Hello friends. The favorites and follows have been wonderful and the reviews have been excellent, insightful and helpful as I steer where this is going. Your reviews influence this story so much, and I think you'll really be able to see that in this chapter.

- SP96

It was nearing midnight when Sarah remembered something Chuck had said to her the other day; that the dog park was like home to him.

It made sense. There were dogs, benches, and water fountains. It had some shady trees, but also plenty of wide sunlight spaces. It was Chuck's best bet of being comfortable day to day, so Sarah figured that would be her last spot to check before she turned in for the night.

As she had hoped, Chuck was there, his heels dug into the grass and his head resting against the back of the bench. There's no way that could be comfortable, but she assumed he had learned how to sleep anywhere.

She parked the car properly this time, and casually walked to Chuck, not wanting to startle him.

"Chuck?" Sarah said in a casual in-door voice. "Chuck?" Sarah tried again a little louder.

"What?" Chuck responded, shooting up to a full sitting position, but taking a bit of time to really see what was in front of him. "Sarah?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah. You put my number on your job application."

"Mike called you, then?" Chuck asked, seeming immediately more awake.

"Yeah," Sarah confirmed. "He called for you this morning," she said, crossing her arms. "You also didn't tell him it wasn't your number," Sarah pointed out.

"I'm sorry," Chuck immediately apologized, scooting over for Sarah to sit next to him even though there was already plenty of space. "Are you mad?"

"Not mad, per se, just confused and wishing I wasn't out here at 12:30 in the morning," Sarah said, taking the offered seat. "So why did you use my number, Chuck?"

Chuck sighed and ran a hand through his curly, slightly greasing hair. "I didn't have another number to use. I don't have a phone, Morgan has one, but I didn't think to use it," Chuck explained.

"Morgan?" Sarah asked for clarity.

"Yeah, Morgan was the little guy at the Buy More when I fixed your phone. We hung out the other day and he insisted I sleep on his couch for the night. He and hi9s mother are both sweet, really."

Sarah slowly shook her head. "They trusted you not to kill them or rob them in their sleep? Bold," she only half joked.

"You let me use your shower," Chuck parried. "I still can't thank you enough for that, by the way."

"I'm different, Chuck. I'm a trained cop, and I concealed carry. Also, you would have to get a really good drop on me to beat me. You're not exactly in great shape right now," she pointed out.

"I'm lucky if I get a real whole meal once a day, and I don't exactly have a gym membership."

"Exactly. I'm not saying I would have to, but I could easily kick your ass and it wouldn't be close. I also just didn't feel the need to. If I had to shack you up on my couch for a night, you're damn right that I'd have my door bar in place in my room with my gun within arms reach."

"You're very up front about your ability to kill me, you know?" Chuck said with a laugh.

"Well," Sarah said with a giggle. "I like you, Chuck, but these are real concerns people can rightfully have," she explained. "I've been a cop for a long time. I've seen a lot of things; I've seen people at their worst, most barbaric and desperate states, but I've also seen people at their most tender-hearted, generous, and faith-restoring best."

They sat together on the bench for a moment, and Chuck finally spoke again, breaking the silence. "I also knew that if I was going to get a call-back, and use your number... you would come find me again."

Sarah just nodded, not sure how to proceed. Could she responsibly condone it, to seek to encourage him, or should she end their... whatever it was right now. "What were you hoping to accomplish with this, Chuck?" Sarah asked, deciding to keep on a wary path.

Chuck sighed. "I just wanted to see you again. For whatever outcome. You an Morgan are all I have right now. It's been a while since I've had friends," he admitted. "I don't care how that makes me sound. I don't want anything from you, Sarah, except to see you every now and then. I don't need you to check up on me, but maybe just to watch people's dogs, you know?"

Sarah looked at him and nodded. "Okay, Chuck. That's fine," Sarah said. "You're not asking for my help, but that's okay; I want to help you. And I bet Morgan can, too. But before I start investing in you, there are a few things I would like to know, and I really need you to be honest with me."

"Of course, but..." Chuck started, and he was noticeably shivering. "Can we talk in the car? It's warm there," Chuck pleaded, and SArah nodded.

