Hello friends. I'm sorry it's been a while, but I'm dealing with a busy work load mixed with a light depressive episode and increasing apathy, so we'll see what happens. Thank you all for the support as usual.-SP96
Chuck had noticed that he was no longer the only one of "his kind" at the dog park lately. He had noticed that over the past two weeks or so, his folk had increased from just him frequenting, to anywhere from seven to 10 homeless drifters coming to the park around dark.
And why wouldn't they? The park offered benches, trees, shade for dogs (and them) as well as port-a-potties and water hook-ups. There was one issue Chuck saw with a growing coagulation of homeless in a public area.
More than five homeless people in too small of an area led to them being noticed. Being noticed meant they got shoved along, and they lost that spot. Returning to a spot meant loitering, and a fine. Unpaid fine after a time meant lock up for a bit, and with a job looming over his head Monday, Chuck couldn't afford that.
What Chuck had also noticed were some shiny new posters on the lamp posts around him and on the community billboard just outside the park. The Burbank Dog Park had been selected as the location for this year's Annual Burbank Dog Show and Pageant.
Dog lovers from all over LA County would be flocking to the park in droves for the three-day event, which was taking place the weekend before Chuck started work.
Chuck needed a new place to sleep, at least for that weekend. The biggest problem was that the park was where everyone knew where to find him. And by everyone, that meant Morgan and Sarah.
Morgan was a frequent visitor of Chuck's. Chuck always had a good joke or a story from the University of Hard Knocks, or even Stanford University. They enjoyed walks and just chatting. Chuck hadn't mentioned to Morgan that he had been hired, and Chuck was more than happy to listen to Morgan talk shop, because he was taking notes. Morgan was also very quick to update Chuck on his latest game shenanigans. Chuck had even been to Morgan's house two out of the last three days just to hang out and play videogames with his bearded friend. The meals from Bolonia, Morgan's sweet mother, never hurt, either.
Sarah on the other hand, was a different kind of guest. She was a little more tactful in her visits. Her visits were much shorter and were usually done from her cruiser. She would pull over to the curb and do what she told Lester was an "equipment check," during which she'd check her phone, pretend she was doing something with the radio, and check the call logs for made up reasons.
During Sarah's fiddling, Chuck would slowly gravitate over and Sarah would pretend to just have noticed him.
On this particular day, Lester had handed Sarah the "snack pack" of water, granola bar, and an apple conveniently put together in a plastic zippy bag.
During Sarah's hand-off to Chuck, Chuck slipped her a sticky-note with a small message on it. Sarah had given Chuck a pad of stickies and a pen for such times as these. She would also leave him stickies for him to find around his "zone" if she had a tip-off for him. The tip-off could be warning him to stay away from a certain thing, or to attend a free event that could simultaneously entertain him and feed him.
Once Sarah had a moment to herself, she checked the little note Chuck had slipped her.. All it said was "I'm worried… and nervous."
This was not the usual vibe Chuck's notes had. The very few she'd received so far were along the lines of "thanks for the tip," "Thanks for the snack," and the day before's said "you look nice today." That one just made her laugh.
Sarah didn't have any particular plans that evening, so she figured she could go see Chuck about what was going on in his head. She hadn't seen him out of uniform since earlier that week when she gave him the pen and sticky notes.
When her shift came to an end, she hit the shower, and got into her "civies" and headed over to the park.
Chuck was there, talking to a boy who was 12, maybe 13, playing with a little Pomeranian while the boy's mom smiled at the interaction.
Sarah noticed that the redheaded mother was about her age and was striking, with the body of a runner, or someone who did a lot of yoga. Chuck hadn't even noticed Sarah yet, but Chuck was being his normal goofy self. Chuck either thought she was out of his league beyond trying, or he wasn't interested in her at all. She didn't see him do a single boob check the whole time she was there.
After the dog ran off, it's humans following, Chuck stood back up to his full height and went back to his bench.
Sarah walked over to him and took a seat without announcing herself first.
"I love this park so much," Chuck said, keeping his eyes forward. "This park is the closest thing I've had to a home since the Stanford dorms."
Sarah slowly turned and looked at him. She felt that an ominous place to start and leave a conversation. "It is a really nice park," she concurred. "I can see why you spend so much time here." Sarah cracked a smile and felt she had to poke him. "All the hot dog moms."
Chuck finally cracked a smile. "Hi, Sarah," he said warmly, finally meeting her eyes.
"Hi, Chuck. How are you?" she asked, knowing he needed to talk about something.
"I have a lot going on in my head right now, to be honest. I'm starting a new job; the first one that will really utilize what I went to school for, and actually will keep my interest That's a whole weekend away."
Sarah nodded. "A lot of anxiety, but the good kind. I had that my first day on the job, too. But what are you worried about?" she asked, remembering the note.
"I don't know where to go until Monday," Chuck let slip.
"Because of the dog show?" Sarah asked, knowing well the event was coming.
"You're a cop, of course you already know about that," Chuck said, slapping his own forehead. Sarah just giggled. "Can you stay the weekend with organ and Bolonia?" Sarah asked.
