A/N: Hi everyone. After reading dozens of amazing stories here over the years, I'm inspired to write my own. I have no idea how long this is gonna be, I just hope I have the time to write it all. Just wanna mention that English is not my native language, so any mistakes are my own. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

The Cold North

Saturday, 3rd March 2007 Nordstrand, Oslo, Norway 7.30 Central European Time (CET)

"You cannot be serious?" Sarah was pacing around the adjoined hotel room she was sharing with her partner. "You can't expect me to stay here while you fly off to London. I'm coming with you."

Bryce sighed. "Sarah, please listen to me. I got this mission from Graham earlier and he said I was the only one to go there."

Sarah stopped at looked at him trying to read his face. "This is not how this works Bryce, we are partners. How can you be given a mission without me? I don't get it."

Bryce grabbed his backpack. "It's not technically a mission. I just have to retrieve something and bring it back to Washington. I have booked a ticket for you going to Svalbard island while I'm going to London. You deserve a few days off after our last mission. When I'm done I will meet you there before we fly back to US."

Sarah frowned and wondered what he was up to. "Why would we go to Svalbard island? The only thing there is more freezing temperatures and polar bears." She missed the warmer climates of missions in South America and such.

"Just trust me, we need to go there first. I will meet you there in a couple of days. Pack your bags mrs. Anderson!" Bryce smirked. "We talk soon." He got his gun ready and put it in the back of his pants, covering the gun with his jacket.

If there was one thing Sarah hated, it was a smirker. She gripped her knife and hurled it towards Bryce knowing he would be outside before it reached him. "Damn you Bryce Larkin." She huffed sitting down on her bed. Their relationship had gotten worse by each month after she ended their personal one about six months ago.

Sarah got her suitcase ready and packed her stuff before leaving for the airport. It would be a long flight and although she didn't mind flying, she preferred when it was a private one and not commercial.

She checked out of the hotel and got herself a cab who could take her to the airport.

The cabdriver made no attempt to talk to her during the drive which she was thankful for. She was not in the mood for any chitchat.

Once she arrived at the airport, she checked her watch and cursed when she realized it was only about an hour until her flight left. She quickly checked in her bag with her knives as she couldn't bring them on the plane. She had to change plane in Tromsø, which was all the way in the north. From there she would actually sit on the same plane going all the way to Longyearbyen, which is the biggest town of Svalbard.

After finally getting on the plane, which seemed to be delayed because some other passenger arguing over something, she finally settled in her seat and fell asleep soon after takeoff, knowing she could wake up in an instant if something happened.

Saturday, 3rd March 2007 Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway 13.30 Central European Time (CET)

Chuck was just finishing his latest report and sent a quick e-mail to his boss back in DC. He was really happy about his job that thanks to his friend Bryce had led him to do something really good in the world. But he really missed his family back in LA. Especially his sister Ellie and his best friend Morgan. When he had told his sister he was going to work in a place that she hadn't even heard of, she had been really skeptical about it. He had told her he was the computer-expert for a company that was looking into oil and gas on the island. To this day she still couldn't understand why he would agree to go but was happy that he had moved on from Stanford and his old girlfriend Jill. He could feel that he was getting hungry.

Chuck got dressed in winter clothes and started walking towards one of the few cafè's in town, Rabalder Cafè & Bakery. He had gotten to know most of the local population, so he greeted several when he sat down in one of the chairs. A waitress soon came over to him.

"Hi Chuck. What can I get you today?"

"Hi Catherine, I would like my usual thank you." He gave her a smile which she returned.

The waitress wrote down his order and went back behind the counter, starting to prep his food. Soon she was by his side again, putting down his coffee which he absolutely needed during the day.

Chuck sipped his coffee thinking what he should do for dinner. He could invite the local couple he gotten to know in the area with him. They had been so friendly to him when he had arrived. He had stayed over in their house when there was a storm in the area and he couldn't go back to his own place.

Figuring he should text them later, he noticed his food has arrived. He thanked the waitress and looked down on his food. He had gotten one piece of bread with brown goat cheese, topped with jam and another with mackerel in tomato sauce. He thought it looked weird when he first saw it, but had come to love it. He guessed many people would find his lunch quite boring, but since this was Norway, this was traditional food here. He also tried several other Norwegian dishes, but this was his favorite.

