A/N: This chapter is kind of a long one. I know it's a lot of dialogue, but I hope ou all can bear with me. I've got some great stuff in this chapter, so enjoy!

-Charahfan44

Time seemed to stop in the Bartowski household, or in Sarah's mind at the least. She didn't know how she was going to explain herself to her husband, especially because their marriage was so new. She had two options; gradually get to her point, or just blurt it out.

"I went to see Jill." She chose the immediate approach. Chuck stared at her for a moment, and then let out a burst of laughter.

"I'm sorry, I totally thought I just heard you say that you went to see Jill."

"I did."

"What?" Chuck's laughter had now turned to seriousness.

"You wouldn't talk to her, so I did."

"Sarah, I don't even know what to say to you right now."

"She needs to see Katelyn."

"You're kidding, right? You think I'm going to let my daughter anywhere near that woman?"

"She's sick."

"Yeah, I know. It takes a pretty sick person to leave their family without a goodbye."

"No Chuck, I mean she's really sick. She has cancer and she doesn't have a lot of time left."

"And that's what she told you?"

"Yes, because it's true!" The two had now started a war of voice-raising.

"You expect me to believe that my ex-wife came back to say goodbye to my daughter? You don't know her. At all. She has another reason for being here, and I doubt she's even sick. She's a liar and a coward. My daughter is not going to see her. End of discussion."

"No, not end of discussion. I have a say in this now too."

"She's not your daughter!" Chuck blurted. He caught himself a few seconds too late. Sarah stared into his eyes, unsure of what to do next.

"That's great."

"I'm sorry, you know I didn't mean it like that."

"But you're always going to be able to use that against me, aren't you?"

"Sarah, you went to see Jill!" Chuck yelled. "You went to see Jill, and you lied to me about it. Is that what this marriage is going to be? Lies?"

"I went to see her, Chuck, because you wouldn't. I was protecting your blind spot."

"She's toxic. It's a power that she has. She comes in and ruins everything, you have to trust me on that. Blindspot or no, she's going to destroy us."

"How we live and what we do isn't up to her. That's on us. So if you think we're headed toward destruction, that's on you." Sarah grabbed her purse and briskly walked out of the kitchen, leaving Chuck alone, just as he had been the day Jill left. As Sarah left the house, wasn't sure where she was driving to. She knew that she needed to get out of the house, but her destination was unclear. Going to see Jill wasn't mean to make Chuck mad. Of course she knew he would be incredibly pissed, but she only wanted to make sure that Jill wasn't planning on taking Katelyn away. As she eventually pulled into the parking lot of the nearby condos, she knew she was making a mistake. She knew she was making an even bigger mistake when she stepped out of her car. But the biggest mistake came when she knocked on the solid white door of room 415.

"Hey, Sarah. What's up?" The face of Bryce Larkin widened with joy.

"I need someone to listen."

"You've come to the right place. Come in." And she did just that.

Katelyn wasn't one for sneaking out or breaking the rules, but today she made an exception. Her dad and Sarah rarely fought, and hearing them scream at each other shook her to the core. Sarah was her mom. Sarah was the one person she didn't want to lose, and she wasn't about to let Jill ruin the great thing that the three of them had created. As she held her phone to her ear, Katelyn sighed. She had climbed out her window and down the side of the house, and was now lost on a random street.

"Hello?"

"Hi, uh, is this Jill?"

"Katelyn." Jill didn't have to know her daughter's voice to realize it was her calling. "Are you okay? Did you talk to Sarah?"

"I need your address."

"Your dad agreed to a meeting?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm with him right now. We just need to know where we're going."

"Sure, it's a small place on Hammon and Eighth. Bright blue."

"Thanks. We'll be there in a bit."

"Katelyn? It's really good to hear your voice."

"See you soon." The teen hung up the phone, refusing to give in to Jill's tactics. She used her Uber app to order a car, and got to Jill's place in a matter of minutes. Her mother had been living close, yet she had only just now made contact. Katelyn stood in the driveway, unsure of what to do. She could go in, and face thee woman who had abandoned her so long ago, or she could turn around and leave, never finding out the reason for the meet. She took a deep breath in, and walked to the front door. Knocking was harder than she had imagined, but she did it.

