A/N: I was gonna make this a separate fic from If You Go, but so many followed If You Go, I decided to go with it. This will not be my usual humor, craziness, but it will be Charah. I simply ask you trust me. By now I think most of you know I will reward your trust. (Scene is better if Hands to Heaven is playing in repeat in the background…at least it was when I wrote it)

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck.

She looked down at the phone. It was him, calling. She wanted to answer – a part of her screamed to – but he had made his decision, and she made hers. He hadn't gone with her. She had picked him, but he didn't walk away with her. She noticed people looking at her, as her phone continued to ring. She dropped it on the ground and crushed it with her heel. The taskforce looked at her. "Some guy who can't take a hint," she replied. "Now, tell me what the gunrunner told you? What was his name, Giles?"

}o{

Prague

It was dark and foggy, like something out of an old noir film. He saw her standing on the train platform and started to her, his heart breaking at seeing the smile on her face. She smiled at him and thrust forward a packet to him. Chuck knew he was about to break her heart.

"Here is your ticket and your new passport. Your name is Hector Caldaron," Sarah said, a tinge of excitement in her voice.

"Sarah, wait," he nearly pleaded.

She shook her head at him. "We have plenty of time to talk on the train. Right now, we must act fast. Trust me, Chuck. It's all going to work out fine." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. He felt her try to make it more, but Chuck kept it chaste; he had to, to keep his senses about him. She pulled back, peering at him with a worried expression. "That's not the kiss that I was expecting."

Chuck put his hands on her shoulders, trying to convey everything he was feeling. "Sarah, there is an entire facility here dedicated and designed to turning me into Intersect 2.0. I mean, think about it. Think about that. Me, a real spy, you know, living a life of adventure, and doing things that really matter."

Sarah looked at him, horror on her face. "Chuck, It's not that simple. You don't know who you're working for. It's complicated. Nothing is real. This... this is simple. This is a real life." Bells clanged in the distance. "We have to go, Chuck. This is it. Are you coming?" A train whistle blew.

"I can't," he said, his head dropping. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He turned and walked away.

}o{

Present

"Chuck, my dude, would it be too much to ask for you to shower?" Devon asked. Chuck nodded, took a handful of cheese balls, and shoved them into his mouth. He stood up and headed to the bathroom. Devon shook his head. Twenty minutes later, Chuck came back into the living room, dressed in identical clothes, but the fragrance was gone. "We both have the overnight shift, Chuckster… you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, sure," he mumbled. Devon shook his head, stood, and walked into the kitchen. Chuck froze as he felt a slight buzz in his robe pocket. He quickly stilled his face. Chuck stood and headed to his bedroom.

"Everything okay?" Devon asked.

"Yep, taking a nap," Chuck said, and walked into his room. Devon shook his head, but left him alone.

In his room, he reached for a device in his nightstand drawer. He swept the room… no bugs. That was the good thing about failing out of the CIA. They removed all their surveillance. He pulled out the cellphone and it had one short message: All alone?

He quickly replied, Devon leaves in a few minutes, and then they'll both have the overnight shift.

He watched the device. It was a simple cellphone, one he had made untraceable. But in doing so, he pulled off all the bells and whistles. The number that texted him changed constantly, so he had no way of reaching out and having a normal conversation. There was a 911 text he could send to the one number programed in, but that was it. This was the only contact he had to the real world right now, and he was starved for contact. Chuck Bartowski craved interaction with the real world. That's what Sarah didn't get when she approached him at Prague. It would never have worked.

Feel like company? The text came. Chuck swallowed.

I mean if you want. I showered and everything.

He waited. Was he too flippant? Did he sound too needy? He loved Ellie and Devon, but he had no job, no desire to find one, and the NSA and CIA were done with him. He was as low as he could remember. The text pulled him out of his thoughts.

After dark, through the back door.

That was it. He waited for Devon to leave, and thought about making something special to eat, or shaving. But he couldn't. He was given very careful instructions, and he had to follow them to the letter. He sat on the couch and waited. He found a movie he'd seen, put it on, and sat there. Boredom overtook him, and he drifted off to sleep.

}o{

He awoke. The lights were all out, but he felt someone in the room with him. "Have you done everything I asked?"

