An: Ok, so this isn't how I think Chuck will end. Just a major FYI. I wouldn't personally be opposed to the idea, but I doubt TPTB would pull this sort of ending.

Um, I'd classify this story as mindless plot bunny. I wanted to write something more sci-fi based. So keep that in mind or else this story will not make any sense whatsoever. In fact, strike that. This story really won't make much sense because I sorta wrote it in a stream of consciousness.

I have the first chapter of Part II of Redeeming Intentions halfway done, and it will be posted as soon as I *maybe* hit 200 reviews. I just felt inspired to write this after watching the cult classic, Donnie Darko. I don't own either Chuck or the aforementioned movie, and this is completely unbeta'd. So all the mistakes are my own.

Enjoy.

NOTE: Yeah, so this isn't a one-shot anymore. :p

Chapter One

The Beach

The lone figure silhouetted by the sun's rays is someone that Chuck knows well. His breath catches while his knees go weak just at the sight of her. She sits on the beach with her legs pulled up to her chest, and her chin resting on top her knees. With her back facing him, her long golden tendrils blowing gently in the ocean breeze. She's been there for awhile. Possibly since daybreak. Waiting for him.

And he hangs back despite this. He continues to watch her from afar instead; baffled by her very existence. How can she be right there, just a mere few yards ahead of him? He initially thought she was a product of his subconscious. A cruel trick played upon him nightly. She was the ideal woman: strong, independent, beautiful.

Perfect.

Apparently real too.

Since his twenty-sixth birthday, he'd begun experiencing the strangest, most vivid dreams. As they unfolded over the course of every night, he soon realized that they were intricately connected. His dreams told a story. One that spanned over several months, adding up to five years worth of fabricated memories; a second life. The weirdest part of it is that when he wakes up, he remembers everything down to the tiniest detail. He never forgets. Can't forget.

This is why he's never felt more conflicted. His brain is utterly divided with either side convinced that their word is true. Part of him believes that while asleep, his life from an alternate reality is somehow being projected into his unconscious mind. With his childhood (and most adulthood) consisting of sci-fi movies and comic books, the possibility of there being millions of other universes isn't too crazy of an idea. What if there's a timeline in particular that involves his doppelganger being a spy with a supercomputer stuck in his head?

It sounds ludicrous, but the voice telling him otherwise has been compelling. There has been instances where he'll awaken in the middle of the night, certain that he belongs someplace else. There rather than here. Which is why the other voice—what he assumes to be the more logical of the two—has tried to constantly reinforce the sheer absurdity of the situation. Sometimes that stalls the quarreling voices, and puts them at temporary rest.

But still.

This beach evokes the oddest feeling of remembrance; what he knows as déjà vu. He's definitely been here before. The circumstances are just too familiar to doubt. The sun is rising, and she is sitting in that same place as if expecting he'll come and join her. That spot beside her is reserved for him and only him.

He walks towards her, down the sandy slope feeling slightly more confident than before. His only concern is that she won't recognize him. Why would she? They are complete strangers. There's no connection that ties them together save for his frequent, inexplicable dreams. Maybe she's been dreaming of him too? Waking up with his name on her lips like a reverence. If that's true, then what if she's denied his existence anyway?

Then why would she be here alone in the first place?

You're spiraling, a familiar voice tells him. He can almost picture the mirth sparkling in her blue eyes as she'd tease him. Only in his dreams. Quit worrying about what might happen. Go face the truth and see what will happen. If you don't, well then it's just another opportunity wasted. I know you're braver than this.

He's not sure if he really is all that brave. Maybe in some alternate universe, like that part of him suggests. But not here, not in 2007 where there isn't anything unique about him and nothing sets him apart from anyone else. He's a Stanford graduate; bored and successful, yet single. He has a loving family, loyal friends and a good job.

He has a normal life.

So he has reason to dread what he'll find when meeting this woman. Will she be like Sarah Walker the spy, or Sarah Bartowski the wife? Worse still, what if she's someone totally unlike them both and coming here per his final dream was a huge mistake?

Her voice speaks to him again. She'll love you regardless, Chuck.

Chuck sighs and makes tracks in the sand, following her imprints till there are none left. He plants his feet and before he can brace himself, she turns. He sees that she isn't wearing the same outfit that he remembered on their first dream "date." No, she's dressed casual; a shirt, jeans, and knee-high boots. However he barely registers her clothes. He's too busy staring at her, noting the curious look in her eyes.

