I promise I'm not dead and gone. Just getting ready for medical school, where I probably will die and be gone. LOL! Anyway, I'm currently working on the last couple of chapters for this story and hopefully I'll have it all set before I get busy again.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Chuck as Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz are the gods of their creation and Warner Brothers hasn't put up the brand for sale.
Chuck Versus the Abandonment Issues
"Hey Chuck, look."
Chuck paused the video game he was currently playing to look over at his girlfriend, who was sitting beside him on the couch, her laptop on her lap. "What?"
"I just got an email from some Food Network producer," she said spinning the computer so that he could see the screen. Intrigued, he set his controller down and took the computer from Sarah.
He quickly scanned the email, clicking on the link provided. "Sarah, I think he wants you to compete on The Next Iron Chef."
"Are you serious?" Sarah asked, scooting over as her eyes bugged out of her head slightly. "Wow… Uh…"
"Sarah, this is great! Oh, my God, I'm so proud of you!" He placed a kiss on the side of Sarah's head. Sarah read over the email once more. Chuck's rambling about how awesome it was to have an Iron Chef as his girlfriend faded into the background. "I mean, Can you imagine? Iron Chef Sarah Walker. It really rolls right off the tongue," Chuck's voice becoming clear again.
"That's what you said about 'Special Agent Sarah Walker,'" she reminded him with a chuckle. She shut the laptop and placed it on the coffee table in front of him.
"That's just because you're so kick-ass in whatever you do. Besides, you did graduate from the Culinary Institute of America. Not my fault that they happen to have the same initials as the Central Intelligence Agency." Sarah rolled her eyes at him as they leaned in for a kiss. Right before their lips touched, the doorbell rang. Chuck groaned and Sarah laughed. "I'll get it," she said as she got up from the couch. Chuck reached for his game controller to continue his game.
Rolling her eyes at her boyfriend's antics, Sarah answered the door with a smile, opening it just enough that her body blocked a view into the rest of the home. On the other side was an older couple. "Hi, can I help you?" she greeted politely despite the oddity of the situation.
"Yes, we're looking for Charles Bartowski?" the woman said. "Does he still live here?"
"Uh… Yeah. May I ask who's asking?"
"Babe? Who's there?" Chuck's voice called out from behind her, getting closer. The door opened wider as Chuck pulled it open. He stopped, frozen. Even though they weren't in contact, Sarah could feel the tension rolling off of Chuck. "Mom? Dad?"
•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•
Chuck, Sarah, and Chuck's parents were all sitting in Chuck's living room in an awkward silence. "Do you want me to…?" Sarah offered to leave so that Chuck could have a private word with the two people who'd left him and his sister.
"No. Stay. Please," he told her. She nodded and took his hand in hers. "So, Mom, Dad, what… what are you doing here? What are you doing back?"
"Charles," Chuck's mom said. "It's all very complicated."
"So, what, you're just not going to tell me? What about Ellie? We're not little kids anymore." Chuck's eyes went wide. "Does Ellie know you're here? That you're back? You know she lives across the courtyard. No, wait, you don't know that. Wait. How did you know that I live here?" Chuck frowned in confusion. He'd started rambling and Sarah realized that he probably wasn't going to stop anytime soon on his own volition.
"Chuck, Honey," she placated. "I know you have a lot of questions, but how about you ask them one at a time? Maybe we should get Ellie and Devon to come over that way this all gets done in one fell swoop."
Chuck looked into her eyes, seeming to draw strength from her before nodding. "Yeah, yeah, you're right. We should get Ellie." Sarah gave an encouraging smile.
"I'll go get her. Okay?" She placed a chaste kiss on his lips, mindful that his parents were watching them. "I'll be right back." She stood up and left the apartment. Taking a deep breath, Sarah walked across the courtyard over to Ellie and Devon's apartment and knocked on the door. It took a while, but eventually the older Bartowski sibling answered the door, still in her scrubs. It was then that Sarah remembered that Ellie had worked the night shift last night and had probably just gotten home.