"Sure, come on," Sarah agreed. "How do you feel about gas station coffee?"

"I'm a fan," Chuck agreed to the proposition. "I even have $5 I found by the water fountain today. I can't be sure someone didn't leave it on purpose, though. It was a lady in her 40s that feeds the birds twice a week. I've heard her say that birds prefer seeds to bread, for whatever that may be worth to you."

"Chuck, you're rambling," Sarah informed him as they reached the cruiser. "Also, you don't have to buy the coffee. It's okay," Sarah assured him. "And I'm sorry about this, but uh... I need you to sit in the back. It's protocol..."

"No, sure, that's fine," Chuck said, offering no argument. "Wherever there's a heater is fine.

There was a gas station nearby, and Sarah was glad for it, because she was starting to fade fast without coffee,and because the sooner the two of them were situated, the sooner she could trade information with Chuck.

Sarah got out first and went around to Chuck's side of the car and let Chuck out. "Thanks," Chuck said, and followed Sarah into the little 24/7 quick mart.

They both got medium cups and Sarah grabbed a Cliff bar for a little snack. "Need a munch, Chuck?"

Chuck thought for a whole three seconds before declining. "I appreciate it, but really, I'm okay, Sarah."

Sarah just looked at him and sighed. "Suite yourself, but I will scold you if I hear your stomach rumbling while I'm with you."

"You have nothing to worry about," Chuck assured the in-charge officer, his hands held up like he was a prisoner.

They went to the counter together, and Chuck put his hand in his pocket to get the little cash he had, but Sarah was faster with her card because she had it in hand before they reached the clerk. She happily paid for both, and wished the clerk behind the counter a pleasant night.

"We're not in transit right now, so you can sit in the front. Just don't touch anything, and make no sound if I have to respond to my radio," Sarah laid down the law of her car she got in. "And please don't spill."

Chuck sat there in brief silence, holding onto his coffee with both hands, and staring out the windshield as Sarah settled back in, tearing into her Cliff bar. "So what do you need to know, Sarah?" Chuck asked, resigning himself to his open-book status.

"Well, I should probably start off by saying that I'm asking these questions as your friend, but also as a cop."

"Noted," Chuck said with a nod.

"For starters, I found your old cart today, Chuck." Chuck's eyes immediately filled with relief, and we waited for her to continue. "I recovered your high school diploma."

"Oh," Chuck said, swallowing hard.

"I also recovered your Stanford transcript," Sarah added. "Care to tell me what happened after you left? Bouncing out of Stanford doesn't immediately equal homeless, Chuck. Was it drugs, gambling? What happened?"

Chuck took a long sip of his coffee and looked Sarah dead in the eyes, and steeled himself. "I have spent a small fortune trying to find out what happened to Ellie, Sarah. After I lost touch with her, I waited about a month before I began to start worrying. When I didn't think I could handle it anymore, I hired a private investigator named Bryce Larkin."

"A P.I., Chuck? Why didn't you go to the police?" Sarah asked softly, holding no respect for the for-hire sharks.

"Because the police were never able to find what happened to my parents. I lost faith the police's ability to find missing Bartowskis," Chuck explained. "So I began paying this Bryce guy good money to find Ellie.

"Any time he got close, I became a huge fool. I would travel out to where he thought Ellie was, and I still never found her," Chuck said, his voice weakening. I lost jobs over it because I would miss shifts, or I just wouldn't go in if I thought they wouldn't give me the time off. My former employees weren't giving me good recommendations, rightfully so, so I practically became unhirable."

Sarah just nodded, and didn't interrupt him. She got the feeling this was the first time he was telling this story.

"I haven't been homeless terribly long, either. I was in income-based housing last fall, because my job was less than stellar, and Bryce had gotten some kind of "trace" on Ellie, and that she's married now to some guy named Devon Woodcomb, and that they were out in Oklahoma City. While I was out there, I lost my housing to an electrical fire because someone fell asleep while doing something, I don't remember what it was."

"Is that how you lost most of your stuff?" Sarah asked, just letting him know she was listening more than anything.

Chuck nodded. "Yeah," he confirmed. "All my records were gone in that fire; my social security card, my birth certificate, so much of my stuff. Anything that wasn't in my car went up in flames."