Saturday, 3rd March 2007 Longyearbyen, Svalbard 13.40 CET

Sarah had finally checked into the hotel Bryce had fixed. It was pretty nice, but nothing she hadn't experienced before wherever she traveled, but she had to admit it was a good place considering she was pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

After taking a shower, she felt refreshed but her stomach rumbled and she needed to get some food and decided to take a walk around the area and see what was available.

She didn't have the most of clothes with her suited for this weather, so when she saw a nice looking cafè just a short distance from her hotel, she went there.

She opened the door, welcoming the heat to her cheeks. She walked up to the counter, scanning for something to eat. She settled for a salad and a cup of coffee. She quickly paid in cash as she still had some left from being in Oslo. The waitress told her she would bring it to her table. She said thanks and turned around scanning the room. It was almost full, she guessed it was because of it being lunch-time.

Her eyes rested on a guy sitting alone in a pretty big table and walked over towards him.

Chuck had noticed the pretty blonde entering the cafè. He hadn't seen her before, so he thought she was new to the area. When she walked towards him he felt a little nervous but smiled anyway.

"Excuse me, is it okay if I sit down here?" The pretty blonde asked him. She sounded like a native English-speaker. Even though he knew how to speak Norwegian, he easily answered her in English as well.

"Oh of course. Please take a seat." He gestured to the cushions next to him.

"Thanks" Okay, not a native as he speaks fluent English. Maybe American? Sarah thought to herself.

When he didn't say anything, she reached out her hand. "Hi. I'm Sarah."

Chuck took it, smiling at her. "Hi. I'm Chuck."

She looked at him, feeling herself getting lost in his brown eyes. She quickly straightened herself. Surprised by that name she couldn't help herself. "Chuck huh? Didn't know people still named their kids that." She teased him. Why am I teasing him?

Chuck smiled his megawatt-smile. "Well, my parents are sadists." He joked.

Sarah couldn't stop her laugh at that remark. "Sadists huh? That's funny."

"Well, I'm a funny guy."

"Clearly! Because I'm not funny." Sarah said feeling a little sad she wasn't funny, but that was not easy in the world of spy's.

Chuck took a good look at her when he spoke. "I'm sure you are more funny than you think."

Sarah wondered what this guy was doing here in the middle of nowhere. "So Chuck, what brings you to this island in the middle of nowhere?" She knew she was fishing for information about this guy. She blamed her spy-instincts.

Chuck didn't think too much about it. "Well Sarah, it's not that exciting to be honest, I'm a computer-expert."

Sarah raised her eyebrow at that. "You fix computers?" When he nodded, she continued speaking. "The locals need an outsider to fix their computers?" She found that hard to believe.

"I needed a change of scenery and when I saw the job offer here, I thought to myself: Why not. Experience a new country and a new culture. "

Sarah couldn't pinpoint what it was with this guy. "So you chose Svalbard, a cold place in the middle of nowhere to go fix computers?"

Chuck shrugged his shoulders. "It's only for a year and I do sometimes go to the mainland. I've been her for sometime now so I'm used to the cold and hard weather-conditions."

"I see." Sarah wondered what made him need a change of scenery, he seemed nice enough and not someone starting trouble.

She was about to ask him when the waitress appeared, putting down her food and drink.

"Everything okay with the food Chuck?" She smiled at him and Sarah knew instantly that this waitress had taken interest in him. If she was honest with herself she thought it was pretty handsome with a trimmed beard and lean build. She quickly shook her head. Why would she think about him like that?

"Yes thank you Christine. Everything is fine." He smiled back before setting his eyes back on Sarah.

"So Sarah. What are you doing in this place? I haven't seen you before."

"Actually I'm just passing by, I'm going back to America in a couple of days. My boss had a detour to make before getting here." Sarah inwardly cringed and thought Bryce would have a field-day of her calling him boss.

"I see. Sounds fun traveling the world in business." Chuck said.

Sarah smiled. "While I like the traveling, I rarely get to see anything as I don't have the time to actually go somewhere. I usually go somewhere else before I have time to any exploring."