"I have," Chuck replied, swallowing, trying to keep calm, knowing someone was there with him. He felt movement.

He felt hands on his shoulders, and a voice at his ear. "Are you sure about this, because once we go forward, there is no turning back."

"I am sure. I gave up everything for this," he said.

He felt her grin. "No, not everything."

}o{

Prague

"Sarah, WAIT!" he yelled, having turned and started back toward her. "SARAH!" He couldn't find her, fog was rolling in. Had she gotten on the train? Two hands grabbed him and shoved him against the wall.

"This is what you want?" she asked, tears streaking down her face. "I put myself out there, and this is how you treat me?!"

"No, Sarah, no," he nearly pleaded. "I love you." Her eyes went wide, and the grip loosened. "Let me say it again, to make sure you understand: I love you." Sarah just stared at him. "Bryce died for us to live. How many more are gonna die because we didn't put a stop to this? How many more innocents are gonna have to pay, because some rogue faction is doing these things? How can I, Chuck Bartowski, walk away, knowing I have the ability to stop it? How can I run away with you, and not hate myself, or worse… resent you for asking me to go with you? I want to go, but if I do, I'll destroy any chance of us."

"You will," she said so softly Chuck nearly didn't hear her. "Come on," she said, taking his hand. "Can you be gone 24 hours?"

"That I can do," Chuck replied. She pulled him into the fog.

}o{

Chuck woke up a few hours later. There was no light in the room, only moonlight that cascaded in. Sarah was standing there, no clothes on, looking out the window bathed in said moonlight. Chuck's breath hitched at her beauty, and his heart broke a little.

"We finally get here, and now…" She trailed off. She turned, looked at him, and crossed the room to him. "You're right, and I hate this," she said, tears falling down her face. Chuck wiped the tears from her face with the pad of his thumb. "If we had gone… if we had run… and more died…"

"Ellie, Devon," Chuck began.

"God, if Ellie died because of this,I'd hate me," Sarah said, sighing. "There is only one way to do this, and it is going to be hard." She placed her hand over his on her cheek. "God, Chuck… I love you."

"I love you, Sarah," Chuck replied. "It's not fair, but it's not fair Bryce is dead, and we're not."

"No, it's not," she agreed. "So, we do this… you will be all alone for a while. I have to establish I have moved on. I have to establish that we are not together, and then…"

"Then we find the spot for me to come back, looking like a clueless fool," Chuck finished for her.

"Not what I was going for, but not wrong either," she admitted.

"Are you gonna be okay?" he asked softly.

She gave him a grin. "I've been alone before," she replied.

"Yeah, but that was before," he replied. "BC."

"Oh God, I was going to run off with you and these terrible jokes," she said, shaking her head. She leaned in and kissed him. "Things are different now… do you have one for that?"

"Sure," Chuck replied. "ADE," he said. She gave him a look. "After Dating Exclusively."

She snorted and shoved him. "Chuck, we will only get moments here and there, if we get anything."

He took her hands in his and leaned forward, touching his head against hers. "Worth it," he said softly.

"When this is over…" She couldn't finish the sentence.

"Forever begins," he said. She licked her lips. "But until then, we'll just enjoy stolen moments."

"No matter what happens, know I love you, Chuck."

}o{

"So?" he asked, scared to move as she wrapped her arms around his chest and laid her cheek to his.

"It's a go," Sarah said softly. "I have our in, but you do know you are going to have to get rejected publicly."

"You still feel the same way about me?" he asked.

"You mean do I love you?" he heard her ask, teasing in her voice. "Chuck, my love for you and your love for me is the only thing that has gotten me through these past few months."

"Any leads on the Ring?"

She squeezed him tight. "None. Now, do you want to talk, or would you like to do something else?"

"I have some board games," he began. She flipped over the couch and attacked his mouth with hers. His fingers slid up her side and she moaned desperately into his mouth.

"We'll get through this," Sarah promised. Chuck nodded. "Now, how about you use that mouth for something other than talking?" She grinned at him, and he acquiesced.

A/N: The scene in Prague in the room, that was inspired by Hands to Heaven. So this is how we start. Still interested?

DC