His heart drops.

She doesn't know him.

Then, she smiles very tentatively. It's the same smile he's used to seeing the instant he falls asleep, the one he wishes to wake up to every morning. Her smile isn't forced, but rather easy and genuine. Real. He knows that she never suffered from years of life on the lamb with her conartist father, or even the hardships of spying. There's no inclination that she's ever killed someone much less fired a gun.

He sees all of this in her face. Mostly in her eyes. They glitter much in the same way as the ocean does not far behind her. When the roar of the surf passes, she beckons him closer the wave of her hand.

"Oh, you're here," she says with great relief. "For a moment, I thought I was going to watch the sunrise by myself. I woke up from this dream I had, and it sort of led me here. It's like I somehow knew you'd show up this morning…" she trails off, looking sheepish. "You are here for the same reason I am, right? Please tell me that I'm not acting like a total deranged lunatic."

"You're not," Chuck replies. "A deranged lunatic, I mean." He wants to tell her that his dreams are what brought him here as well. Like a strange otherworldly force that pulled him out of bed and straight to this very beach. To her.

"Thank god," she sighs. "You must be Chuck, right? Chuck Bartowski?"

He nods. "Yes, that's me."

"So you're real then?"

Chuck is about to reply with some witty rejoinder, but the words fall short. He mulls over her question instead. How interesting. Is he the version of himself she's been waiting so patiently for? His features turn pensive and he's quiet for a moment or two. She seems to notice his puzzlement, her expression changing to wearily amused.

"Don't strain yourself," she jokes lightly. "Trust me, it'll only make things insurmountably more confusing." She invites him to join her on the sand. "Here, take a seat. My name is Sarah if you were wondering."

He raises a brow. "Sarah Walker is really your name?"

"So the birth certificate says."

He chuckles at her casual, but playful tone and sits down. They both watch as the horizon brightens; the sky once a myriad of pastel colors now turns into milky blue.

While Sarah continues to stare seemingly occupied by her own thoughts, Chuck regards her very carefully. He thinks this Sarah is a lot more relaxed than her dream counterpart. She's funnier. Less guarded. Passably normal. He wonders if she even has a favorite band too.

How can any of this be remotely possible? Chuck muses to himself. How is she even here?

Sarah catches him ogling. Grinning, she gives him a playful nudge on the shoulder. Her touch is electric, and he can see that she feels it too. It occurs to him that when they eventually do kiss, and sleep together, and even fall in love, it won't be the same like it is for everyone else. They already lived it an will relive the journey once more. Their first times were conceived by a dream.

Yet Chuck knows that someday they'll both forget all of it. He finds this incredibly sad for some reason. The dreams are already becoming hazy; fading like they tend to do. But he's sure that these memories will be replaced be newer, permanent ones. Memories that'll include a house with a white picket fence, a red door and their names engraved in the doorframe. They'll be content with making a life as an ordinary couple.

That's all they ever wanted wasn't it?

"Is there something wrong?" asks Sarah.

"No, I'm fine. Why?"

"You've been quiet."

"I'm just trying to make sense of everything." He smiles crookedly. "It's a lot to take in."

"It feels a bit unreal doesn't it?" She returns his smile with her own. "I thought all of the stress was finally getting to me. That the voices were a product of my insanity."

"What sort of voices were you hearing?"

She looks thoughtful. "The kind of voices that keep trying to tell me that this life isn't real, and that I'm really awake when I'm dreaming. They've been very persistent, and on occasion, I've nearly believed what they have been saying. Maybe they've been right all along..."

"One time I drove to the Burbank Buy More thinking I had to work a shift," recalls Chuck. He shakes his head in disbelief. "Then I realized that I haven't worked there since college. Needless to say, it was kind of awkward having to be escorted out of the store after trying to locate the secret passage to Castle in the Home Theater room."

Her lips curve upward like she's experienced something similar. "Did it feel like sleepwalking?"

"Yeah, a little I guess," he says. "I'd be semi-aware of where I was going until someone would snap me out of it." Blushing, he adds. "Lately I'd wake up to an empty bed, expecting you to be there."

Sarah begins to bite her nails, which he finds oddly endearing. "This is so weird," she mutters lowly. "Tell me something, if you don't work at the Buy More, what do you do for a living then, Chuck?"

