A/N: I've been having some issues with writer's block, but I really want to keep this story rolling, so here's some character building and borderline fluff. Enjoy!

Chuck studied himself closely in the mirror, turning his head this way, then that way. He tilted his chin up, and then down. He clenched his jaw and then relaxed it, opened his mouth, and then closed.

His fingers ran down the plain of his face, and he was stunned by the smoothness he felt. He had forgotten what his face actually looked like. He didn't know if he liked what he saw or how long it would take for it to feel like his real face. His beard was all he knew for almost a year.

"Chuck, are you okay in there?" Morgan called, knocking on the bathroom door.

"Yeah buddy, I'm fine," Chuck replied before Morgan could get too nervous.

"What's going on in there? You've been in there a while. Thinking about a certain sexy blonde police sergeant?" Morgan teased.

"What? No," Chuck said with a laugh before opening the bathroom door.

"Well why not? I mean… holy shit dude!" Morgan said with a huge grin on his face. "Charles Bartowski, is that even you?" Morgan joked, reaching up to touch Chuck's newly shaven face, but Chuck slapped his hand away.

"Oh stop, Morgan. Is it that bad?" Chuck asked with a since.

"That bad? Dude, you look great without that shaggy face carpet!" Morgan proclaimed. "You look like a brand new Chuck! How does it feel?" Morgan asked as he and Chuck headed to Morgan's room.

"It feels good, honestly. I forgot what my face really looks like, how my skin feels."

"Well good for you, Chuck. You're a man turning over a new leaf, and now you look the part. I'm proud of you, bro."

"Thanks, Morg," Chuck smiled, feeling pretty good in his new skin. "I feel good, and I feel like I'm heading for better things. I just wish there wasn't a cop watching your house right now," Chuck frowned.

"Oh don't worry about that. It's cool. Honestly bro, never felt safer. I wish Lester could come in and play Battlefield with us, but I get it."

"Did your mom actually offer him a thermos of coffee and a dinner plate?" Chuck asked with a laugh.

"Uh, yeah dude. Have you never heard of Mexican hospitality?"

Chuck laughed before he and Morgan zoned into the game on their screen.

Sarah sat on her lazy boy chair, her feet up and her body comfortably hidden under a big soft blanket.

One of her guilty pleasures was her "nest" with her AC cranked so she could enjoy her thickest blanket. She smiled to herself, feeling safe and warm, and she guilt-free knowing Chuck was safe at Morgan's, somewhere warm with food.

She thought about how far Chuck had come just since she'd known him, and that made her smile, too. She smiled wider knowing that she had helped, that herself, Morgan, and Big Mike had been able to change a man's life and give him hope and a fresh start.

Sarah was losing faith in "the force" or at least her ability to change people's lives on her own, or even with the badge.

The job hadn't turned her to stone, but gave her resources and an avenue to be a positive force, and she felt thankful for the warm feelings as she focused on her show. She felt like she had truly earned it, this comfort and self-glow she was feeling.

She thought about the words she had shared with Chuck, too. She had meant it.

Chuck was a rare animal; a man going through multiple hells that no single person should have to. He was a chaotic ball of feelings, going from high on new life one moment to getting his heart ripped out the next by the situation with Ellie, and his own struggles.

But Chuck didn't let the dark completely consume him. He didn't let the dark overshadow the light he was also experiencing, and she admired him for that, and she felt that his ability to hold onto the good was passing through to her as well, and it was a mood boost that she needed to keep on her mission, to stay in her job and change what part of the world she could around her.

Chuck was a force of nature, and one she wouldn't let go of any time soon.

Sarah also recognized the odd bodkins relationship she had with the bushy homeless man living between her apartment, Morgan's house, and the BuyMore break room.

Sleepovers between plutonic adult friends weren't a usual occurrence, and certainly not between fri nds of opposite sex.

And the way Chuck had his arm over Sarah as they slept. It was protective and comforting to her, not possessive or dominating. It seemed that even in his sleep, with Sarah's unconscious form before him, Chuck's own subconscious instinct was to care for her.

