Chuck wore, not surprisingly, a short-sleeved button-up white shirt, Dockers, and his customary Converse Chuck shoes. He also wore a serious expression. Since he was on his way to Sarah Walker's apartment, that countenance was a surprise.
Similarly, he carried the reasonably predictable vegetarian pizza with no olives. He also carried a loaded handgun, for reasons that he dared not think about too deeply.
Thus, it was a mass of contradictions and a bundle of nerves that knocked on the so-familiar door.
A moment later, almost as if he had been expected, the door opened and revealed Sarah Walker. She wore men's briefs and an old Stanford t-shirt that had once belonged to Chuck. Those were her favorite lounging clothes, particularly when she expected to be alone.
"Chuck!" she said, surprised and a bit happy to see him. "What brings you by?"
"Dinner." He sighed. "And conversation."
Sarah recognized that tone. It was his serious talk voice. It was also the most frightening sound on the planet. She hated nothing more than when Chuck really wanted to talk. She always felt inadequate and useless – two feelings she went out of her to not cultivate in herself but that grew regardless.
"O-okay-y." She dragged the word out. "Is everything OK with Awesome and Ellie?" It was sick and depraved, but she hoped they weren't fine. That would be an issue she could potentially handle.
"They're fine. More than fine. Marriage really seems to agree with them. But that leads me into my topic."
Cursing mentally, Sarah reached for a slice of pizza. "Chuck, do we have to -"
"Yes, we do. I can't do this any more."
"Do what?" She knew exactly what he was talking about, but if she could push him off-course, if she could only deter him, maybe the evening wouldn't turn into a disaster.
He looked right through her, knowing it was a lie but answering anyway. "This thing with us. This are-we-a-couple or aren't-we? This looking at others the way we know we want to look at each other."
Taking a nibble of her pizza, Sarah braced herself. "What are you saying?"
"What I should have said a long time ago. Sarah Walker, Jenny Lisa Burton, I don't care what you call yourself. I don't care who you've been in the past. I know who you are now. I see you. And I love you. I can't pretend otherwise any longer." He swallowed deeply, even though he hadn't yet touched the pizza. "What I need to know, tonight, is this. Sarah Walker, do you love me?"
The next two chapters are Sarah's possible answers to this question. It's not really a choose-your-own ending. I am simply showing two alternate universes.