"Hey, Sarah! What's up?" she asked cheerily.
"Um… Not much," she said. How the hell was she supposed to tell an exhausted neurosurgeon that her parents were back out of the blue? "I did want to ask you if you could come over to the apartment."
"Uh… I'd love to, Sarah, but I just got back from a gnarly shift and I'm pretty beat. Maybe another time?" Ellie gave her a smile, but Sarah could see the brunette struggling to get it to reach her eyes. She really hated herself in that moment.
"Actually… It's kind of important." Ellie frowned. Sarah could see the worry creep into the doctor's eyes as she ran over different possible scenarios. She'd never guess it.
"How important?" she asked. "Like… Chuck got his head stuck in a Stormtrooper helmet? Or like… my parents are back from God knows where?"
Sarah blinked. Did she… What?
"How did…?" Ellie pointed behind Sarah and she turned. Sure enough, there was a clear view of her parents sitting in the living room, a squirmy Chuck right across from them. "I'm sorry, El."
Ellie waved her off. "Sarah, you have nothing to be sorry for," she said. Sarah was impressed at the calm and collected demeanor of the woman standing in front of her. "I guess we should head over there, huh?"
"Are you sure?" Sarah asked. "I can tell them that you're asleep or something."
Ellie shook her head. "No, I can talk to them. Besides, I wouldn't want Chuck to face this on his own, you know?" As though realizing what she'd implied, Ellie added on, "And, I know he has you, but it's different."
"I know what you mean, Ellie," Sarah assured. "No offense taken."
The two women walked back across the courtyard to the unit that currently held a tall, curly-haired nerd and his estranged parents. When they walked in, Ellie stopped, frozen. It was like the weight of the situation had finally hit her now that her parents were actually in front of her. Just as quick as she froze, she rebooted and moved to sit beside her brother. "Mom, Dad," she said, her voice controlled. "You're back."
Feeling like she was intruding, Sarah spoke up. "How about I prepare us some food and let you guys catch up." She caught Chuck's gaze and gave a reassuring nod before turning toward the kitchen. She whipped up something that would normally be really quick for her to make, but she took her time making it in order to give the family some time to work through their discussion. When she realized that she had finished cooking, she wanted something else to do so she decided to use the baguette sitting on the counter to make some garlic bread. She also texted Devon, getting him up to speed on the situation. He replied saying that he'd be over as soon as possible.
Ellie did most of the talking. Chuck just sat there trying to comprehend what was happening. "Where did you go? What happened to you?" Ellie asked.
"Ellie, I know that this is a lot to process right now, but we need you to just listen," his mom said. "I promise we'll explain everything."
"Okay, so start explaining."
And they did, boy did they start explaining. They told a tale about spies and a computer and Russian arms dealer and how his mother had been taken when Chuck was nine and Ellie was twelve. His father explained that he'd been distant because he spent most of his time trying to find his mother to bring her home until he found out that he'd gotten close enough that he found out that someone was tailing him and realized he had to leave in order to keep them safe. It was like something out of a movie or TV Show.
"Wait," Ellie interrupted, grasping her hands in front of her, a habit she'd picked up whenever she was trying to process something. "You're telling us… that the two of you worked for the United States government as spies. And you left us to keep us safe. But now, you've what, completed your mission and now its safe to come back?"
"Eleanor," their Dad tried to explain.
"Pancakes," she said, looking him straight in the eye. "You promised us pancakes for dinner and never came home." Stephen Bartowski frowned in guilt.
"And you…" Ellie said, turning to her mother. "You left the day after Chuck accidently broke your favorite necklace. Do you know how long it took me to convince him that it wasn't his fault that you left?" Ellie dropped leaned her head against her fists in frustration, then took a deep breath, gathering herself. "The two of you left us. And now you're telling us that you're just back? I mean, you've missed pretty much every major milestone in our lives: high school graduation, college graduation, Chuck opened his own business, I'm a doctor now, I'm married for crying out loud."
