~Reunions ~
Sarah stares at the ceiling. The room is cloaked in shadows, and all is quiet except for her husband's breathing. She lies next to him, her leg pressed against his. She closes her eyes and wills herself to fall asleep, but her mind refuses to cooperate. Her eyes open against her wishes and look at the clock. Quarter past four … fifteen minutes later than the last time she looked. Sometimes when she awakens in the middle of the night, it's peaceful, and she is content to watch Chuck sleep and let her thoughts roam the landscape of her new life, with wonder and appreciation for the man who has filled it with love and beauty. This morning, though, her thoughts keep sifting through less peaceful things, like the overwhelming roster of things they have to do this week. She sighs inwardly and casts an envious look at Chuck's serene expression. At least one of them is sleeping. Reluctantly she slips out of bed, so as not to wake him.
She props her elbows on the kitchen counter and watches the coffee pot through one eye. Why does it drip the slowest when you want it the fastest?
Fine. She'll shower first. With a yawn she shuffles toward the bathroom.
Finally she sits with her coffee on what she has come to consider her end of the couch. A few sips later, with a little caffeine humming in her veins and her mood somewhat improved, she gets up to peruse the book shelf and returns with an album.
A few pages in, she feels Chuck watching her. She smiles. "I made coffee, if you want some."
"Way ahead of you." The familiar, sleepy voice is right behind her. Chuck joins her on the couch, mug in hand, and props his feet up next to hers on the coffee table. "What are you doing up at this hour, Mrs. I-think-I'm-allergic-to-morning?" He rubs her foot with his and looks at her with his adorable sleepy-face.
"I couldn't sleep." She puts her leg on top of his.
"Noted. What's on your mind?"
"I keep thinking of all the stuff we have to do this week: Ellie and Devon's visit and the move." She sighs.
"Yeeahh. It is a lot." He notices the picture album. "And maybe you've been thinking about your mom?"
"That, too." She nods once and smiles, finally comfortable with his ability to read her so well.
"Why don't you ask her to join us some this week while Ellie and Devon are here?"
"You think she'd want to?"
"Babe, I know she would." Chuck searches her eyes. "But that's not all that's bothering you, is it?"
She looks down and studies her coffee.
"Sarah ..." He turns her face back toward his. "You know, I don't get up at this hour for anybody else."
The love in his eyes breaks the dam, and her words spill out, "Chuck, I want to, but I don't know where to start or what to say. I mean, things were always … complicated. Then the baby, and I thought I would never see her again. And then ..."—she smiles and runs her hand over the album—"well, I know we reconnected. And I'm really glad, but I barely remember it ... along with large chunks of my life since I handed her a baby and told her I could never see her again. I don't know what she knows or how she feels. So, what do I say, 'Mom, I'd love to have lunch and catch up, but an evil man used top secret technology to erase my memories, so I can't really tell you very much.'?"
"Something like that." Chuck makes her laugh. He presses his lips to her temple and wraps his arms around her. She curls into him, and he rests his head on hers.
"With your family it's easy," she murmurs into his shirt.
"Because they already know."
She nods.
He holds her for a while, stroking her back, then says in a quiet voice, "Then let us help you."
"How?"
"Well, I can be with you when you tell her or help you tell her and answer questions. Or I can tell her, so you don't have to. And Ellie, well, Ellie would love to tell her stories about you, about us. Moms love that kind of thing. I'll even suffer the embarrassment of some of Ellie's Chuck stories, so you and your mom can be entertained at my expense." He gives her a squeeze.
She chuckles. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Everything." She sits up and raises her eyes to his. "For always making the impossible seem simple."
"You did the same for me, Sarah. That's how this works. At least that's what a very wise woman once told me." He takes the photo album and opens it. "Besides, did you see anything in these pictures that looked complicated?"
She sits cross legged, one knee propped on his leg. "No," she says with a shy smile and half a shrug.
Chuck puts his hand on the album. "Sarah, do you remember any of this, or just the pictures?"
She looks down. "Mostly the pictures."
"Okay, close your eyes and let me give you more details than I did the first time." Sarah leans her head back and closes her eyes. "Comfy?" Chuck asks.
"Mm-hmm."
"Okay. After Ryker, we raced—and I mean that literally—from your mom's to our apartment, and you hurried through the front door and paused when you saw your mom. She was looking up at our wedding picture, the one on the top shelf. When she saw you, her face was a kaleidoscope of relief and disbelief and happiness. Then you hugged her. I couldn't see your face, but I heard the emotion in your voice when you said, 'I missed you.' She held you tight and said, 'I know.' Then she introduced you to Molly."
