Rain sprinkled from the heavens down to the earth below, creating a gentle shower, filling the air with the soft sounds of splashing and tinkling, as the water met with various surfaces. But the wet weather wouldn't keep Sarah away from Chuck on Valentine's Day, nothing would. Armed with her umbrella, Sarah left her home to go meet with the man she loved. He was waiting for her, and she was going to be there. She always was.
When she reached their meeting spot Sarah slowly sat down with him under her umbrella, as the gentle rain fell all around them. "Hey Chuck. Happy Valentine's Day." After a pause, she continued, "Do you know what this rain reminds me of...? My favorite Valentine's Day."
Mission, after mission, after mission. It had been a very busy time for Team Bartowski the past couple of weeks and now Valentine's Day had arrived. With their hectic schedule as of late, Chuck hadn't had the time to make any special plans for how he and Sarah would spend the holiday. But he couldn't let the day slip by without finding some way to celebrate with his fiancé. And so, they wound up on the beach where their first unofficial date had ended.
Walking hand-in-hand along the sandy shores, Chuck and Sarah laid their heads together, enjoying their first moments alone together in weeks. The few other people also dispersed throughout the beach on this cloudy afternoon didn't faze them at all. The only thing they could see was each other.
As they continued to stroll through the sand, the clouds floating overhead became heavy, causing them to burst. When the rain began to fall everyone fled in a hurry, everyone except for Chuck and Sarah. Within moments they had the entire beach to themselves and were now truly alone.
Chuck and Sarah didn't seek cover because just as the few people who had been around before the cloudburst hadn't bothered them, the weather conditions didn't either. Instead, Chuck took Sarah into his arms, and as they danced arm-in-arm while the waves crashed into the shore, the gentle rain fell all around them.
Pressed up against each other, with their eyes closed, they moved unitedly as one. Footprints of memories made impressions in the damp sand as the two shuffled and spun around together on their beach. While the sounds of the rain and the ocean created the music for their impromptu little dance.
When their dance ended, Sarah softly placed her hand on Chuck's face, the diamond on her finger sparkling, even in the absence of the sun's presence. They drew ever nearer to one another until their lips made contact, and as they kissed under the umbrella of a soft rainstorm, the waves of the ocean lapped over their shoeless feet.
Their lips parted but they continued to hold each other close, just gazing into one another's eyes. By now both Chuck and Sarah were soaked through and through, but still neither cared to get out of the rain. Chuck just brushed Sarah's wet hair out of her eyes and smiled. And as he whispered, his warm breath kissed her face."I love you."
"I love you too, Chuck," Sarah whispered in return to her fiancée, before pressing a brief kiss against the corner of his lips.
After one more prolonged kiss in the rain, Chuck slipped his hand into Sarah's and they walked back across the wet beach, heading home to continue their Valentine's date. Morgan was off somewhere with Alex, so they had the apartment to themselves. Neither could remember the last time that had happened and they weren't going to waste the opportunity.
Spending the afternoon in the rain had left Chuck and Sarah chilly, so the first order of business was a shower, more specifically a shower for two. Standing together in close proximity under the spray of hot water warmed them up in no time. Their temperatures rose even higher when they came together for a heated kiss.
The double shower continued with Chuck and Sarah assisting each other with getting washed up. They took turns massaging shampoo through the other's hair and rubbing the soap over their skin. Several times throughout the process Chuck and Sarah felt compelled to pause for a while in order kiss again, and by the time they were finished with their shower, there wasn't a drop of hot water left.
Stepping out of the shower, now feeling quite warm, the two grabbed a couple of towels to dry off. Once dried and dressed Chuck and Sarah were beginning to grow hungry. After searching the apartment and finding nothing, Chuck grabbed the phone and called in a pizza delivery, making sure that it contained no olives.
Pizza wasn't the most romantic Valentine's dinner, but due to the demands of the spy life in recent weeks, Chuck hadn't been able to make reservations at a nice restaurant. But he was determined to make the most out of it. While waiting for the pizza to be delivered, Chuck worked on the apartment.
By the time the pizza arrived the apartment was alight with flickering candles, and soft music echoed through the air. If the dinner itself couldn't be romantic, at least the atmosphere could. While the candles cast soft shadows on the walls and on their faces and the music played in their ears Chuck and Sarah sat together on the floor enjoying their Valentine's pizza.
Suddenly setting his partially eaten pizza down on his plate a few minutes into the dinner, Chuck looked up at his fiancé. "Sarah, I'm sorry our first Valentine's together hasn't been very great. I really wanted to do something special for you, but with all the missions we've been on lately I wasn't able to give you the Valentine's Day you deserve."