"Eleanor, Sweetie," Mary Bartowski placated. "I know that we couldn't be there in person because it was too dangerous, but I was watching, and I'm sure your father was, too. We were there in spirit. We kept tabs, made sure the two of you were safe. But, we had to keep our distance so long as the threat was still out there. But now, the threat is gone and it's safe for us to come back."
"I just… I'm gonna need some time," Ellie said, standing up to go to the kitchen.
That left Chuck alone with his parents. He had yet to say more than five words to them. But, now was a better time than never. "She's been through a lot. We both have," he said. "Ellie was supporting the two of us at eighteen with two jobs, while she went to college. Our whole lives, we were dependent on each other. And now, the two of you just come in and change all of it." He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Just… Be patient. Give us both time to… process everything."
"Of course, son," Mary said.
"Hey guys? I made lunch if you're hungry," Sarah interrupted with a smile.
"That sounds great," Chuck's father said climbing to his feet. "Thank you…"
"Sarah," the blonde supplied helpfully. "I'm afraid with the abruptness of it all we haven't been officially introduced. I'm Sarah Walker, Chuck's girlfriend." She extended a hand to shake Stephen's.
"Ah, I see," Chuck's mother said, taking her turn to shake Sarah's hand. "Mary Bartowski."
"Stephen," Chuck's father added.
Sarah smiled warmly. "I hope the two of you enjoy Chicken Parmesan. It's Chuck and Ellie's favorite." Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Please, have a seat, I'll just get the door." The Bartowski parents took their seats at the dining table while Chuck and Ellie were in the kitchen pouring glasses of wine, no doubt having a hushed conversation about how they were going to proceed next. Sarah, on the other hand, moved to the front door to answer it.
Devon stood on the other side. "Hey, I came as soon as I could," he said, sounding slightly out of breath.
"No problem," Sarah assured, keeping her voice hushed. "We're just sitting down for lunch. Chuck and Ellie are in the kitchen."
"This is so crazy," he said in the same whispered tone.
"Tell me about it," she muttered. "Come in, I'm sure Ellie would love to see you right about now." Devon stepped into the apartment, putting on his best smile – which, Sarah admitted, was a pretty great smile.
The three couples gathered around the table and enjoyed the lunch that Sarah had put together. The conversation was stinted, naturally – what else would an estranged family talk about without opening another huge can of worms. Devon did his best to keep the conversation flowing, bless his soul. Chuck and Ellie's parents did their best to answer and show enthusiasm, but the tension between the two siblings overpowered Captain Awesome's ability to be awesome.
"Sarah, this is delicious," Mary Bartowski said as she wiped her mouth.
"Thank you, Mrs. Bartowski," she replied with a smile.
"Please, call me Mary." She shot a furtive glance at Chuck who gave a small shrug as if to say, I have no idea what to do in this situation. She didn't blame him.
Instead, she chose to play it safe and go along with what the older woman wanted. "Of course, Mary."
"What is it that you do, Sarah?" Stephen Bartowski asked.
"I'm a chef," she replied. "I own the restaurant, Il Castello, just down the road." Both of the Bartowski parents looked impressed at that. Chuck spoke up for seemingly the first time since they sat down.
"Yeah, Sarah just got an invitation to join The Next Iron Chef," he said proudly. Ellie started at that.
"Seriously? Sarah, that's amazing."
"That's awesome," Devon affirmed, pointing his fork at her with a piece of chicken stuck to the end.
"It's not that big of a deal, it's just an invitation to apply," Sarah said, playing it down.
"But, you definitely should," Chuck said.
"I'm thinking about it," Sarah told him, noncommittally, not wanting to get into the conversation with guests around them. She shot him a look that told him that they'd discuss it later. And, thankfully, he understood and remained silent.
As lunch wound to an end, Sarah and Devon offered to clean up so that the siblings could have more time with their parents. "Nah, it's okay, Devon," Chuck cut in. "I'll help Sarah."
"You sure, bro?" he asked.
"Yeah." Chuck joined Sarah in the kitchen where she was washing the dishes. "Can we talk?"