"As her sister." Sarah smiles, feeling a surge of relief.
"You remember?"
"Mm-hmm. Like the other stories, as you tell it." She sits up and looks at him. "Wait, I said, 'I missed you,' and my mom said, 'I know.'?"
"Yeah. Is that significant?"
"Well, just that it's backwards. Mom always said, 'I miss you,' and I never knew what to say, so I always said, 'I know.'"
"Hmm." Chuck stares into his coffee cup. "Want to know what I think?" he said without looking up.
"What?" she asks with timid curiosity.
He looks at her. "I think you and your mom connected over saving the baby. When you took the baby to your mom and asked her to give the baby all the things she had always wanted to give you … I think that your relationship started to heal."
Sarah swallows the lump in her throat. "How did you get to be so articulate this early in the morning."
"I've had practice." He gives her a cryptic smile. "You know, your mom thanked me for giving you a normal life. She loves you, Sarah, and she's happy that you're happy."
Sarah smiles, feeling a mix of hope and relief.
"It's going to be okay. Trust me."
"I do trust you, Chuck. Completely."
"Good." He cups her cheek and kisses her, slowly making her forget all stress and worry. Slowly she lets everything go and relaxes into the kiss.
Chuck pulls her up off the couch. "Come on. It's too early to call your mom, and packing can wait. You need to get some more sleep."
"You kiss me like that and then expect me to sleep?"
"Eventually." He scoops her up in his arms and carries her back to bed.
Wednesday
Chuck and Sarah sit at a table in front of their favorite deli on the mall, near CI. Later that afternoon Ellie and Devon will arrive from Chicago. The entire extended Bartowski clan, minus Casey, will meet at CI for a tour of their new space. Meanwhile, Sarah's mom will join them for lunch, so Chuck and Sarah can read her into the Bartowski story.
Having arrived ahead of schedule, Chuck and Sarah enjoy lattes together and their last peaceful moments before the coming Bartowski bedlam: family gatherings, activities, and the big move into their house. They look forward to the week with equal parts excitement and dread. Meanwhile, Chuck is distracting Sarah from her butterflies with the hilarious tale of Devon's cover story to Ellie after his brief foray into the spy world. Sarah almost spews coffee all over the table. "A bear?" Soon she's shaking with laughter over Chuck's hand signals and Devon's growing lie and the decapitated bear. "He would make a terrible spy."
Sarah is so distracted she doesn't notice her mom watching them from a discreet distance with a smile on her face. Chuck notices her first and gives Sarah a quick heads up in his best ventriloquist voice, "Sarah, don't freak out." Sarah follows Chuck's gaze and sees her mother approaching. She corrals her butterflies, as much as one can corral butterflies, and gets up to give her mom a hug. "I'm glad you could come," she says, meaning it.
Chuck stands to greet her and gets a hug, as well. Emma smiles her thanks to Chuck as she sits in the chair he pulls out for her. She takes a sip of water and makes small talk about the beautiful day and the fabulous location. Then she looks at them with a big smile and says, "So, how's the house coming?"
Chuck and Sarah look at each other brows furrowed. Sarah speaks first, "How did you know about the house? We were going to surprise you."
Emma looks back and forth between them, baffled. "Honey, you told me about the house."
Sarah looks at her mom,—"I did?"—and Chuck looks at Sarah. "She did?"
Emma looks even more perplexed. "Well ... yes. I called to say hi and left a voice mail. When you returned my call, you told me about buying a house and designing the kitchen and picking out appliances. You sounded really happy about it. You don't remember?"
The "R" word takes Sarah by surprise and tears sting her eyes. She blinks them back and looks at Chuck. His eyes reassure her. Turning to Emma, who seems to realize she said something wrong, Chuck gives her the same, reassuring look and asks, "When was this Emma?"
"Well ... let's see." Emma looks out at the lake for a moment and then back at Chuck and Sarah again. "It was the Saturday before Valentine's Day. I remember, because I was baking Valentine cupcakes with Molly."
Chuck looks at his calendar. "Ah, that explains it," he says, as if it does. Both Sarah and her mom quirk an eyebrow and cock their heads with twin expressions of curiosity. Chuck's eyes widen. "Wow. Do you … that is just …" Their brows rise in unison. He opens his mouth and closes it, as he looks from his mother-in-law to his wife. "That was the day we interrogated Bo Derek." He grins.
