Chuck punched out of his first day with a massive smile on his face. Sure, he had plenty of first day learning curves to straighten out, but given his affinity for tech and his Stanford background, he was a natural for the job.

His customer service needed work, especially on phone calls, but his face to face wasn't bad. Chuck's anxiety and self-image was hampering, but he was sweet and knowledgeable, so he was batting 500.

"How are your feet, rookie?" Big Mike asked as Chuck was on his way out.

"Feel like a million bucks, sir," Chuck reported happily with a mile-wide grin. "My feet are used to lots of walking, and with the new kicks, my feet have never felt better."

Big Mike chuckled. "I like you, Bartowski. You're not a whiner, and you're a man who doesn't take things for granted. I hope we get to keep you." And with that, Big Mike was off.

Chuck took one more look at the Buy More, his new favorite place. He didn't catch Harry Tang peering at him through a shelf. "Until tomorrow, new friend."

Once outside, the sliding automatic doors locked on their own through the power of automated timers. Chuck turned back to the closed doors and sighed. Chuck was happy knowing he had 40 hours of shelter a week, guaranteed. The other 80 hours were still up in the air, though.

Chuck turned back to the thinly populated parking lot and saw the familiar Porsche he was looking for. It still felt odd for him, being who he was but taking the occasional ride in a high-end car.

"Evening, Officer," Chuck said with a warm smile as he got into Sarah's car.

"Hi Chuck," Sarah responded with a laugh. "Looking just as dapper as you were this morning, I see."

"Oh stop it," Chuck laughed, trying not to get red in the face. "So ice cream, huh?"

"I like that idea. Unless you want to do dinner. Have you eaten at all today?" Sarah asked, and the eyes she leveled at Chuck forbade him from lying to her.

"I ate a banana at Morgan's this morning before work, but that was it," Chuck admitted. "I'm along for the ride, thanks to your generous invite, so we can do whatever you'd like."

Sarah sat in the car with one hand on the wheel and her lips pouting adorably while she thought. "Are you a pizza guy, Chuck?"

"Are you kidding me? It's my favorite. What's not to like about it?"

"Well that's settled then," Sarah said with a laugh. "We'll grab a pizza from somewhere, get some DQ and then head to my place?"

"That sounds like a perfect evening to me," Chuck agreed and relaxed into his chair.

With a medium pizza in her hand and two Blizzards from Dairy Queen, the mismatched pair returned to Sarah's apartment for an evening in.

Sarah unlocked the door and headed in, with Chuck right behind her.

"Want to watch a movie or see what's on TV?" Sarah asked as she went to her kitchenette, grabbing plates and paper towels.

"A movie sounds nice, actually. I watch a surprising amount of TV with Lavonia, Morgan's mom."

"Oh really?" Sarah asked, unable to control her laughter. "It's good to see you making friends, though. For real," she said, sobering back up after her bit of laughter.

"No no, it's okay to laugh. I never would have seen myself watching House, M.D. with a middle-aged Mexican lady. She's very smart. She guesses most of the cases before the show solves it."

Chuck put the ice cream treats in the fridge and joined Sarah on the couch, who was setting out the plates and the pizza on her coffee table.

Chuck couldn't help but to watch Sarah as she plopped herself down on the couch and kicked out of her shoes with a satisfied hum.

"What?" Sarah said with a shy smile, having caught Chuck looking.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Sarah. I was staring, wasn't I?"

"A little bit, Sarah said, relaxing into the back of the plush couch.

"Sorry again. It's just… it's nice seeing you kick back and relax. Nine out of 10 times I see you in uniform."

"Well thank you," Sarah smiled and leaned forward to reach for a slice of pizza. "Oh, and Chuck, could please grab us some beer before you join me?"

"Of Course," Chuck said. Upon opening the fridge, he noted aloud, "Oh, a Modelo girl. I'm really happy I was correct in not seeing you as a Busch Lite kind of girl."

Sarah laughed aloud and covered her mouth, as it was full of pizza. "I take a special pleasure in arresting underage white girls who call it Busch latte."

Chuck stood in the doorway and couldn't stop smiling. Sarah had a fantastic sense of humor, and was comfortable enough around Chuck to talk out of the corner of her mouth when she was eating.

He finally joined her on the couch and was smart enough to bring a bottle opener with him. He cracked a beer for each of them and leaned back himself.

"What kind of movie are we feeling?" Sarah asked.