"If this is about Iron Chef, it can wait," she told him.
"Are you really considering not joining?" he pressed further. She sighed.
"I was," she told him honestly. "Not so much anymore."
"Why not?" he asked. "Is it because my parents showed up?" Sarah didn't answer and Chuck took her silence as an affirmative. "What would my parents showing up have anything to do with you furthering your career?"
Sarah set the dish she was currently scrubbing down and turned to look at him properly. "I'm not gonna leave you when you need me," she told him. "I want to be here to support you through this." Chuck gave her a warm smile.
"And I want to support you and your career," he told her. "I can deal with my parents, Sarah. And, I've got Ellie and Devon here, too."
"I know you can deal with them," she said. He frowned, getting the feeling that she was holding back.
"There's something else," he realized. "What is it?"
After an internal debate, she spoke. "I'll potentially be gone for eight weeks."
"Two months?" he asked. Sarah nodded.
"The show is filmed in New York. If I make it all the way to the end, I'll be there for two months."
"Oh." The weight of what her joining the show would mean hitting him full force.
"Yeah. 'Oh.'"
Chuck was silent for a moment and Sarah turned back to the dishes. As she moved on to the next plate, she felt Chuck's arms wrap around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. "You should apply," he said so softly, Sarah almost missed it.
"What?"
"Apply," he said. "I want you to go. I have a really good feeling about this. I want you to challenge yourself. If you competing to be the next Iron Chef is the next step in your career, then by all means, go. Do it. We'll be supporting you the whole way."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Besides, it's not like you'll be leaving right away, we've got time."
Sarah couldn't believe the man behind her. He'd grown so much since she'd first met him, his confidence had skyrocketed and with that, his security in himself and in their relationship. If he believed that they could make two months apart work, then she did, too. She nodded. "Okay. I'll do it. I'll apply." He kissed her shoulder and then her temple.
"I love you."
"I love you, too." She turned her head to give him a kiss. "Now, go and wrap up the leftovers and put them in the refrigerator."
"Yes, Chef."
•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•
Ellie and Devon left shortly after lunch, wanting to get some sleep since they did just get back from a night shift. "Mom, Dad, do you have a place to stay?" Chuck asked.
"Actually, your father was able to buy back our old house in Studio City, so… we'll be moving back in," Mary answered. Chuck looked surprised at that.
When Chuck didn't say anything, Sarah spoke up. "You know, I would love to have you both visit the restaurant," she said. "If you two are free tonight, I can put you on the list."
"That would be lovely, Sarah, thank you," Stephen said.
"We will… see you tonight," Mary smiled. They turned to leave when Chuck stopped them. They both turned back to face their son.
"You're sure it's safe for the two of you to come back?" he asked. The Bartowski parents shared a look before looking back at Chuck.
"Yes, Charles," Stephen said. "We wouldn't have come back otherwise."
Chuck nodded. "Okay. I believe you," he said. "I just… I don't want to think that you'll be back for good only to find that you've left again… I… I don't think Ellie and I could handle that again." Mary stepped forward and rested a hand on Chuck's cheek in a motherly gesture.
"Your father and I are here to stay." Chuck stepped in and hugged his mother tightly. Sarah knew in that moment that he'd forgiven them. The kind nerd always had that ability to forgive and to see the best in everyone. When the mother and son pulled away, he turned to his father and gave him a hug as well. When they pulled away, Chuck spoke.
"You have to come by my office sometime. I think you'd really like it."
"Can't wait," the older man said. They said their goodbyes and Chuck's parents left, leaving Sarah and Chuck alone in their home once more.
"Well," Chuck said. "That was quite the eventful morning."
"It was," Sarah agreed. "And as much as I would love to stay with you, I need to go to work."
"I know," Chuck said. He pulled her into a hug. "I'll drive you in."
"You sure?"
"Absolutely." Chuck waited in the living room as Sarah changed quickly and soon, the two were off to Il Castello.
When Sarah got in, Zondra was there helping prep in the kitchen. "Hey, Zondra," Sarah greeted.
