Why hello fellow human beings! How art thou?

Compared to our more recent updates, this must seem rather fast. The speed of this update has to be blamed on the fact that we just had a week off college and the awesome episodes that we're given every week. Updates in the future may be a bit off, I'm considering entering NaNoWriMo (I have only one day left to sign up- better make up my mind soon, no?) So, if I do, there'll probably be no updates for the next month. If not, then hopefully there should be another update sometime soon cause this chapter was meant to be longer but then we didn't want to make you guys wait, and the chapter was the longest we'd written without the second half so we ended it in an appropriate place.

Funny (true) story: Erica convinced her Mum to watch Chuck and, like the rest of us, she instantly fell in love with it. Just over a week ago, Erica received a text in the middle of a lecture from her Mum who was in PC World at the time. It said: 'OMG IT'S JUST LIKE THE BUY MORE. LOL' Erica's Dad was thoroughly confused with her behaviour in the middle of the electronics store (He doesn't watch Chuck). How's that for epicness. When Erica showed me the text, my day suddenly seemed brighter and I couldn't stop laughing for a good ten minutes.

Anywho, thank you to everyone who read, reviewed or put the story or us on alert. It means so much that you guys enjoy the story and it gives us more incentive to write and update faster. Seriously, even if we didn't have this week off, the chapter would have been updated rather quickly cause of the awesome reception the last chapter (and the whole fic in general) has gotten, it blows me away. So, thank you.

Disclaimer: We don't own Chuck.

We hope you enjoy the chapter and Happy Halloween everyone.

D-no

TeamBartowski.


"Oh, my God." Ellie gasped, her petite hand covering her mouth in shock. Chuck shared her sentiments as they looked on at their home, or what was left of it. Which really wasn't a lot. The four outer walls were standing… and that was about it. Inside it was just a wide-open space. You could easily see where the rooms were split up. Or in Chuck's case, trip over what was left of the burnt walls that dissected the small apartment.

"Yeah, I know."

"And you just had to go running right in!"

"Oh, we're back to that. Umm, sorry?" Chuck said weakly.

"I know, Chuck. I know you are. It's just seeing this. It just reminds me that you could've never gotten out. I just… We're all we have Chuck and I can't lose you, okay? So, no more idiotic stunts. Deal?"

"Deal." Chuck said and wrapped his arms around his sister. "Deal." He said quietly and resolutely to himself.

They didn't spend that long in the living room, they didn't have a lot there that they had lost in the fire, except a few photos, a few memories that they had forgotten long ago. They then moved into Chuck's room, the only furnished bedroom in the small apartment.

Chuck let out an audible moan when he saw all the boxes that he had planned to unpack (under Ellie's strict orders) that weekend, lay in a blackened pile in the corner of his room. And his computer, at the back of this chaos lay his beloved computer. The grey corners of the bulky monitor were blackened and even from the other side of the room, Chuck could make out the cracks that laced the fragile screen and he fought the urge to groan loudly. He had made that computer, with his own six-year-old hands... and a lot of help from his father (he was six!). His father had even downloaded Windows 2000 for him, a gift for doing so well. He and his father had spent what amounted to forever in his younger self's mind working on the computer. They'd been so concentrated on building it that his father missed several X-Files episodes. And, even more surprisingly, so had Chuck. Chuck sifted through the boxes. Most of the things were burnt beyond recognition but there were a few things that he and Ellie could just about make out. The few albums stored in the boxes were useless; the fire had gotten to them easily. There were a few of Chuck's toys and Ellie's dolls that weren't destroyed by the fire.

"Hey," Chuck said happily as he lifted two toys out of one of the boxes, "Optimus Prime and Megatron. Man these were epic." Ellie rolled her eyes lovingly as Chuck knelt on the ground and started playing with the two toys, the colours had faded over the years and the plastic was slightly puckered from the heat of the fire. Not caring about the state of his toys, he made them attack each other and speaking in low grunts as he imitated, poorly, the voices of the robots.

