After a week of serious debate, weighing all of his options, Chuck finally reached a decision. For the past eight days Chuck had looked into places around the world that could be possible travel destinations or potential new homes for him. He also spent the week exploring the town and surrounding area on his own. Though he missed Sarah and would have liked to see the place with her, have her show him her home, he found that he was enjoying his time in the quiet little town.
In the few days that he had spent hanging around town people had greeted him warmly and made him feel welcome. The friendly nature of the people he encountered reminded Chuck of just how alone he had been for so long. He was the sole survivor among his group of family and friends back at his old home in Burbank and he had forgotten what it was like to have friends, people he cared about, people who cared about him in his life. The people of Sarah's town made Chuck realize that he didn't want to be alone any longer. He wanted to build a new life, create new friends and relationships. He was staying. He had a new home.
Now that he was staying in South Carolina permanently Chuck wanted to see Sarah to share his decision with her. However Chuck quickly realized that he had overlooked a pretty big problem. He didn't actually know where Sarah lived. He didn't even have a phone number which he could use to get in contact with her.
Chuck really needed to talk to Sarah about his decision and if neither going to her house nor calling her were options then he was just going to have to figure something else out. His plan to find Sarah began with him going to the café where he first saw her. He knew that Sarah visited the café on occasion and if nothing else at least he would be able to get something to eat.
Arriving in time for the early bird breakfast special Chuck was promptly seated at one of the empty tables and handed a menu. As he perused the menu Chuck also looked around the restaurant. A handful of tables were occupied, mostly by other senior citizens, none of whom were Sarah, unfortunately.
"Good morning, sir," a middle-aged waitress with a warm, friendly smile said upon approaching his table. "May I take your order?"
"I think I'll try the early bird breakfast special I read about on my way in," Chuck answered handing his menu over.
"Excellent choice. That's one of our most popular breakfast options. What would you like to drink?"
"I'll take some orange juice please."
"Yes sir. I'll go get your orange juice and it shouldn't take too long to get your order ready."
As Chuck waited for his meal he continued to hope Sarah would come in for breakfast. Every time the door opened Chuck would turn his attention in that direction. Each time he was disappointed however. He had a brief flicker of hope when he looked up to see a white-haired woman, but that hope quickly faded when her husband followed her inside the café a few moments later.
"Here you are sir, one early bird breakfast special. Enjoy. Is there anything else I can get you?"
"Um, do you know Sar, uh, Savannah Smoak? I know she comes here sometimes."
"Miss Savannah. Yeah, I know Miss Savannah. She's a sweet woman."
"Do you know where she lives or how to get in contact with her? I'm looking for her."
"No sir. I don't. I'm sorry. If I see her I could tell her that you're looking for her, if you'd like. I don't when that'll be though."
"Thanks," Chuck replied. "I'll figure something out."
Well his first plan turned out to be a bust. Sarah hadn't shown up at the café this morning and his waitress hadn't been able to help him either. Chuck was starting to wonder how often Sarah actually ate here and just how much luck was involved in running into her that first day.
After breakfast Chuck headed down to the beach next. A place he knew for certain that Sarah frequented. He had been told by one of the lifeguards that it was almost a daily occurrence, so he hoped to have better luck here. He just didn't know if she had a usual time to visit the beach or what time that would be if she did.
Arriving on the beach Chuck noticed that there was no one else around. Looking at the empty beach it was immediately clear that Sarah wasn't here. At least not right now, but he wasn't ready to give up just yet.
Chuck wandered across the soft sand for a bit until he decided to take a seat on the stairs of a lifeguard tower. He didn't want to try to sit on the ground when no one was around to help him get back up, but he still wanted to get off his feet. They were aching and begging for a little rest.
As Chuck sat on the lifeguard steps he watched the waves of the ocean and memories of sitting on the beach with Sarah filled his mind, only strengthening his resolve to get in touch with her.
Chuck got so lost in the waves and the memories that he was nearly startled into a heart attack when someone approached without his noticing. Suddenly hearing his name next to his ear caused him to jump so much that the man who spoke to him immediately sprang into action to keep him from potentially falling off the stairs.
"Woah, Chuck, are you okay?" he asked as he braced the old man with his hands.
After taking a moment to begin calming his racing heart Chuck looked up to see the lifeguard, Brett, standing over him looking quite worried.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Chuck answered as his heart continued to work on recovering from the sudden shock. "I just didn't know you were there."
"Are you sure you're alright? You don't need me to call you a doctor or anything."
"No, I'll be fine, but could I ask you something?"
"Of course sir. What is it?"