Emma and Sarah look at him like he's grown a second head.
Chuck's nervous laugh is accompanied by the color rising in his cheeks. Sarah crosses her arms and pins him with a decidedly Sarah Bartowski, spill-it-now-or-else look. Emma is still confused, but clearly amused by the interplay between her daughter and son-in-law.
"Anyway," Chuck squeaks. He takes a sip of coffee and clears his throat. "Sarah, that was part of our one last mission. Bo Derek turned out to be one of Quinn's operatives. The day after that was the shoot-out in the Vail Buymore. And the day after that, I was taken. You never got the chance to tell me."
Sarah nods. "Makes sense." She leans back appraising him. "But you owe me a story." She smirks.
"Deal." Chuck notices Emma's bewildered expression. "Emma, there are a lot of things we want to tell you, and it may take a while. Since most of it is … well, sort of ..."
"classified." Sarah finishes the sentence for him.
"Yeah, that. We thought we would grab some lunch and eat in our office. Is that okay with you?"
"Of course," Emma agrees with a smile and a shrug.
Lunch in hand, the threesome ride the elevator up to the client level of Carmichael Industries. As the glass elevator emerges from its dark passage into the open space of CI and continues to rise above the IT floor, Emma's mouth drops open. They get off at the second floor, and she continues to take in the whole space.
Emma looks at Sarah and Chuck, wide eyed. "You work here? This is your company?"
Chuck puts his hand on Sarah's shoulder. "Emma, your very amazing daughter designed this entire space," he says in a voice that betrays his considerable pride.
Emma beams. "Honey, it's beautiful."
Her mother's praise evokes a smile. And a feeling Sarah can't quite define. "Thanks. But Mom, Chuck designed all the building's technology. Your son-in-law is sort of a genius. He drew the schematics, laid the cable, and hooked up that massive computer. He writes brilliant software and owns his own satellite."
Her mother is dazed. "I don't know what to say. I'm very impressed … with both of you."
They walk up to the private third floor and eat overlooking the park.
Chuck looks at Sarah and raises his eyebrows. She nods. Emma watches the exchange.
"Mom, right after I left the baby, Molly, with you, I came to Burbank. Through highly classified technology, Chuck had come into a sort of unique and exclusive possession of government secrets. The combination of the technology and the Intel made him the most important Intelligence asset in the world. An NSA agent and I were assigned to his protection full time. That was the beginning of Team Bartowski, the team you heard about on the news.
"Chuck and I fell in love, but government constraints on handler/asset relationships made things very … complicated. After Chuck became an agent, we dated, moved in together, and married a year later.
"Chuck's code name was Charles Carmichael, hence the name of the company and the references on the news. Unfortunately, not long after you called, I suffered head trauma, which caused me to forget the five years of my life prior to the trauma. I'm still hazy on a lot of it, so Chuck is going to fill in the details. … That's why I don't remember our phone conversation."
Her mother looks stricken. "Five years. That means you forgot ..."
"Chuck and all of my time here."
"Oh, Honey." Tears well in her eyes.
A sympathetic tear tracks down Sarah's cheek, and just like that, Chuck has two teary women on his hands. He schools his panic face and scrambles to say something positive. "Emma, you told me that Sarah was always a tough little thing. Well, she still is."—He smiles at this wife.—"She fought to get her life back, and together we've done just that."
"Yeah, Mom. The story has a happy ending … thanks to Chuck."
Chuck and Sarah had decided that Emma had more than earned the right to know the Bartowski legacy and their story, so he tells her a condensed version of all of it: his father's invention, his upload as a child, and his college roommate's email; Sarah coming to protect him, their spy venture, and their love story; and finally, the story of the corrupt Intersect that erased Sarah's memories. He omitts the part about his last upload.
"Mom." Sarah smiles at Emma. "Don't freak out. I know it's overwhelming, but for so long, Chuck and I have kept secrets from our families, and we don't want that any more."
"'Overwhelming' is a bit of an understatement, but thank you." She looks at both of them. "I'm glad—honored—that you told me."
Chuck gives her a gentle smile. "You're family, Emma, we wanted you to know."
She smiles, and turns to her daughter. "Thank you." Emma looks at her watch. "Oh my, I need to pick up Molly." She hugs them goodbye, promising to return with Molly.