"That's a shame, one should always make time to see places. I have an idea." He said leaning closer to her.

Sarah was intrigued and wondered what he was thinking. "Oh? What's that?"

"Seeing as you are staying here a couple of days, how about I show you around the place?"

Sarah was surprised by that and wondered if he had a secret motive.

When she didn't answer, he thought she didn't want to. "I'm sorry, just thought I would help you with seeing the place since you apparently have a couple of days to spare."

Sarah looked at him. He looked genuine. "You know what? I accept." She gave him a flashing smile.

Chuck blinked. "You will?" When she nodded he smiled back at her.

Oh my gosh, that smile is amazing. "Yes." She felt a flutter in her stomach at the thought of spending more time with him. Bryce had his mission, so it seems fair she had her own little mission as well.

"Great." Chuck replied. "How about I take you to dinner tonight? Then we can do some exploring tomorrow morning."

"Sounds great Chuck."

"How about we met at the restaurant Huset, it's just down the road from here. Just look for the big white house with two double-doors. You can't miss it."

"Okay. I will meet you there. Is around six o'clock okay?" She asked him.

"That's fine. I will book us a table." He stood up and reached out his hand. "It was nice to meet you Sarah."

"Likewise." She shook his hand and felt a jolt of electricity rush through her. She blushed and quickly walked out of the cafè.

Chuck looked at the beautiful woman he just met walking away. She had just agreed to met him later for dinner. That was unexpected. She also wanted to take a little sightseeing-trip with him.

Chuck therefore quickly walked back to his apartment. He had to start planning for what they should do in the morning.

Radisson Blu Polar Hotel – Sometime later

Sarah was looking at herself in the mirror, applying some light make-up. She had put on the one dress she still had in her suitcase. She had gone out earlier and shopped for some winter clothes to prepare for her trip with Chuck tomorrow. She didn't know what they would be doing, so she bought the best they had in the store.

Because of the cold, she had ordered a dog-sled to pick her up as she would not be able to go to the dinner wearing just a dress. She would put on a coat though.

Deeming herself ready, she put on her shoes and coat and waited for the sled to pick her up.

Bartowski Residence – Downtown Longyearbyen – 17.30 CET

Chuck had spent the afternoon thinking about where he should bring Sarah to when sightseeing tomorrow. He had come up with a nice plan and was excited to tell her about it. He had to admit he was a little nervous. Sarah was extremely beautiful and he was still a little surprised she had accepted his offer of dinner and sightseeing. He checked his watch and thought it was time to go. He wanted to be there a little early so he was sure everything was okay when Sarah arrived.

After arriving at the restaurant, he talked to the waiter, mentioning his reservation and was led to a table for two. When he saw the lighted candle and dimmed light, a thought struck him. What would Sarah think when she sees this? Maybe she would get the wrong impression. He shook his head, it was just a dinner between two newly acquainted people. Nothing more, nothing less.

Sarah gave the description of the building to the guy leading the dog-sleigh. He knew where it was and after Sarah got inside the warm cover of the sleigh, he quickly got the dogs moving and only ten minutes later, she was in front of an old but nice looking building.

She thanked the man for the ride and quickly got inside to get warm again. She was pleasantly surprised by the nice looking restaurant. She looked around before spotting Chuck waving at her and she got the same fluttering in her belly seeing him dressed in a nice tux. She walked over to him and he leaned in and kissed her cheek which made her feel like it was on fire. How could a simple kiss on the cheek feel so nice?

Chuck got out her chair, being a perfect gentleman, before sitting down opposite her.

"I'm so glad you accepted my offer Sarah." He said smiling at her.

"Me too. This is really nice place. Seems like you picked a good one." She smiled back.

What happened next was something Sarah didn't expect. The waiter arrived with the menus, which at least had English translation on it. She looked at Chuck and right before he spoke to the waiter, his eyes fluttered rapidly and the words that came out of him sounded so real, like he was a native.

"Vi vil gjerne ha et glass av husets vin takk." Chuck said.

What the hell?

A/N 2: Gonna end it there. This is like a prologue to the story, I'm expecting normal chapters to be longer though. So what do you think? Drop a review and let me know. Translation of what Chuck said: We would love a glass of the house wine please