"I'm trying to find…, Savannah," Chuck said, pausing in his words to get her name right. "Do you know where I can find her or how I could get in touch with her?"
Shaking his head Brett said, "Miss Savannah never mentioned anything about where she lived. I'm pretty sure she walks here from her house though, so she can't live too far away. But didn't you come down to the beach with Miss Savannah about two weeks ago?"
"I did, but I had only just arrived in town and didn't really know my way around. So I was a bit lost."
"I'm sorry Chuck. I wish I could have been of more help."
Again Chuck had failed. Sarah wasn't on the beach this morning and the lifeguard Brett couldn't tell him anything useful. Despite his failings however Chuck wasn't giving up. He wanted Sarah to know that he had chosen to live here. He felt she deserved to know.
He needed to come up with another idea for tracking Sarah down. Searching his memory Chuck tried to remember the name of her son-in-law. Both he and her daughter were doctors, so maybe he could find her through them. He racked his brain for several minutes before he recalled the name.
Immediately Chuck pulled out his phone and began a search of doctors in the area with the first name of Scott. That was as much as he knew. He couldn't remember if he'd ever been told his last name. If he had, he didn't remember it now.
Chuck's search only produced two doctors named Scott and only one of them was listed as being a surgeon. Remembering that Sarah's daughter mentioned her husband preforming a surgery, Chuck was sure that he had to be Sarah's son-in-law. Dr. Scott Collins.
After getting the information about which hospital he worked at and a general idea of where it was located Chuck called for a taxi. He just hoped that he had the right doctor and that he was working today. He didn't have any other ideas for finding Sarah after this one.
Walking through the doors of the hospital half-an-hour later Chuck went looking for a nurse's station. As an old man walking through a hospital looking lost Chuck drew pretty quick attention from a passing nurse who interpreted him to be a patient. She guided him to the nearest nurse's station where he was handed a form to fill out. Before he knew it that same nurse was seating him in one of the waiting room chairs nearby.
Chuck stared at the form in his hands for a few moments before getting to his feet and walking back up to the nurse's station. It was frustrating the way people treated him sometimes just because he was elderly, like he couldn't take care of himself or couldn't figure out things on his own.
"Yes, sir," one of the nurses sitting behind the desk said looking up at Chuck. "Can I help you with something? Is there something you don't understand?"
Sighing, Chuck started off by explaining that he wasn't a patient and that he didn't need to see a doctor for any medical purposes. Instead he tried to explain that he was looking for Dr. Scott Collins and hoped to speak to him for a moment if possible. However, not fully comprehending Chuck's words the nurse simply told him that if he was here for surgery he would have to fill out the form first and tried to hand the clipboard back to him.
Trying to explain himself again Chuck calmly and slowly said, "I'm not here for surgery or any other kind of medical treatment. I just want to know if Dr. Scott Collins is currently on duty and if I could speak to him for just a moment when he has the time."
Chuck wasn't sure whether she understood him that time either or not, but at least she was looking on the computer to see if Dr. Collins was working today.
"Yes sir," the nurse said after briefly searching the computer. "Dr. Collins is here today."
"Good," Chuck responded, relieved to finally be getting somewhere. "Could you have him meet me out here as soon as he is available?"
When it seemed that he had gotten his message across Chuck returned to the waiting room chair, leaving the clipboard at the desk. As he sat waiting for the doctor, he really hoped he had the right Scott. If he had gotten the wrong doctor he was going to be really embarrassed after all of this. Not to mention how much time and energy he would have wasted on the wrong lead.
Time moved so slowly as Chuck sat in the waiting room, waiting for whom he really hoped was Sarah's son-in-law. Looking for a way to pass the time that didn't involve staring at the clock, which seemed to be standing still, Chuck picked up a magazine from the table to his left. The magazine didn't particularly interest him, but it was still a much better distraction than the agonizingly slow tick of the clock. Randomly flipping through the magazine Chuck looked at the colorful pictures and read any article he came across that looked at least halfway interesting.
Finally after going through three or four magazines, he couldn't remember which, Chuck noticed the nurse he had spoken to earlier talking to a man in a white coat and pointing in his direction. Chuck tried to gage whether or not he had the right doctor, but without being able to see his face, he couldn't tell. Chuck couldn't even be sure that the man's name was Scott Collins and not just some doctor the nurse felt he needed. So the only thing Chuck could do was wait a little bit longer.
The man dressed in a doctor's coat turned around a short time later and Chuck got his answer. This was the man Sarah had introduced him to at her daughter's house the other week. He had found the Dr. Scott that he was looking for.
