A/N: Baby steps…baby steps

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

He was in the kitchen, washing dishes. Christmas dinner was over, and everyone else had moved into the living room. As much as they thought it would hurt, Mary just wanted to be near her Christmas tree today, so everyone had agreed on Christmas at the house.

The doorbell rang, and a second later, he heard Mary answer the door with an enthusiastic "Hartley!" and heard his British accent quickly reply, "Mary." Chuck dried his hands, and headed to the front room.

"Charles!" Hartley said, raising his arms, and hugging Chuck. "How are you, my boy?"

"Good, good… And, how are you? And Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" Hartley replied. "I am doing well." He paused a second and then turned to Mary. "May I borrow him for just a moment?"

"Is this about work?" Mary asked, a grin on her face.

"Yes… no…" Hartley sighed. "It is, but not in the way you mean."

"Go right ahead," Mary told him.

"Walk with me," Hartley said, leading him outside. Chuck followed Hartley outside. "You know I love you like a son," Hartley began.

"Don't tell me you're sick," Chuck cut in.

"No, son, nothing like that," Hartley replied. "No, my boy, I need a favor about work."

"You want me to go full time?" Chuck asked. "I mean, I could. I think I'm going to have to close down the store."

Hartley stopped walking, and turned to face Chuck. "You know when you started working for me on the radio, it was a favor, and then it became a kind of therapy to deal with what your dad was going through." Chuck nodded. "Charles… before your dad died, he told me I had to do the right thing where you were concerned. The right thing is, you need to let go of some things."

"What are you saying, Hartley?"

"You're holding on to things, not the memories, but things. You are equating them to people, to feelings, to memories, when they are just things," Hartley said gently. "My boy, you are no more a DJ than you are a shop owner. You are an inventor, you are great with people, and you are full of life. And you are hiding from all the hurt of the past few years, and I understand why," he added quickly. "But you have to move on, Charles. You have to let go. You have to forgive."

"Forgive?" Chuck asked.

"You have resentment in you, Charles," Hartley told him. "Ellie has told me of your anger at that young woman at the Buy More. Charles, that's not you."

"I know," Chuck said, looking away. "I know." Hartley laid a hand on Chuck's shoulder. "Charles, he wouldn't want you to be this way."

"I know," Chuck admitted. "And it's not just that."

"What else is it?" Hartley asked. Chuck told him the story of Ma23, and when he finished, Hartley grinned. "Well, you love someone you've never seen, and you're attracted to someone you don't like."

"What?" Chuck replied. "What do you mean I'm attracted to someone I don't like?" Hartley gave him an amused look. "You mean Sarah?" Hartley began to grin.

"No, Hartley, NO!" Chuck shook his head. "That's preposterous." Hartley didn't say a word, instead just watching Chuck with his amused countenance. "Oh, God," he muttered.

"It's always something with you, Charles," Hartley said, chuckling.

}o{

Chuck stood in the Buy More parking lot on New Year's Eve, listening to the DJ playing dance music, and watching the crowd. The last week had been… interesting. Chuck promised Hartley that he would quit DJing, not later than Christmas Eve next year. He just needed something to do to clear his mind, while he dealt with selling the store. Hartley relented, but told him not one day later than Christmas Eve.

That night the hits kept coming. Ma23 had messaged him, wishing him a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. She also told him it could take a long time for her to finish everything she needed to, and she hoped he wasn't waiting for her. He deserved better than that. They went back and forth, and he finally promised her he would keep an open mind.

"Here," he heard a female voice beside him. He turned, and saw Sarah standing there, smiling at him, a cup of something with steam rolling out of the lid. "It's hot chocolate. I checked with Lou, and it's exactly how you like it."

"Thank you," Chuck said, taking the cup from her. "How was your Christmas?"

"Good, got to see family. And I was able to talk about some stuff with them, remind me who I am," Sarah replied. Chuck stood there a second. "Gotta be me, you know?"

"I do," Chuck replied. "I do."

"So, Chuck, what is next year gonna hold for you?" Sarah asked.

"Well, a big change," Chuck began. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to sell the store."

"I see," Sarah said, looking at her cup.

"I don't blame you," he began.

"Yeah, you do," Sarah said. "But, you're trying not to."

Chuck sighed. "You're right," Chuck admitted. "And I'm sorry."

"Hey, the first step to healing is admitting it, or something like that, right?" she grinned at him. "

"Gonna be a pain in the ass going through the listing and selling process," Chuck told her.

"Or, you could let me make you an offer," Sarah told him. He gave her a look. "I won't tear it down," she told him. "I could use a nearby building to hold leftover inventory during Christmas, a seasonal shop, special sales, that kind of thing."

"That's a good idea," Chuck told her.

"I am kinda good at what I do," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"No," Chuck disagreed. "And I mean this with no shade or anything. You are great at what you do. Like giving to needy kids." He watched her twist her lips to the side. "Thank you."

"Didn't do it for you," Sarah told him. "The kids deserved it."

"They do," Chuck said. The countdown began. "Sarah, I hope you have an amazing New Year and get exactly what you hope for."

Sarah turned to him and smiled. "You too, Chuck. May you find and meet the person of your dreams." As the countdown hit zero Sarah stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the side of the cheek. "It's tradition, I hope that didn't offend you."

"I can suffer through it," he said, a grin on his face. Mariah Carey's Auld Lang Syne began to play. "You want to dance?"

"You should know, I never turn down a dance," Sarah told him, as she slipped into his arms and began to move to the music. Chuck laughed, and wondered what this year would truly bring.

A/N: Next time, Morgan let's something slip, and our two heroes…well…it's not a date, because I'm writing it, and they're just friends….right? Right?