Ellie let out a small gasp at the sight of her old "doctors kit". When she was seven Ellie had decided that she wanted to be a doctor. It was an out of the blue decision made soon after she had patched up her little brother when he had taken a small fall in the garden. She knew then that it took more than applying spider man plaster and planting a kiss on the boo-boo but the satisfaction that came from helping someone, especially her baby brother, was like nothing else. That Christmas, their parents had surprised her with a toy doctor's kit. Ellie spent the whole day dressed in the 'doctors coat' and, using Chuck as the patient, saved several imaginary people. Some patients, though, were beyond saving, as the young Ellie had consoled the parents of "Toby" (who had died of a bump on the head). Chuck wasn't the best patient. Not surprising considering that he was four and Ellie had made him lie still for several hours, until their parents told them it was time to eat.

Chuck's voice pulled Ellie out of her memory, "El, are you okay?" He asked worriedly. "I called your name, like five times and you didn't answer."

"Yeah," she smiled softly, Chuck's concern melted quickly. "Just remembering."

"Oh, my God. I remember this! I didn't even get to play with my own presents cause you needed a patient. That was a great Christmas."

"It was? I thought you hated me after I made you lie still for like two hours."

"Hate you? God, no. El, you were so happy. I know I was four but you were my big sister. I would have been fine if you made me stay there for hours on end if it made you happy." Ellie smiled gently and hugged Chuck. "There's also the fact that you were bigger than me then and I knew that bodily harm wasn't out of the question. Probably would've made the whole thing more authentic." Chuck laughed as Ellie moved out of his arms and lightly slapped him on the arm, laughing with him.

"Come on," she said after a moment. "We'd better get going, there's nothing left here that isn't destroyed or worth taking with us." Nodding, Chuck followed his sister out of the carcass that used to be their home.


When they entered the Miller's home, they found all of the occupants talking in the kitchen. As Chuck entered the kitchen for the first time, he noticed how warm and inviting it was. The stainless steel appliances blended well with the black granite tops and the cherry wood cabinets and drawers. What stood out to him, however, was the marine blue bag that rested in the corner of the room. Rushing to pick it up, he stared questioningly at Sarah.

"We found it next to you and figured it was something important to you, considering you went rushing into a fire for it." The end of Sarah's sentence came out with a bit of anger, but at that moment Chuck didn't really mind. He knew they were all pissed at him for his foolish actions and he couldn't blame them, but he had almost forgotten about the bag after everything, Ellie, the apartment. Grabbing Ellie he dragged her into the living room and over to the couch, glad that the Miller's had stayed behind, understanding the need for the siblings' privacy.

"Here, I want to show why I went in. I know it was a stupid thing to do and it may take you a while to forgive me for it, but maybe you'll understand more after this."

Ellie, while still surprised by Chuck dragging her into the living room, moved closer to both Chuck and the bag. He was wrong though. She already forgave him. What he did was stupid, but he was her little brother and he was alive, there was no way she was going to ruin the only relationship she had with her family over something so stupid. No way was she going to ruin her relationship with her little brother over something like that. She had to protect him, she knew that most of the time she would be protecting him from himself. Whatever the reason, she was going to protect him and she knew that he would do anything for her. She was telling the truth before, she was all Chuck had and he was all she had. But it was enough. No. It was more than enough.

Ellie turned her attention back to Chuck when he pulled something out of the bag. It was an album, she noticed.

The red album.

Her mouth went dry. Leave it to her little brother to save those pictures. Chuck's nervous smile grew when he noticed Ellie's giddiness. Opening the album, he rested it in between them and they made their way through the memories.

The first were pictures of a beautiful brunette woman lying in the hospital bed holding what appeared to be a roll of pink blankets that had a tuft of brown hair poking out of the top. Both the woman and the man who had her in his embrace were looking at the bundle in between them rather than the camera. The bliss was apparent on both of the new parents' faces. The next few pictures were similar, both the Bartowski parents and a few hours old Ellie.

