summary: Exhausted from the events with her mother, the baby, and Ryker, Sarah takes a break and turns down Graham's next assignment. With her not there to intervene, Casey's Intersect plan is realized- Chuck is thrown into a bunker. When she learns the truth through a twist of fate, Sarah realizes all she missed out on in not taking that mission, and the gift she never got to know. Discovering the bunker has isolated Chuck and shut down the Intersect, she decides she only has one choice: to fix it. What she finds in him, and he in her, might just change both of their lives.
note: Thanks for all the reviews y'all! Appreciate all the love here, and I always enjoy reading all your thoughts about what might be coming next. Reminder we're on a slightly different timeline to canon here, so things don't always go in the same order. An earlier suburbs visit might even be followed by something surprising... Please review!
disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, shorts, blueberries, or blind spots.
He knocks lightly, tucking his hands into his pockets as he waits for the door to open.
It's a hot, glorious day for early spring. The kind of weather he once found himself pining for in the bunker. Back when sunshine was just a dream he half-remembered, and all he could look to above was a dull, white ceiling and fluorescent lights. Not anymore. Today, the sky is blue and the air is hot and the day is just beginning. And he can't wait to spend it with the person behind the door.
Sure enough, after a moment or two, that very door swings open, and Sarah beams at him.
"Hi! Come in, I'll just be a second."
He takes her in as she rushes back inside, gathering her things. She's in a white sundress, hair held back by her sunglasses atop her head. He watches as she pulls a small bag over her shoulder.
It's not big enough to hold a gun- he guesses she has her knives on her person.
He doesn't know why, but he likes that she's not taking her weapon. That she doesn't want it there, with them. It makes this feel more real, somehow.
When she's ready, she turns back to him, grinning.
"Okay, I'm ready. Hi." she says again, and he smiles, heading her way.
"Hi," he murmurs. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you," she says softly, looking him up and down, too. He's in board shorts and a light, cotton button-down. Chucks on his feet, obviously. "We picked a good day."
He grins, trying not to say the first thing on his mind, which is: it must be a sign. He doesn't want to jinx it.
"I guess we did. You gonna tell me what you have planned yet?" he asks, and she lifts a shoulder, equal parts flirtatious and just cute.
"Nope." she says with a laugh, and then she slips her hand into his, and they head out and down to her car.
Honestly, he doesn't really know what they're doing. He just knows that, when they came back from the suburbs a mess of danger and feelings, and he'd asked Sarah what they should do... she didn't know.
And since then, they've had dinner at his place, a proper meal at his dining table and everything. They went to the movies last week (an action flick Sarah critiqued heavily, which he loved every second of). And after two tough days on a constant mission, when Beckman had granted them a day's leave, they'd decided to spend it together- Sarah's in charge, and he is at her mercy all day.
They're not exactly dating, or even really seeing each other in any traditional way. But they are spending time together, in a far more couple-like way than they ever have done before. Planning things, going out, PDA as much as he likes it. More often than not, her hand will be in his.
And he loves it.
Sarah drives them out of Burbank a little, closer into the city, and he finds himself so strangely relaxed as they drive through, past palm trees and blue skies and sun, Sarah by his side, the familiar Los Angeles sights and sounds all around him.
"God, this is such a perfect day," he murmurs, and she looks at him across the console, grinning.
"It is."
"Can you believe this?" he has to ask. "After you met me in the bunker, by accident?"
And he's meaning the two of them out here, out of the bunker, the team they now are, the mission they're on, and on a drive through LA for just themselves.
But she smiles softer, looking out onto the road.
"I think it's safe to say I didn't expect... any of this, when I found you that day."
And he knows she's meaning more than just driving through LA in the sunshine. He smiles at her, and she meets his eye with another grin as they keep driving.
He doesn't really know where they're going, he's not paying enough attention to their surroundings, so he just goes with it as she slows and eventually parks on a side-street. When he hops out, she slides her hand into his again, and he lets himself revel in the feel of her by his side and the sun beating gloriously down on them.
She pulls him around a corner after a little while, and he grins as he sees the farmer's market up ahead.
"This is where we're going?" he checks, and she nods.
"For this morning, yeah," she says with a grin, and he beams at her as he looks back at the market. It's pretty sprawling and large, multiple stalls and businesses, a flower seller near the front, a coffee cart, a candle place, but he can also smell so many sweet scents emanating from the space. And while he never would've thought of doing this, it somehow feels a perfect way to pass the time a while. Just him and Sarah, walking in each other's company, in this busy little market in this busy street, across the street from a wide convention center.
He sees from a poster that there's a BioScience convention on, which sounds very boring for such a summer day. Walking lazily through these stalls and taking every free thing they can get- that sounds way more fun.
"Samples!" he says excitedly, and she laughs, tugging on his hand.
"Well, come on!"
They make their way through the stalls slowly, lazily, trying a bunch of things- cakes, meats, cheeses, eventually slowing by a fruit stall. Sarah picks up a sample pot of blueberries, popping one in her mouth with a cute smile, her eyes widening.
"You have to try these."
He snorts.
"It's just a blueberry, but sure."
She lifts one up to his mouth, and he chuckles as he opens up for her to feed him it. And he's about to roll his eyes and agree with her when the flavor bursts on his tongue.
"I take it back, holy crap these are amazing blueberries."
"Right?" she drawls, and before he can blink she's risen on her toes and kissed him quickly. So casually. "I'm gonna buy some."
And he finds himself just smiling at her, a little stunned, as she picks up a box and turns to the vendor, waiting in line behind another customer.
While he waits, he looks around at the nearby stalls, taking note of the handcrafted chocolates up ahead, but then movement past the market catches his eye. Looking at the convention center across the street, he sees a large group of people spilling out and mingling, all dressed in formal suits he can only imagine feel very stuffy and oppressive today. Most of the women are in heels, hair pulled back- he frowns as he sees a strict ponytail on one woman's head, glasses on her face. Maybe it's the light or the distance, but he swears she looks just like...
The flash hits, red-tinged, quick and immediate.
Sandstorm.
Holy shit.
He rushes back to Sarah, just about to hand the blueberries over to the vendor.
"Hey, honey, can I talk to you?" he asks, hurried, and she looks up at him, frowning a little, he thinks at the pet name. He hopes it's enough to let her know he's freaking the fuck out.
"Um, sure- I'll be right back," she reassures the vendor, stepping back.