"Chuck," Sarah said, now setting her own pizza down on her plate."This is the best Valentine's Day I've ever had. I don't need dinner at expensive restaurants or elaborate gifts. All I need is you. The beach, the pizza, the candles, the music, with all of these things you've shown me how much you love me. And isn't that what Valentine's Day is all about? Showing the people you love how much they mean to you."
"Look around you Chuck. Look at what you did despite having no time to plan anything. You've succeeded Chuck. You gave me a very special Valentine's Day. One that I'll never forget. And it's not over yet. When we're finished with dinner I have something special for you."
Sarah leaned over to kiss Chuck, who was now smiling. "Thank you for today." When she broke the kiss off Sarah whispered into his ear. "Would you like a hint as to what your surprise is?"
Sitting back up, Sarah slipped the robe she was wearing off her shoulder, allowing Chuck a peak of bright red and lace. "I hope you like it," Sarah spoke in a voice that made Chuck turn flush, as she slowly pulled the robe back up over her shoulder.
As they resumed eating their pizza, Chuck couldn't take his eyes off of Sarah. He couldn't stop thinking about the surprise she had waiting for him once they finished eating. He wondered when she had gotten it and how he hadn't seen her put it on after their shower together. If just a peak at what Sarah had waiting for him was making him feel this way, he couldn't imagine how he'd feel when he got more than a peak.
When they were finished with their dinner, the leftover portion was put away. Chuck and Sarah then worked on cleaning the apartment back up. They blew out most of the candles, but Sarah took a few that were still lit to the bedroom. The soft music was left to continue playing.
Their work now done, Sarah stood in the doorway of their bedroom and let her robe spill to the floor in a pool of fabric behind her, revealing to Chuck a full view of what was waiting for him. The sight practically caused Chuck's own robe to fall off his shoulders on its own. Once his robe had too met with the floor in a pile, Cluck began moving toward Sarah, clad only in a pair of red boxers.
The closer Chuck got to his fiancé, standing there waiting for him looking so unbelievably sexy in the lacy, red lingerie she had bought just this occasion, the harder he found it became to breathe. He continued to be amazed by her seduction skills. What was even more unbelievable was that she did these things for him. He couldn't believe the amazing woman nearly burning his eyes with her hotness at the moment was soon going to be his wife.
Stepping up to Sarah, Chuck ran his fingers up her back, causing her to melt against his bare chest. When his fingers reached her neck, he pulled her in for a passionate kiss. At the same time, Sarah wrapped her arms around his waist and began pulling him deeper into the bedroom, the door swinging shut behind them. When they came upon the bed, the engaged couple slowly lowered themselves onto its soft surface.
"I may have told you that before, but that was my favorite Valentine's Day out of the many we've shared over the years. It wasn't the most romantic Valentine's we ever had, or the most fun or even the most memorable. But the reason it's so special to me, the reason why it's my favorite is because it was our first. And even though we were so busy with missions that year that you didn't have time to plan anything, you still made sure that we found a way to celebrate. That meant so much to me."
The storm had now passed and the sun was beginning to peak out from behind the clouds, so Sarah lowered her umbrella, shook it off and closed it up. Her umbrella now lying beside her, Sarah was bathed in sunlight, it's rays reflecting off her white hair.
As Sarah sat there with Chuck, a young couple walked past and Sarah heard the woman tell the man she was with something. "She comes here every Valentine's Day to visit her husband. Christmases, birthdays and anniversaries too. I spoke to her once and she told me that just because her husband was here now, she didn't want to miss out on spending their special days with him anymore."
Sarah then heard the man speak. "She must have really loved her husband a lot."
"She did. I could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice when we spoke."
The couple continued to walk on until they were out of earshot. Shortly after they had gone on by, Sarah took great care as she bent over to pick up something by her feet. With emotion filling her voice, Sarah started to speak again, "I have something for you. For Valentine's Day." She then presented him with a vibrant red rose, laying it before him.
"I love you, Chuck. I always have. I always will. These past few years since you have been gone, I've really missed you. You were an amazing husband and father. You gave me such a wonderful life, things I never thought I would ever have until you came into my world. You'll never know just how much that meant to me, or how much you still mean to me. Thank you for everything."
Sarah stopped speaking momentarily to wipe the tears that had fallen during her emotional speech and to regain some composure in her voice. "There's something else I wanna tell you before I go," Sarah said a as small flicker of smile briefly flashed across her face. "Next year you and I are going to be together again. I can feel it."
As she finished, Sarah ran her aged fingers across the stone bearing his name. "By next Valentine's Day I'm gonna be up there with you."
Gathering her umbrella and cane, Sarah gradually rose from the rock upon which she had been sitting. Using her cane for support, Sarah Bartowski slowly began her journey home, filled with joy. Even now, spending Valentine's Day with her husband was one of her favorite things.