A/N: After encouragement from a number of readers, I've decided to add at least one more chapter before we finish with this tale.
I thank Zettel and Grayroc for their kind advice and and insightful observations.
And of course, my hard-working beta, michaelfmx, deserves praise for his continued hard work. Any errors you see are my responsibility.
A little experimentation in the first part.
Don't own Chuck, et al.
—
SECOND CHANCES
"Hello, Sarah. I've been waiting."
She turns.
Shaw.
…
He's excited, words tumbling out. "Don't you see, Sarah? Your coming to Burbank, to me, this was, is, your chance to be the person you really are, that you always were. Not the con artist, not the agent, just you.
"The woman I would choose to spend the rest of my life with."
She gapes. "Chuck! What are you saying?"
…
"Yes."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: AFFIRMATION
"Yes."
Such a tiny word.
Yes.
Life-altering.
Yes.
Resetting her north, again and again.
Yes, Dad, I'll go with you.
Yes, Director, I'll do as you order.
Yes, Bryce, I'll share your bed.
Self-deception.
Yes.
Because I don't know any better.
Yes.
Because it's for the greater good.
Yes.
Because I won't be lonely anymore.
Far too many yeses.
Not nearly enough noes.
Each injudicious yes taking her down tortuous paths.
Wrong paths.
Wrong for her.
Wrong for so many who'd had the misfortune to have their lives, even briefly, intersect with hers.
Just…wrong.
She looks at Chuck.
Maybe this yes is wrong too?
Wrong for him?
Wrong for me?
Wrong for us?
She searches her heart, waiting for the no she'd always heard.
The no she'd ignored all those times.
But it never comes.
He smiles.
Wonder.
Joy.
Love.
Her apprehensions vanish.
Yes.
…
"Yes?"
"Yes."
"You're sure?"
She nods, grins. "Yes, Chuck. I'm sure."
And she is sure, surer of this yes than any other in her life.
He nods. Eyes glistening.
She feels her own tears in response.
He's careful, gentle, makes sure he doesn't touch her injured cheek as he leans closer, brings his lips to hers.
She, in turn, is careful to not bump his damaged forehead with her own.
She takes his head in her hands.
Their kiss starts as a tender affirmation of their commitment, but it rapidly threatens to spiral out of control. That is, until the barrier of the center console provides a reminder that a Burbank city street in broad daylight isn't the time and place. As well, their mutually stifled groans when passion leads to a lack of caution serves to check their actions.
She pulls back. Breathless. "We should get to the hospital."
He appears equally short of air. "Yeah. Before I hurt your cheek again. Sorry. Got carried away."
"It's OK, don't worry. Your head?"
"I'm good. Kisses like that tend to mask pain." He winces. "At least temporarily."
She asks, "You want to call your sister?"
He shrugs, uncertainly. "That's simultaneously a great idea and a terrible one. She's the best, but she's gonna fuss and worry over us. Mother us. Especially when we tell her what happened."
"She'll need to know sooner or later, anyway. Right?"
He sighs. "Yeah, you're right."
He digs out his phone.
"OK, off we go." She pulls out onto the road.
"Sarah?"
"Yes, Chuck?
"I love you."
She stops at the red light.
At this moment it occurs to her that he's the only person to have said those actual words to her.
Flat-out. Without adornment. With absolute sincerity.
A few of her marks had mouthed similar sentiments. Perhaps out of the hope that words such as those would be the final ones needed to bring her to their bed. Perhaps out of a genuine infatuation with her current persona. Either way, it'd never meant anything to her. Lies or lapses in judgment, is all.
Her father had somehow avoided those three words altogether, flirting with them but never able to bring himself to the point of making an unequivocal declaration.
And Bryce? Well, he'd always felt that his actions spoke for him. Any woman who was privileged enough to be with him would just have to accept that.
She desperately wants to return Chuck's words. In the same manner.
But her mouth goes dry. Her tongue cleaving to her palate. She'd answered his query about her love for him with a nod. Had admitted it was because she loved him that she felt she had to leave him. But she's never actually said those three little words by themselves.
To anyone.
Even on missions, when she had to deceive her mark into believing that she cared for them, she'd never used that exact phrase, part of her unwilling to cheapen them for the sake of expediency.