He slips his hand into hers, pulling them away from the stalls, casting a quick look over his shoulder to see that she's still there.
She is. His stomach turns.
"What is it?" Sarah presses.
"I just flashed on someone across the street at the convention center." She gapes, but he shakes his head. That's not the mindfuck. "It's Jill. And she's a Fulcrum agent, her codename is Sandstorm."
Sarah pales, jaw dropping, looking over his shoulder to spy her out.
"Ponytail, skirt suit, glasses over eyes of death," he mumbles, and she pulls back to look at him, shaking her head.
"Are you okay?" she checks first, and he loves that that's her question over checking the rest of what he might've seen, but he's still reeling too much to really process it.
"No. No- my ex girlfriend is across the street and she's a terrorist who wants to kill me." Jesus, he can't process this.
Sarah nods, swallowing and sobering, processing. She's a lot more calm than he is.
"Okay, we can let her go. We'll call Casey and call it in."
Sighing, he shakes his head. He knows that's not an option.
"There's a Fulcrum agent across the street- we have to get her now, I know that," he mutters. And that's not even government rules and regulations drummed into him, that's just his common sense.
"Chuck, we don't have to do this," she reassures. "Or you can stay here, I can go-"
"It's okay." He takes a deep breath. "It's gonna be super fucking weird, but it's okay."
She chews her lip, not looking sold on that. He doesn't blame her.
"I'll call Casey and he can come as back-up. I don't have my gun." He was right about that, then. "But we can talk to Jill, delay her long enough for Casey to get here."
He nods. That'll do.
"Okay."
"Hey," Sarah says gently, a hand raising to cup his jaw, making his eyes meet hers. "If you need an out, just tell me."
He shakes his head.
"I can do this."
She nods.
"Okay. We need to surprise her, and isolate her. I think you should go over first, get her attention somehow, and then I can come in after a minute. If I show up with you-"
"It's more awkward and she might leave right away." he concludes, and Sarah nods. "How are we gonna get her alone?"
"I'll think of something," she says, getting her phone out, presumably to contact Casey. "But it'll work."
"It has to," he agrees.
Jill is Fulcrum- and he knows, now, that she's been Fulcrum a long, long time. This new Intersect has far too much information, on her assignments, her superiors, her recruitment at Stanford... An agent called Leader that she's in alliance with. He knows she'll try and manipulate them, persuade them she's good, that she was forced to join... But he knows better. "Okay, I'm heading over."
And, for luck, courage, or something else, he squeezes her in a brief hug. Maybe because he just needs the feel of her holding him in return. And when he steps back, he turns on his heel and hops over the street, pulling out his phone.
He has to do this. He has to sell this. And he has to make it all seem like a big coincidence- which this is. Of all the places and all the days to be here, they chose the day his ex is right across the street.
There's still quite a few people standing outside, evidently in a recess of some kind, so he hopes he blends into the crowd as he walks up the side of the sidewalk and raises his phone to his ear. That still-familiar ponytail is standing with a group of others, and when he's near enough he shoves his hand in his pocket, trying to be casual.
"Yeah, hi," he says into his phone to nobody, and then he speaks up a little louder. "This is Chuck Bartowski, I had a missed call from you- I'm on vacation until Monday, but contact my office and they can put you in touch with someone to help. Thanks!"
He ends with a chipper goodbye and tucks his phone away, hoping that was enough. If not, he'll have to 'spot' Jill and approach her. He takes a second to look around, seeing Sarah at the market, actually calling someone. Just the sight of her is reassuring- this won't be forever.
Another second passes, and just as he's about to give up on this approach, he hears,
"Chuck?" He turns around, faking a frown, seeing Jill approaching him with a smile. "I thought that was you!"
Forcing a gape, he walks closer.
"Jill?" he asks, like he's checking, and she grins.
"Yeah!"
In his mind he just sees the reams and reams of Fulcrum assignments in her file. He forces himself to not even think about it.
"What are you doing here?" she asks, and he laughs, deflecting for now, until he can think up a reason.
"I still live in LA- what are you doing here?"
She giggles, saccharine.
"I'm attending this conference, silly."
He looks around and pretends to only just see the conference signs, nodding like it makes sense.
"Oh! You're working in BioScience now?" he asks, and she nods.
"Yeah. Got my PhD in biochemical engineering." Liar. Fulcrum got her that PhD. "You know, it's good to see you... it's been a while."
She steps a little closer, pops her hip, tilts her head and squints in the sun. She's flirting, he can tell.
He doesn't shut it down- she might run if he does. But he just nods, rocking back on his heels.
"Yeah, like, five, six years? God, it feels like forever."
She giggles.
"What about you, what are you up to?"
"Still in the software game," he says simply. He knows it'll be enough. Much like his knowledge of biomedicine, she didn't really care much about his degree, his interests besides the basic engineering knowledge they shared. It was all just incidental. Much like their relationship. "Gets pretty busy- though I am on vacation this week."
"Yeah, I heard that," she says with a laugh, and he echoes it. Of course, he'd hoped she'd hear that whole conversation. "So, I'll ask again, what are you doing here? Are you talking about software at the conference on your vacation...?"
He laughs.
"God, no," he says self-deprecatingly. He never did get biochem, and she always teased him about it. "I was at the market across the street and I couldn't get service, had to come over here to call a client back."
She smirks, that flirtation still there in her gaze, her voice.
"You were at a farmer's market on your vacation, alone?"
"No," he says, knowing she's trapped him into admitting it, wondering how long she'll stay. "I was with-"
"Hey, baby," says a voice, a hand slipping into his. "I got the blueberries."
Thank god.
He looks at Sarah, by his side, a paper bag in hand, and he grins. Oh, he's never been so relieved to see her.
"Hey." he says, kissing her- briefly, but kissing her still. "I got service, finally," he says as they part, and she nods, following his lead.
"Oh, great- I don't know why it's such a dead spot over there!"
And then, as if only just remembering, he turns back to Jill.
"Oh! Jill, this is my girlfriend, Sarah. Sarah, this is Jill." He takes a beat. "We went to Stanford together."
"That's so cute!" Sarah says with a laugh, reaching out a hand to Jill happily. He can tell the other woman is thrown, but she reaches out a hand to shake. "Lovely to meet you, Jill- any friend of Chuck's."