Chucked puffed his cheeks up and sighed. "For night, probably. But I really don't want to overstay any welcomes or impose too much. They'll offer me food and showers while I'm there, and that's too much generosity and too much of a draw on them. I can't accept it while being okay with myself," Chuck rambled, but leaving his heart wide open to Sarah. "I just need to find another bench that isn't too slanted, and is in a safe part of town."
"Alternate nights," Sarah suggested.
"What?" Chuck asked, not following Sarah's bouncing ball.
"Alternate nights," she said again. "Spend a night at Morgan's then the next night, crash in my car. It's warmer than outside, you have your blanket, I can lend you a pillow. When I'm at work, you can shower and watch TV."
Chuck's jaw was just dropped. "Sarah, are you serious?"
"Yes, but if you take anything, I will find you, Charles Irving Bartowski," she joked. "I am a cop, and if you've seen the paper, I'm 'a smiling face to all who need a snack.' I have friends out here."
Chuck couldn't hold back the laughter that rumbled from his chest, and he didn't try. "God, you have a heart of gold, you're beautiful, and you have a sense of humor to boot."
"Why thank you," Sarah said, smiling. "You'll lose the park for just a few days, but you'll be okay. And least there's just a few homeless in the area. Homeless sweeps of larger communities can be brutal, and I hate that we do them," Sarah said.
"Homeless sweeps? What?" Chuck asked, completely frozen by worry and confusion.
"They don;t happen often, and departments can go through a lot of hoops to try to keep them quiet, but a homeless sweep is when a homeless community is forced to disband and move on. It's sometimes done by force, with arrests, seizures, and destruction of homeless people's property," Sarah explained. She hated it, and she hated more that she had been involved in two of them herself. "They're very contentious, and there have been a few court cases about them, such as what can be destroyed, seized, and what forces can be used. Giving the encampments "notice" has been a big thing lately, too."
"Oh my God… that's horrible," Chuck said, his eyes dashing between the two homeless men and the one woman who were currently squatting in the park.
"If they knew I was acop, they'd probably cuss me out of this park, Chuck," Sarah said, her voice dropping. "I wouldn't blame them, either."
"Sarah, I'm sure you've heard this before, and most people scoff at this, but you really are one of the good ones. You give us water, snacks, and you treat us like
people. By ordinance, aren't I technically 'camping' on public property when I sleep here? But you've never shooed me away from here. You are making a difference, Sarah. Me and every homeless person you interact with know that," Chuck said softly, the words only being for Sarah.
"Thank you, Chuck," Sarah said meekly. Chuck just smiled at her sympathetically. Sarah laughed and said, "Look at this; you're the one validating me here. Isn't that a little ironic?" Chuck just shook his head, swatting off her comment. "So are you camping here one more day, or do you want to come take a shower and sleep in my car tonight?"
Chuck smiled. "I get to take another shower?"
"You're not sleeping in my car without taking a shower first, Chuck," Sarah said, only half joking.
Chuck was freshly bathed. Was warm, he was snug, and he was in an enclosed space that had locks on it if he felt them necessary. Most importantly, Chuck was dry.
So no, Chuck didn't mind hearing the thunder roll in. He didn't mind seeing the lightning crack and flash threatening off in the distance, getting closer with each surge like it was a force detecting something, looking for someone. The cold, hard and biting rain of LA's stormy season would not get Chuck Bartowski that night.
What Chuck didn't expect was a visitor to manically toss open the door opposite of his side, and the owner of Chuck's shelter to plop on the seat across from him, closing the door forcefully once she was in.
Sarah sat there in her pajamas, a blanket bundled in her arms.
"Sarah? What are you doing out here?" Chuck asked with a laugh.
"I came to join you for the storm," Sarah said. "I thought about asking you back inside, but this seemed more fun," she said with a smile.
"It actually is really peaceful in here," Chuck agreed, getting snug in his seat, knowing it was Sarah and not someone trying to kill him for his blankie. "I love the sound the rain makes on the windshield."
"Me too," Sarah agreed. "I've always loved thunderstorms. I've liked them a little less, lately, though."
"Oh? Why's that?" Chuck asked, still watching the night sky light up with brilliant claps of purples, whites, and blues. It was like nature's turn at a 4th of July finale.
"Because I spend them wondering if you're okay out there," Sarah admitted under her breath.
"There has been a storm or two where I've been miserable, when I've thought about giving up. But the thing is… how can things get better if I give up before they can?"
"Things will get better, Chuck. Things are looking up for you, I can feel it," Sarah said, her eyes on Chuck's face as he watched the storm in awe like a little kid. "You have people who have your back now."
"I know I do," Chuck said, meeting her gaze now. For the first time since I lost Ellie, I feel like I have people in my corner."
"You do have people in your corner. And please don't say you've lost Ellie. We don't know that for sure, Chuck. If you give up, how can things get better, remember?"
Chuck just smiled at her, and they shared a quiet glance at each other before they turned back to the light show in front of them, and enjoyed the storm together.
A/N: Homeless sweeps are real things. Less common then say, four years ago, but it still gets my blood up.