"I'm so sorry, Chuck," Sarah said with all sincerity. "That's absolutely horrible. How have you made it this long without a change in luck? If I can ask." Sarah had the required story, and now everything else Chuck told her was academic.

Chuck shrugged. "By being lucky, I guess. Finding spare cash here and there, by accepting handouts with so much humility I wanted to throw up."

Sarah nodded and ducked her head so she could meet Chuck's fallen eyes. "Chuck, I do have good news for you; the Buy More called me today, which is why I came to find you. They want to give you a shot, Chuck."

Chuck just sat there, staring at his feet and the rubber mat on the floor. He swallowed hard a few times and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Just strangled deep breaths that weren't quite sobs. He closed his eyes, and he did begin to silently cry.

After mostly recomposing himself, he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm sorry for using your number, but thank you so much," Cbuck said. "This is the best news I've received since I got accepted to Stanford."

"You're welcome, Chuck," Sarah said, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder. "We'll call them back tomorrow and let them know you're taking the job. I'm assuming you'll start Monday," Sarah told him.

"That's usually how these things go, huh?"

"It's pretty standard," Sarah confirmed, filling up the space that would have otherwise been dead quiet. "What are you going to do until then, Chuck?"

"I don't know," Chuck told her. "Just keep surviving a little bit longer. I'd like to find a way to clean up, if I can."

"Chuck?"

"Yeah?" Chuck responded, his eyes dropped from hers again because he felt he wouldn't like this next question.

"You can pay me back later if you feel like you have to, but would you let me buy you a blanket?"

"That would help get me through to Monday, but Sarah... I'm so tired of living on charity... when so much of this is my own fault. I put all of my faith into some crackpot P.I. I lost jobs chasing down the ghost of my sister."

"I know, Chuck. Just... promise me that if I help you, that if Morgan helps you..." Sarah wasn't sure how to finish, but Chuck got the clue.

"I need to end the obsession of finding my sister," Chuck yielded.

"No, Chuck. You're not giving up on Ellie; you're just changing your avenues. Let me bring you to the station tomorrow and fill out a proper missing person's report. Let me use my resources. I understand the loss of your parents has eroded your faith in my work, but your way didn't work either," Sarah tried.

Chuck nodded and closed his eyes again, leaning his head against the back of the seat. "Can I really put my life back together, Sarah?"

Sarah slowly nodded and put her hand on his shoulder for the second time that night. "Yes, Chuck. Yes you can."

Chuck had a brand new blanket when Sarah brought him back to the dog park. He wasn't able to stop petting it, and Sarah couldn't stop giggling about it. She had never seen a grown man so instantly attached to something so simple, so common.

"So I'm meeting you back here tomorrow, right?" Sarah asked as she got out of the car and went to open Chuck's door.

"Yeah, that'll be good," Chuck agreed. "My calendar is pretty much open, so whenever works for you, really," he joked, and got a good laugh out of Sarah, which in turn made Chuck grin ear to ear.

"I'll try to fit this into my rotation, and be around 11? We'll call back Mike and then get you to the station to fill out that report," Sarah laid out.

"Are you allowed to do that?" Chuck asked.

"Well, if we make the call while bringing you to the station, it's still technically work," Sarah figured. "You'll get to meet my tag-along, Pattell, too. He's weird at first, but you get used to him."

"I enjoy meeting new people, Chuck said. The two looked at each other for a moment, knowing this was a goodbye for now, and it was more drawn out than it had to be.

"You have a good night, Chuck. I'll see you in the morning, okay?" Sarah checked for confirmation while holding her hand out.

"Thank you for everything, Officer Walker. And yes, I'll see you in the morning. I'll have the best night in a long time thanks to this blanket, or, well, thanks to you," Chuck said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

Sarah just laughed at his awkwardness and his gymnastic ability to always put his foot in his mouth. "Good night, Chuck. Sleep well," she said in the night's final fairwell as she got back into her cruiser.

She sighed to herself, seeing the ungodly time of morning it was, and cursed at the fact that she had to be up in a few short hours. For Sarah, the sleep sacrifice felt worth it for what she was accomplishing.