2. Sarah and Ellie

As Chuck was getting ready for his night with Morgan, Sarah walked over to the kitchen to try to figure out how she would spend her evening. She would probably have to finish a couple of reports for the CIA, and the leftover Chinese from the night before was waiting for her in the fridge. None of was exactly her idea of fun. Certainly nothing like a Guy's Night Out.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She quickly moved to the entrance to answer it, and found Ellie standing there, her expression unreadable.

"Uh, hi Ellie."

"Hey Sarah."

Since they lived next door to each other, Ellie and Sarah had spent a fair amount of time together. Whenever she'd set foot in Casa Woodcomb, though, she'd felt as if the room temperature had immediately dropped from comfortable to penguin-friendly.

She understood this, of course. To Ellie, she was the reason that Chuck had been lying to her for three years, not to mention a contributor to the death of her father. The fact that they had been friends, and that she had even been one of Ellie's bridesmaids, had only made things worse. While she hadn't actually said she objected to Sarah's relationship with Chuck, it was clear that Ellie wasn't thrilled with it either. Chuck had told her that he hadn't gotten any martial-related pressure from his sister in months.

So she didn't know exactly what to expect from Ellie. But it hadn't been the question that followed. "So, are you busy tonight?"

"Um, not really?"

"Good. You and I are going out."

Sarah gave the menu her undivided attention. Ever since they'd arrived at the restaurant, she'd tried to avoid eye contact with Ellie. While she'd always been a bit uncomfortable around Chuck's sister, this evening felt worse to her. It wasn't that she was worried about a physical altercation, of course. That she could handle. An emotional one, though, was another story entirely.

The restaurant was a fancy place, the kind of establishment she might take a mark on a mission. The prices on the menu certainly backed this up. "Fancy place," Sarah finally said.

"Well, judging by that Porsche you've been driving, you can afford it."

"Um, yeah." This wasn't going to go well, Sarah could see. There was no way to avoid the inevitable. She took a big swig of wine, then said, "Ellie, look…"

"Wait." Ellie held up a hand. "Let me." Ellie put down her menu, and gave the younger woman a long, penetrating gaze. "Sarah, I've known you for more than three years now. And most of that time, you have done nothing but lie to me. And ever since he's known you, my brother has been put in dangerous situation after situation."

"Ellie, I know, but…"

"I get that that last part wasn't entirely your fault. I know my brother, and he has a tendency not to listen to people." Sarah smiled briefly. Ellie had that part right.

"The day I first learned the truth about Chuck," the older woman continued, "I didn't think I could ever forgive you. But I promised myself that I would give it three months, to see you and Chuck together for a while, to see if you really care about my brother."

"That was three months ago today."

Sarah didn't say anything. She'd always thought that she was an organized person, but she'd never go as far as scheduling her grudges. Finally, she said, "And what did you decide?"

Ellie smiled briefly. "You've got it bad, girl."

Sarah looked down awkwardly. She still wasn't comfortable talking about how she felt, even if Ellie was completely right about it.

"But," Ellie added, her voice reverting back to normal, "that just means I've accepted you as my brother's girlfriend. If you and I are going to be friends, you have to start to be open with me."

"Um, ok." Even though Ellie now knew a lot more than she ever should have, Sarah wasn't sure she liked where things were headed.

"Tell me about yourself. For real, not any cover stories or feeding me what you think I want to hear. I've spent three years being friends with a cardboard cutout, and I don't want to do it again."

"So what do you want to know?" Sarah asked. She'd been opening up more to Chuck lately about her past, but it had been difficult for her. She didn't know if she could go through that again.

"Well, how about you start at the beginning?"

Sarah sighed, and poured another glass of wine. It didn't look like she had much of a choice.

"And they really believed he was the King of Portugal?"

"Yup."

"But Portugal hasn't been a monarchy in a century!"

Sarah had spent too many double dates on the losing end of Trivial Pursuit to be surprised that Ellie knew this. "Well, Dad had me sew up a coat-of-arms. It looked official. Or as official as a chicken holding a sword can."

They both burst into laughter. Sarah hadn't really thought of herself as an entertaining storyteller, but then again, she rarely had the chance to tell stories about her past. It had felt weird at first, but eventually, and in no small part due to the now-empty bottle of wine, sharing her various childhood stories had come easier. Ellie had been fascinated throughout, rarely interrupting with more than an exclamation of surprise.

"So, there you go," Sarah said, wiping her eyes. "That's how I became the liar I am today."

"Yeah no wonder, with an upbringing like yours. You never had a chance."