"Yeah, nice to meet you, too," Jill says, a little slow. Chuck can see she didn't expect this, here. It's good, they've caught her off-guard. She waits a moment, like she's expecting Sarah to say she's heard of her, something to let her know that Chuck has spoken about her... but Sarah stays quiet. And Chuck doesn't push it, either. It feels the better choice, than introducing Jill as his ex, for a lot of reasons. This might put her off-guard. And they need her guard down- she's Fulcrum, after all. "How long have you two been together?" she asks, kind, but with a tight smile, and Sarah beams.
"Three years," she says happily, looking up at him with a smile, and he grins. She slips her arm around his waist, squeezing a little, and he knows she's checking he's okay. He nods, just a moment, then looks back at Jill.
"Hey, when's your next convention thing? We should go get coffee, catch up." he suggests enthusiastically.
"That's a great idea! We're not meeting Ellie and Devon until 5, we've got plenty of time," Sarah says- and he notices her dropping the hint that she's close to his family, too.
Jill nods, not quite so upbeat. Off-guard.
"The next lecture isn't for a while- how is Ellie?" she asks, polite, not flirting now, and he smiles.
"She's doing good, she's in neurology now," he says, aiming for genuine.
"She got a fellowship from USC a couple months back," Sarah adds. Jill nods- but doesn't say much more. And while Chuck knows they want her off-guard, they don't want to lose her. Sarah just grins. "Come on, let's get coffee! There's a really cute shop round the corner-"
"Oh, no, you're on vacation, Chuck, I wouldn't want to-"
"Nah, c'mon!" he says, interrupting her objection as effervescently as he can, mustering up a warm smile, and she eventually nods, rolling her eyes.
"Okay, let me just let my boss know I'm going," she says, turning around and calling out, "Guy!"
A man turns around- older, graying, in another suit. The flash is immediate, and he sighs.
Guy LeFleur, Cole McGregor Pharmaceuticals. They've developed a bioweapon, and the CIA think Guy wants to sell it. But the Fulcrum Intersect tells Chuck another story. He senses that this is all Jill's work.
Still, they'll have to bring LeFleur in.
"We need to get her boss too," he says under his breath, and Sarah jolts.
"Shit. Then this is gonna have to be public." she mutters, and he nods.
Jill, they could get to the coffee shop, take a side-street, make it less visible. They could get her alone. But two people is harder. Sarah tugs him down, out toward the edge of the sidewalk again. Guy starts walking toward Jill, but she clearly sees them walking back and she follows, natural, to not lose them in the crowd. By the time Guy has walked over to her, they're separate from the crowd, standing right by the road.
"Guy, I'm just gonna go for a coffee, I'll be back later," she says, dismissively, but Chuck knows he has to stall.
"Hey, man!" he says happily, reaching out a hand.
"Oh." Jill says, clearly surprised that he's introducing himself. "Chuck, this is Guy LeFleur, my boss."
He's not really, since she works for Fulcrum, but Chuck lets it slide.
Guy looks at his hand, still outstretched.
"I don't shake hands," he says, in a slight French accent, and Chuck shrugs.
"Fair enough."
"Anyway, Guy, I'm heading out but I'll be back before the lecture at 2," Jill says, and Chuck has never been so glad to hear a grunt.
"Doubt that." Casey drawls, as he steps out of the van just slowed behind them. He grabs LeFleur, cuffs in hand. "NSA, you're under arrest."
Jill's eyes widen- and Chuck sees as she steps back toward the crowd.
"I don't think so," Sarah says with a smirk, grasping Jill's shoulder firmly even as the woman tries to squirm. "CIA. You're coming with us, Jill."
And she slaps cuffs onto her with a glint in her eyes Chuck thinks might be anger.
Jill gapes, looking to him.
"Chuck, what's going on?"
He shrugs.
"BioScience?" he checks, snide without even helping it. "Might wanna rethink that in your statement to the US government. They don't tend to like it when you lie."
And with that, he turns and walks away.
"Chuck?" he hears, and he waits for Sarah to catch up with him. When he knows they're a decent distance away, he slows, shutting his eyes briefly.
"I really can't handle driving back in that van with her, Sarah," he murmurs, turning to her, and she nods, eyes full of understanding that way they always are.
Funny. He knows she's a spy. Knows she has this reputation as Graham's great agent, a tough, cold spy. But all the time he's known her, she's just had this understanding in her gaze. Soft empathy.
Behind her, he sees Casey shoving Jill into the van. The other convention-goers are gaping, gossiping, taking photos and murmuring to each other.
"I know. I need to go with her, though." He gets it. Two criminals, two agents. She digs into her pocket, pulling out her car keys. "Take a drive. Take the time you need, okay?"
"You're letting me drive your car?" he quips, though he doesn't especially feel it. "I must look really messed up, huh?"
She smiles softly, squeezing his arm.
"I'll see you at Castle, okay?" she asks, but she pauses, half a step away. "And just so you know... I called Ellie."
He gulps. Now they're really in trouble.
The ride back, stuck in a van with a random French biochemist, Casey, and Chuck's ex, was uncomfortable to say the least. LeFleur just seemed confused about the whole situation, but Jill was more unnerving. Saying nothing the entire journey, all she kept doing was just... looking. Staring. At Sarah. A mixture of confused questioning, and anger.
Sarah feels the same.
She can't believe Chuck's ex is Fulcrum. Of all the awful, twisted coincidences, for the woman who hurt him those years ago to also be a member of the rogue group desperate to find and kill him? It's too cruel.
And she's only too glad to shove the woman into one of Castle's holding cells when they get back, glaring at her as the glass door slides and locks over her stony face.
Out of a slight sense of comfort, she checks Chuck's tracking data- he's driving back from the market, now, on his way.
God, today was supposed to be a date. She'd planned it all, the market, then a cute lunch, then an outdoor movie screening with him... And then who knows what else. They've been letting things happen, slow, but today felt bigger, like a full day that was theirs, for anything to happen. Even the weather felt perfect for it, for them. And then, this happened. She's not taking it as an omen, she doesn't believe in that, but jesus what dumb fucking luck.
A quick check of the CIA database and archives shows very little for Jill Roberts. Nothing at all, actually, besides a note of her at a Stanford class led by another recruiter. 'Unexceptional', the records say. Sarah believes that- but unfortunately right now she is exceptional. She's a captured Fulcrum agent with a personal connection to Chuck. She's a danger... and they might be able to exploit her.
Sarah doesn't favor the odds of either option.
