A/N: Sorry this one has taken me so long to update! The writing bug bit me tonight, so I was able to crank out a chapter. This one is a tad shorter than the rest, but it should still be enough to satisfy the readers. I decided to keep this entire chapter in the present, because I don't want to get too caught up in the past. I think the family dynamic is something I want to dive deeper into. As always, thank you for reading! Don't forget to comment what you think! Enjoy :)

-Charahfan44

Sleep wasn't something surgeons got often. Their sleep was almost always hard earned and received after countless hours of saving lives. Sarah's schedule was so crammed that she could only find two hours at times. She had performed her last surgery of the evening, and had only sat down on a free gurney in the hallway to shut her eyes before driving home.

"Mom?" Sydney's voice caused Sarah to open her eyes.

"Hey, what're you doing here?" Sarah replied, sitting up and stretching.

"Chuck dropped me off. He had an emergency surgery."

"Lucky for him, my schedule is free." She smiled.

"Sorry I woke you up. I know sleep is important."

"It's okay, I've been out for a while. Probably time for me to wake up anyway." Sarah replied, checking her watch.

"Okay, good. I don't know if there's such a thing as being grounded for waking up a surgeon."

"In this family, I wouldn't be surprised." Sarah joked. "What do you say we get out of here?"

"Sure. I have a lot of homework to do."

"I was thinking we could do something together."

"Like what?"

"I'm not too sure. Where's your favorite place?"

"It used to be the roof of the girls home." Sydney looked down, causing a pang of guilt to hit Sarah.

"What about now?"

"I haven't really found another place I like as much."

"How about I take you to my favorite place?" Sarah asked.

"Okay." A smile spread across Sydney's face.

"Let me check on a few things before we go." Sarah got up and made her way to the nurse's station on the floor.

"Hey, I've been looking for you." Bryce seemed to stalk her these days.

"I fell asleep, sorry." She grabbed a chart from a slot in the desk, checking it over.

"We haven't had that talk yet."

"I know, it's been crazy around here."

"Sarah," He smacked his hand on the chart, "I can't keep doing this. If you want to avoid me permanently, just tell me."

"I'm really overwhelmed right now, Bryce. I need more time."

"And I can give that to you, but we have got to start talking."

"We will, I promise."

"Are you off?"

"Yeah, Chuck dropped Syd off because he had a last minute surgery I guess, so I'm going to take her for the night."

"Right."

"Hey," Sarah put her hand on his face gently, "We'll talk."

"Sure. See you around." Bryce walked away, obviously defeated.

"Trouble in paradise?" Sydney asked, causing Sarah to jump.

"Jesus, you scared me."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Bryce and I are fine."

"You call that fine? Wow, I've been told wrong."

"Let's go, sassy." Sarah let out a playful huff, pushing her daughter towards the elevator gently.

"Where are we going, exactly?"

"You'll see."

The victims of a mass shooting had been sent to the hospital, and all surgeons were in panic mode. The beds were filling up faster than patients were being discharged, and the casualty rate spiked with each passing minute.

"Chuck! I need some help over here!" Ellie's voice was clear over the chaos.

"What do you have?"

"Drew Wexler, nine years old, mass internal bleeding. He says he was trampled." Ellie looked down at the child in the bed.

"Parents?"

"Not yet. But we need to get him in the OR fast."

"Do we have anything open?" Chuck looked to the nurse at the bedside.

"I think OR 4 just opened up."

"Let's go." Chuck led the way as they rushed the boy up to the OR.

"You got it?"

"Of course, El. Go find a brain injury to fix." Chuck joked, scrubbing in to the surgery. Once he was ready, he took position. "Scalpel. We're going to need a lot of suction and packing, let's get it ready. Hang three units of O neg." The repairs took about an hour and a half, but they were able to save the child's life. Chuck sighed as he took of his gloves and cap.

"Lose one?" Lou passed by, looking tired and sad.

"No, saved one actually." Chuck gave her a slight smile. "You?"

"I've already amputated two legs, an arm, and a foot. Lots of shelving fell when people were scrambling to get out of the grocery store."

"Damn."

"You can say that again." Lou leaned against the wall next to her boyfriend.

"Why would anyone open fire on a random store?"

"I don't know. Why would anyone vote for Donald Trump as president?"

"Touche." The two laughed together for a moment. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make me laugh when I'm feeling my worst."

"It's a talent I guess." He gave her a quick kiss.

"A great one. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I'll see you later?"

"Absolutely, go slay those limbs." He winked.

"I'm sure I will." She sighed, disappearing around the corner.

"Hey, Drew Wexler's mom is here." Ellie stood in front of her brother. "He made it out, right?"

"Yeah, show me where she is." Chuck followed the female Bartowski to the lobby of the pediatric ward, where a frantic red-head was waiting.

"Mrs. Wexler? I'm Dr. Bartowski, I operated on your son."

"Is he okay?"

"He had a lot of internal bleeding, but we took care of it. He should make a full recovery, but we need to keep him here for a few days."