"God, I don't know," Chuck said with a long exhale. "It's been so long. I love a good spy/action movie if you have any."

"I have all five Bourne movies," Sarah said, shooting straight off the couch with beer still in hand.

"Put that shit on right now," Chuck said almost forcefully.

Sarah shot a look straight over her shoulder that made Chuck wish she would have shot him with her actual gun.

"I mean… if that's cool with you. I would like to watch that film very much, Officer…." Chuck backpedalled quickly, throwing himself back against the couch with his hands up.

Sarah shot a million dollar smile at him and shook her head, her long blonde hair waving. "You're a lot of fun, Chuck," she said as she put the DVD into her Blu-ray player.

"So how was your first day of work?" Sarah kicked up the small talk during the obligatory previews.

"It was really good, actually," Chuck said around a bite of food. "It felt good. I missed working, and it felt more natural than any job I've had before. I felt like I belonged there."

"I'm so glad to hear that, Chuck. You deserve a break."

"Thank you," Chuck responded, a soft, genuine smile on his boyish features. "How was your day?"

"It was alright," Sarah shrugged. "I didn't have to make any arrests or chase anyone, so that was nice."

"Any news, anything wild going on around the city?"

Sarah thought a moment, chewing her lip and playing with the label on her bottle. "My precinct's senior-most detective is retiring soon, and the brass is trying to find a replacement."

"You should try to snag that job up!" Chuck suggested. "Isn't there an exam for it or something? You can study, pass the test, get off the beat."

Sarah tilted her head and stared at the screen, not seeming to actually care about what was on it. "I have a Bachelor's in criminal justice, but I don't have anything higher. I did score high as hell at the academy, too. I wonder what the actual requirements are…."

"Well, I hope you at least consider it," Chuck said earnestly as the movie main menu finally came on.

"I'll talk to Captain Casey about it in the morning. And thank you, Chuck, really. I hadn't really thought about trying for it, but… maybe I can get it and move my own bar up a little higher."

"I'm sure you can, Sarah. You're smart, dedicated, and I feel like you're a woman who will ruthlessly go after anything she sets her head and her heart on," Chuck said, that same soft smile on his face.

Sarah shared the smile, and their eyes stayed on each other longer than both of them had expected, and neither of them said anything about it.

When the credits on the second Bourne movie were rolling, the pizza box was empty and seven bottles on the coffee table matched it.

'God I love these movies," Chuck said. "But it's getting late, and I should probably get back to…." he trailed off because there was no sign of movement or response from Sarah.

Chuck looked over and saw her eyes closed, her head laid on the back of the couch.

"Back to Morgan's," he lamely finished. "I'll see you later, Detective," Chuck said quietly, his eyes still on the sleeping officer.

Chuck tried to will himself to get up, to go, but his body didn't follow the signals from his brain.

"Good night, Mr. Chuck," Sarah mumbled and turned over on the couch, turning her back on him.

Chuck smiled again and finally got to his feet. Without a sound, he left her apartment and escaped into the artificially lit night.

Chuck was only blocks away from Morgan's when the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He looked over his shoulder, and a grey Ford Escape was behind him. Still behind him. The one that seemed to be behind him, then next to him two streets away, then behind him again.

Chuck was being tailed, and he hated it.

He began to pick up speed, his new shoes allowing him to do so without the open heel's catching on pavement.

The van sped up, too.

Chuck took off at a full run, pissed at himself for having eaten half a pizza and getting half a buzz.

When Chuck cleared the sidewalk and got to the intersection, the Escape turned hard and missed Chuck by only a foot.

"What the hell!" Chuck shouted to the night air.

"Chuck, get in the car!" Morgan shouted from across the street. "Get in! Get in! Get in!" Morgan kept pressing until Chuck was in the back seat, the door not even closed before Morgan was speeding away.

"What the hell was that?" Morgan asked, speeding away, the Ford Escape left behind them.

"I have no idea!" Chuck said, his face devoid of all color. "That car was following me since Sarah's place, and it tried to hit me as soon as I figured it out."

"Who the hell would try to hit you, Chuck? Let alone stalk you?"

"I… I don't know," Chuck said, just as clueless.

"We need to tell Big Mike, and maybe tell the police. We can tell Sarah, she's a cop!"

"That's not a bad idea, buddy. Me being followed means it's no accident, me almost getting hit."

"Word," Morgan concurred.