As the flipped the pages Ellie and Chuck laughed at Ellie's absurd Halloween costumes and 'd'awwwed' over her Christmas dresses. Other pictures were rare moments captured. Ellie in her mother's arms, being rocked to sleep in soft light of the half moon just present in the window. Other pictures told stories of afternoons spent in the park, family garden parties with the neighbours. Stories of a normal family. Halfway through a few pages were decorated lavishly in baby blue.

"Now it gets interesting." Chuck said, dodging a slap from Ellie as he tried to keep the album from falling to the floor. "I still maintain that the cutest Bartowski has now entered the album." Ellie snorted and patted his arm.

"You just keep telling yourself that, Chuck." Her playful smile took out any sting in her words.

Their attention returned to the photos in front of them. Chuck's hospital photos were pretty much the same as Ellie's except there was a nearly-three-year-old Ellie in almost every one. They paused over the photos with Ellie sitting in a hospital chair holding a baby Chuck.

"Did you know that when I first saw you I asked Dad where your batteries were?" Ellie shared and they both laughed.

"Thank God for medical school otherwise we'd all be screwed." Chuck said before dissolving into fits of laughter. Wiping tears from his eyes, Chuck flipped over the page and suddenly stilled. Ellie, resurfacing after her own bout of laughter, quickly looked at what had made Chuck stiffen.

She felt her heart break a little when she saw the picture. In the living room of their old home, her father and her brother sat infront of two separate computer screens. Her father had been working, random pieces of screwed up balls of paper lay strewn around his chair. Chuck, however, was playing a game of Tetris (what? It's a classic). Stephen Bartowski's head was resting on the palm of his left hand and Chuck had imitated him exactly.

The main focus of the rest of the photos was Ellie and Chuck, though there were a few family outings, such as the one time their father had taken time off work and they had gone out for a whole weekend. It wasn't long after that trip that their mother left but it held a truckload of great memories.

Ellie was surprised to see Chuck digging around in the bag after they finished looking through the album.

Slowly raising his hand out of the bag, Chuck turned to look at Ellie with a huge smile on his face. Ellie gasped as she saw what Chuck was holding.

It was their mother's charm bracelet.

"I found it in the bin the day after Mom left and I knew that you only put it there because you were upset so I took it out and kept it. I was going to give it to you, but you were so angry at Mom for so long and you had a lot going on, looking after me and all and I didn't want to give it back to you incase it upset you." Chuck frowned as a few tears silently slipped down his sister's face. "I'm sorry, this was a stupid idea. I should've known that it wo-" Ellie's finger cut off the rest of Chuck's sentence.

Wiping the tears away with the back of her hand, she spoke, her voice cracking slightly. "No, Chuck. You didn't do anything wrong." She looked him straight in the eyes, every word laden with sincerity. Wrapping him in a hug, she quietly whispered into his ear. "Thank you, Chuck. I'm still kinda pissed though." Her words had their desired effect and Ellie could feel rather and hear her brother chuckling. Pulling away from each other, they stayed connected in a semi-embrace. "Seriously, Chuck, thank you."

"Thank you, Ellie."

"For what?"

"Everything." Chuck said cryptically.


The Millers- and John- left the Bartowski's to themselves when Chuck literally dragged his sister into the living room. It was a family moment for them, and the Millers knew that they needed their privacy.

After a while, curiousity got the better of her, and Carol decided to have a little peep. At her smile, Alex joined her at the kitchen door. He could understand the reason behind his wife's inexplicably large smile.

Chuck and Ellie were sitting on the sofa laughing and just… being a family. It made his heart warm, knowing that the two had such a strong bond considering what Chuck had told them about his parents and their disappearing acts. He was distracted when Sarah joined them. Sarah smiled at the sight, her eyes growing slightly wet. A grunt behind them followed by a small thump alerted them to the presence of Casey and Carina. Luckily they hadn't disturbed the siblings, who were now in an embrace. After a few more seconds they returned to their previous positions around the kitchen table.

