She didn't have much time left. They both knew it. In just a few moments, Sarah was going to die.
As death slowly started to take over her body, Chuck began to remember some of the special times they had shared over the years. The first memory that enters his mind is the moment that she first walked into his life.
He was busy with work when Morgan made some comment about a woman who had entered the store, distracting him and causing him to repeat the phase 'Vicki Vale' a number of times. When he saw her standing there, she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen before in his life.
He dropped the phone he was holding to his ear and it clattered to the floor. Then like an idiot he made a comment about how his earlier embarrassment was a Batman reference, further cementing himself as a geek, a nerd, a loser in her eyes. Or so he thought. But she left him with her number. He didn't dare call her though, she was too far out of his league, but the next day she came back and she started flirting with him. He couldn't believe it. She made a cute comment about how she wasn't sure her phone was working because he hadn't called and then proceeded to ask him out on a date. She was actually interested in him.
The date seemed to go quite well. They shared a nice meal, where she smiled a lot, laughed at his stupid jokes and she even said that she liked him. Later that night she danced with him in the most sexy manner. Shortly after that however, he found out that she worked for the CIA and that their date wasn't real. For him though, it was already too late. He was falling for her.
He also remembers the first time they kissed. Really kissed. Oh, yes, he definitely remembers that.
They had tried to defuse a bomb, but they failed. They were going to die, at least they thought they were. It later turned out that it wasn't really a bomb at all. He closed his eyes, waiting for the blast. That's when she suddenly grabbed his neck and firmly planted her lips on his. She was kissing him. For a moment he was in shock, but that soon passed and he responded by wrapping his hands around her neck, returning the kiss. The kiss became more heated and more passionate with every second.
His fingers were getting lost in her hair. He then put his hand around her back and pulled her even closer, as close as he could. He couldn't get enough of her kiss. She grabbed a handful of his shirt, keeping the two of them very close.
She kisses him so passionately that he forgets about the timer that had long since completed its countdown. He never wants to let go of her, but a few seconds later their lips finally do part and they spend a few moments looking deeply into each other's eyes.
No one's kiss has ever made him feel way Sarah's kiss did. There was no turning back now. He was so completely in love with the woman standing just inches in front of him. And he couldn't wait until he got the chance to share another kiss with her.
The next moment he remembers is the time he decided to ask her out on a real date.
He nervously entered the Orange Orange. He tried to lighten the mood and relieve some of his tension and anxiety by first commenting about how he missed her old cover job at the Wienerlicious. He then does what he came to do. He asks her out for a date. A real date. One without aliases, spy gear or a mission.
He tells her that once she leaves, she'll wish she had spent one night with him, having fun and to his surprise she agrees. He's actually going to get the chance to take her out for real. He can hardly wait.
Tonight is special, very special. Tonight he was going to be on a real date with the woman he couldn't help but fall in love with. He has to look just right, so he tries on several shirts before he's finally ready. When he arrives to pick her up, her smile warms his heart. And how gorgeous does she look in that purple dress!
While on their date, she gets him to list all the wonderful qualities about her by making the cutest face. He is just joking when he says that he's fantastic, but then she responds by telling him that he truly is and the way she looks at him is enough to melt him completely.
Once they finish eating and open their fortune cookies, she leans very close to him. So close that he can feel her warm breath on his face when she speaks. They move in very close until their lips are almost touching and they're about to kiss. The heat in his body rises and his heart begins to beat rapidly as he prepares for their lips to meet. But the kiss never happens as he flashes on several very bad people. That was just his luck. Whenever anything good was happing in his life, those stupid flashes had to go and mess it up. Everything up to that point had been more than he could have ever imagined. Their date was over, but the memory of that night would last a lifetime.
A particularly fond memory of his time with Sarah was the night he proposed.
Chuck arrived at the door of Sarah's apartment for their date with a bouquet of her favorite flowers. Gardenias. Before he could knock, Sarah opened the door with a smile. "Hi Chuck."
"Are you ready for a special evening?" Chuck responded as he took her hand and led her out the door.
Chuck had prepared a special midnight picnic on the beach, complete with a blanket, candles, soft music and delicious food.
After finishing their dessert, Chuck leaned toward Sarah to kiss her. As he was kissing her, Chuck discretely placed something under the edge of the blanket. Chuck then leaned even closer to Sarah and she had to put her hand behind her to brace herself. That's when she felt a lump under the blanket.
Breaking from the kiss, Sarah turned to move what she thought was just a stray shell or something. Lifting the blanket however, Sarah instead discovered a small velvet box in the sand. "Chuck, what's this?"
Chuck took the box from her hand saying, "Sarah, I love you. I can't imagine my life without you and I don't want another day to go by without you by my side."
Chuck then lifted the lid and revealed a beautiful diamond ring. "Will you marry me?"
Sarah didn't say anything, instead, she threw herself at him causing him to fall backwards into the sand. Sarah then attacked him with her lips.
"So, can I take that as a yes?" Chuck said after Sarah finally let him sit up again.
Still unable to speak, Sarah furiously nodded her head.
"Yes!" She finally blurted.
Sarah watched as Chuck slid the ring on her finger. Their eyes then locked, expressing all the love they had for one another and they kissed again.
Of course the day they were married flashed through his mind as well.
Sarah made her way down the aisle so gracefully, it almost seemed as though she were floating. She was so beautiful in her white gown. Seeing her walk toward him brought a smile to his face, a smile that matched the one that was expressed on her face.
Upon reaching the end of the aisle, Sarah gracefully extended her hand to Chuck, which he gently took in his own. As they turned to face each other, Chuck took her other hand as well. There they looked into each other's eyes. Their eyes expressing both so much love and so much joy. This was the moment they had been waiting for.
