah missed out on when she was a kid.

Back in the present, Sarah has finished telling the story to Chuck. Sarah's happy Ryker doesn't know where the baby is or that her mom ever existed. She apologizes to Chuck for never telling him the story. He tells her it's okay and that he loves her. While giving each other a hug, Chuck hears an odd electronic noise. He takes his smart phone out and waves it around Sarah. He then discovers a surveillance bug in her hair. Sarah is horrified when she realizes Ryker has been listening in to the conversation and now knows about her mother and the baby. We cut to Ryker's earpiece where he's just finished listening to everything and is getting ready to find the baby and Sarah's mother.

Chuck, Sarah and Casey race to rescue Sarah's mother and the baby. Sarah's repeated calls to her mother go unanswered. Sarah tells Chuck she coordinated a signal with her mother when she dropped off the baby five years ago, but her mother is not responding. Sarah worries her mother doesn't remember the signal. Cut to her mother's house where the silver rattle Sarah left with the baby begins to chime. It's in the baby's room where the now five-year-old girl notices the signal. After the rattle opens up and the tiny screen flashes "coordinates sent" the little girl calls out for her mom.

Ryker and his men show up at Sarah's mother's house. Ryker tells them to wait outside and enters the house with his gun drawn. Upon entering, he hears the water running in the kitchen. He walks in to find what initially appears to be Sarah's mom washing dishes. The woman at the sink quickly turns around to reveal herself as Sarah who pulls out a gun from the sink and points it at Ryker's head. He tells her "nice apron." Outside, Chuck and Casey confront Ryker's goons and begin to dispatch them. Inside Sarah and Ryker begin a very brutal physical confrontation. Eventually Ryker gets the upper hand; he gets Sarah in a chokehold and declares he's going to kill her. She manages to free herself in time, grabs a knife and stabs Ryker through the chest. Sarah runs outside just as Chuck and Casey are wrapping things up with Ryker's men who are all now on the ground dead or wounded.

Morgan, Ellie, Awesome, Sarah's mom and the little girl, Molly, await the return of Sarah and Chuck at their apartment. Morgan is playing a video game with Molly. Alex notices how kind Morgan is to Molly and finally realizes he really is a good man. Sarah, Chuck and Casey arrive, and it's a tearful reunion for Sarah and her mother. Sarah's mother introduces Molly to her big sister Sarah. The group sits together and has a happy reunion dinner. Chuck sits with Sarah's mom and tells her how excited he is to finally meet her. She tells him she's happy to meet him too and can't remember the last time she's seen Sarah so happy. She worried about Sarah even knowing that she was a tough girl. She thanks Chuck for giving her this life surrounded by friends and love. Alex tells Morgan he did a nice job playing with Molly. He tells her he's actually not a bad guy when not in bad Intersect mode. Alex kisses him. Ellie and Awesome look on at Morgan and Alex as they kiss and agree their mission of mending things between the wayward couple is accomplished.

Sarah and her mother watch as Chuck plays with Molly. Her mother asks Sarah is she ever dreamed that she would end up with such a nice life. Sarah tells her mom she never expected anything like her current life and that she's learned from Chuck that "every now and then it's okay to be surprised." We flashback five years and Sarah is in CIA Director Graham's office. He tells her it's good to have her back because sometimes when an agent goes through what just happened to her they're lost forever. She tells him she's not lost but is done with handlers. He agrees and thinks she herself should become a handler. He gives her a file with the details of her next mission. She opens the file and we see a picture of Chuck from five years ago. We're actually watching the eve of Sarah's introduction to Chuck.

Chuck and Sarah are alone at the house he borrowed for the weekend. Surrounded by candles and sitting by the fireplace, she tells him she really wants the life he's imagined for them. But she doesn't want to go back to the CIA because it's just going to be more missions and secrets. She's different now and doesn't want to sacrifice her family and friends to the CIA anymore. She wants to turn down Beckman's offer of returning to the CIA. Chuck agrees and tells her they don't need the bonus or the house. All they need is each other. Sarah walks to a doorframe and starts to carve their names into the wood. Chuck reminds her they don't own this house. Sarah tells him, "I know, but we will someday."