Sarah couldn't remove the smile from her face. It was nice to see how close Chuck and Ellie were. If she were honest, she was a bit envious. Ellie and Chuck had such a strong bond, formed through tragedy, and she had no idea where her only blood relative was. But, the more she thought about, the more she realised, she had no reason to be envious. Not anymore. She had Carina, Carol and Alex. She knew that Casey would help her (only if persuaded by Carina-but still!).

And then there was Chuck. He was the best friend she could ever hope to have; he helped her come out of the shell she had created after her father had started his 'business'. He was so open, but there was always an air of mystery to him that Sarah hoped she would be able to understand. He was beautiful. She'd always thought it weird when she heard women call men beautiful, but it was true. Chuck was beautiful in every sense of the word. His eyes. God, his eyes. The tantalizing chestnut eyes drew her in, and as soon as that happened, all rational thought would fly out of her mind. When he looked her in the eye, it made her feel as if the whole world had just stopped to listen, like she was the centre of the universe. It was a feeling Sarah never wanted to stop. It wasn't just his eyes, though, it was his presence. It was his presence that made her heart speed up just a bit every time he entered the room. It was his presences made her mouth suddenly turn into the Sahara Desert every time he smiled the goofy smile of his.

Sarah's thoughts were interrupted by Ellie and Chuck entering the kitchen. Ellie's eyes were slightly red and puffy, a clear sign that she had been crying, but she was happy now, as the smile on her face told everyone.


"And that concludes our tour of the Miller abode." Alex made his way down the stairs to the living room, followed by Chuck. "Anything you need, towels…whatever, be sure to ask, okay?" Chuck nodded. "Are you sure the sofa bed is fine? We could always lug down a mattress and shift a few things around."

"The sofa bed's perfect, thanks Mr Miller."

"It's Alex, Chuck. If you start calling me Mr Miller I may become more power hungry."

"More?" Chuck questioned with a laugh and Alex joined in as they stepped into the kitchen which, even filled with the rest of the crowd, wasn't even full.

Ellie sat on the round kitchen table, chatting to the Carol. Both had a mug of coffee in their hands and smiles on their faces. On the other half of the table, near the window, sat Carina and Sarah. It looked as if they were discussing something to do with Sarah's hair. Maybe Carina was giving her tips or something. She had no reason to, Sarah looked beautiful as it is. Sarah looked up and met his gaze and Chuck realised that he had been staring at her. With a sheepish smile Chuck moved towards his sister.

"Hey. When do you have to go back?" His tone carried a slight melancholic undertone.

"I have early lectures tomorrow so I'm going to have to leave tonight." Chuck frowned. "But, it won't take me long to get there so I have a few hours to spare." Carol Miller couldn't help but smile as a bright grin stretched on both of the Bartowski's faces. They were close, not surprising from the little information she had gleaned from Ellie while her husband had shown Chuck around. She was impressed with Ellie. After their mother had left she had managed to look after her younger brother all the while studying to earn a place in university. It was one Hell of an achievement. It was a shame that no one but her brother was there to see her accomplish so much. He wasn't the only one now.

"So what do y-" Alex's question was interrupted by a startlingly loud knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Carina said as she moved out of the kitchen followed by the others who crowded into the furnished living room.

"Hi-oh." And there, on the other side of the door stood a speechless Morgan Grimes. His jaw worked up and down but he didn't seem able to form any coherent words and he stared at Carina… or certain parts of Carina.

Carina liked being looked at by men… no, wait. That's wrong. Carina loved being looked at by men. But this… gnome shows up and he's looking at her assets as if they're water being offered to a thirsty man was a bit too much, even for her standards. Okay, so maybe they were just directly at his eye level, the creep was short, but still, she had eyes… and legs. She'd worked hard on those legs. Okay, enough was enough. "Hello? Can I help you?" She couldn't stop the modicum of disgust that made its way into her voice.

"I-uh-well I-uh-"

"Morgan?" Morgan's saving grace came in the form of a curly haired boy.