She's just about to sigh when the Castle buzzer rings, and she looks across to their surveillance to see a familiar face at the entrance. Ellie has an elevator key to get down here, but not a code to enter- Beckman's paranoia runs deep. Sarah stands, heading to the console and hitting a button, and the door swings open as Ellie storms in.
"Where is she?" she says, angry, and while Sarah more than understands her fury, she raises her hands to calm the doctor.
"She's in a secure, soundproofed cell down the hall."
"Good. That way she can't hear me call her-" The next words are beyond colorful. And Sarah can't help but smirk at them once Ellie's done, chest heaving breathlessly.
"You done?" she drawls, beyond entertained.
"For now," Ellie admits, shrugging with a smirk Sarah only echoes. "That witch. Actually, that's mean to witches. I just- I knew she was evil, but I never thought she was actually evil." She pinches her brow, and then sighs, looking at Sarah for the real question. "How was he?" she asks.
"Shaken," she admits, truthful. "We were having this lovely day and... I don't even know what he must've seen, in there, what the Intersect has on her. But he got dark."
Ellie shakes her head.
"This is worrying. I mean, Chuck will be fine, I know that, but his brain, this stress... If Jill messes things up, I swear to God..."
Sarah sighs.
"I know. And, unfortunately, the CIA database has nothing on her." She gestures to her computer screen, the useless results still there.
"So we need Chuck to go through every single thing he knows in painstaking detail." the doctor concludes. She nods, and Ellie tuts, sitting down at the conference table, shaking her head. "This isn't fair to him. Of all the things..."
"I know. Jill is already tough for him-"
"Oh, he's over her, trust me, Sarah. But if she was Fulcrum at Stanford- if what she did to him was at all connected to this thing? That's dangerous. He's over her, but what she did still hurt him. She didn't believe him, back then. She dumped him when he was so low. If that was mandated, if Fulcrum had any involvement in her actions..."
Sarah sighs.
"And with Bryce being an agent..."
"How much of his life was a lie?" Ellie asks, not realizing Sarah is wondering the exact same thing.
The door whooshes open, and they both look up as Chuck walks in, lingering at the top of the staircase. He's standing tall- he seems fine. But she can tell he's still shaken... and, like all of them, pissed, too.
"She's in the cell," she greets, because she knows he'll want to know, and he nods.
"Thanks. Hey, sis."
"Hey."
From above, Chuck looks between them, narrowing his eyes.
"You haven't talked to her." he realizes aloud, and Ellie shrugs.
"I've said what I needed to-" Yes, Sarah smirks, she has. "And all she'd do is lie to me, Chuck, you know that."
He nods. Heading down the stairs, he looks over at the surveillance cameras, presumably seeing Jill spotlit in the middle of her cell. She's sat so innocently, vulnerably, curled up on her bench with her chin on her knees. Sarah rolls her eyes.
Casey's in with Guy. Someone has to tackle Jill.
Looking her way, Chuck tosses her her car keys. On another day, she'd make a quip about hoping her car isn't scratched. Not today.
"There's not much on file, for her," she says instead. "Fulcrum are good- there's no CIA record."
"Because she was never really in the CIA or NSA. She was recruited right to them," Chuck sighs, tapping his temple.
Sarah nods.
"Chuck, I'm sorry- I need to know everything, if I'm to talk to her."
But, surprisingly, rather than sighing or relenting, rather than accepting that, he shakes his head.
"You won't need to." he says, and she raises an eyebrow. Oh? "I want to talk to her."
"No." Ellie says firmly, immediately, as Sarah just gapes. But Chuck shakes his head.
"I can get her to talk," he says simply, but, while she's so often on his side, today Sarah finds she has to object.
"She's Fulcrum. She knows your real identity- right now it's unclear to her how involved you were, here. You're suspect, but she doesn't know you're in deep with the agencies. If she spoke to you more to know you're an agent, and she escaped, she'd feed that back to her superiors. Your real life, your name, your family. Chuck..."
"And she's Jill." Ellie continues, pointedly. "I mean, the governor might have things under control with that computer in your brain, little brother, but she's still the biggest fuckin' stressor to you that I can think of. If she pushes the wrong buttons I don't know what might happen in your brain."
"So scan me later," Chuck says dismissively. "And with what I think she'll tell me, she'll be locked up in a place she couldn't escape from. I need to talk to her."
Ellie shakes her head.
"She is not a person to try to get to make amends, little brother. Bryce, sure, because he still cares about you, I know that. Jill doesn't. Jill didn't join the CIA- she joined a terrorist group, Chuck."
"Why is why we need to know more about her. I can do that, I can get it out of her. I don't want amends, El, I want answers about Fulcrum."
Sarah sighs. She knows he's a professional, really. She knows this isn't personal to him in some ways- beyond the obvious. He truly won't want apologies, personal admissions from Jill. They're all too aware of the threat Fulcrum pose- to Chuck, in particular. He can focus on that. And yet...
"Chuck, she's been trained in manipulation. Not seduction like the Montgomery mission- point blank manipulation, designed to take advantage of you."
He shakes his head.
"I can handle it."
"I know you can, Chuck. But I think neither of us want you to have to go through it," Ellie says softly, and he looks at them, both of them.
And Sarah can tell, even before he says a word, that he's going in. Just by the way he meets her eyes.
He's always surprising her, this one.
"I won't be long," he murmurs, and with that he walks away.
Sarah sighs, turning to Ellie. She looks crushed. Hurting for him.
And Sarah knows the doctor might be surprised just how much she shares that sentiment, inside.
Reaching out, she squeezes Ellie's arm, taking a seat next to her.
"We can watch on the live feed- and he knows that. I can go in if I need to. Or if you think I need to," she reassures the doctor. Ellie tuts, rolling her eyes, but not in an annoyed way. More frustrated. Upset.
"I can't believe this," she murmurs, and Sarah nods.
"I know. But... Chuck knows what he's doing," she says, and Ellie frowns.
"So does Jill," she murmurs, and Sarah nods, giving that one. "She's been in this world a lot longer than Chuck or I, hasn't she?"
Sarah nods, narrowing her eyes at the woman on the screen.
"But not more than me. I'll know when she's playing us."
Ellie raises an eyebrow, watching the screen, too.
"Not gonna lie, I wish you could just go in there and beat her up a little."
Sarah smirks.
"I wish I could, too."
And honestly, by this point, she wonders why Ellie looks a little surprised at the thought, her jaw dropping a little. But then she laughs, shaking her head.