Somehow, in her mind, to say them is a final, irrevocable step. An undeniable commitment.
Real.
In some ways, they mean even more than her yes.
It's frightening.
Stop.
Think.
Remember.
For so many long, lonely years, her heart had lain fallow.
Empty, seemingly barren.
Waiting for the warmth of a spring that never came.
Waiting, always waiting.
To be loved.
To love.
And now, when that love is right in front of me, I'm a coward?
No.
I love you, Chuck.
She speaks, letting her inner voice reign.
"I love you."
The light changes to green.
They move forward. The road ahead free of obstructions.
...
"No, sis, I'm fine." Pause. "Yes, Sarah's fine, too. Just a little beat up." Pause. "We'll tell you when we get there." Pause. "Yes, I promise. Bye."
Chuck slips his phone back into his pocket.
"Ellie's free right now. She'll meet us in the ER. To check us out."
"That's good. How's the headache?"
"I've had worse. Many times."
He doesn't elaborate, but it's likely he's referring to the side-effects of the Intersect.
"How about your cheek?"
"I've dealt with worse. Much worse."
He gives her a long look. "I imagine you have.
"I just wish you hadn't."
"So do I, Chuck. So do I."
…
She can tell he wants to ask her something, but is unsure of himself. Finally, after a few more blocks pass by, he quietly inquires, "Sarah, what happened with Shaw...back there? What did he say to you?"
She chews on her bottom lip, uncertain about how to answer.
"I'm sorry. It's too soon—"
"No, Chuck, it's fine. Nothing he said was any different than I'd told myself a hundred times."
"What do you mean?"
"He went on how he and I were the same. Attractive but empty inside. A vacuum. A machine."
His reply is vehement. "He was wrong. Totally. You aren't like that at all."
"Thank you, but I understand why he believed that." She pauses. "And he was right. In a manner of speaking."
It's clear he's about to object again, but she cuts him off. "Hear me out, please."
He nods, reluctantly. "OK."
She stares straight ahead, watching the road. "Everyone at Langley believed that I was that way. Cold, heartless. Otherwise, how could I possibly do what I did? Be what I was?"
She grips the wheel, tightly. "No one knew how much I struggled, trying to avoid tumbling into the...abyss."
She feels his gentle hand on her shoulder, a reassuring squeeze. His unspoken empathy gives her the courage to go on.
She swallows heavily. "I fought it, Chuck, I really did. But I was losing the battle. I was right on the edge. Teetering.
"Until the accident gave me a chance…a chance to stop. To step back from the brink. An intermission, if you will."
She pauses for a few seconds. "If I hadn't been given that opportunity, the time to go over what happened in Budapest, I'm almost certain the second act would've closely followed the plot of the first. I would've fallen. Become exactly what Shaw believed I already was."
She turns briefly to him. Smiles, almost shyly. "But instead, my second act, especially this part of it was,…unexpected. Against the flow of the plot. Some might say it was your typical 'boy-meets-girl' device, but it wasn't. It was so much more than that. More of a 'girl-meets-boy-falls-in-love-and-finds-there's-something-worth-living-for' kinda thing. The tragedy turning into a romance."
She removes one hand from the wheel. Takes his hand in hers. "It's you I have to thank for that."
He brings her hand to his mouth, kisses it. "No, not really. All I did was remind you who you really were.
"You're the one who was courageous enough to change your path. To go against everything you've been taught.
He smirks. "And you're the one who was brave enough, or maybe foolish enough, to take a chance on me."
She shakes her head. "The words are right. The only problem is that it's the wrong person saying them."
He shakes his head in turn. "Nope. Have to disagree with you there."
"Chuck?"
"Yeah?"
"We'll shelve this for now, but you should know you will lose this argument. Eventually."
"Nope. Ain't gonna happen."
"There're a couple of things you need to know about me. First of all, I hate to lose."
"I've already gathered that. Second?"
"I can be very convincing when I put my mind to it."
"And just how would you go about convincing me, missy?"
She grins, lets the 'missy' slide. "You'll see. You'll see."
…
His sister is waiting, pacing anxiously, as they enter the ER. She sees them, rushes over.
"Chuck! Sarah! Are you guys OK?"
"Yeah, sis. Like I said, just some bumps and bruises."
