AN: Just answering a couple of questions from the reviews:
If a large chuck of money disappears was withdrawn from one of Sarah's accounts around the time of Chuck's death, it would be suspicious.
Since Graham's apparent death, the trio have been talking orders solely from General Beckman and we haven't seen Graham's replacement named yet so I am operating under the assumption that the CIA is funneling orders for Sarah through Beckman.
Sarah and Ellie were in Chuck's room going through his personal effects. The mood was very somber. Going through one of the boxes in Chuck's closet they found a shoe box that contained a plastic stethoscope, large plastic syringe, cloth bandages and other plastic medical toyes. Ellie picked up the stethoscope and held it to her chest. She smiled briefly before fresh tears emerged. Sarah asked, "Did Chuck want to be a Doctor when he was a kid?" Ellie wiped her tears and shook her head no.
Ellie: "When we were kids and Chuck would hurt himself, I always patched him up."
Sarah: "I see you found you're calling early."
Ellie smiled for a second before she continued.
Ellie: "One year Morgan got a new BMX bike for his birthday. They had seen BMX stunts on TV and got the brilliant idea of trying to see if they could do them too. The two of them built a make shift ramp out of stuff they could find around the garage and house."
Sarah's eyes grew wide and said, "They didn't?"
Ellie: "A couple of hours later Chuck was in the hospital requiring stitches. He also scraped himself up pretty bad. I'm sure you've noticed the scar."
Sarah tried hard not to blush.
Ellie: "Anyway I spent days tending to him, changing his bandages and putting on the ointment they gave him to keep the large scrapes from getting infected. I was practically waiting on him hand and foot; the big baby was milking it for everything he could."
Sarah tried to stifle a giggle as she pictured a young Chuck doing this.
Ellie: "That year when we celebrated Mother's Day, Chuck gave me this fancy play doctor's kit that he knew that I had been wanting. It must have cost him most of what he had saving for a video game that he really wanted."
The tears were streaming down Ellie's face at this point. As Sarah was becoming misty eyed as well, she pulled Ellie into a hug.
Sarah: "You've always meant so much to Chuck."
Ellie: "So do you."
The two separated and Ellie reached for the box of Kleenex and dabbed her eyes. Ellie gave the knowing glance to Sarah
Ellie: "I've seen the way Chuck looks at you and the way you look at him. I know that look."
Sarah blushed again.
Ellie: "Chuck took getting kicked out of Stanford pretty hard but he took his breakup with Jill even harder. Over the years I've had dozens of conversations with him trying to get him back in the game but he was always extremely stubborn. Devon and I have been trying to set up with our friends but he's managed to kill it by going into a monologue about Jill. You are a saint in my book for listening to it and still going out with him."
Sarah: "Actually I'm the one that brought up Ex's first."
A look of shock appeared on Ellie's face as she said, "Are you serious? You two were perfect for each other. Chuck never did tell me how the two of you met."
Sarah: "I just moved here and my cell phone stopped working. I happen to pass the Buy More so I stopped in and Chuck happened to be working at the time. He fixed my phone in a flash and I was about to thank him and be on my way as I had an appointment when a panicked man walks in with his daughter. Apparently he was supposed to have filmed his daughter's ballet recital and the guy didn't realize he still needed to put in a tape. He was panicked as his wife who had been home ill and missed the show was going to kill him. Chuck impressed me by doing what he did next. He took it open himself to stage his own ballet right there in the store, and filmed it for the guy to take home to his wife. I had to leave before he finsihed but I left him my card."
A clearly surprised and interested Ellie asked, "So he called you?" Sarah shook her head no.
Sarah: "I was new in town, first time to the area and I had only been in town for a few days. I didn't know anyone and your brother had made an impression on me so I showed back up the next day."
Ellie rolled her eyes as she said, "He was so oblivious to girls sometimes." Sarah just smiled. Ellie now really excited to hear the rest of the story asked, "So you made the first move?"
Sarah: "I think he was surprised to see me again but I told him I didn't know anyone and asked if he was free to show me around town that evening. Funny, it was Morgan that immediately chimed in that Chuck was available."
What appeared to almost resemble a smile started to appear on Ellie's face as she heard the story.
Ellie: "I remember that afternoon vividly, Chuck came home and said he had some news when Morgan came running in telling us Chuck had a date. I was so proud of him."
Sarah: "That evening we went out, had dinner and went to a local club. I remember thinking how funny, charming and sincere he seemed to be."
For a brief moment Ellie forgot about her pain as she and Sarah were bonding over Chuck.
Chuck lay in his motel room in the small town that Sarah had directed him to. It was his second night there as he arrived late last night. It was day 3 since he fled his home. He wasn't doing well. He missed his family and friends and it broke his heart putting Ellie through this nightmare. It broke his heart even more that he hadn't realize what a dope he had been not telling Sarah everything he felt while he had the chance. He'd miss his sister's wedding. Chuck longed to make his sister proud of him and he knew she would be proud of him when we could tell her the truth. He had grown up so much in the last couple of years.
That night Chuck drifted off into another fitful sleep. He dreamed about his sister's wedding. Everything was perfect, except half the church pews were empty. Normally the bride's family and friends sit on one side and the groom's side sits on the other. It was the bride's side that was empty. The wedding organist started playing the bridal procession and when it came to Ellie's turn to walk down the aisle, she walked down alone. When she got to the altar the presider asked who gives this woman to be married and there was silence.
Immediately Chuck woke up, he was sweating and his heart beating fast. He was the last family that Ellie had. He turned on the nightstand lamp. He reached for his wallet and stared at the pictures he kept in there. He thought about the nightmare he just had and dream he had in the car about Sarah. He turned TV and found nothing that caught his interest. He turned on the clock radio and scanned the station when he came across the following song:
I'm gonna live my life
Like every days' the last
Without a simple goodbye it all goes by so fast
And now that you're gone
I can't cry heard enough
No, I can't cry hard enough
For you to hear me now
Gonna open my eyes and see for the first time
I've let go of you like
A child letting go of his kite
There it goes, up in the sky
There it goes, beyond the clouds
For no reason why
I can't cry hard enough
No, I can't cry hard enough
For you to hear me now
Gonna look back in vain
And see you standing there
When all that remains
Is just an empty chair
And now that you're gone
I can't cry hard enough
No, I can't cry hard enough
For you to hear me now
There it goes, up in the sky
There it goes, beyond the clouds
For no reason why
I can't cry hard enough,
No I can't cry hard enough
For you to hear me now
Chuck had so badly wanted to say goodbye. What a fool he had been not realizing what he had sooner. His mind drifted. Would he able to lie low successfully for a year? Would he be able to find Sarah? Would his sister be ok? At that moment, Chuck knew what he needed to do.
Back at the CIA CSI lab in Los Angeles, the remains found in part of the wreckage was removed and testing began on it to be compared to the DNA sample they had of Chuck on file.