"Hey, Walker."
"Can I talk to you in my office really quick?"
Zondra followed the blonde into the office just outside of the kitchen with a curious look on her face. "What's up?"
"So… There's a possibility that I'll be gone for two months," Sarah said.
"What? Why?"
"I'm applying to join The Next Iron Chef."
"What? Seriously? Sarah, that's great!" Zondra was genuinely excited for her friend. They'd always talked about wanting to be on the Food Network and now Sarah was actually going to do it. She'd been featured on plenty of magazines and Il Castello has been doing so great that it was only a matter of time until they got their first Michelin Star, not that it mattered to Sarah, she'd already gotten three.
"Yeah, so… while I'm gone, I need you to be in charge. I'll iron out all the details later but between you, Chuck, Casey, and Big Mike, I think you can handle eight weeks without me here."
"You can count on us."
"Perfect." Zondra turned to head back toward the kitchen when Sarah spoke up. "Oh! By the way, Chuck and Ellie's parents are back and they'll be having dinner at the restaurant tonight."
"Wait, seriously? Just… out of the blue?'
"Yup."
"Yikes, that can't have been easy for them," Zondra said with a wince, having heard enough of Chuck and Ellie's backstory to get the gist of the situation.
"Tell me about it."
"Well, I'll let the front of the house know so they can be on the look out."
"Great. I had Chuck flag their names so they don't need a reservation," Sarah said.
"Sounds good."
With that, Zondra left Sarah alone in her office. She took a seat at her desk and just let everything catch up to her. It was insane, everything that was going on at once. Chuck's parents arriving, her going to New York to compete to become an Iron Chef; it was all too much to happen in one day.
First things first, she thought to herself. The restaurant. If she were to leave the restaurant for two months, then she needed to make sure everything was in order and that plans were in place. She spent some time taking time map things out. She trusted Chuck and Zondra to take care of the books and keeping everything accounted for. And, she trusted Casey and Big Mike to keep things in check. There probably wasn't much for her to worry about, but it would be the longest time she'd spent away from the restaurant. After squaring all of that away she opened up her email again and followed the appropriate links to fill out the application for the show. Just as she was about to submit it, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" she called out, turning away from the application. As the door opened, Chuck's head popped in. "Hey! What are you doing here?"
"Uhh… Mom and Dad wanted to have dinner with Ellie and me so we ended up coming here since they promised you they'd come tonight," he said. "That cool? I know we set them up with a reservation for two and now it's four and I didn't want to overstep my bounds–"
"Chuck," she interrupted. "You're not overstepping any bounds. You've said many times before that your family is my family. That still stands, you know." Chuck smiled shyly. Sarah rolled her eyes and gestured for him to come in and join her. He did. "Hey," she said as he stood in front of her. "I know that things are crazy right now with your parents back, but don't forget about the man you've grown to be. A man that is confident, and loving, and kind. Show them that. Okay?" Chuck nodded.
"I love you."
"I love you, too. Now go." He smiled and leaned in to kiss her. When they pulled away, his eyes found her screen.
"Is that the application?" he asked.
"Yup."
"You're gonna submit it."
"Yeah. But, now I'm thinking I don't want to."
"What? Why? I thought we talked about it already."
"I know. I don't want to submit it, though," she said. "I want you to." Chuck looked at her as though she'd grown a second head. "You're the one who always believes in me. I want you to submit my application. Think of it as… a good luck charm. You're my good luck charm." Chuck's smile grew until he was giving her his special smile – the one he'd reserved just for her.
"Let's turn this baby in." He leaned over her computer and Sarah watched as he clicked the big red 'submit' button in the bottom right corner. "Boom. Done. You are now an official applicant to become The Next Iron Chef," he announced with the voice of one of those monster truck announcers. Sarah rolled her eyes at his antics.
"Thank you. Now, go. You're keeping your parents waiting. And, more importantly, you've left Ellie alone with them."
"Ooh! You're right. Bye!" He placed one last peck on her lips before disappearing behind her office door.