Dr. Collins recognized him as well because as soon as he turned around to approach him a look of surprise crossed his face and he said, "Chuck?!"
Sarah's son-in-law took a seat next to him and told Chuck how surprised he was to see him and how he thought he had left town already. He then asked Chuck what he wanted to see him about.
"I'm trying to get in touch with Savannah and I was hoping that you could help me. There is something I wanted to talk to her about."
"Of course Chuck. I'm actually on my lunch break, so we could go see her now if you'd like. Where have you been this past week though? Savannah was certain that you had checked out of your hotel and moved on."
"I had some things I needed to figure out before I talked to her. But then I realized that I had no way to get in touch with her and I've been trying to find someone who could help me all morning."
"Well, come on," Scott said standing up and extending his hand out to Chuck. "Let's go talk to Savannah."
Chuck followed Dr. Collins out of the hospital to the parking lot where they both got in his car. During the ride over to meet Sarah at her house, at least that's where Chuck assumed they were going, he tried to learn the names of as many of the roads as possible. He hoped that it would help him to find Sarah on his own in the future.
Twenty minutes later Chuck and Dr. Collins pulled into the driveway for the Collins home. As they got out of the car Scott told Chuck that he was welcome to come in with him and have lunch with his family if he would like. Chuck thanked Scott for all he had done and told him that he didn't want to take up any more of his lunch hour and that he would be fine to take things from here.
As Sarah's house came into view Chuck smiled, it had taken him half a day, but he had finally made it. With each step he made toward her house Chuck's anticipation grew, but so did the nerves that were churning in the pit of his stomach. What would she think of seeing him? Of his decision to move here? Scott had indicated that Sarah seemed to think that he was gone, but he hadn't said anything about how she felt about his supposed departure. He was about to find out though as he raised his hand to knock on the door.
After knocking Chuck anxiously waited for Sarah to answer, wondering what her reaction would be. Still waiting for Sarah to answer her door after forty-five seconds Chuck knocked again. As he did so, he began to worry that perhaps Sarah wasn't home. Or maybe she was, but she knew that he was the one at her door and she didn't want to see him. Then thirty seconds after the second knock the door knob started to turn.
Sarah had the door open a short time later and the expression on her face immediately transformed into one of shock. After a moment of quietly staring at him, still in a state of shock, Sarah said one word, "Chuck?!"
"Hello Sarah. May I come in? I want to talk to you."
"Um, sure," Sarah said looking at something behind her.
Noticing that Sarah was clearly distracted Chuck said, "You don't have to let me in if you don't want to or if this is a bad time. I'll understand."
"No, it's fine Chuck come in. I just don't want my food to burn. Have you eaten lunch yet? If not, you can eat with me."
"That sounds nice, but I don't want to take your food."
"When cooking for just myself I always have a lot of leftover food. There will be plenty for both of us."
"Okay," Chuck said accepting Sarah's invitation. "I am getting hungry. I ate breakfast pretty early this morning."
Sarah welcomed Chuck into her home and invited him to take a seat while she excused herself to the kitchen to tend to her food. Instead of going to the living room to find a seat however, Chuck chose to follow Sarah into the kitchen.
"Do you need any help?"
"It's okay Chuck. I've got it. Why don't you just take a seat at the table? It's almost finished."
"Are you sure there isn't anything I can do to help?"
"I'm sure Chuck. You're a guest. Sit down."
"Okay Sarah. Thanks," Chuck said as he pulled out the chair closest to where he was standing and slowly lowered himself into it.
Just a few short minutes later Sarah had prepared two plates of food and took a seat in the chair across from Chuck. "I wasn't expecting company for lunch, so I hope you like it."
"Sarah this is delicious," Chuck commented after taking a few bites. "I didn't know you could cook like this!"
"Well what kind of grandma can't cook?" Sarah teased. "Besides whom do you think taught Sabrina? When she was a little girl she always wanted to cook with her grandma. She has surpassed my skill level now though."
When the subject of cooking died down Sarah brought up another topic? "Where have you been for the past week Chuck? I thought you had left town already."
"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I spent the last week exploring the town and thinking and I've decided to move out here permanently. I haven't had a real home in a long time. It's time for me to have a place I can call home again and I've really liked what I've seen during my time here. So I'm going to be staying and I thought that you should know about my decision no matter what happens."
"What do you mean?"
"You've been out here living a life far separated from your old one for a long time now and I don't want you to feel that I'm trying to steal the life you found for yourself after you gave up the CIA."
"Chuck I don't think that at all. I would never think that. I'm actually happy that you've decided to stay. I've enjoyed having you back in my life. When I thought you were gone I really missed you."