—^v^—
Chuck and Sarah bring Ellie and Devon up on the elevator. Their reaction is just like Emma's, except in stereo. "Bro, this is …" Devon sweeps his eyes around the second floor and stares down at the IT floor and the huge computer on the far wall. "… Awesome."
"Seriously, Chuck ... Sarah, this is just … wow." Ellie beams with pride. "You're both pretty amazing, you know that." She grabs them in a tight Ellie hug, an arm around each of them.
Devon puts Clara down, and Clara toddles over to Sarah and reaches up toward her. Sarah squats down and smiles at her niece. "Hi, Clara. Look at you, walking everywhere." Sarah picks up Clara. Then Chuck scoops up Clara and puts her on his shoulders, where she seems content to stay, with her hands fisted in Chuck's hair. Sarah watches Chuck with Clara, and Ellie watches Sarah watch Chuck.
Morgan leads the tour starting with the IT floor. "Alex and I call this the dance floor, for reasons that will become apparent later." He smiles at his own private joke. Chuck and Sarah look at each other. She raises an eyebrow, and he shrugs. Then their eyes widen in understanding.
After everyone oohs and ahhs effusively over Sarah's design and Chuck's genius throughout the building, the grand tour ends in the sitting area on the third floor.
Ellie looks around in awe at the views and the glass roof and offices. "Guys, all this glass is so gorgeous, but what do you do if you want privacy?" Ellie asks in all innocence.
"Yeah, Sarah, what were you thinking?" Devon asks, winking at them. "This could be a major problem when you two want to ..."—He catches Sarah's glare and follows her gaze to Emma and Molly.—"have a private meeting with a client." Devon finishes with a nervous laugh.
Ellie rolls her eyes. Morgan and Alex snicker. Sarah blushes, and Emma struggles to keep a straight face.
"Actually, Devon," Chuck informs him, "it's smart glass, so our love life is safe, thank you."
"What's smart glass?" Emma asks.
Chuck gets out his phone and swipes the screen. "Smart glass changes states when it receives and electrical charge." Chuck taps his phone, and the glass around Chuck and Sarah's office turns opaque, like frosted glass.
"Wow. I'm officially impressed." Ellie stares at the office. "Again." Emma looks at her and nods.
A Mission Impossible ringtone, interrupts the conversation. It's the intercom, which Sarah answers from her phone, "… Okay, I'll be right down." She pockets her phone. "Guys, the food is downstairs. I'll be right back."
Sarah runs down the steps to the second floor and heads for the elevator. The door slides open, revealing a tall figure and an armload of delivery boxes stacked up high enough to hide his face. Sarah reaches for her knife. "This is a private elevator. Who are you, and how did you get up here."
"Easy, Walker. Put your knife away," a muffled voice says from behind the boxes.
She knits her brow. The man lowers the boxes.
Sarah's smile is automatic. "John."
Casey gives a soft grunt.
A woman with short, dark hair steps from behind him and takes the boxes. He walks off the elevator, and Sarah gives her old partner and friend a hug.
He studies her. "You remember?"
"Enough to know you're my friend."
He gives her a small smile and a nod.
She turns to the woman. "And you're ... Gertrude … or Verbanski?"
Gertrude looks at Casey, then extends a hand to Sarah. "Gertrude's fine."
Sarah shakes her hand. "I'm sorry, I'm still a little foggy on some things," she explains, "lots of things, I guess."
"From what I hear, Sarah, you've done great. Better than great." Casey says with a gentle look.
She raises an eyebrow.
"Morgan and Alex."
"Oh, right. Well, everybody will be thrilled to see you. We're all upstairs."
Casey looks around. "Little bearded man was right. This is some place you two put together. Congratulations." Gertrude nods her agreement.
"Thanks. I'm sure Morgan will be happy to give you a tour of the place." She heads toward the stairs. "And your office," she tosses over her shoulder, with a smile.
Casey's eyes go wide, and he lets out a surprised grunt.
Sarah leads the way upstairs, and Casey follows with the boxes covering his face, as before. Gertrude trails behind.
"Okay, everybody, come help with the boxes," Sarah calls out, then stands back to watch, her eyes sparkling with delight.
Chuck and Ellie and Emma hurry over to help. Chuck takes the top box. His eyes widen. "Caseey. What are you doing here?"
"Nice to see you, too, Bartowski." He gives Chuck half a smile.
Ellie's eyes go wide as she takes the next box. "John!" Her voice carries to the far corners of the room, if not the known universe.