Sarah thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I guess I learned a lot of things from my father, and maybe he set me on a path. But I had plenty of chances to move away from it, and I didn't. I made my own choices. I just think that one's past, one's upbringing, might shape you a bit, but they don't define you. You of all people must agree with me on that."

Sarah realized that she'd probably gone too far, and had probably offended the other woman. Ellie studied her intently for a while, without saying anything. Finally, the brunette raised her glass. "Hear hear. I'd like to think I did alright, even without my parents around."

Sarah clinked her glass to Ellie's. "You did better than alright. If it weren't for you, Chuck wouldn't be the man he is. So I owe you, big time."

As the two women returned there glasses to the table, the waiter came over to the table with the check. Sarah could see he was somewhat anxious to get them out of the restaurant. Apparently, they'd been louder than she'd realized.

With a smile, Ellie nudged the check over to Sarah. "You said you owe me, right?"

"Sarah?"

Sarah slowed her pace, and looked over at Ellie. They were walking to the edge of the block, about to try to hail a taxi. Ellie had been quiet since they'd left the restaurant, and Sarah was worried that their brief détente may be coming to an end. "What is it?"

"I was just wondering if you could do one thing for me?"

"Oh?"

"Show me a con."

Sarah stopped in her tracks. The request surprised her, for one thing. Ellie had seemed to enjoy the stories she'd told during dinner, but tales of door-to-door radon inspectors and collecting money for the Society to Stop Hunting Wolverines was one thing. Actually swindling somebody was another. She wouldn't have thought Ellie, one of the most law-abiding, responsible people she'd met, would have any interest in it.

She also wasn't thrilled with the idea of facing Chuck if he found out that she'd taught his sister how to con people.

"I don't know…"

"It's not that I want to learn how, I just want to see you do it. It will make me understand you better."

"Ellie, that's just a small part of my past. It's nothing to do with who I am now."

"I know what you said earlier, Sarah. And you're right, your past doesn't define you. But you can't just bury it and pretend it never happened either."

"Besides, I'm curious. And you owe me."

"I thought that's what my paying for dinner was for."

"Oh, your debts haven't been paid up yet." Not willing to give up, Ellie persisted. "C'mon. Just show me a small one."

Sarah briefly wondered if it was some sort of test, to see if she could be the nice, normal girlfriend Ellie wanted for Chuck. However, she figured she'd long ago failed any test of that type, and the doctor looked very anxious and curious. Sarah sighed, and looked around. There were a few places still open, including a clothing store, a coffee shop, and a liquor store.

"Ok, just a small thing," she said, and walked toward the liquor store.

"What should I do?" Ellie asked.

"Just follow my lead. And act ditzy."

The only person inside the liquor store was the man behind the counter. He appeared to be about forty, with greasy hair and an uneven goatee. He brightened visibly when the two women entered. "What can I do for you?"

Sarah whipped out a twenty and showed it to the clerk. "I'm so silly," she said in an unnaturally high-pitched voice. "We just went out to dinner, and I totally forgot to bring enough change for the meter. All I got is this big old twenty."

"Well, we don't make change here."

"I know, silly," Sarah replied, flipping her hair with a giggle. "But I figured, why not get something for…after dinner. So what do you have behind that counter of yours that's almost twenty bucks?"

"Ah. Let's see what I can find for you ladies." As the clerk turned around, Sarah quickly replaced the twenty in her hand with a single, and folded it neatly in her hand.

A moment later, the clerk turned back to Sarah and Ellie, a bottle in hand. "How about some tequila?"

"Sounds great!" Sarah turned to Ellie. "What do you think, Amber? Make it a tequila night?" Ellie looked unsure of herself for a moment, then quickly flashed a vapid grin.

"Alright!" Sarah raised her arm awkwardly in a cheer. "Looks like you've got yourself a deal, mister."

The clerk gave Sarah a look that made her want to run home and take a shower. "You ladies are going to have fun tonight."

"Ooh yeah. Now don't forget my change for the car."

"Of course. That'll be $19.29 plus tax." He took Sarah's dollar bill, without looking at it closely, and handed Sarah the change. "Man, I wish I could join you ladies."

Sarah giggled, and Ellie followed suit a moment later. "Well, too bad you gotta work tonight."

After she pocketed the change, Sarah walked slowly and deliberately towards the door. She saw Ellie

"Shouldn't we move faster?" Ellie whispered. "In case he looks at the bill you gave him?"

Sarah could feel the clerk's eyes on her. "Trust me. He's not looking at the cash right now."