Morgan's eyes literally lit up as if he was just told that Joss Whedon, Summer Glau, and Morena Baccarin would be visiting him for Christmas. "Chuck! You're alive."

Before Chuck could react to his friend's outburst, Morgan had jumped onto him- literally- and he didn't let go.

"Yeah, I'm alive. But I won't be if you don't let go in the next two minutes." Chuck's voice was strained as he tried his best not to collapse under Morgan's weight.

"Oh, right. Sorry." Morgan flashed Chuck an apologetic grin before turning to the others in the room. Suddenly he stood stock still, mouth gaping open. For there, before him, stood none other than a Goddess. The future Mrs Morgan Guillermo Grimes. Her hair was a luscious brown and rested on her shoulders. Her pink lips were raised slightly at the corners, a fraction of what he knew to be perfectly straight, white teeth shone through the parting of her lips. Her hair was now blowing behind her as if there was a fan in the room. Her small smile turned into a smirk and… Oh Sweet Mother of God… She just winked at him! There was a God!

Chuck watched in slight amusement and disgust as his friend stared at his sister. And stared. And stared. "Uh, Morgan?" He waved a hand in front of Morgan's awed expression. Ellie turned a questioning gaze at Chuck. "Morgan, buddy, you're catching flies… and freaking out my sister." Morgan suddenly came out of his daydream and smiled brilliantly at Ellie, bringing a hand to his hair to tame the fuzzy mess.

"Hi, I'm Morgan Grimes. Chuck's best friend," Morgan quirked an eyebrow, "and confidante." Chuck stared in shock at his friend who had been attempting a suave bond voice. Attempting being the key word.

Chuck was brought out of his shock by a disgusted grunt. "Eh. Love at first creep." Carina's laugh was soon joined by the rest of the groups bar Ellie and Morgan, the former blushed while the former just grinned goofily at her.

"Morgan this is my sister, Ellie. Ellie, this is Morgan, he works at the Buy More with me."

Ellie flashed Morgan a wary smile and said hi. Morgan's smile grew at the fact that she actually spoke to him. His day couldn't get any better.


He couldn't believe it. He knew that he'd done something wrong, but he did not deserve this punishment. Chuck was currently standing in the middle of a clothes shop as his sister, Carina and Sarah started handing him clothes that he had to try on. Morgan had ditched them when he heard that they were going shopping for clothes. Chuck couldn't blame him, he was actually shocked that Morgan's slightly –if not totally- inappropriate infatuation with his sister allowed him to reach the entrance of the mall. He was proud of his little buddy. Casey had gone home after Ellie and Chuck had returned to the kitchen- 'Too much lady feelings.' Sarah could swear she heard him say under his breath. Dropping the bundle of clothes on a chair outside the changing rooms, he picked the top most garment.

"Boys will be boys?" Chuck scowled as he read the glittery writing that adorned the black leather jacket.

"What?" Carina asked as innocently as possible. "They will be." Carina looked around at the other two girls who had their mouths hidden behind their hands as they tried to stifle their laughter.

Chuck spent half the time in the changing room, trying on shirts after shirts after jeans. Each time he tried in something new, he had to come out of the changing room and have the piece of clothing critiqued. While Sarah and Ellie were rather helpful, Carina...wasn't. The mocking, the teasing and the innuendo. Oh, God the innuendo. Chuck thought that he would be permanently blushing for the rest of his life.

During one of the many times Chuck was in the changing room, Carina left Ellie and Sarah to wait for him while she went… she never mentioned where she was going. But if Sarah knew her, and she did after living with her for so long, then the sly smile she wore could only mean trouble for all involved.

Ellie was pleased that she would have a few minutes alone with Sarah.

"So, Sarah, how are you finding Burbank? Carol told me that you moved here at the start of semester."

"It's going great. It was hard at first and it's going to take a while before it feels like home, but it's getting there."

Ellie looked like she was about to burst as she asked her next question. "So, you and my brother are good friends?"