"Yes, Ellie. He only hit me once."
The doctor's eyebrows raise. "He? Only once?"
Sarah nods. "Can we go somewhere private?"
"Yes. Of course." The doctor looks at a whiteboard on the wall. "Exam room three is free. We can do the paperwork later."
They file into the small room, an examination bed taking up much of the space.
Ellie takes charge, clearly in her element.
"Sarah, up on the bed, please."
"Shouldn't Chuck be first?"
"Who's the doctor?"
Sarah grins, flinches a bit from the pain in her cheek. "You are." She hops up on the bed.
"Good. My brother's banged that thick skull of his more times than I can remember. He seems fine, but I'll check for a concussion in a moment. Right now we need to clean that up, make sure it doesn't bleed any more or get infected."
Sarah submits to the doctor's ministrations. Hisses a bit when she gently cleans the wound and applies antiseptic.
"I don't think you'll need stitches. Butterfly bandages should do the job. You'll bruise for sure, but I'm fairly certain there's no damage to your zygomatic arch—sorry—cheekbone. We'll x-ray it to be sure. How's your eye? Any difficulty seeing?"
"No. It's good."
Ellie nods. "Good." She finishes putting on the bandages. Then, stripping off her latex gloves, she turns to Chuck.
"Your turn. On the bed."
Sarah hops off, watches as Ellie inspects the lump on his forehead, has him follow her moving finger with his eyes. Then she questions him.
"Did you lose consciousness?"
"Sort of, but only for a few seconds."
"Any dizziness when you stood up?"
"Yeah, but not now."
"Any vision issues?
"No."
"Nausea?"
"Nope."
She turns to Sarah. "Did his speech sound slurred at any time? Did he say or do anything that seemed to not make sense?"
"No. He was a little unsteady on his feet, but other than that, nothing…too crazy."
She glances at Chuck, flashes a little smile his way. He returns it.
Ellie looks suspiciously at the two of them. "What was that look?"
He tilts his head, raises an eyebrow, silently asking.
After a moment's hesitation, Sarah gives him a tiny nod.
"Sis, I kinda got…carried away…on the way over here. Blurted out to Sarah that I wanted to…you know…spend the rest of my life with her."
His sister gapes at him. "Oh, no! You didn't? Please, tell me you didn't!"
He just nods, grinning from ear to ear.
The doctor turns to face the blonde spy. Apologetically, the words tumble out. "Sarah, I'm so sorry. Chuck sometimes lets his mouth get away from him. He shouldn't have put you on the spot like—"
"I said yes, Ellie."
That stops the doctor in her tracks. A full five seconds pass before she's able to reply.
Incredulous. "You did?"
"Yes."
"You're sure?"
"Yes. Absolutely."
Sarah sees in her the same joy she'd seen in Chuck at the yes. But it's only a brief glimpse because, before she can react, the woman has her in a breath-stealing embrace. She helplessly looks over Ellie's shoulder as she returns the hug, sees Chuck smiling widely.
Ellie releases her, steps back and takes Sarah's hands. "I'm so happy! Right from the moment he told me about you, I had hopes. You should have seen the way he acted before and after our little group meeting the other morning. He didn't realize it, but he positively gushed every time he spoke of you."
"I'm right here, sis."
She mock glares at her brother before looking Sarah in the eye.
"When he stood up for you, put me in my place—which I deserved—I knew he liked you. A lot.
"And then yesterday, when I saw the two of you together..."
She shakes her head, wondrous thankfulness on her face.
"Sarah, you brought Chuck back to life. Before you came here, he was just going through the motions. Especially in the last month or so. He rarely smiled, didn't laugh as much as he used to. He slept a lot. Too much. I was angry, hurt, to see him disappearing. Giving up on himself. Nothing I did seemed to help. I felt powerless. Frustrated."
Ellie blinks away tears.
"But then you came along, and almost overnight, he was back."
Sarah blushes. "I didn't do that much. Just followed my orders."
Before she can elaborate, the doctor firmly declares, "No. You went well above and beyond your orders. You gave him hope. Another chance at life.
"And even if that'd been all you'd done, I would've been eternally grateful."
She squeezes Sarah's hands. "But you did so much more. You've also given him another chance at love."