Morgan and Alex run toward them. Emma quickly snatches the last box and gets out of the way, just before Alex hurtles herself toward Casey, who catches her in a big Russian hug.
After Alex moves, Casey gets welcome hugs from everyone. Sarah observes her mom's smile of approval and Gertrude's look of panic. She leans toward Gertrude, speaking to her more from what she knows in her heart than what she remembers in her head, "It grows on you."
"Good to know." Gertrude looks shell-shocked.
After the great distribution of hugs, Casey notices Molly looking up at him. He crouches down to her level. "Hi, Molly. I think you've gotten bigger since the last time I saw you."
"You, too, Mr. Colonel." Molly gives him a timid smile.
With a soft grunt, Casey opens his arms, and Molly shyly leans into his hug.
Chuck speaks first, "So, Casey, what brings you back. Not that we're not glad, because we are."
Casey looks at Morgan and Alex. "The mission in Russia is over, and I thought I'd like to see my daughter and check on her boyfriend." He smiles at Alex and narrows his eyes at Morgan.
"Okay, everybody." Ellie takes charge. "Let's get the food on the table. We can talk while we eat."
Molly puts her plate on the coffee table and climbs onto a couch next to her sister. Sarah helps her with her drink and her plate, and Emma smiles at her two girls sitting side by side, smiling and talking about their favorite foods.
Chuck joins her for a beat, and the two of them share a smile. Then Chuck sits on the other side of Molly, and Emma takes a seat near Ellie.
Everyone has news to share. Ellie and Devon tell Clara stories and pass around pictures of their new house: a restored turn-of-the-century, two-story house, with four bedrooms and a fenced yard. "So, we have lots of room for all of you to visit." Ellie offers a blanket invitation.
Casey admits that Russia has lost some of its appeal. He looks at Alex. "It's a nice place for a short term mission, but I think I'll pass on permanent assignment." Then Casey looks at Chuck with a hint of admiration. "Plus, as impressive as Bartowski was in that bank job, I can't let him have all the fun. Getting shot and nearly blown up is my job. Except defusing bombs. That's all Chuck."
Ellie and Emma look horrified. Sarah glances toward her office, making sure that Molly is still playing a game on the computer.
"And speaking of your job, Casey,"—Chuck raises his eyebrows and gives his friend a hopeful smile—"it's still waiting for you."
"I'll let you know after I see my office." Chuck and Sarah smile, already knowing he'll love his office.
"Hey speaking of getting shot," Devon speaks up, "you were really lucky, Bro. A couple of centimeters in either direction, and you would have been in serious trouble. The doctor on the news called it a miracle hit."
Morgan shrugs and absently remarks, "Yeah, a calculated miracle." His eyes go round. Chuck and Sarah and Casey glare at him. Casey growls under his breath, "Quiet, Moron."
Ellie narrows her eyes at Chuck and purses her lips. Devon sits back, a look of realization on his face. "Oh no."
"Dessert anyone?" Morgan covers.
"That's a great idea." Chuck jumps up. "You know there are some definite perks, leasing to the Cheesecake Factory."
On her way to the dessert table, Ellie corners Chuck and Sarah. "When were you going to tell me?"
"This week, Sis, I promise. We want to tell you everything."
"Okay. I guess things have been kind of crazy for all of us. But this week, we catch up."
"Absolutely, Ellie," Sarah reassures her sister-in-law. Chuck nods.
The rest of the evening passes with laughter and conversation and the consumption of much cheesecake.
Eventually, Morgan clinks his glass with his spoon to get everybody's attention. "Tomorrow, you are all invited as special guests to the Bartowski's private opening night of Carmichael's Spy Café, formerly known to you as Castle."
Everyone breaks into applause for Morgan's new restaurant and the honor of being the first diners in a restaurant that holds so much meaning for Clan Bartowski.
"Now before you go, Alex and I have put together a short documentary/video in honor of Chuck and Sarah and the building of the CI offices. You have to see it to believe it, because the transformation is just … well, see for yourself."
The sixty inch flat screen comes to life with an instrumental intro and "before" pictures of the empty brick shell with nothing but two levels of catwalks. Everyone gasps at the stark contrast to the stunning space they just toured. Chuck and Sarah are taken by complete surprise. They turn to each other and whisper in unison, "Did you know about this?" They shake their heads.