She looked at the confirmation page on her computer and bit her lip. Now, we wait.
With nothing more to do in her office, Sarah dawned her black chef's jacket and rolled her hair up into a bun. She stepped into the kitchen, nodding briefly at Zondra, who was busy barking orders at the sous chefs. Sarah jumped in wherever they needed her – they really didn't but Sarah wanted someplace to jump in anyway. She stood near the window, checking dishes, making sure that they were still serving food to her standard; she was so impressed. With a nod to Casey, who stood nearby, Sarah walked out of the kitchen to the front of the house where she chatted with patrons and thanked them for dining at Il Castello. A familiar head of blonde hair caught her eye at one of the tables and she smiled in amusement as she walked over.
"Bobby Flay," she greeted. "What on earth are you doing here?" World-class chef, Bobby Flay, a member of the coveted Iron Chef club, was eating in her restaurant. They'd met once or twice in New York before he'd gotten his big break on Food Network. One of the restaurants she'd worked at during her high school years was actually one of his.
"Sarah Walker. It's been a long time." He stood and gave her a hug. "I'd heard you were running quite the joint and I had to check it out myself. I gotta say I'm impressed."
"Thank you. I wish you'd called ahead, I could've had your table flagged or something."
"Oh, no, it's nothing. Besides, your staff is fantastic, and the food… perfect," he complemented.
"Thank you," she smiled. "So, what are you doing here in Los Angeles?"
"Just visiting some friends and I thought I'd drop by."
"Well, thanks for coming."
"And, I hope to be seeing you sometime soon? In New York?" he asked.
"Of course! I actually just sent in my application for The Next Iron Chef," Sarah told him.
"That sounds amazing! I wish you luck."
"Thank you, Chef."
Sarah bid the original American Iron Chef goodbye before making her way over to Chuck's table. "Hey," she said as she walked up. "How's everything?"
"Oh, it's just wonderful," Mary said.
"Yeah, Sarah, the food just gets better and better," Ellie added. Sarah smiled.
"Thank you. Is there anything else we can get you?"
"I think we're good here, babe, thanks," Chuck said, his eyes telling her that he wasn't just talking about the food. A weight lifted off of Sarah's shoulders that she didn't even know was there. She was glad that Chuck's family was slowly on the path to repair; she knew how much family meant to him and she knew that having a good relationship with his parents was important to him.
"That's great! Well, I'm gonna head back in so just let your server know if you need anything else."
"Thank you again for having us," Stephen said politely as Sarah smiled one last time before heading back into the kitchen.
After Sarah disappeared into the back of the house, Chuck turned back to his family. "So, Charles," his dad said. "Tell us more about your company."
"Right! Orion Tech. We're doing really great. We've been focused mainly on our video game recently but I'm thinking about going into different kinds of software like security or business frameworks." Chuck didn't miss the furtive look that passed between his mother and father but decided to not say anything about it. Chuck's father gave a proud smile.
"Aces, Charles, Aces." Chuck smiled at the familiar phrase, not realizing how much he missed it. "You know, I could probably help you out. I know a thing or two about computers."
Chuck chuckled. "I know you do." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his mom and Ellie having their own conversation. When his mom called him and asked if he and Ellie wanted to join them for dinner, Ellie was hesitant. She'd been over at the apartment and they talked about what it meant for them now that their parents were back.
"Let's at least give them a chance," he said, muting the phone on his mom.
"Give them a chance?" Ellie asked incredulously as though Chuck had just asked her to jump out of plane without a parachute.
"Yeah, let's have dinner with them," he suggested. "It'll give us the chance to reconnect, you know? We can get our questions answered without blowing up at each other because we'd be in public, we'd also be in Il Castello so it'll be familiar ground for us. Ellie nodded slowly, warming up to the idea.
"Okay, yeah. Let's do it."
They'd literally hashed out all of the unanswered questions over appetizers and as the entrées came out, they moved into lighter conversations: Chuck's business, and Ellie's work. Chuck even asked about how accurate the movies were to the spy world. They'd really connected and he saw that things really were going to be okay.