She hugs the spy again, whispers in her ear, "Thank you. Thank you for saving him."
This time, Sarah has to blink away the tears as his sister steps back.
"It wasn't a one-way street, Ellie. Not even close." She pauses. "I don't know how much he's told you about my personal life?"
"Almost nothing. He told me, quite firmly, that I had to ask you about that."
Sarah flashes a little smile of gratitude his way. "Well, if he had, you would've realized he saved me too. A car accident—I'll tell you about it later—took me off active duty for a year. Then I was assigned a meaningless job. The past two years have been filled with…nothing.
"But then I came here and suddenly, unexpectedly, there was…something. A chance for…happiness…I've never believed I deserved."
"That's crazy talk. You deserve this and so much more."
"But—"
The doctor is firm, brooking no-nonsense. "No more of that. You're my sister. And around here, family members get a sound talking to when they dump on themselves. The outside world already does quite enough of that, thank you. No need to add more garbage on the pile."
Sarah chokes, barely manages to squeeze out the words. "Sister? You think of me like that? Already?"
Surprised, Ellie replies, "Of course. Why wouldn't I? You did say yes, didn't you?"
"Yes, but—"
"Sarah, the rest is just formality. As far as I'm concerned, you're already a Bartowski. And, as such, you have me on your side, through thick or thin. Anyone who causes you any grief will have to answer to me." She momentarily glares her brother's way. "Anyone."
He holds his hands up in mock surrender, chuckles. "Don't worry, sis. Message received."
"But, Ellie, you almost know nothing about me. About my life."
"Don't care."
Startled. "Excuse me?"
"Don't care what you were. All I care about is who you are."
"But—"
"I'm not naive. When you briefed us last night, I suspected that whatever reason Shaw had for wanting to come after you was personal. Probably involving someone close to him that he lost. A loss you were involved in somehow. Otherwise, why this overpowering desire for revenge?"
She can't help but glance at Chuck, taken aback by the woman's keen insight.
It seems that it runs in the family.
He shrugs his shoulders. "That's my sister. You'd better get used to it."
She turns to Ellie. "You're right. But it's a part of my past I've tried to put behind me.
"I understand. But given the life you've led, it's not too much of a stretch to assume there are other actions, or inactions, in your past that you also seriously regret.
"But the truth is that all of us have those…demons…we have to wrestle with, to some degree or other. Yours are likely of a magnitude I can't fully comprehend—yet. But whatever they are, whatever stops and starts you've made in your life, they've made you who you are today. Right here. Right now.
"A woman I'm happy and proud to call my sister."
Abruptly, Sarah's vision blurs.
Ellie tenderly asks, "Sarah, why are you crying?"
She dashes away the tears with her fingers, sniffles. "I like the sound of that. I really do. But you're giving me more credit than I deserve."
"No, I don't think so."
Shaking her head, Sarah blurts out, "Less than an hour ago, I almost killed a man! He was unconscious and I was still ready to end him."
The doctor nods calmly. "You're talking about Shaw?"
"Yes."
"I think it's time you told me what happened." She walks to the door. "Just let me check first if we're OK here." She opens it, calls out, "Sandra! You guys need this exam room?"
Sarah hears a voice from a distance. "No, Doc, we're good. It's a quiet day. I'll knock if things change."
"OK." She turns back, shuts the door behind her, grabs the only chair and sits. She gestures towards her brother. "I assumed you'd wanna sit beside your fiancé."
Both of them blush, but that doesn't stop Sarah from hopping up on the bed beside Chuck. She takes his hand without even thinking about it.
Ellie notices, smiles. "Aright. Spill."
Sarah gathers her thoughts. "Shaw fooled us all. He was aware that we were tracking him, or more accurately, thought we were tracking him. Turns out that he decoyed us, arrived much sooner than we expected."
Ellie asks, "Where did all this happen?"
"In my apartment. He bribed a power company official to briefly shut down the plant. During the blackout, with our cameras out, he slipped in the back. He was there when I went over to get some things."
She shakes her head in disgust. "He got the drop on me. I was careless. I thought that we were secure. I shouldn't have assumed."
Quietly, she goes on, "He reminded me of what…I'd done. As if I needed to be reminded."
