I see the light and it's like a fog has lifted.
…
"And Rapunzel and the prince lived happily ever after. The end."
"Will you read it to me again, Daddy?"
"We've already read it twice!"
"But it's my favorite!"
Chuck kissed the little girl on the forehead. "You know you have to get up early to go to school, Annie Bartowski."
"I know," said the five-year-old, heaving a huge sigh. "Can we read it again tomorrow night?"
He laughed. "Don't you want to read something else? Your grandma makes sure you have plenty of books."
"Alright," conceded the girl, "but I want you to read it again soon."
"Alright, I can agree to that," he said, rising and stretching. He bent over to kiss the girl once more. "Good night, Annie."
"Daddy?" she said as he began to turn around.
He turned to face her slowly. "Yes, love?"
"Daddy, sometimes I worry about Mommy."
Chuck grimaced and returned to sit at his daughter's bedside. Sarah had been having more memory lapses lately, but they both thought it had gone unnoticed by their daughter. Evidently it had not.
"What do you mean, sweetie?"
The girl frowned. "Sometimes she looks at you like she's never seen you before. And me, too," she added, picking at a thread in her pink comforter.
He opened and closed his mouth several times. "Sometimes we just forget how blessed we are. Sometimes I forget, too."
"You forget about me?" asked the girl, frowning.
"Not…totally," he said lamely. Annie raised an eyebrow and he grimaced once more.
"What Daddy means to say," said Sarah, entering swiftly and sitting down on the bed beside her daughter, "is that I forget that this is all really happening. I've just wanted it for so long, sometimes it feels like I'm dreaming again."
Annie sighed. "If you say so."
"I promise, it's true," said Sarah. She stood and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Good night, Annie. I love you very much."
"I love you more," said the girl as her father kissed her.
Her parents turned and headed out into the hallway. "We love you most," they chorused as they turned off the light and shut the door.
"Thank you for saving me," said Chuck with a sigh as they reached the living room. "I forget how perceptive she is. She gets that from you."
She sat down and pulled her legs up underneath her. "She's still too young to know everything, isn't she."
"Too young," he said with a nod. "She'll figure out someday, but I don't want her to know before she's ready."
"Before we're ready," said Sarah.
He turned on the television and flipped through the channels and she remained folded up on the other side of the couch. After a few minutes he stopped and glanced over at her. Her eyes were fixated on the television, which was showing some sort of Hispanic soap opera. Her lip was slightly pouted, as if she should know what was going on and didn't.
"Sarah?" he muttered.
She snapped her head quickly to face him and fear flashed through her eyes, followed by confusion. Her breathing increased and she scooted away from him toward the end of the couch.
"Sarah," he said, recognizing the signs of a lapse, "Sarah, it's me. Chuck. Your husband. We've known each other for twelve years. We met at the Buy More, we have a daughter together, Annie. Do you remember?"
It took her a moment, but she closed her eyes and inhaled shakily. "Yes. I remember now." She rested her chin on her knees. "I remember. I'm sorry, Chuck."
He crossed the couch and put his arms around her. "What are you sorry about, hmm?" He rubbed her back and looked into her eyes.
"I won't ever remember everything," she said, sighing. "I look at our daughter and I see a stranger sometimes. I look at you…" she shook her head. "I see a guy who fixed my phone once. Or worse, I see the man who took away everything—"
"That's Quinn's fault, not yours," he said quickly. "You didn't do anything wrong, you have nothing to be sorry about."
"I should never have taken the Intersect," she muttered, biting her lip. "If I hadn't I would remember you. I wouldn't forget."
He kissed her, then pulled away to meet her eyes. "I will always be here to help you remember. I love you, Sarah Walker-Bartowski, and whether you remember it or not, you love me, too."
"I remember," she said, smiling a bit. "I remember that I love you. Sometimes it's all I remember."
He smiled and kissed her again. "I won't let you forget."
…
All at once everything is different
Now that I see you.
…
A/N: It started out as me thinking about Chuck and his daughter watching Tangled and evolved into this. I hope you like it, and thank you very much for reading.