A/N: Hi everybody! Sorry about the wait for the next chapters of my stories. I'm working six days a week now that I've graduated college, and life always seems to get in the way. Thank you to everyone who has commented or read thus far, I appreciate you all so much. I hope you enjoy this next chapter of The Story! Keep guessing... ;)
-Charahfan44
November 14th, 2003
Chuck paced back and forth in his apartment. He hated doing things like this, but it had to be done. He had to break up with Sienna. They had just come back from a trip to Cancun, and he knew that they were going in separate directions. She was exactly what he needed to get over Kate, but now he was fully moved on. He rubbed his hands together nervously, and stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a knock on the door. He gulped, walking up to the door hesitantly.
"Miss me already?" Sienna's face was vibrant and rested.
"I'm glad you're here." He forced a smile, accepting a quick kiss from her.
"Of course I'm here." She smiled back, entering the apartment. "Besides, I have a surprise for you." She took her coat off and placed it on the rack beside the door.
"For me?" He asked.
"Yes, for you. You've been working so hard lately." She sat on the couch, while Chuck stood beside it. "Sit." She tapped the pillow next to her. He slwoly sat beside her, becoming more nervous than before.
"You really didn't have to-" He stopped short when she pulled a small box out of her purse.
"Open it." She said excitedly.
"What's in it?"
"Open it and find out, silly." She laughed. "I can't just tell you, that wouldn't be any fun."
"Look, Sienna..." Chuck trailed.
"Before you put your foot in your mouth, just open it." She gave him a look. He scratched his head, giving her a small laugh. After a few more seconds of staring at it, he opened the box slowly.
"It's a key." He pulled the gold object out out of the box. "To your place I'm assuming?"
"I want you to move in." She put a hand on his leg. "This place is really boring." She joked.
"Sienna, I called you over here so that we could talk."
"About?" She looked at him with an oblivious expression.
"About where this is going." He looked down at his hands.
"Were you going to ask me to move in here?" She laughed.
"Not exactly." He looked back up at her.
"I'm confused."
"I know, I'm not really explaining this." He took a breath. "I think we're going down different paths."
"What do you mean?"
"When we first got together I was all about traveling and seeing things I never had before, but now I have a business to run and I can't keep dropping my responsibilities for play time."
"Wow." She replied. "I'm just play time?"
"That's not what I meant." He back tracked. "I just mean that you have all the time in the world to explore and venture out-"
"And not work." She crossed her arms.
"Again, not what I meant." He said.
"You know what, Chuck? You're afraid of commitment."
"I don't think that's it."
"You might not think so, but I know it. We had something real, here, and you just blew it." Sienna stood up, grabbing the key out of Chuck's hand. "When you change your mind, you can call me, but I'm not going to wait forever." She stormed out of the apartment, leaving Chuck speechless. After a few hours, he made his way to the office, where he spent most of his evenings.
"Don't you have an apartment?" Amelia was in her office when she noticed Chuck walk by the doorway.
"Uh, yeah." He nodded.
"You look like crap." She laughed. "Rough night?"
"Rough couple of hours." He leaned against the door frame. "Didn't you say something about a date tonight?"
"He listens." She smiled. "I had a date, but I cancelled it. Too many documents to look through." She pointed at her computer screen.
"I most definitely would've let you go through those tomorrow." He replied.
"I wasn't that excited." She shrugged. "How's Sienna?"
"We broke up."
"Oh." Without hesitating, she pulled a bottle of scotch out of her desk drawer. "I like to use this for rainy days."
"Honestly, this isn't a rainy day for me." He said. "I feel free."
"Not the relationship type?" Amelia poured two glasses while Chuck made his way to the chair in front of her desk.
"Not the Sienna type." He replied, accepting a glass.
"So why be with her in the first place?"
"I don't want to sound like an ass, but she helped me move on from my ex."
"Ah. The rebound girlfriend." Amelia nodded.
"I had feelings for Sienna, don't get me wrong. I can't just use someone like that." He explained. "It's just that..." He tried to find the right words to explain his reasoning.
"You needed something new and exciting."
"Exactly." He took a swig.
"I understand completely. Us women use men the same way." She smiled. "I hate the double standard."
"Thank you." He smiled back.
"So now what? You're going to work yourself to death?"
"That was the plan, yeah." He joked. "I'm not going to focus so much on women, that's for sure."
"That's too bad." Amelia looked at him with big eyes. "Sorry, I don't know why I said that." She blushed, looking down.