"As he spoke, I found out that all our efforts, the whole Carina Jill charade, were a waste. He told me he had no intention of going after Chuck."
"Hold on. If that's true, why did he shoot at me?"
Ellie jumps in, her voice rising. "He shot at you?"
"Yeah, sis. But I ducked, smacked my head on the doorframe." He points to his forehead. "That's how I got this."
Sarah interrupts to answer his question. "He would've shot at anyone who came through that door, Chuck. It was basically a reflex action on his part. He wasn't about to let anything or anyone stop him from killing me."
"Got it."
"But you coming into the room is what saved me."
"How?" Ellie asks.
Sarah explains. "Chuck's sudden entrance was just enough of a distraction for me to get close to Shaw. Close enough to attack him without being shot myself."
Those awful minutes flood back into her mind. Makes it difficult to speak.
She forces out the words. "I'd heard Chuck fall. I thought he…he was dead. So all that was left for me was to make sure Shaw died as well."
Ellie leans forward. "What did you do?"
"I disarmed him. But then he hit me. Hard enough that I fell to my knees in front of him. Stunned. He was about to hit me again when I…" She pauses, for some reason reluctant to tell the two eager siblings exactly what she'd done.
Both ask, simultaneously, "What?"
"I drove my fist up into his…groin. As hard as I could."
Chuck flinches even as he smiles. "Awesome! That's the move from The Karate Kid, part two!"
Ellie nods, firmly. "Yes, that's usually effective. I've done something similar myself once or twice."
"What?!"
"Drunken frat boys, Chuck. A knee in the nether regions tended to make them think twice about groping me or my friends."
He exclaims, pride in his expression, "That's my sister." He looks back and forth between the two women. "Clearly, I'll have to be careful to not do anything that'll make either of you mad at me. That, or start wearing a cup." He grins, his nose crinkling.
Sarah can't help but marvel once more at his ability to make her laugh.
No one's ever been able to do that before. But, then, you never let yourself really laugh, did you?
Eventually, she'd come to believe she had no real sense of humor. That she was fundamentally incapable of genuinely responding to situations that normal people found amusing.
Until now.
Ellie just shakes her head, trying, but unsuccessful in her efforts to hold back a smile at her brother's antics.
"Please ignore the idiot. What happened then?"
Back to reality.
"After that, I was able to gain an advantage. Eventually, he was unconscious. On the floor…" She pauses, not anxious to revisit those moments.
She takes a deep breath. "I put a knife to his throat. I was...ready. Right on the edge. All I could think of was ending him. Punishing him for what he'd done...or I'd thought he'd done."
"Why did you stop?"
"It was Chuck. I heard his voice in my head. Hesitated."
She glances at him. "Then I heard him, for real, telling me to stop. I did."
He puts his arm around her shoulders, pulls her closer. Leans in and kisses her cheek.
Ellie's thoughtful. Doesn't speak for a few moments.
"Sarah, may I ask you a question? You don't have to answer if it's out of line."
Her reply is tentative. "I will if I can."
"Would you have stopped if Chuck wasn't there to actually say the words?"
Trust her to get to the heart of the matter.
"We've discussed it. Chuck believes I would've. Myself?" She shrugs. "Probably, but I'm not certain."
She pauses, unsure how much she's willing to reveal.
Not the old ways. Not anymore.
"You need to know that I was trained to make sure that matters are never left...unfinished."
The doctor muses on that for a few moments. "I think I understand. Like in the movies when the heroine manages to knock down the villain, but then, instead of making sure the man stays down, she foolishly throws down her stick or whatever and runs away. And, of course, the villain always gets up and keeps after her."
"Yes, it seems foolish, but, in truth, that's the way most of us would act. For an average, reasonably well-adjusted person, deliberately hurting someone goes against our nature, especially if that person is already down.
"I was trained to overcome that natural…repugnance. Much the same way a soldier is trained."
"I'm sorry, Sarah."
"For what?"
"That the CIA took your…innocence…away from you."
When was the last time I was even close to being innocent?
"I appreciate that. But in many ways, that happened long before I became an agent."
Ellie's clearly curious, but she doesn't ask. Just looks at her brother.
Sarah squeezes his hand. "Chuck knows about my past. And, soon, very soon, I hope I'll be able to tell you, too."
