Chuck vs the Intervention
Synopsis: A "Then and Now" offshoot. Continues from events of the "Then" in Chapter 14. Sarah tries to help a friend out with unexpected results.
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck.
A/N: I've been forced out of early retirement by a horrid affliction known as insomnia. I present you not one but TWO fics. This is the first. It will be written in "Then and Now" fashion meaning that I will jump back and forth in time with this current chapter being the "anchor". Hopefully you will not be confused although I am very tired right now.
Chapter One: Present Time
The first thing Sarah does when she enters the office is not phoning her husband to make sure he'll get the baby on time to daycare or skimming the morning paper as per usual. It's to hunt down her friend.
Luckily it's not too hard, especially not this early in the morning.
Sarah takes full advantage of the fact that not many people have had their caffeine fix at a quarter to eight. Most are not even fully functional at this point, and her friend certainly fit the majority.
She finds Carol at her cubicle, and when the woman meets eyes with her, she knows she's cornered.
"So?" Sarah asks, sliding up next to her in a vacant chair. She hands her a fresh cup of coffee as a diplomacy gift of sorts. "Tell me everything."
"Uh, not much to tell," the woman replies, busily flipping through some empty file-folders.
"Oh come on," Sarah says. Carol eyes her strangely and it takes her a second to realize that this is all so very strange. She's stepping into Ellie's domain, and Sarah knows her limitations as a mere novice.
Subtlety is not her forte. When she pries, she rummages.
"How was dinner last night?"
Carol shrugged. "Fine," she said, avoiding her probing stare. "Dinner was just fine. Thanks for the recommendation."
Sarah struggled with herself. "Well…what did you guys talk about? How was he? Was he nice to you?"
"Dinner was fine," Carol insisted. "He was very polite, and that was that."
Sarah tilted her head to one side, pondering her words. There had to be something else. Surely Carol had more to say about her dinner date than just 'fine'; even dinner with a sock puppet would have yielded more.
"You're not telling me something." Sarah wheeled her chair closer, closing in on the woman's personal space.
Carol swallowed nervously. She was like Chuck in that regard; all their emotions were out on display, neither of them could hide how they felt.
"There's something you should know."
The way she said it made chills run down her spine. Sarah leaned back in her chair, subconsciously trying to distance herself from the foreboding news.
"I saw Chuck." When Sarah didn't seem to understand, Carol clarified. "At the restaurant. I saw Chuck at the restaurant."
Sarah inhaled sharply. "Okay," she whispered. It was perfectly normal. "You saw my husband at the restaurant…" she repeated, trying to ease herself slowly into the realization.
Carol lacked the finesse for full disclosure. "With another woman. I saw him at the restaurant with another woman."
Okay. Not normal. Especially not when she says it in that tone.
Sarah's trained herself well, but even she can't help the shock that courses through her entire body. Her face twitches as if Carol's just slapped her across the cheek.
"Oh." Sarah leans back further against the seat, wishing there was some way to just slink away and forget it all. The conversation's taken a dangerous turn and she just wants to pretend like none of this ever happened.
"I'm so sorry," Carol said, squeezing her hand. "I…I wasn't sure—"
"Who?" Sarah demands, once she feels the room has stopped spinning.
Carol twists her lip. "I—"
"Carol!" Sarah snaps. "Who is it?"
"The girl down the hall. The new hire. Whatshername." Carol snaps her finger, trying to jog her memory. "Jill—"
Sarah clutches her chest, feeling as if a vessel in her head were about to pop.
"Jill—Jillian!" Carol exclaims. "I don't know her last name; you've seen her around haven't you?"
Sarah shakes her head; sure she'd never forget meeting someone with such a heinous name.
"I'm sure you have. She's tall, long brown hair…" Carol demonstrates, tugging at her own. "Straight, not curly like mine—"
"Brown eyes?" Sarah growls.
"No. I think they might be blue."
The discovery makes Sarah laugh, as inopportune a time as it were. "Wow, some variation this time…" she grumbled.
"Pardon?" Carol frowns but Sarah refuses to repeat herself. It was bad enough hearing it the first time.
"Chuck didn't mention anything last night…" Sarah thinks back to the previous evening. He had come home late after work, far later than she expected but he'd given her a perfectly plausible excuse.
Then again, he hadn't eaten very much last night.
"I'm sorry," Carol says again. She squeezes her friend's hand. "I just thought you should know."
Sarah sighs. Her heart felt as if it had been filled with lead. "I appreciate it, thank you."
It was a lie.
She would have been perfectly happy living in oblivion.