"Hey guys?" Ellie said, pulling the two separate conversations back into one. "I actually have an announcement to make." Chuck raised a brow, as did their parents. They silenced and looked at her. "I'm pregnant." Chuck's eyes went wide and he actually dropped his fork.
"What?" Chuck asked incredulously. Ellie nodded, bursting at the seams with excitement.
"I just found out earlier today and I haven't told Devon, yet," she admitted. "But with all of us here and finally together as a family again, I really wanted to share the news with you."
"El, that's fantastic! Awesome is gonna flip!" He leaned over and hugged his sister tightly before pulling away quickly. "Oh my God! Am I hugging you to hard? Did I hurt the baby? I hurt the baby." Ellie and their parents laughed.
"Charles, dear, it doesn't work like that," his mom said fondly. She turned to Ellie. "Eleanor, I'm so proud of the woman you've become. And… I know that your father and I weren't exactly present during most of your childhood, but if you would have us, we would love to be a part of our grandchild's life."
Ellie looked like she was about to let the waterworks run free as she nodded. "I would really love that."
"This is so great. Our family just keeps growing," Chuck said. Ellie wiped away a tear.
"You're next, little brother," she said. Chuck blushed.
"What? No. Sarah and I… we haven't even thought about marriage yet. We haven't even been dating for a year."
"So what? You love each other. Even a blind man could see that." Chuck thought about that. Ellie was one to call it like she saw it and if she saw it… He already knew – even if they had only been dating for a little over six months – that he loved Sarah and could already see himself spending the rest of his life with her. With maybe babies. But… was it too soon? Would Sarah be for it? Was she even thinking about marriage? Chuck shook his head to dispel the doubts. There was no reason for him to be having any. But then again…
"Let's just… give it some time," he settled. "I mean, she is about to leave for New York."
"So she is going?" Chuck's parents spoke up. He nodded, pride evident in his smile.
"Yeah. I'm so excited for her. This will be a great opportunity for her."
"Good for her," Stephen said with a smile.
•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•
"Hey," Chuck greeted as Sarah shuffled into their room tiredly.
"You're still up," she noted as she hung her chef's jacket over the back of his desk chair.
"Yeah, I couldn't sleep."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"Go ahead and get dressed first and then we'll talk," Chuck said. Sarah nodded, moving toward the closet to get her clothes before disappearing into the bathroom. Before long, she reemerged and soon settled into her spot by Chuck's side. She rested her head on his chest as he slowly ran his finger through her hair.
"Is everything okay?" she asked. "How did dinner go with your parents?"
"It went great," he answered; Sarah could hear the smile in his voice. "Things are really looking up."
"That's good."
"Ellie's pregnant."
Surprised, Sarah turned her head to look at her boyfriend. "She is?" He only nodded his response. "Chuck, that's fantastic," she said as settled back into his chest.
"When do you leave?" he asked, changing the subject.
"I find out tomorrow. I'm sure it'll be in a week or two."
"You'll do great," he promised.
"I know," she replied. "Because I'll have you cheering me on."
The next morning, Sarah received a call from the Food Network producer saying that her flight to New York was scheduled for the Monday after next so that she had approximately a week and a half to settle anything that needed to be settled with either her restaurant or her personal life.
So, that's what Sarah did for the time that she had. She spent time with Chuck and Ellie, and even had some time to get to know and bond with the Bartowski parents. Though they didn't get along right away, it wasn't long before Sarah and Mary were close.
Then, Sarah was leaving and Chuck was driving her to LAX. It was definitely a bittersweet moment when they said their goodbyes just outside of the security checkpoint.
They didn't even have to say anything to each other because it'd all been said. Instead, they gave each other one final kiss before Sarah turned away and went through security. Ten minutes later, once she was through, she gathered her things and turned to see Chuck still standing there. With one last smile, she turned away once more in search of her terminal.
And there it is! After all this time... Well, as always...
Don't forget to Review, Favorite, and Follow!
Remember,
Fluffy Pikachu Loves You!