"Katelyn." Jill smiled as she looked her daughter up and down.

"Mom." Katelyn's reply was more of a concern. The woman she was looking at resembled noting of her mother. Her mother had been lively, vibrant, and happy. This woman standing before her was frail and sickly, and surely not happy whatsoever. "What happened to you?"

"That's what I wanted to talk about." She looked past Katelyn, as if looking for another person. "Where's your dad?"

"Well..." Katelyn made a face.

"He doesn't know you're here?" Jill raised her voice.

"Not exactly."

"Katelyn! He's going to kill me if he finds out you're here."

"I don't think I'm exactly on his mind at the moment."

"Why is that?"

"Sarah came by here, didn't she?"

"Are they fighting?"

"Dad didn't exactly take the news well."

"I told her not to say anything." Jill replied matter-of-factly.

"How long have you been here?"

"Why don't you come inside." Jill opened the door wider, making room for the teen to venture in. The place was small, filled with pictures of the family Jill had left behind.

"You didn't answer my question." Katelyn picked up a frame containing a picture of a younger version of herself.

"A while."

"And you didn't say anything."

"I didn't exactly come back to-" Jill stopped herself.

"To find us?" Katelyn looked up from the frame. It was this exact moment that Jill truly noticed Chuck in their daughter. Her face had taken his shape, her eyes glowed, her hair fell perfectly below her shoulders, just as curly as his had always been. She had grown far beyond what Jill had ever imagined.

"I came back to find a doctor."

"So, you're sick?"

"You could say that."

"Are you going to die?" Katelyn wasn't afraid to ask the question.

"Yes."

"I'm not saying this to hurt you, but I want you to know that I don't care as much as I should. I should care that my mom is dying, but for some reason, it doesn't affect me. Not like it should." Katelyn frowned at her own words.

"I don't expect it to."

"I love Sarah. She's my mom, not you. You left. And I know that when I wrote to you I was different, but seeing you really just brings out the hate. I hate you. I actually hate you. You left us without saying anything. Not a single word. What kind of mother does that?"

"The kind that should never have been a mother in the first place. I'm sorry that I left, but I couldn't have stayed."

"You just didn't want to."

"You're right."

"Then why did you come back to say goodbye?"

"Because no matter what anyone tells you, I loved you. I still love you. I'm sorry I couldn't take you with me." And with that, Jill started to cry.

"So, she's dying?" Bryce was just as confused as Sarah.

"Yeah. And he refuses to see her."

"Because she broke his heart by leaving him with an eight year old child."

"Yes."

"Damn."

"I know."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Why are you here?"

"What?"

"Not that I don't want you here, but shouldn't you be trying to work things out with Chuck?"

"Chuck needs his space. I know he's one for talking about every little thing that comes up, but Jill is a completely different realm in his communication world."

"So you aren't just running away?"

"No." Sarah looked down.

"You're married now. You can't run every time you hit a bump in the road."

"That's not what I'm doing."

"Then what are you doing?"

"What if he wants her back?" The words left Sarah's mouth before she could stop them. "She's dying, Bryce. I can't compete with that."

"You're afraid of him leaving?" Bryce let out a soft laugh.

"It's not funny."

"It actually is. Sarah, you are the most incredible woman on this Earth. You really think a guy who fought so hard to get you to this point would really leave?"

"Maybe I am running." Sarah admitted.

"Look, I'm sure he's going to be wanting answers. You just have to be there for him when he really needs you."

"Are you sure you aren't a girl?" Sarah laughed.

"Pretty sure." Bryce smiled back. "I'm here any time you need me."

"I know, which is why I always end up talking to you about my problems."

"You should get him to go talk to her."

"I have to figure out how I'm gonna do that." Little did she know, he was already on his way.

Chuck raced to Jill's, only thinking about extracting his daughter as quickly as possible. She had called, knowing full well of the consequences that would ensue. The drive was quicker than Chuck imagined, but didn't dwell on the fact too much. He pounded on the door as soon as he arrived, and he was relieved when his daughter's face greeted him.

"Hey dad." She sounded sad.

"You're kidding me, right? You didn't actually sneak out and come here?"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't really thinking."

"Clearly. Get in the car, we're going."