The music came to a stop and was replaced by the minister's words, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony."
When it was asked if anyone objected to the union, the room was silent. Everyone knew how much Chuck and Sarah meant to each other. Even Casey knew this. He was also afraid of the pain Sarah would inflict on him if he did. Not that he ever would, like everyone else who had witnessed the relationship between the two, he thought it was about time.
The minister then asked Chuck to repeat after him.
"I, Chuck, take you Sarah, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward till death do us part."
Chuck took the ring for Sarah and slid it on her finger, with the biggest smile you've ever seen.
Then in turn the minister asked Sarah to repeat after him.
"I, Sarah, take you Chuck, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward till death do us part."
Sarah then took the ring for Chuck and slid it onto his finger. Her smile was bigger than the one that had just been on Chuck's face moments ago.
They were then pronounced husband and wife and Chuck was instructed to kiss the bride.
Chuck leaned toward Sarah, gently placing his hand against her cheek and pressed his lips to hers. When Sarah felt Chuck's lips against hers, she placed her hand on Chuck's face and responded to the kiss.
For their honeymoon, they traveled to Paris, spending two weeks there. Though they hardly even knew they were in Paris as they spent most of their time in the honeymoon suite in one of the most beautiful hotels in the city. They took in the sights only when they became too exhausted or when they traveled to various fine eating establishments for their meals. Those two weeks were filled with the most beautiful moments of their lives.
Only one moment could top those two weeks they spent on their honeymoon and that was the moment they learned that Sarah was pregnant.
They had been trying for months, eight, to be specific. They wanted to start a family. They had gone through test after test. All of them showing negative results. With every new negative test, their disappointment grew. They started to fear that something was wrong with one of them that would make it impossible for them to ever have a child.
They decided to get tested to make sure that wasn't the case. Fearing the worst, they were terrified of what the results would be. They would be devastated if they couldn't add a child to their family.
The results from Chuck's test were the first to come in. He was fine. That's when Sarah's fear grew exponentially.
"Chuck. What if it's me? What if it's my fault we're unable to have children?" Sarah's voice was shaky with guilt evident in her tone. "I've been in so many fights and injured so many times. What if as a result of that I can't get pregnant?"
"Sarah, I'm sure that's not the case. We're just going to have to keep trying. That's all."
Waiting for the results on Sarah's test was agonizing, but they finally came in. There was nothing stopping her from becoming a mother.
They continued trying. They continued to get negative results and it was tearing Sarah apart. Chuck finally said that they were going to stop trying for a while because of the effect all the negative tests were having on her.
Three months after they stopped trying, Sarah was late. However, Sarah didn't allow any hope to build up. She had been disappointed far too many times. A week later, Sarah decided to take another test.
The few minutes waiting were by far the most tense moments of her life. The ding of the timer went off. The test was ready to be read.
Chuck wrapped his arms around Sarah as she prepared to check the test. Finally a different result. The one she had been waiting for. The one they had been waiting for. It was positive! She was pregnant!
Sarah immediately turned around to face Chuck and threw her arms around him with a huge smile on her face. Chuck responded in the same manner.
They were both so ecstatic that they immediately shared their joyous news with everyone they knew. Chuck and Sarah were finally going to have what they had wanted for so long.
They also began preparing for the baby right away. They started shopping for everything the baby would need and before long the baby's room was complete. Now all they had to do was wait for their baby to arrive.
They wanted the sex of the baby to be a surprise so when it came time to buying outfits, they were all gender neutral. All of them except for one that is. When Sarah saw the most adorable pink outfit and she just had to have it.
She really wanted a little girl, not that she wouldn't be thrilled to have a boy, but to have a girl, well, that would just be perfect. If you asked Chuck, he would also say that he waned a daughter, a beautiful little girl that looked like Sarah.
The flashbacks of their life together lasted less than two seconds before his mind returned to the present. They had been very happy together, so in love. And now here she was lying in a hospital bed, seconds from death after complications during childbirth.
Chuck is holding her hand and both have tears in their eyes.
"I love you, Chuck," Sarah whispered weakly through her pain and tears.
"I love you too, Sarah," Chuck choked out as tears spilled down his cheeks.
"Take good care of our baby. Tell her every day how much I loved her," Sarah struggled to say without completely breaking down.
Those were her final words, for at that very moment, the machine that was monitoring her heart rate flat-lined and Sarah's hand fell out of his grasp.
The dreaded monotonous mechanical tone of the monitor forced its way into Chuck's ears and sent a crippling effect throughout his entire body. Chuck crumpled to the cold hospital floor beside Sarah's bed. He then cried harder than he ever had before in his life. His wife was gone. His soul mate, the love of his life had just been ripped so tragically from his life during what should have been a very happy occasion.
The only thing that kept Chuck from dying of extreme heartbreak over the loss of Sarah was his newborn daughter. The daughter he had named Lisa after his beloved wife. Lisa Anne Bartowski. Seven pounds three ounces. Eighteen inches long. Ten tiny fingers. Ten tiny toes. Blue eyes. Her eyes reminded him of Sarah's brilliant blue pools, as did her death grip on his finger when her tiny hand closed around it.
Yes, it was only his daughter that kept him alive. Without her, Chuck wouldn't have the strength to go on. He needed to live. He needed to live for her. She needed him.
Chuck made sure that his daughter knew who her mother was. Every room of their house had at least one picture of Sarah. Every night at bedtime he told her a story about her mother. He told Lisa how much he loved her mother and how much she loved him. And that which was most important, in keeping with Sarah's last request, every single day without fail, he told his daughter just how much her mother loved her.