"God, I like you, Sarah. So much more than I ever liked Jill."
And Sarah's about to reply, if stunned, when Chuck walks in on the feed, and they watch in silence.
As he lifts up the chair from where it sits, in the hallway, just before the cell, he takes a second to brace himself. And then he steps forward and looks through the wide glass door.
Just that second as Jill looks at him, and he looks at her. That acknowledgement. And he prepares himself for the lies, the misdirects, the subterfuge to come.
He knows Sarah and Ellie are worried about this. He knows neither of them really want him to do this.
But he has to, he knows. For so many reasons, he has to.
He hits the lock, and the door slides open.
"Hey, Jill," he says, simple, and she sits upright against the gray Castle wall, attentive.
"Chuck," she pleads, eyes wide, like a lamb before the slaughter. "What's going on? What's happening?"
He steps into the cell, pulling the chair with him, and the moment he's over the threshold the door slides shut behind him. He sets the chair down near the door, not too close, then sits down, eyeing her.
"You can cut the bullshit. We know. We know Fulcrum recruited you some time at Stanford. We know your codename is Sandstorm. We know what you've done, for them. We know you report to a man named Leader and that, probably, your big escape plan here would be to manipulate me into thinking you're innocent, pretend you can sway Leader, and then take over this base to access our records and escape."
Jill blinks, expression shuttering, and she sits back. All guise of innocence is gone.
"Well. Seems like you know everything." she says plainly. "So why am I here?"
He didn't expect her to give up the act so easily. It only makes him more wary of what she might try here.
He's on thin, thin ice. But he swallows down any worries, focuses instead.
"Your work with Guy LeFleur. It's clever. You make it look like he's the villain selling a bioweapon he built, but really you're taking it to Fulcrum, right?" It's a bit of a guess. But when she says nothing, no comeback, no argument, he knows he's landed it. He shakes his head. "What's the endgame, Jill? What does Fulcrum want? Why infiltrate LeFleur's organization? Is it the conference?"
She sits back, chin raised.
"Fulcrum wants a lot of things." she deflects. "They want the government to listen. They want revenge against the agencies that betrayed them." Leaning in, she eyes him. "They want Bryce Larkin."
He can tell it's a test. To see how much he'll react, to the name, to Fulcrum's goal. It's a way to reveal how much he knows.
But he trusts, she's going to go far, far away. In a place far worse than the bunker he once called home.
So he pauses. Playing the role, just like she is.
"Bryce Larkin is dead."
"Apparently," Jill nods. But then she pauses, sitting back. "I've got to say, I'm surprised you're in this game."
He smiles, tight. If she wants to redirect to this, make this about him, sure. He can handle that.
"Yeah. Well, it's funny how things turn out. From what we've learned, you've been Fulcrum for a long time."
Jill shakes her head, defending herself.
"I did what I had to."
"You know..." He leans forward, bracing himself. He needs this, for their records, he knows. But fuck this is weird. "I have to ask, was I part of the plan? Part of your instructions, back at Stanford?"
She lifts a shoulder, expression apologetic.
"I was ordered to cut all ties. I cut them." Before his eyes, she softens. And he knows it's a game. "I... I didn't want to, Chuck, you have to-"
"That's enough, thanks," he pauses, letting it sit. "So, you've been Fulcrum since Senior Year."
She narrows her eyes- all softness gone once more.
"Yes."
He knew it from the enemy database in his head. But now they have it on record, from her.
"So, what does Fulcrum want with the dead Bryce Larkin?" he asks, returning them to the real matter here, but Jill deflects.
"You tell me."
"I think you'd be better placed to answer that."
She pauses a moment, looking away, before she must make a decision of some kind.
"They want the Intersect. Bryce is the Intersect- and they don't think he's dead."
Chuck whistles, low, playing the part.
"Well, I gotta say, for agents that pride themselves on outsmarting the government, your guys are pretty dumb. Bryce is dead, Jill. That's the truth." He swallows down the thickness in his throat, the lies. Even when they're for a good cause, he hates telling them. "The guy got me expelled- trust me when I say I didn't shed any tears."
"Yeah," Jill says slowly. "I remember that. Actually, how are you here, when you were expelled? The CIA is very particular in their recruitment."
He gets it: not even spies like dropouts. He shrugs.
"I found work, got scoped as an analyst. And here I am- just my luck to find my ex-girlfriend on the street, for my handler to recognize her from a Fulcrum file, and have to bring her in." It's as good an excuse as any. "They think I can crack you. They think I can get through to you, get you to confess."
She raises an eyebrow.
"They think that'll work?"
"I told them," he says casually, trying to get her on his side, and she shakes her head.
"Trust the CIA to think they can use the guy I dated in college years ago against me. That's original."
He shifts in his seat, knowing she's being deliberately bitter to try and get a rise out of him. Like she wasn't flirting with him an hour ago, acting like close old friends.
"Well, whether it'll work or not, I'm here, and they're making me do this." He shrugs, casting an apologetic thought to Ellie and Sarah, who definitely did not make him do this. "Tell me about Fulcrum. Tell me about your work with LeFleur."
She rolls her eyes, but shifts on the bench, nodding.
"This work with LeFleur is just a small project," she begins. And he's got her. Act casual and forced into it, share her annoyance at the CIA... and boom. Maybe he has learnt something from spending so much time with Casey and Sarah. "Our plans are a lot bigger than that."
He folds his arms over his chest, eyeing her. He decides to keep up the play.
"I'm surprised," he faux-admits. "That you didn't keep up the innocent act, pretend you're just forced into this..."
"You know about Leader," she says plainly. "You're right- I would've told you about him, and manipulated you into letting me go to find him. Then we might have tried to infiltrate the CIA mainframe, download some information." She shrugs, looking at him, almost seeming impressed. "But I can tell that wouldn't work on you. Not anymore."
Being shoved into a bunker after a one-off encounter with a pretty girl might get you a little wary, he supposes. But when it's Jill, and that bunker got him over any lingering feelings for her, and now he has people far, far better in his life- and when he's seen what she's done, first-hand thanks to the computer in his brain...
Oh, he knows he's right to be wary with her.
"So what's the deal with you and that girl today?" she asks, almost quiet as she changes the subject. "Sarah?"
Shit. He should've asked Casey for poker face tips.
"Like I said, she's my handler," he answers, only half a lie, and Jill smiles slowly, small, but there's something unnerving within it.