"I'm not leaving until you talk to her."

"Get. In. The. Car." Chuck separated each word through clenched teeth."

"No." Katelyn held her ground.

"Chuck." Jill's thinning face peered over Katelyn's shoulder. The moment he saw her, he knew that Sarah had been right. She was sick.

"Jill."

"I'll give you guys a second." Katelyn disappeared into the house.

"I'm sorry that it had to happen like this."

"The fact that you're dying, or the fact that you came back?"

"Both I guess." Jill smiled faintly.

"I don't know what to say to you."

"I met Sarah."

"You didn't say anything when you left."

"She seems really nice."

"Jill!" Chuck yelled, getting his ex-wife's attention. "Do you realize how much you ruined me?"

"I regret leaving every day, but I wasn't ready. I tried to smile my way through my unhappiness, Chuck."

"Why not divorce? Why didn't you just divorce me?"

"Honestly, I wasn't planning to leave. I kind of just did it. I took the on ramp to the interstate, and I didn't look back."

"That's worse."

"Look, Chuck, you've done an amazing job with our daughter. You have chosen a fantastic wife who loves you. You didn't want to marry me, I know that. Hell, I didn't want to marry you either, but we had a kid to think about. If I hadn't gotten pregnant, we would've broken up. I loved you, but not enough."

"I loved you too." His words barely escaped his mouth.

"You've been fine without me all these years, so me dying isn't going to be any different."

"Have you been happy?"

"What?"

"Before you found out you were sick, were you happy?"

"More so than I've ever been."

"I used to hate you, Jill. And I used to hate myself for hating you. But I don't hate you anymore. You're a person who hit her limit, and I get it. Do I forgive you? No. But I don't hate you."

"You don't know how much that means to me."

"I think I do." He smiled his Chuck smile.

"Keep taking care of her, okay? I'll try and do what I can from heaven."

"Katelyn! Let's go!" Chuck shouted. "I'll bring her back if she wants."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Chuck had never imagined finding a mutual ground with the woman who had left him, but after all these years, he realized he still loved her as much as he had the day she left.

"Am I interrupting?" Sarah knocked softly on the door of her and Chuck's bedroom.

"Last time I checked, you lived here too." He smiled.

"Really? I figured this wasn't my house." Sarah sassed playfully.

"You know I didn't mean that, right?"

"I do. But it still hurt."

"I know, it won't happen again I swear." He patted Sarah's side of the bed, and she climbed in. "So where'd you go today?"

"I went to see Bryce."

"Why?"

"He's my best friend. He listens."

"He's in love with you."

"Oh shut up. Even if he did, he's not my husband so it would never work out."

"I don't like fighting with you."

"So let's not fight anymore."

"Sarah."

"Chuck."

"I'm not going to win this one, am I?"

"There's not really anything to win, but even if there was, you never win. The wife always wins, so you should start getting used to that." Sarah laughed.

"I'm sorry for what I said."

"I'm sorry for going behind your back to see Jill."

"Yeah, that was pretty bad, wasn't it?"

"How's Katelyn?"

"You should probably go talk to her. I think she's seen enough of me for one day." Chuck kissed his wife quickly, before watching her leave the room. Sarah walked down the hall carefully, not wanting to wake the teen if she had already fallen asleep.

"You up?" Sarah asked softly when she reached Katelyn's door.

"Please, it's like nine." Was the reply. Sarah opened the door, and ventured over to the queen sized bed in the middle of the cream colored room.

"You okay?"

"Define okay."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about? My mom will be dead soon, and there's nothing I can do about it."

"It's going to be okay." Sarah placed a hand on Katelyn's leg.

"Are you and dad okay?"

"You listened this morning, didn't you?"

"Of course I did." Katelyn smiled. "He was wrong, you know."

"About what?"

"Me not being yours."

"I know that."

"Do you?"

"Yes. I already told you, you're stuck with me."

"And that's exactly how I want it to be."

"I want you to know something."

"Okay."

"You're allowed to want to be with Jill. As much as I hate saying it, you're her daughter. She doesn't have a lot of time left, and I'll be here for the rest of your life. You can choose her for now."

"I will always choose you." The two hugged, and Sarah couldn't help but wonder what life would be like with kids of her own.