"I didn't really mind it." Chuck set his glass down on her desk, leaning closer. "Not to be too forward, but you're a big reason why I broke up with Sienna."
"What happened to you not focusing on women?"
"I said women plural. Doesn't mean I wasn't going to ficus on one in particular." He was leaning on the desk, their faces only inches apart.
"This could get messy." She whispered.
"I don't care." He pushed her hair behind her ear. "There's just something about you, Amelia." Before he knew it, their lips were touching. Everything about her warmth drew him in. They pulled apart, breathing heavily.
"We should probably do some work." Amelia finally said.
"Probably." Chuck nodded. But instead, they crashed together once more, not caring about anything else in the world but each other.
Present Day
I loved grocery trips with dad. He always let me get exactly what I wanted, within reason of course. Mom was a health nut, but dad knew how to give a kid a sugar rush.
"So, your broke up with Sienna and immediately started kissing Amelia?" I asked, looking at the cereal aisle.
"Kind of." He replied.
"Kind of? You just told me that exact thing."
"I know." He cringed. "There's more to it than that, though. It's hard to explain adult things to a kid."
"Yeah, well, you already started so you may as well suck it up and give it to me straight." I replied.
"You have got to stop growing up." He laughed.
"What are the odds?" A voice behind us made us turn around.
"Mom!" I ran over to her, giving her a hug.
"Trip over so soon?" Dad asked, joining us.
"Yeah." Her answer was short. "Reese's Puffs, really?" She looked inside the cart.
"You know me." Dad shrugged.
"That I do." She smiled.
"You can totally shop with us, we're just getting started." I blurted. "Unless you're done or whatever."
"You mind?" She looked to dad, making sure that the awkwardness wouldn't be too heavy.
"No, feel free." He said. I knew he was doing it for me, and I appreciated him for it.
"So how's school?" Mom asked me.
"Oh you know, I'm getting all A's." Dad replied.
"Ha ha." Mom gave him a playful look. "And how about you?" She looked to me.
"Same old same old." I laughed.
"Just about time for soccer season, huh?"
"Yeah."
"I have her bulking up for tryouts." Dad chimed in.
"I can see that." Mom looked at the cart once more. "Lots of carbs and sugar should do just fine."
"I'm thinking I'm going to switch to goalie this year." I announced. "Now that I'm one of the tallest on the team, I have more of a shot."
"That's true, you did sprout right up." Dad put a hand on my head. "I can kick some balls at your face and see how you do if you want." He smirked.
"That's exactly what I want." I rolled my eyes. "Actually, mom, I was hoping you could help. I know you played in high school." I looked to her.
"Gosh, it's been forever." She said. "But I will help you as much as I can." She nodded.
"How's work?" Dad asked.
"The same." Mom replied. "I have a big client coming in this week and I don't know that I'm all that prepared for it."
"Why's that?" He asked.
"Probably because I took too much time off."
"A week. You took a week off." He laughed. At this point, I was walking behind them, watching them converse. It was rare that they got along, and I wasn't about to interrupt.
"You know how it is, Mr. CEO." She smacked him, laughing back.
"True. But vacations are well deserved on our parts." He said.
"Well, I should probably get going. I only have an hour until I need to get into the office." Mom stopped walking. I could tell she was starting to feel too comfortable around dad.
"Yeah, we're just about done." He agreed.
"I'll see you next week, okay?" She turned to look at me.
"Sure." I smiled. I watched as she walked away, and a part of me noticed some hesitation. I thought I saw a glimpse of the same look she'd give him when I was younger. A look of love.
"So, how about we get some ice cream?"
"Afraid to do it in front of her, are you?" I laughed.
"One-hundred percent." He smiled back at me.
"Back to the story." I changed subjects. "I want to know what happened with Amelia."
"A lot happened with Amelia." He sighed.
"Good or bad?"
"Both, really." He said. "I loved her a lot."
"More than Kate?"
"I've never loved anyone more than I loved Kate." He said without hesitation. "I can safely say that I still haven't met a woman quite like her." The way his eyes sparkled when he said her name made me reflect back on Kate's part of the story. Could woman number one be my mother? I was going to have to wait and find out.
December 23rd, 2003
Christmastime came faster than Chuck had wanted, but he made sure he was prepared for the holiday. He spared no expense in decorating the office, and made sure to put presents for everyone under the tree.
"Santa, is that you?" Amelia's voice caused him to jump.
"You scared the crap out of me!" He said.
"Sorry, I heard a noise and thought I'd come check it out." She laughed. "Are those real presents?"