"Your handler." she repeats, but there's something strange in the tone. It's not a tease, not a flirt. Just something knowing. Like she's been in that situation- and a wink and nudge that he's in it now.
He narrows his eyes. What she's meaning is clear, and he's not going to plead ignorance to that.
"Just my handler, Jill."
"I know how this job goes, Chuck," she tries, like she's trying to sympathize, but he shakes his head.
"Anything you saw is how we wanted it to look," he says simply, repressing the crueler urges in him. To quip about the relationships she's been in. How she lied about sleeping with Bryce to hurt him.
Dammit, she's getting into his head, even if it's not how she intended. And he hates that she's using Sarah to do it.
"Look, you said it- I already know your story. I know about Leader, about LeFleur's work. If you just confess it and tell us what you know, they'll give you a lighter sentence. Maybe a facility in this country- not in another one."
She sighs, tired. And he sees her weigh it a second before she shifts.
"It is about the conference," she admits. "It's the perfect place to check if the bioweapon is effective. The weapon is a manufactured strain of influenza, a deadly one- you're dead within an hour of exposure. There's a cure, that I know, and Guy knows- nobody else. And you need equipment to synthesize it. By the time anyone infected with it knew the cure, it'd be too late to save them."
He pauses.
"So this would've been the test? And if it worked...?"
"If it worked, I was to eliminate Guy and take it to Leader." She says it so simply. Eliminate him. "The strain spreads quickly, it can take out thousands. Leader would send it to the DNI, the NSA generals, FBI- the CIA headquarters. They wouldn't stand a chance."
"And Fulcrum would have the cure, because you know how to make it. So any rogue agents infected, anyone on your side exposed... they'd all be saved. And Fulcrum would be able to cripple the government and take over," he realizes, shaking his head.
Fulcrum never fail to astound him with just how much death and destruction they'll wreak for their endgame.
"And now you'll get it. I'm the only one who knows how to formulate it, but I'll get sent away to some prison somewhere. They can't use it without me."
She shakes her head, annoyed. Like it's nothing, just a minor thing she's lost- not that they stopped her taking out half of the government. It's like someone stole her homework, not a weapon she'd made.
He has to wonder suddenly how he was ever so in love with her. How he spent literal years pining for her, thinking he'd lost everything in her. Was she always so cruel, in this particular way? She's not here scoffing and laughing, she's not rubbing her hands with glee at her grand ideas. That would almost be better than this. She's just... removed. Plain about it all. So unmoved even by such a thing as taking hundreds of lives.
He supposes, in letting him think she slept with his best friend, who'd gotten him expelled from college... maybe that plain kind of cruelty has always been within her. He just never saw it before.
"And LeFleur knew nothing about that plan, I'm guessing?"
She shakes her head.
"Nothing. Guy's just a scientist. I infiltrated his company and I got close to him, and he had no idea. Fulcrum knew he'd be impressed by my abilities- that's why Leader chose me for this- and he was. He just handed me this project." He feels a little sick. All her credentials, her qualifications... the woman he knew at college, in awe of her skill, studying with her, learning from her. Now bending people to her will, Fulcrum's will, with that same ability he once admired. "I planted the seeds that the company was selling the weapon, I pointed him to others, convinced him to bring it to the conference to come clean of all things- when all along, it was just me, taking it for Fulcrum. It was so easy."
And he can't help but note that, through this all, she's so often mentioned Fulcrum as something else. A third party. Not her.
But he knows she's been with them a long time- he knows she does their dirty work, all of this, she did for them. She is Fulcrum, she believes in them, she works for them.
And yet she seems to think she's above them. Like that's how she rationalizes her actions. By pretending she's not just as complicit as everyone else.
She is.
Pausing, she pulls a sad face, chewing her lip a second before continuing.
"Oh, Chuck. You're just an analyst, and I know you, you're too soft to ever think this way. But this job? It's all about manipulation. It was so easy to get LeFleur's work into my hands and get him to sign it all away to me."
"Just like that?" he asks, deliberately skeptical, hoping to get more out of her. She nods.
"Just like that. Come on, I did it with you." She says it kindly, yet condescending. Like she thinks she's teaching him things, here. And she continues on that thought before he has a chance to try and stop her. "It was so easy to end things with you and make you never want to come back. You were already hurt by Bryce. I wanted to break up. So I pretended to be with Bryce. It's that simple- that's what we do. We manipulate."
Just like that.
Maybe she didn't mean for it to sting. Maybe, in the midst of sharing, he just seemed an easy target of what she was trying to demonstrate. But right now, so aware of the deaths she was willing to cause, the damage Fulcrum wants to cause, her complicity in it all, yeah, it stings.
He nods, harsh, thinking through all of this
She's admitted to intent to sell the bioweapon, using LeFleur, planning to release the weapon and take it to Fulcrum. She's admitted her connection to Leader.
All in that quiet, removed way. Like she was just incidental. Like it's Leader's fault. Fulcrum's fault. But not her own.
But he knows better.
He's got everything they need. Everything he knows Beckman would want- and enough to keep Jill locked up. The CIA interrogators can take it from here. And he knows, they'll find more.
"Well, it's funny," he says. "For a long time, I did think you were with Bryce. But you never actually were. It was just a lie. Someone's lying to you about him now, Jill. Fulcrum aren't gonna find him. He's dead, and the Intersect is gone."
"They're rebuilding it," she says, dark, like that's supposed to shock him.
"I know. But that's not gonna work either, Jill. You know why?"
She arches an eyebrow.
"Why?"
And there's a lot of answers to that. The biggest one being: he's the Intersect, and he isn't gonna allow anyone as hellbent on cruelty as the woman sat before him to get access to this thing in his head. The damage just one flash from one of those agents could have- he's gonna do everything he can to stop it.
But she can't know that. So he just narrows his eyes.
"Because we got you. And once the interrogators get Leader's identity and location out of you, we're gonna get him. And we're gonna get every single Fulcrum agent, too." He stands, shaking his head. "Thanks for the confession. Enjoy prison."
And with that, he walks right out of that cell, and leaves Jill Roberts behind, for the second time in his life.
This time, oh, it feels good.
He re-emerges into the conference room, seeing Sarah and Ellie immediately turn his way. He looks at them both, his sister, eyes shining a little, worried for so many reasons, he knows. As the woman who raised him, the woman who witnessed his struggle with Jill before, as his sister- and as his doctor, now, worried for his brain, the computer, the stress on his mind.