Sarah shifted in her chair and looked at her phone. He had a cheap, $40 prepaid phone for emergencies that Morgan of all people had gotten him, and was splitting the cost of a prepaid plan with Lester, who had taken a personal interest in Chuck since he and Morgan had rekindled their old friendship, which now included Chuck.

She wanted to text him, to see how he was doing. She knew she didn't need to, knew she could easily hide behind the job hadn't while doing it, but Sarah was no idiot.

Sarah knew inside… she was falling for Chuck. She had no doubt Chuck was falling for her. The glances, the hand brushing, holding each other's hands in tense or emotionally charged situations. Sarah had kissed his head in a tender moment when Chuck expressed how nice it was to have been in a bed again.

She found herself wanting to hold him and let him enjoy her bed all he wanted after everything he had been through, what they were going through together. She was spending long periods of time with that funny, goofy, charming, open man, and he was becoming intoxicating, seducing her heart over her body, and it was a new experience for her.

She was physically attracted, sure, but she had not fantasized about anything sexual in nature with Chuck, not even when he was in her bed. She fantasized about spending time with him, making him happy, warm and secure. She was falling for everything Chuck was inside and not what he was outside.

And oh the way he respects her. Sarah had caught Chuck's comment about her in the female Nerd Herd uniform. He had simply called her striking, and she threatened to hit him. He didn't steal extra long glances, or make pervy comments; he tried to build her confidence and make her feel better about herself. He didn't suggest she wear the skirt higher or unbutton any buttons.

Sarah knew without a doubt that Chuck was attracted to her, but he didn't let it control him, and he kept it in check, and he kept being her friend. Chuck Bartowski was a certified gentleman, and Sarah knew she was right to feel safe around him.

There was a lot that could be said about Chuck, but Sarah honestly believed he deserved all the second chances he was getting, and she wanted to be there to help him along, all unresolved and unidentified feelings included.

"Hey Chuck. How was your night? Sarah asked from Chuck's chair behind the Nerd Herd kiosk.

"It was good. How was your… wait a second. You're out here. In the store. In a Nerd Herd uniform." Chuck stammered.

"Yeah, and so are you. Clean shaven," Sarah retorted, a clear smile on her face.

"Yeah, well, I thought it was time to clean up and look like the new leaf I turned over. Morgan had a spare razor, so there's that. But you! What are you doing out here?" Chuck pressed.

"Big Mike and I had a conversation this morning. We decided me working here as a Here's made a lot of sense for my undercover role. It lets me keep tabs on you, in store and on calls, and I'm not stuck in a broom closet with a monitor all day."

"That does make sense," Chuck concurred, scratching his naked chin.

"How does it feel?" Sarah asked, motioning to his face.

"It feels really good. It makes me feel new," Chuck said with a grin. "I never really liked the beard. I felt like it wore me as much as I wore it."

Sarah frowned, but then chippered up again. "I'm glad it feels like the right decision, Chuck. Clean shaven looks good on you."

"Thanks, Sarah. And the Nerd Herd outfit looks good on you. You make it look respectable and like a real uniform. Anna makes it look punkie, like an Avril Lavigne kinda look," Chuck said with a scowl in Anna's direction as she strolled in, late again.

"Go fuck yourself, Chuckles," Anna snarled.

"I'm sure she'll warm up to you eventually," Morgan laughed as he walked by.

"I don't know you yet, Barbie, but I don't like you already."

Sarah scoffed and looked from Anna to Chuck.

Chuck shrugged. "Anna's a tough cookie."

"Well I'd imagine so, being the only female Nerd around here," Sarah laughed.

"What does that make you, Princess?" Anna asked, her hands folded under her chin. "Packing something we don't know about? Because you look all woman above the waist."

"Oh no, I am definitely all woman," Sarah laughed, starting to think she was getting Anna's game.

"Do you mind if I verify that?" Anna asked in a husky whisper, getting close up into Sarah's bubble.

"Go right ahead and try," Sarah teased back, leaning forward, her breath playing on Anna's face.