"They sure aren't fake." He walked up to her.
"You're such a good boss." She kissed him softly, putting her arms around his neck. "We don't deserve you."
"I know." He smiled, kissing her back. "Now, your present I couldn't put under there."
"Oh really?"
"Really."
"So do I get it later?" She asked.
"Possibly."
"Mr. Bartowski," One of the techs walked into the room, causing Chuck and Amelia to jump apart, "I have the stats you asked for."
"Right. I forgot you were still here." Chuck coughed. "You're good to go, enjoy your holiday."
"Thank you, sir." He gave the two a weird look before leaving the room.
"You forgot?" Amelia looked at Chuck.
"I still think we should stop hiding this."
"Chuck, we've already had this conversation. It would make things really difficult."
"More difficult than sneaking around and barely getting time together?" He asked. "Who cares that we're dating?"
"I wouldn't really say we're dating." Amelia replied.
"What?" This caused Chuck to frown. "What is this then?"
"I don't know, I'm having fun."
"Fun? That's all this is to you? Fun?"
"Look, this is why I didn't want to say anything. Office romances get messy."
"This is only getting messy because you seem to think all we're doing is having 'fun'." Chuck used air-quotes. "I have legitimate feelings for you, Amelia, and you obviously don't feel the same way."
"I like you." She said.
"Apparently not enough."
"Can we forget that this conversation ever happened and go back to how it was twenty minutes ago?" She asked. "I think you're reading too much into this."
"Fine." Chuck looked down.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." He couldn't meet her eyes. "I have a few more things to go grab. I'll call you later." He gave her a quick kiss before leaving the building. He walked around the block, looking at all of the buildings in the city. He had true feelings for this girl, and they had only started dating a few months before. Already he felt as though it wasn't going to last, and he wasn't quite sure what to do about it.
"Chuck?" A voice from in front of him made Chuck look up. Standing in front of him was none other than Kate.
"Kate?" He asked, dumbfounded.
"Is this the biggest coincidence you've ever encountered or what?" She laughed. Her laugh caused Chuck to melt a little bit inside. It was something he'd never thought he'd hear again.
"Yeah, mostly because you live in Boston." He replied.
"I'm out here for work." She explained. "I'm really close to making partner at the firm."
"That's amazing." He smiled. "I'm really happy for you."
"What about you?" She asked. "How've you been?"
"Well, I took over the company and I'm still technically single. So, pretty much the same."
"Technically?"
"It's a long story."
"You look different." She blurted.
"I have been using a new shampoo." He joked.
"No, I don't mean physically. You look sad, Chuck." She gave him a caring look. "I know I don't really have the right to say this, but you shouldn't be with someone who makes you feel like this."
"You don't know how I feel." He replied. "And you're right, you don't get to say things like that to me."
"I'm sorry how I left things." She looked away. "I shouldn't have done that to you."
"You don't say." He scoffed. "Sorry."
"Don't be. I hurt you." She looked up. "All I know is that you're an amazing person and you deserve to be happy. Don't let anyone make you feel less than that. Promise me."
"I promise." He nodded.
"Maybe it was good that we ran into each other on a random street." She laughed. "Take care of yourself, Chuck. And tell that girl how you really feel."
"You too." He gave her a slight smile before walking away. He had finally gotten the closure he needed to move on, and he felt completely free. He made his way back to the office quickly, hoping that Amelia was still there.
"Back so soon?" She had just finished locking her office door when he exited the elevator.
"Yes." He breathed heavily.
"Did you run?"
"Sort of."
"Why?"
"Because this isn't just fun, and you know it. I felt it the moment we met, Amelia. There's something real here, but for some reason you don't want to admit it."
"Chuck-"
"No. I'm not going to let you convince yourself that this is less than it is."
"I was engaged." She said. "Before I moved here, I was engaged."
"Oh."
"He died."
"I didn't-"
"I don't like to tell people because they look at me the same way you're looking at me now." She explained. "I do think that we have something, but I'm just not ready to explore it full on. I need more time."
"I can definitely give you time." He nodded. "I'm sorry I just assumed..."
"It's okay, I should've told you." She sighed. "I'm learning to deal with it."
"You shouldn't have to." He rubbed her shoulder. "Can I take you home?"
"Of course." She smiled. "You're a really good guy, Chuck."
"I try." They walked out of the office together, and Chuck couldn't help but feel guilty. Sienna had helped him get over Kate, but now he had to wait for the perfect woman to move on from the love of her life. He was prepared to wait as long as he had to.