"Anytime. Anyplace. Whenever you're ready."
"Thank you. That means a lot to me."
And it does.
"OK. Let me see if I have this straight. You told us Shaw had already killed two guards, so he needed to be stopped, punished. Deserved it. Even if he hadn't gone after you or Chuck. Is that right?"
"Yes. Basically, a 'shoot-on-sight' order had been issued."
"But you didn't carry through. You stopped short." The doctor gives her a long look. "Sarah, if this sort of thing had happened two years ago, would you have stopped?"
And there it is. The crux of the matter.
The then and now Sarah.
When she doesn't answer for a few seconds, Chuck pulls her closer. His voice is quiet, but firm. "Ellie, I think that's enough."
"I'm sorry—"
Sarah shakes her head. "No. It's OK. It's something that needs to be said."
She fights her instinct to prevaricate.
No, no more lies.
All she can hope is that Ellie will be able to see her as Chuck does.
"To answer your question, no, probably not."
She sees the sudden anger, the disgust on the woman's face. Flinches.
Ellie notices. "Sorry, Sarah. I'm not upset with you. Just with the people who put you in the position of ever having to make that kind of choice."
"No need to apologize. I've been angry about that as well. Many times."
"So what changed between now and then?"
"After the accident, I had time to think. Plenty of it. To go over my life. To try and come to terms with my past. I told myself that I would no longer carry out certain…actions…they'd previously demanded of me.
"But in the end, it wasn't enough. I'd dispensed with my…demons…so to speak—many of them, at least—but hadn't found anything of value to take their place. I was…empty. Aimless. Wasting my days."
She shakes her head at the memory.
"I'm only beginning to comprehend how important those…nothing…years were. Yes, I'd hated what had happened to me, but I know now that without that time I wouldn't have been nearly so…receptive…to what I found here.
"Ellie, my accident took place because my life and that of a careless young man happened to converge at an intersection at exactly the same time. Two seconds either way and nothing would've happened. Wrong place. Wrong time.
"Finding Chuck was, in some ways, very similar."
"What do you mean?"
"This, what he and I have, wouldn't have happened if I'd come here two years ago as planned. I'm convinced of that. I wouldn't have been ready for him. And I suspect he wouldn't have been ready for me. Not the me I was then.
"Wrong time.
"But even when the time was right, there was still the 'where' to be considered.
"Ellie, there were numerous men who tried to make my acquaintance back in DC."
The doctor snorts. "I'm not surprised."
"Not one of them interested me. Most were vain or arrogant. Or both. But even the nicer ones were incapable of making me feel…anything. I'd pretty much given up.
"But then I was assigned to protect a man named Charles Irving Bartowski."
She smiles up at him before shifting her eyes back to his sister. "Another make-work project."
Sarah pauses, flushes, embarrassed by a memory. "Ellie, I have a confession to make. On the flight out, I went over his file. My first thoughts were that Chuck would probably turn out to be a sorry loser, clinging to me while whining about his lot in life. I told myself I'd have to stay clear."
"Don't feel bad, Sarah. On paper, Chuck comes across as somewhat underwhelming, but—"
Chuck jumps in. "Gee, thanks, sis."
She gives him a look. "But, as I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted, he does come across better in real life. Once you get past the nerdiness and unsophistication, that is."
"Very true." Sarah ruffles his hair, chuckles gently at his embarrassment.
"However, I definitely didn't come here looking for a relationship. I had no conscious awareness of what I was looking for, or that I even was looking at all. It was just a job. Or so I thought."
She gives his a quick, little kiss. "But all that changed because I came to know a lovely, kind, gentle, caring man. And then I met him. He helped me to see things clearly. To see that this was my chance for a life. Not just an existence."
This time, Chuck quickly kisses her.
"Ellie, this was the right time, the right place. The right me, the right him. Everything had to…intersect…precisely for us to be where we are now.
"And I'm so happy it did."
She leans in, kisses Chuck briefly on the cheek, then nestles her head into his shoulder and wraps her arms around his torso. He draws her closer. Kisses the top of her head. Then swipes at his eyes with his free hand.
Visibly moved, Ellie doesn't speak. They fall into a small silence.
Ellie breaks it. Quietly, she asks, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but in light of what you just said, your yes to Chuck really wasn't all that sudden, was it? It seems to me that it was years in the making."