"Maybe you are alright, Barbie," Anna said, taking a step back, Sarah passing her test.

"What the actual hell was that?" Chuck asked.

"Anna was just seeing if I have thick enough skin to hang. She found out I do," Sarah shrugged, hopping up on the counter and quickly crossing her legs to make sure she didn't accidentally flash any undergarment. "I had to pass similar jokes when I joined the force," Sarah explained.

"That's rough. I've never had to do anything like that," Chuck nervously chuckled.

"You've never been a woman in a male dominated field where you had to be a tough bitch to survive and not get walked on."

"Touche," Chuck gave in without a fight.

A few moments of quiet passed, nothing passing between the Nerds as they waited for something to do to start their day.

Anna drifted away, and Morgan received barked orders from Big Mike to make himself useful. This left Chuck and Sarah alone at the kiosk.

"So what are your plans for after work?" Chuck asked, not expecting much more than small talk for a while.

"I don't know," Sarah huffed. "I can't say I have too much going on right now. I don't really have much going on outside of work."

"Why not?" Chuck asked. "I have a hard time believing you don't have a whole bunch of friends."

Sarah shook her head, her cheeks puffed with air. "I moved here after transferring from D.C., and I kinda just gave all I had to the job. I don't have any family up here, so I didn't mind making work my life," Sarah explained.

"That's actually kinda sad. I mean, unless you do what you love, or if you wanted to get lost in your work. I always saw myself starting my own company and getting married to the job, so to speak."

"You never told me that," Sarah said, leaning back on her forearms, visibly relaxing into the conversation.

"Yeah. I went to Stanford for computer engineering. I wanted to be the next Steve Jobs or maybe the next big video game company, but… that didn't exactly pan out, as you see here," Chuck said, waving vaguely to the BuyMore."

"I'm sorry, Chuck," Sarah said softly, her hand reaching to cover his.

"What about you?" Chuck asked, trying to revive the mood. "What are your current career goals? You're still trying for detective, right?"

"I am," Sarah nodded in confirmation. "I'm going to be fully transparent with you, Chuck. I'm hoping that this case with you really gives me a chance to show Captain Casey that I'm above an average beat cop."

Chuck smiled warmly at her. "I hope it does show him that. Because you are. I think so, anyway. I know you'll be good at it, and I hope I can find a way to help you achieve your goal. Even if it's just a glowing review card."

Sarah let out a warmm, bubbly laugh at Chuck, and she let her eyes linger on his face, well after she knew he caught her looking. She felt bold in that moment, and wanted to see how long it would take Chuck to shy away from her.

It didn't take Chuck terribly long to duck away, a shy smile on his face. He knew Sarah was drinking him in. What Chuck didn't know was whether she was drinking in his attitude, his general warmth, his new appearance, or a mix of all of it.

"I like you, Chuck. There's a lot about you that's contagious, you know that?"

Chuck stood there with that goofy smile on his face. "I like you, too, Sarah. You make me want to keep trying. I feel like I can't give up with you in my corner."

"Bartowski, you sleeping here tonight?" Big Mike asked as the day came to an end. "It's your first pay day. Gonna whoop it up somewhere, or do the 5-0 still have you on a leash because of that one thing?"

Chuck looked to Sarah, who held Chuck's proverbial leash.

"Me and Lester were going to go to Flannigan's today. It's a notorious cop bar," Sarah said. "You can buy me a beer," she said with a smile.

"I know Flannigan's" Big Mike said. "My uncle used to frequent there back when he was on the force. He was one of Burbank's first Black detectives. Got a lot of respect for that man. Go on over with Sergeant Walker and pour one out for him for me, will ya?"

"Yes sir," Chuck said, returning a sloppy salute Big Mike gave.

"So drinks tonight then?" Sarah asked, her hands in the pockets of her jeans she was all too happy to be back into.

"Sounds like fun," Chuck nodded. "First round's on me. It's the least I can do to repay you for some of your kindness you've shown me."

"That's the thing about kindness, Chuck; genuine kindness doesn't look to get repaid, it just gives itself," Sarah said as they left the BuyMore together.