As Chuck listened to Sarah say that she was happy that he was staying and that she had missed him this past week the smile that had only ever been reserved for her found its way to his face.
"Me too," Chuck responded. "It's quite lonely being the last one living in your family. Well except for my niece, but I don't get to see her very often. So it's been really nice to have a connection like that again."
Sarah gave Chuck a small nod before asking, "So have you found a place to live yet or are you still at the hotel?"
"No, I'm still at the hotel. I really don't know what I'm going to do about a place to live yet. I don't think I could afford a house and I can't live anywhere that requires me to walk up flights of stairs every day. I'm just too old for that now. My hotel room, even though it's on the fifth floor I can take the elevator and it's right in town, which means I don't have to travel far to get to the places I need to go. Except for here maybe. I actually still don't really know where you live. I spent all day trying to figure that out, until I finally tracked down your son-in-law and he gave me a ride."
"I was wondering about that," Sarah admitted. "After we finish lunch I'll give you my address and my phone number, so you won't have to go through so much trouble to try to get in touch with me again."
"And I can give you a number where you can reach me at the hotel until I find somewhere else to live."
A few minutes later Chuck and Sarah had finished eating and at Chuck's insistence since he was partly responsible for the mess, they began cleaning up the kitchen together. Once the remaining food was put away and all of the dirty dishes had been rinsed and placed in the dishwasher, Chuck and Sarah headed toward the living room.
In the living room Chuck couldn't help but look around. He was seeing the inside of Sarah's house for the first time and he was curious. The very first thing that caught his attention were all of the framed photographs sitting on the mantle of the fireplace and hanging on the wall above it.
Wanting to take a closer look at the pictures Chuck stepped up to the mantle. Most of the pictures on display on both the fireplace mantle and the wall appeared to be professional portraits. Picking up one of the framed photographs of a baby, Chuck turned to Sarah and asked, "Is this your granddaughter?"
"No, actually that's Samantha on the day I became her mother and got to take her home. I wanted to commemorate the day she became my daughter, so I found a baby photographer and had her picture made. She was five months old when I finally got to take her home."
"This is Sabrina," Sarah said showing Chuck a picture of a little girl who looked to be four or five years old with Sabrina's unmistakable deep black hair and bright blue eyes.
On the other end of the mantle was a family portrait where Chuck didn't have to guess who was in the photo. In the picture a smiling toddler wrapped her arms around the neck of Sarah, who didn't look too much older than when Chuck last saw her in Prague, so he immediately knew the baby was Samantha.
After seeing the picture of Sarah and her daughter Chuck asked, "Do you have a picture of you and your granddaughter?"
"Up there," Sarah said pointing to a picture hanging on the wall that included the whole family, Samantha, her husband Scott, a young Sabrina and of course Sarah, who was beginning to look more like she did in the present day.
"You've always been so beautiful Sarah," Chuck said as he turned his attention away from the pictures and back toward her.
"I was young the last time you saw me Chuck. I'm an 81 year old woman now. I've changed a lot since then."
"I like those changes and to me you are just as beautiful as you ever were," Chuck responded sincerely.
Changing the subject, but not without cracking a smile first, Sarah said, "I can give you that information now if you want."
Nodding his agreement Chuck followed Sarah to the couch and took a seat next to her. As Sarah gave Chuck her address and phone number, as well as those for her family he entered the information into his own phone. He then gave Sarah his phone number as well as the room number and contact information for the hotel where he was staying.
Once Chuck and Sarah finished exchanging all the relevant information for keeping in touch with each other Sarah changed the subject once again. "Chuck, I'm sorry that I don't have more time to spend with you today. I already have plans with my daughter and granddaughter. Scott is working today and they wanted us to have some sort of 'girls' day out' or something. They didn't really say exactly. They just wanted to get me out of the house."
"I understand Sarah. You have a life and a family. I don't expect you to drop everything for me," Chuck said slowly rising to his feet.
"I really am sorry Chuck. I did enjoy having lunch with you though," Sarah said standing up after Chuck to escort him to the door. "You're going to be moving here now though, so we will have plenty of chances to spend time together in the future. Just call me sometime and we can make our own plans."
Reaching the door they said their goodbyes, and to Chuck's surprise before he left Sarah wrapped her arms around him, giving him an unexpected, but very welcome hug, which he gladly returned. Smiling, Chuck bid Sarah one final goodbye and headed out the door, looking forward to any opportunity that arose which would allow he and Sarah to spend more time together.
A/N: Chuck has decided to stay and make a new home for himself. What affect will that decision have on things between Chuck and Sarah?