He hesitates, then abruptly bursts out laughing. "Damn, I was going to say I'm the CEO of Carmichael Industries, but then realized how incredibly stupid that'd sound." His laughter peals out again, sounding subdued but carefree. "I actually work with my dad developing software. Not that exciting of a job, I know. But it actually pays decent and I get to work from my apartment. What do you do?"

"As of now, I am working as an assistant professor at UCLA," explains Sarah. "I'm finishing up my Master's degree and then I'll hopefully be able to teach come next fall."

Chuck looks at her incredulously for a moment, and then smiles. "So what are you going to teach, Professor?"

Sarah shrugs and says. "Languages I suppose. I did major in Linguistics during my undergraduate days. So far I'm fluent in Spanish, French, and Italian. I was considering taking time off to spend a year abroad in Brazil to learn Portuguese maybe."

"And to quell a revolution with a fork?" He teases her, adding. "Are you sure you're not a spy?"

"Yes," she nods confidently. "Are you?"

He deadpans. "Do I honestly look like a superspy to you?"

She giggles. "Oh god, no."

Chuck's heart is pounding slowly and heavily in his chest, but he feels a rising joy. This is going to be alright. "Listen, we don't know each other…this is crazy…but did you want to go get some breakfast with me?"

"I think we know each other well enough to warrant going out for a cup of coffee," remarks Sarah amusedly. "Although we have some serious catching up to do."

"That we do…" he says in soft agreement, using his hand to brush the hair out of her face. His palm settles onto her cheek, and looking at her levelly, he whispers. "Is it wrong to wonder how I can possibly love you already?"

She leans into his caress, shutting her eyes. "No, it's not wrong. I've been thinking pretty much the same thing."

"Do you believe there's a bigger, more profound reason for why we've been dreaming about each other? I mean, it can be that we were meant to be together. It's too coincidental to ignore the possibilities that this was fate, divine intervention, or some weird time paradox caused by colliding universes—"

Sarah stifles a yawn, cutting him off mid-ramble. "You're such a nerd."

He grins. "Is that supposed to be an insult?"

"No, just an observation," replies Sarah. She reopens her eyes and becomes fixated with his questioning gaze. "It just reinforces the fact that you're the man I fell for in my dreams."

Before he can offer a retort, she shushes him with a kiss. Her lips are warm despite the chilliness of the morning. Chuck welcomes her advances as though its common practice. He deepens the kiss, relishing in the way their mouths move in the same sensual yet tender rhythm. It feels so right; similar but different in a very good way.

They eventually draw apart. Both panting slightly; donning the goofiest of smiles.

"That was unexpected," he admits.

She winks. "Well, I have to keep you on your toes somehow, don't I? Considering we're technically married and all…"

Chuck takes her hand—that familiar well-loved hand. And when her fingers close over his and they both rise to their feet, he thinks that he's fallen into that dream again. Everything's so surreal, almost too perfect in a way. As he holds onto Sarah and stares deep into her blue eyes, he waits to wake up.

When nothing happens, he heaves a happy sigh. Sarah tilts her head, regarding him with a knowing look. "You thought I was going to disappear, didn't you?"

He shrugs. "You can't blame me for thinking that this is a little too good to be true, right?"

"Sometimes good things can happen to decent people like us, Chuck."

Chuck smiles and pulls her into another kiss. This time it's slow and sweet, just to reaffirm that this is indeed real. With his lips pressed against her forehead, he holds her in an tight embrace. Their shallows breaths intermingles with the roar of the sea, and then finally Chuck breaks the silence.

Inhaling her familiar scent, he murmurs. "I think I'm starting to believe it myself."

The End...?

An: And they lived happily ever after! Or did they?

If anyone needs further explanation of the story, here it goes: There are multiple realities out there, some that can have subtle differences while others are more extreme. Each person has a doppelganger of themselves, one in the primary verse and the other in the tangent verse. When Chuck and Sarah have been dreaming, they were really reliving a different universe where they met and were spies aka the TV show. With the series coming to an end, the universe ends as well. Thus, Chuck and Sarah in the primary verse wake up and are drawn to each other because, hey, its true love, and that's how it goes. Basically, its a combo of The Dark Tower, Fringe, and Donnie Darko.