"Yeah. When I was younger we moved around a lot and I never really had enough time to make friends because as soon as I would we'd move to another city or even state." Ellie's intrigue morphed into sympathy. Sarah didn't understand why she was spilling details of her past to someone she had just met. Ellie just had an aura that made you want to let her in. Chuck was the same; he managed to get her to open up and to let people in. 'It must be a Bartowski thing.' She thought. "Chuck's the first friend I've had in along long while and he's been the greatest friend. He's helped me a lot since I got here."

Ellie smiled as she watched the young girl before her speak about her brother. She knew, no matter how much Sarah may protest if she spoke her thoughts aloud, that Sarah liked her baby brother. They were only sixteen; it was weird to think of anyone falling for someone else at this age. Sarah and Chuck may not be in love, but they had certainly boarded the train. Next stop Crush Village. She knew it was the same for her brother. He may not know it but she wasn't his big sister for nothing. She was saved the hard work of stopping herself from jumping up and down - like Chuck when he was ten and ate all the chocolate he could get his hands on during his birthday party - when Chuck came out of the changing room, gently straightening the navy shirt that Sarah had insisted he try on.

"What do you think?" He asked, as had been his custom to do when he came out of the little booth.

"It's great, Chuck. Really suits you." Ellie said, looking him up and down. "The jeans look great with the shirt. You should try it with a white top underneath, though. I'll go look for one."

Once Ellie had left, Chuck turned to Sarah. "So, what do you think?"

"You look good, Chuck." Sarah said, a blinding smile on her face. 'Really, really good.' Chuck's smile brightened the room and got rid of the weariness that Sarah had been feeling after having been shopping for so long. As Ellie had done, Sarah looked Chuck up and down, trying not to blush as her eyes drifted downwards.

As she looked away, she didn't notice Chuck's slightly reddening face. 'Maybe, I should wear things like this more often, rather than all those sci-fi t-shirts.' Chuck loved those t-shirts, and he had even argued with Ellie for a good half an hour so that he could buy a few, but Sarah's compliment was slowly causing his brain to melt.

Unbeknownst to both of them, Ellie had returned rather quickly with a long-sleeved white shirt in her hand. She turned the corner to find Sarah and Chuck talking. She quickly hid behind the wall so that they wouldn't notice her return. Peaking out from her hiding place, she saw something that made her want to do a happy dance in the middle of the store. Sarah was taking Chuck in, her eyes roving all over him appreciatively, and a peaceful smile on her face. Chuck, himself was smiling that goofy smile of his, apparently not noticing Sarah's attention, or the fact that her eyes were sparkling in a way that Ellie could only see when Chuck was in the room.

After stifling an almighty squeal, Ellie walked around the corner and joined the other two.

After a few more hours of shopping and Chuck banging his head against the changing room wall, they left mall and returned home, exhausted. But the shopping trip had been very useful; replacing all of Chuck's clothes was something Ellie, Sarah and Carina had way too much fun with, if you asked him. He had only been allowed to buy five sci-fi tops, having haggled with Ellie who insisted he not get any at all. It was seven in the evening by the time they arrived home and got Chuck settled.

Way too soon, Ellie was slipping on her jacket and waiting near the open door. Having said goodbye to everyone but Chuck she walked towards her car and he followed.

"I'll come back for thanksgiving, okay. It won't be that long. And I'll even introduce you to my boyfriend." Ellie said slyly.

"I can't wait, El." Chuck said, yet as hard as he tried to sound excited, he couldn't hide the sadness in his voice.

"I'm sorry, Chu-"

"No. You don't get to be sorry. You have no reason to be sorry." Chuck said firmly, his hand covering his sister's mouth. "I'm sorry. I was stupid today, running into the fire and I didn't think of the consequences. I'm sorry that I tore you away from studying. So, no more apologies. You have to go and become the best doctor there is." Chuck finished with a smile.

"Okay, no more apologies, I promise. As long as I can't apologise, I just have one thing to say to you too. You have no right to be sorry. What you did today was stupid, no question about it, but you're okay. You didn't 'tear' me away from my studies. I came because you're my little brother and I love you, okay? So get that in your thick skull. I'll do anything for you."