"Oh thank you!" The woman hugged Chuck tighter than he had ever been hugged before. He spotted Morgan with a somber face, giving bad news to a family in the next lobby over. He waited until the conversation was finished before making his way over to his friend.

"Rough one?" Chuck asked, clapping Morgan on the shoulder.

"I lost a teenager to a gunshot wound." Morgan hung his head.

"Days like these are tough, but tomorrow will be better."

"Maybe not this time. You should've seen her parents." The bearded man walked away, obviously needing some time to himself. Chuck stood in the middle of the lobby for a moment, realizing just how close to home this was. His own daughter could've been at that store, shot, dead. He pulled out his phone and dialed her number.

Car rides were Sydney's favorite. Just sitting in silence and watching the trees disappear behind her made her feel calm and relaxed. She wasn't a fan of the radio, which was why she liked Sarah's car the most. Chuck was always playing some upbeat rock and roll song.

"What're you thinking about?" Sarah asked, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Nothing. I just like looking out the window."

"I used to like watching the trees. They're kind of endless."

"I think the city is my favorite though. People watching is interesting to say the least." Sydney laughed. "Are we almost there?"

"Almost."

"Can I ask a question?"

"Always."

"Are you and Bryce really okay?"

"Syd, if there was something going on that would affect you, I would tell you. Trust me."

"I do."

"You what?"

"Trust you. I do."

"Good." Sarah let a wave of relief wash over her. She hadn't heard that from Sydney yet, and didn't know that she ever would.

"I missed a call from Chuck."

"Did he leave a voicemail?"

"Doesn't look like it. Should I call him back?"

"You don't need my permission to call your dad." Sarah said, watching her daughter dial out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey, sorry I missed your call. Uh, I'm not really sure, Sarah is taking me to some top secret place."

"Is he okay?" Sarah whispered.

"Are you okay?" Sydney repeated. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll see you tomorrow though, right? Okay good. Yeah, talk to you later." She hung up the phone.

"What did he say?"

"There was a really big shooting somewhere and a lot of people are dead."

"Right, I think they took the victims from the Target shooting."

"Why would someone do that?"

"I couldn't tell you."

"I think it's really cool that you and Chuck save people. I don't know if I've told you that."

"You haven't." Sarah smiled. She put her brakes on slowly, pulling into an empty parking lot.

"The beach?" Sydney asked, noticing the water ahead.

"I used to come here all the time."

"I don't like the beach."

"Why not?"

"I can't swim. The water is so deep and you can't see the bottom. Plus, there's sharks."

"Not this close to the shore. We don't have to go in, we can sit on the sand. It'll be fun, I promise. Ocean air is good for you."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, come on." Sarah got out of the car and made her way down to the sand, Sydney trailing a few feet behind. Sarah found a good spot to sit, and checked her phone while watching Sydney stand in front of the water. She had a text from Chuck, which was unusual.

Chuck: What are you guys doing?

Sarah: I brought her to the beach.

Chuck: Our beach?

Sarah: I don't think it's really our beach anymore. She said you're having a rough night, you okay?

Chuck: We lost a teenager. Around Syd's age.

Sarah: That's tough. You can't save them all.

Chuck: Sounds familiar.

Sarah: A really great surgeon told me that. He's pretty old now though. Losing steam.

Chuck: Very funny.

Sarah: :P

Chuck: Mind if I join you guys?

Sarah: Sure. We'll be here for a while.

Chuck: See you soon.

Sarah looked up to find Sydney standing as still as a statue. She got up and made her way over to the teenager.

"Chuck is going to come join us, is that okay?" She asked. Sydney gave no reply. "Are you okay?" Sarah looked at her daughter, noticing the fear in her eyes. "Hey, you don't have to stand this close."

"I don't want to be afraid."

"But you are. And that's okay, we can go."

"What do you like about it? The beach?"

"Me? I don't know."

"Think."

"I like the water. The salt dries up your skin, but I don't mind it. I like the sound of the waves, too. I think it's because I used to have a CD that I would listen to while I studied for my medical exams. Nature sounds or something like that. I like the smell, the air is so fresh down here."

"I like the waves."

"Yeah?"

"The sound, I mean."

"Well that's a start." Sarah walked closer to the waves, letting them roll over her feet. She stopped once she hit ankle-deep. She closed her eyes and took a breath, remembering the last time she was here.

"She tends to do that." Chuck's voice sounded from behind Sydney.

"What? Go into the water like a crazy person?"

"Not a fan?"

"Not really."

"It's nice once you go in. C'mon." He held out his hand. Sydney looked at it for a moment, taking it slowly.

"Wow, look who decided to brave it."

"Not for long." Sydney mumbled. She stepped back a tiny bit as the water hit her feet.

"You can't fall in, it's sand." Chuck assured her.

"I was a lifeguard, anyway. I'm certified in water safety." Sarah smiled.

"You were a lifeguard?"

"Yeah. In high school."

"I didn't know that."

"You never asked." Sarah looked to the tall brunette man beside her. "You doing okay?"

"I am now."