Better Together plays, [There is no combination of words I could put on the back of a postcard and no song that I could sing,] as black and white pictures tell the story, [but I can try because this is your heart and this is our dreams,] beginning with pictures of Chuck and Sarah suspended in the middle of their space, walking the catwalk or sitting on it, pointing and talking, smiling and laughing.
[and they are made out of real things.] A picture of Chuck behind Sarah, one arm wrapped around her and the other pointing down to the bare concrete floor, now the IT floor [Love is the answer at least for most of the questions in my heart: like why are we here? And where do we go?] fades into a photo of Sarah leaning back against Chuck, one arm resting on his and the other pointing to the empty space now a state-of-the-art, glass conference room. [And how come it's so hard? It's not always easy.] The picture morphs, and Sarah has turned in Chuck's arms enough to plant a kiss on his jaw, [I'll tell you one thing:] then dissolves into one of Chuck and Sarah forehead to forehead, their arms circled around each other. [It's so much better when we're together.]
Ellie and Emma are wiping tears. Even Casey is smiling.
An instrumental interlude plays through the transformation of the building: Chuck and Morgan laying cable; Sarah directing various work crews; Chuck hooking up the computer and all of the work stations; and Sarah and Alex arranging the offices and going over the books.
The last series of pictures shows Chuck and Sarah in work boots, jeans, and tank tops, armed with nail guns, and laying the raised IT floor. As each picture fades into the next, another section of floor is finished, and the still pictures gradually saturate with color, until they finally segue to video. Chuck and Sarah admire their handiwork and lay down their nail guns.
[Well it's so much better when we're together]
Sarah zones out, no longer watching the video, but remembering the moment.
~^~^~
After setting down her nail gun, she hears music and looks up. Chuck stretches out his hand. "It would be a shame to waste such a great dance floor." She flashes him a smile and takes his hand. As the music plays, they cover every section of the new IT floor. Finally, he spins her out and pulls her back, catching her in his arms. She is breathless. He smiles and dips her to the floor, one of her work boots rising in the air. She laughs as he kisses her neck and pulls her back up, circling his arms around her waist. She loses herself in his eyes and the joy of the moment.
~^~^~
The video stops on that image. [I will still tell you one thing: we're better together. We're so much better when we're together]
There are smiles on every face and a few tears. Applause erupts, and a feeling of love and happiness settles over the room, not so much for the transformation of a building, but for the rebuilding of a life and love's triumph over tragedy.
—^v^—
Sarah walks Emma and Molly to their car, and Emma hugs her older daughter. "This has been a wonderful day. I really enjoyed the Bartowski clan. Thank you for including me."
Sarah nods. "I'm glad you came."
Emma turns to get in the car.
"Mom? ... You're welcome to join us for the rest of the week: dinner tomorrow, the big move and the Labor Day barbeque. I mean, I'd like for you to come ... if you can or want to." Sarah looks down then back at Emma.
"I'd love to, Honey. We'll be there for as much of it as we can."
Sarah smiles. "Great."
As Sarah watches the tail lights disappear, Chuck comes up behind her and wraps his arms around her. "I think that went well."
"Me, too." Sarah leans against him. "Thank you."
"My pleasure." He kisses her cheek. "Ellie and Awesome have already headed to our old place, and we, Mrs. Bartowski, will spend our first night in our new house, in our new bed."
"Mm. It was a good idea, Chuck, to let Ellie and Devon have our apartment and our old bed until we move it with the other furniture on Friday."
"Well, it gives them an actual bed to sleep on, instead of an air matress."
"And it gives us two nights alone before our house becomes a hostel."
"Honey, please. Our house is not a hostel," Chuck says with mock indignation.
"Fine ... auberge."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
"Yeah, but it sounds classier."
—^v^—
Chuck's hands work their magic on her neck and shoulders … her back. He has perfected this whole massage thing to an exquisite art, of which she is the sole collector.
=—=—=
He had insisted on drawing her a bath to help her relax from a socially tiring day ... said he wanted to make this a memorable and romantic first night in her dream home. How did she ever get so lucky? When she got out of the bath, the glow of candlelight and soft music set the mood for romance.
=—=—=
He cracks her neck, and she melts deeper into the mattress. She tries to stay awake. She hears a soft moan, then realizes that it came from her. "Chuck" she mumbles into the pillow. This is better than sss … what is it she's supposed to say … better than ...
She feels his lips on her cheek. "I love you, Sarah."
"Hm-mmm ..." Love you, too.