"You already have, El. You already have, and so now it's time for you to be selfish, okay? I want you to promise that you'll think about yourself more, don't worry so much about me. I've got friends to look after me, or kill me in your stead if I were to do anything slightly idiotic." Chuck flashed a brilliant smile and brought his sister into a rough embrace, slightly embarrassed at the tears streaming down his face. His sister wasn't leaving him or anything. She was only an hour away and would come if he ever needed her, today proved it. He thanked God everyday for giving him Ellie. Their parents may not have been the best – or close to the best – but God made up for it by giving him Ellie. He was going to do everything in his power to give Ellie every opportunity to succeed, just like she had done for him. As he pulled back from the embrace, he caught Ellie, wiping at her eyes and suddenly didn't feel so embarrassed. Imitating his sister, he wiped the tears from his eyes and led her to her car. Simply put, it was a piece of junk. But, it did it's job, it passed all inspections and it was all they were able to spend on a car.

Bending down so that he could meet his sister's gaze through the open window, Chuck smiled at his sister, "Love you, El. Drive safe."

"I will Chuck. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Thanksgiving will come quickly I promise."

"Is this promise like when you told me that Peaches ran away? Or maybe, when we had to flush Sir Swimsalot down the toilet and you told me that it led to goldfish Heaven?" Chuck brace himself as Ellie gave him a playful shove.

"Yes." Chuck raised an eyebrow. "I still maintain that the toilet leads to goldfish Heaven." Chuck was laughing as he pushed himself away from the car and watched his sister drive away. As much as he told himself that she wasn't leaving, as much as he knew that his sister would never leave him, it tore at his heart to watch her drive away. When he went back into the house only Sarah was in the living room, waiting for him.

"Dad has to get to work really early tomorrow and it's been a rather eventful day." Chuck's lips quirked when she said 'Dad'. He knew how happy it made Alex and Carol when she started accepting that fact that she was part of the family. It made him happy to that she had settled and found herself comfortable enough to call this place home. He knew that she hadn't had the best start in life, whatever had happened, she had never told Chuck, or anyone else, but he respected her need for privacy. He knew what it felt like to have something or someone hurt you so terribly that you felt like you couldn't trust anyone else. He was lucky, though, he had Ellie. He didn't even want to imagine what it was like for Sarah, on her own, dealing with the realities of life.

Chuck was surprised when Sarah hugged him, but after an awkward moment or two, wrapped his arms around her. It felt so right.

Chuck could feel Sarah's warm breath against his ear as she whispered, "I'm so glad you're okay." Sarah pulled away all too quickly for Chuck's liking. The loss of body contact had Chuck silently cursing in his mind. Sarah concentrated on her hands and Chuck noticed her take a deep breath before saying, "Please... please don't do anything like that again, okay?" She suddenly looked Chuck straight in the eye, Chuck was surprised to see the vulnerability shining from her eyes as they watered and a few tears slipped down her face. Chuck immediately raised his hand, and with his thumbs, gently wiped away her tears before wrapping her in his embrace. "I just... I can't lose you. You're my best friend, and I don't want to lose you." Chuck squeezed her tighter.

"I promise. You're not getting rid of me that easily." Sarah chuckled slightly and pulled away, wiping away her tears.

"Thank you, Chuck." Sincerity rang in every word. After a while of just sitting in silence, not an awkward silence by any means, Sarah got up, but not before leaning close to him for a moment that made Chuck's heart stop beating and his eyes close. With a soft "goodnight" she made her way to her bedroom.

Chuck's hand gently touched the place that her lips had been for a brief second of pure bliss. Lying supine on the sofa bed, Chuck knew that he wouldn't stop smiling for a while as he continuously replayed the last few minutes in his mind. Maybe Sarah didn't like him as he liked her, but after that evening, Chuck's heart beat with a little more hope for the future.


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TeamBartowski.