And Sarah. Standing straight, professional, but with a tension in her, a concern in her gaze. Like she's wondering just how much his ex got to him in there.
He nods.
"Think we got everything we need to take her down," he says quietly, and he steps away, heading through Castle.
"I'll talk to him," he hears Sarah murmur, and a thrill of thanks runs through him as he navigates the Castle hallways.
When he stops, in a corner between the computer stacks and a supply closet, it's deliberate.
"Chuck," Sarah calls quietly, turning the corner and seeing him. He sees relief flash on her face before she smiles at him, softly, sadly, stepping up to him. "I'm sorry-"
He interrupts her as he pulls her into him and kisses her.
Oh, yeah. This corner is the only camera blindspot in the whole of Castle.
Maybe he looked up the blueprints for a purpose like this. He'll never tell.
She gasps quietly, stepping closer and cupping his face, but the kiss stays slow, deep, and he savors the feel of her, the softness of her lips and the warmth of her waist beneath his hands, how her tongue moves against his, sensing it all rather than numbing himself with this. Because that's not what this is- not a distraction, or a relief, not a coping mechanism.
This is him, and Sarah.
He slows, pulling back, keeping close with his forehead pressed against hers, breathing deeply.
"I am so glad you're in my life," he murmurs, unable to stop himself from adding: "And that she's not anymore."
"Chuck," she breathes, lips brushing his. Her hands, so light on his face, move so her thumbs stroke his cheeks so softly. "I'm so glad, too."
And while his heart races, he also feels so, so content, with her in this moment. Amongst this madness.
"Sarah, being in there..." How can he even phrase this? Put into words just how being with someone so cold, someone he now knows he never had any real connection to, someone who was just there- so very unlike the woman in his arms... "Oh, you're everything," he breathes, and she leans up and kisses him again, slow, gentle.
When she pulls back, she meets his eyes, staying wrapped up together.
"I know how hard that was for you," she says, and he nods. "But you're right. We got her. We'll get that weapon and destroy it, agents will find Leader. Jill will go far away, I'll make sure of it. And you'll never have to see her again."
He smiles.
"Not all bad, then."
He hears footsteps, but they're light, so he doesn't rush to pull away by the time his sister steps around the corner. She notices them, eyes bulging a little as she stumbles a step, but she smiles after a moment.
"Hey. Um- Casey's done with Guy, he says we need to check in with Beckman."
He nods. It makes sense.
"Okay."
And he steps away.
The debriefing is long. Action items are set up: the bioweapon, Jill's interrogation, finding Leader. Chuck has to relay things over and over to Beckman, specifics of what he saw, every identifying factor of Leader, every note about LeFleur's work. Everything about Jill.
And the whole time, Sarah just has to stand there, at attention, sleek and professional. Knowing that Chuck is just feet away, hurting, and she can't help. Unable to read him.
She felt pretty powerless just watching as he talked to Jill. Oh, sure, Sarah could've interrupted at any time. But they needed Jill's recorded confession, and interrupting might have ruined that. Plus, Chuck went in himself. He wanted to do this. And so she and Ellie just stood and watched as Jill relayed Fulcrum's plans to wipe out hundreds with a bioweapon, her infiltration of LaFleur, her plan to manipulate Chuck to get Leader access to the mainframe in Castle, all so removed, justifying every step, acting like she wasn't responsible for it all. And as she so casually told him how easy it was to manipulate him at Stanford.
He'd looked so tired when he'd emerged from it all, just beaten down. But when he'd stepped away she'd known she couldn't leave him alone, and so she'd followed him, and... he'd kissed her. In the one Castle blind spot, the slick idiot, but he'd kissed her, and told her how glad he is that she's in his life instead of Jill. So like Ellie had before he'd gone in. And Sarah doesn't quite know what to make of that.
The implication that she's so much better than Chuck's ex, the way people would speak about a girlfriend. And while Devon or Morgan might say that, Chuck and Ellie know that's not the truth. And yet...
She can't even think about it. Not today- not when there are bigger things to deal with.
"Hmm," Beckman says, understating it all. "It's good to know that Fulcrum are still looking for the human Intersect. Our operations with Sasha Banachek and in Meadow Branch must have slowed their own Intersect development considerably. I know that this team was instrumental in both of those. Your work is appreciated."
"Thank you, General," Casey says on behalf of the team.
But Sarah's not sure they can sit and revel yet.
"I wouldn't say that means they're backing down, though. Jill was intent they're gonna find Bryce. They're still after it."
Which means they're all still in danger, Chuck especially so.
Beckman nods at her words.
"Well. Hopefully bringing in Leader will help with that. Mr. Bartowski, I've given teams your description and the aliases you know of. I'm confident we can find him. Stopping Jill delivering Fulcrum the bioweapon is also a major win." She frowns, though, sobering. "And I think what this demonstrates is key. With the Fulcrum Intersect working in tandem with our Intersect, Chuck, you are more important than ever to the safety of this country. Without it, Ms. Roberts may have succeeded and fooled us all. And while we should be cautious, this is not a time for hesitancy. We have to be vigilant, team. The threat grows more every day, and you four are all that stands between us, and that threat succeeding."
Sarah jolts a little as the words hit- the importance Beckman is placing on not just them, but Chuck particularly. God.
"However, for today, good work."
Ellie steps forward, sensing the wrapping-up, staring Beckman down firmly.
"General, I'd advise a day off for the rest of today and tomorrow. Today was supposed to be a rest day, but Chuck had a lot of flashes, and it was emotionally grueling too. Rest will do us all good."
"Agreed," Beckman says, uncharacteristically. "Chuck, I... appreciate that today was a little unorthodox, but your input today has been invaluable. Your country thanks you." She nods. "Take the day tomorrow."
And with that, she clicks a button and fades from the screen.
Casey grunts.
"General going soft on us?" he asks, and Sarah smirks, even if she doesn't quite feel it. Beckman's speech meant something.
"Greater chance of hell freezing, Casey. Maybe she just appreciates we need a break."
"Speaking of a break," Chuck says, speaking up for the first time in a long time. She looks over at him, trying to read him, but his expression is guarded. Distant. "Think I'm gonna head out, take a walk."
By the time he's finished the sentence, he's halfway up the Castle stairs.
"I'll see you later." Ellie states. Firm. Non-negotiable. He nods to reassure her, Sarah knows, and then heads up and out of Castle with a deep breath, the doors sliding shut behind him.
