Sarah Bartowski rolls over on to the other side of the bed to find it unexpectedly cold and empty. She sits up to turn on the light in hopes of finding out what drew Chuck from their bed before 7 in the morning. She pads down the hallways of their house to find an equally empty kitchen, with a lone note sitting on the counter top.

Couldn't sleep, decided to head into the office early to get some work done.

Love, Chuck

She finds herself disappointed as she pours herself a bowl of cereal before getting ready for her work day. She had regained her memory and decided to quit the CIA, she became the co-founder of Carmichael Industries. A technology and security firm that worked with the most influential people around the world making sure they had the most high tech defenses in their homes, businesses, and computers. She worked more on the security aspects of the job whereas Chuck focused mainly on the technology side.

Sarah sighed as she undressed and slipped into the shower alone, a time usually shared with Chuck. She goes through the rest of her morning routine without much effort and she looks forward to seeing Chuck as she drives to work. Chuck had been stressed out at work lately, trying to perfect an in-home defense system for the Arab sheik living in Dubai. He had worked late every night, slipping into bed after Sarah was already asleep and now he had started going in early as well.

When Sarah gets to Carmichael Industries she heads to the top floor, where all the bigger offices are. Noticing that Chuck's office is empty she heads to Casey's office to see where he is. She's disappointed to find out that he will be meeting with clients all day, and she probably won't see him until after work, whenever that may be. For the second time that day Sarah is filled with disappointment.

She fills her day with making calls to clients and working on paperwork she has avoided doing. It's not until after her lunch break that she hears the short chime on her phone indicating a text message, and it's from Chuck.

Finally closed the deal with the Sheik. Heading to Morgan's tonight to celebrate with pizzas and video games. Won't be home until late. Love you.

For the third time today, she is completely disappointed in Chuck. She's not used to this kind of stress on her relationship. She is used to an attentive and caring husband not one who one see's her when she is sleeping, and leaves her kitchen notes and text messages instead of actually talking to her. She decides not to reply, not wanting her anger and disappointment to get the better of her. She finishes the rest of the paper work and heads home to an empty house.

It's 7 PM by the time Chuck makes to it Morgan and Alex's apartment with the pizza and beer. While Morgan also works at Carmichael Industries, he has missed spending time with Morgan that doesn't revolve around work. They immediately dive into the pizza and after four slices each they decide on a video game. They play for three hours straight before the ringing of Chuck's cellphone snaps them out of their video game haze.

"Hey Ellie, what's up?"

"Chuck! I'm so sorry, I hope I'm not calling too late. I always forgot about the time difference between Chicago and LA."

"No worries, El. So what's up?

"I wanted to ask how Sarah's birthday was! What did you guys do to celebrate?!"

Chuck stood there dumbfounded as he realized his horrible mistake. He tried to think of the date in his mind. July 8th. Today was Sarah's 29th birthday. How had he forgotten? Sure, she wasn't the type to make a big deal out of her birthday. But still! He was her husband. He was supposed to remember his own wife' birthday.

"Chuck? Are you still there?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, El. I'm really sorry but I have to go."

Chuck snapped his cellphone shut and immediately gathered his things. He shouted a quick goodbye to Morgan before running out the door and hopping in his car. How could he be so stupid, he thought to himself on his rush home.

By the time he reached the house he shared with Sarah it was almost 11 PM and he found the living room dark as he entered through the front door.

"Sarah?" he called softly.

Her car was in the garage, so she couldn't' have gone far. He walks down the hallway and slowly pushes open the bedroom door. He finds his wife curled up on her side of the bed sleeping peacefully in only his shirt and her underwear. He kneels down next to the side of the bed and slowly strokes the side of her face with his hand.

"Sarah? Baby?" He whispers softly too her before placing a kiss on his wife's forehead.

Slowly Sarah opens her eyes and blinks a few times before whispering a sleep filled voice,

"Chuck?'.

"I'm so sorry I missed your birthday baby, I feel like the worst husband ever. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

Sarah already feels her anger at chuck dissipating as she looks into his guilt ridden chocolate brown eyes.

"Just come to bed, Chuck" she replies sleepily.

"There's still an hour left of your birthday. We need to do something special. Come on, get out of bed and put some pants on."

Reluctantly she rolls out of bed, keeping his oversized Stanford t-shirt on she pulls on a pair of skinny jeans before pulling her hair into a messy ponytail. He gives her a small smile and leads her to the car. Not even two minutes into the drive she already knows where he is taking her, back to the beach. The beach where she told him to trust her, and then five years later he did the exact same thing to her. They both love that spot, and although they used to visit it often, it had been a few months since they had gone together. He parks the car on the side of the road and they head down to walk along the shore. The beach is nearly deserted at this time of night and she loves the peacefulness of walking hand in hand with Chuck as the water laps at their feet. She can never stay mad at him for long, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed that he forgot something as big as her birthday.

"Sarah, I can't even put into words how bad I feel about how I've treated you lately. I've barely even seen you this past week and to top it all off I forgot your birthday. I know I can't take back what I did, but please let me try and make it up to you," Chuck says, his voice pleading.

Sarah doesn't really know how to respond so she just turns to him, giving him a small smiling knowing she has already forgiven him. She leans in and kisses him. She can't remember the last time he gave her a real kiss. It's been a few weeks at least, just quick pecks as the go their separate ways at work.

She wraps her arms around his neck and tangles her fingers in his hair as he wraps his arms around her small waist, pulling her tighter against his body. She relished in the closeness of their bodies, and how his lips were still moving against hers. The kiss was passionate, but still soft and slow, they didn't want to rush anything.

"Take me home. Chuck. I want you to show me exactly how sorry you are," she says to him with a smirk.

So he does, and the night ends on a very high note.