"Kid gonna be okay?" Casey asks with a grunt.
Ellie nods, softening.
"Yeah, he will be. He just needs space, from here." From her, Beckman, the doctor leaves unsaid, but Sarah knows. That's a lot of responsibility the General just put on him.
But she also knows he's not gonna get that far, outside. And despite Ellie knowing Chuck so well, every instinct in Sarah is telling her to follow him, instead. To not let him be alone, today.
And so she rocks back on her heels a moment, and then she rushes up the stairs and out, too, leaving Casey and Ellie behind. She's missed him in the elevator by the time she reaches it, and when she steps out into the office building lobby she can't see him, either. Walking outside into the afternoon sun- is it still afternoon? She didn't realize, it's felt so long-, she looks around, still not finding him.
But something innate within her makes her turn around, walk around the building. And there he is.
Hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall, sun bright upon him. One of his feet is propped up on the wall, a scuffed faithful chuck.
"You drove my car here," she calls, and he looks over at her, smiling just a little.
"Yeah, I realized that the second I got out here."
She twists her lips, heading over to him, as he squints against the sun at her.
"You okay?" she has to check.
He looks past her a moment, like he's really considering that.
"Not really?" he says, half a question, then he shakes his head. "Today was supposed to be for us. We were supposed to finally have a day- I don't know what else you'd planned. And literally a half hour into it, this happened."
Oh, she knows.
And out of everything- Jill, her cruel words, Beckman, that heavy weight of responsibility... here he is, thinking about her. About them. Their date.
"Common spy problem," she says sadly, and he arches a brow.
"Your ex being an enemy agent?"
"Never escaping the job," she clarifies.
He nods, accepting that, but she sees as he sighs.
"I don't know, I just... I don't wanna say it, but it feels like, like a sign or something. That we'll just..."
And while she's had the thought, while she's wondered what they're even doing, while the comments Chuck and Ellie have made comparing her so favorably to Jill have left her unsettled- Chuck thinking this, Chuck being downbeat about them? That, she can't let happen.
She won't let this be a sign for them. Not today. There is so much to unpack from today, so much to process and deal with, and they need that time. But they need this too. He needs it. And when she thinks about it, oh, she needs it too.
"Hey." She interrupts, stepping closer and grabbing his hand. "It's not that late, yet. We can't do what I planned, but we can go anywhere. Tell me where."
He pauses, looking uncertain still, that weight still bearing down, and she squeezes his hand.
"Anywhere," she repeats, and she sees as he softens before her, lips turning up.
"Anywhere?" he asks, slowly smiling, and she lets the warmth fill her, with hope, not despondency.
"Anywhere."
For him, anywhere.
"I might know somewhere," he says, with a grin, and when he tells her the address, they get in her car and go.
Which is how a little while later she finds herself pulling into a parking lot and hearing the ocean as she steps out.
Chuck slips his hand into hers as they walk down to the beach.
They pass a row of palm trees, stepping out onto the sand, warm beneath her toes. The ocean is vast and blue before them, the Malibu sun warm as they walk toward it. Wordlessly, they slow, and Chuck sits down, folding up his long legs in front of him, elbows on his knees as he looks out at the sea. She sits by his side, breathing in the sea air, just as he does the same. He catches her eye, smiling a little, and she grins.
After a while of just taking it in, he begins to speak.
"I used to dream about this place, back in the bunker." He says it quietly. Here, it's so peaceful he doesn't need to raise his voice any louder. "It was the apartment, Ellie, Devon and Morgan, and here. That's what I missed."
She smiles.
It's a pretty beach. It's not particularly special. Not private, not that out of the way. There are other people a little ways down, there's a set of stone barbecues off to their right, filled with families, and the smell of smoke and spice are thick in the air. The sand isn't bright white, the water isn't that tranquil vacation blue. As beaches go, it's pretty ordinary.
Which is why it's so perfect. And why Chuck missed it.
He continues.
"I came here a lot, after Stanford. I'd finish Buy More shifts and drive out here, maybe get In n Out on the way if it was late, and I'd just sit here for hours. It was at the point where I wasn't unhappy, but I wasn't happy, either." She wonders when that changed. When he became actually happy again. But he's been through enough of that time today and she doesn't want to bring up more pain if he doesn't want to. "It was always so peaceful. Quiet, but not lonely, y'know? It helped, with things. With Jill."
"I like it," she murmurs, and he smiles at her for a second, then looking back out at the ocean.
"It's funny. I told myself a long time ago that I was over what she did. And then I thought I was over it- especially in the bunker, realizing how much bigger life was than her. But it wasn't until today that I believed it. Really believed it, I mean." He sighs. "And it's not about her- it hasn't been for a long time. But what she did, what that did to me, the way I always knew it was supposed to hurt me more, when Bryce had already done enough... It hurt to know that someone you trusted could hurt you so much, so purposefully."
"And knowing it was because of Fulcrum doesn't make it any easier."
He scoffs.
"No. But it makes sense. Fulcrum are cruel. Merciless. And Jill believes in them. I could tell, she fully supports them, she's committed to the job. No matter how much she tries to distance herself, or, or rationalize it. They were gonna use what she got them to kill hundreds of people, and she was fine with that. It's on her hands. What she did to me is just a symptom of all that. But... knowing it is also kinda freeing."
She raises an eyebrow.
"Freeing?"
He shrugs, looking at her again, gaze so very clear.
"I can let it go now. All of it. Everything she did, I know it was nothing to do with me. And everything to do with her, and Fulcrum, and their cruelty." He reaches out, curls his fingers around hers. "It doesn't matter anymore."
She leans into him, shifts closer, until they're shoulder-to-shoulder. But it's not enough. When she moves, rests her head on that very shoulder of his, he moves, pulls her into him, arm around her, warm and gentle and light. She feels him, here, so close. Feels him breathe in, deep. Contentedly.
"What Beckman said," he finally murmurs. "She's right, isn't she? We're the only team the government really have. This whole fight is on me."
"No," she replies, looking out at the ocean, that constant steady beat. "I'm here, too."
And he presses a kiss to her head, holds her close, and she lets the warmth of his presence fill her, the warmth of the sun, this quiet, intimate spot, the sand beneath them.
And despite everything- everything, today,- after a few more minutes he says, so quietly: "It's been a good day."
In his arms, she feels that too.
note: Boo Jill. Yay beach. Please review!