Sarah smiles brightly. "Yes, you're right." She looks up at the man sitting molded against her side. "Nothing spur of the moment about it."
Chuck comically swipes at his forehead, as if to wipe away the sweat. "Whew! That's a relief. I thought that any minute now you were going to tell me that you'd been in the grip of some sort of momentary madness."
She giggles. "Well, if I was, it was the right kind of madness."
He chuckles, leans closer and kisses her on the lips.
"The pair of you are just too cute for words." Ellie stands. "I'm going to arrange for some further tests. You can wait here.
"I'll be back in five minutes." She holds up her spread fingers for emphasis as she gives them a stern look. "Five. And just so you know, this door doesn't lock. Capiche?"
Sarah feels the heat in her face. Senses that Chuck's blushing as well.
"Gotcha, sis."
"Good. Celebration dinner. Tonight. Our place. Seven o'clock. Alright?"
"Sounds good."
"Is it OK if Carina comes?"
"Of course, Sarah. She's your friend. So she's ours now, too. John and Morgan are invited as well, Chuck."
"We'll arrange it."
"Good. See you in a bit." Ellie closes the door behind her.
"I think I understand what Devon said about your sister much better now."
"What part?"
"That she's one scary woman."
"And you've only been around her for a few days. Imagine what it's been like for me all these years." He shudders.
"You're not fooling anyone, Chuck. You love that woman with every bit of your heart."
He smiles softly, his gaze shifting to the door Ellie had left by. "Yeah, I do."
"You sure you've got room in there for the both of us?"
She'd meant to say it jokingly, but she hears the faint note of self-doubt in her voice.
He turns to her. Serious. It's evident he heard it as well.
"The heart is a funny thing, Sarah. The more you love, the bigger it gets. The more you love, the more friends it can accommodate. So, to answer your question, yes, there's room. Plenty of room. Never doubt that."
He kisses her. "OK?"
She nods, tremulous.
He smiles. "How about you? You sure you've got room for a goofy-looking nerd who works at a Buy More?"
It's typical Chuck. Using self-deprecating humor to give her an out, if she so chooses.
Not a chance.
She gently caresses his cheek, whispers reassuringly, "Yes. I do. No one has ever truly…occupied…my heart. Before. So, there's this empty space, a big one, just waiting to be filled."
She looks up into his eyes, asks, almost pleads, "Will you help me fill it, Chuck?"
He replies tenderly, "Yes, Sarah." Kiss. "Yes." Kiss. "Yes." Kiss.
Gasps and murmurs and promises uttered in breathtaking moments of taking breath.
After some time (she has no real idea how long), they're interrupted by a gentle knock on the door.
A hissed voice. "Blondie, you two decent in there?" A chuckle. "On second thought, that might be fun. Coming in."
Carina opens the door, carrying a briefcase in one hand. She looks mildly disappointed to see that they're fully clothed.
"Damn! I thought I might be able to give you guys some pointers."
"Don't need your help, Carina. My fiancé is quite capable of thoroughly kissing me without any advice from you."
He blushes, his head down.
"Fiancé?!" Carina shakes her head, disgustedly. "Why am I not surprised?
"So, you're off the market, are you?"
"Never was in it."
"No, you got that right."
Carina holds out her hand. "Congrats, Chuck." He takes it, somewhat tentatively. "Never thought I'd see the day my friend would settle down and let herself become a hausfrau in Burbank."
"You needn't worry. I neither expect nor want that to happen. All I want is to be with Sarah, wherever that road leads us."
Sarah leans in, kisses his cheek. "Thank you, Chuck." Then stares down her friend.
Take that, Carina.
The redhead makes a gagging motion. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
After a brief chuckle, Sarah asks, "Why are you here?"
Carina holds up the briefcase. "After you left, I searched Shaw. Found his car keys. By the way, if Shaw complains that he was mistreated while unconscious, it was purely accidental that my knee happened to 'fall', twice, into his groin while I was searching him. Or was it three times? Can't recall."
"Don't concern yourself. He'll believe it happened during the fight."
"Gotcha. Good on you."
Carina pulls a set of keys out of her pocket. "Turns out the car wasn't a rental. He must've had a contact who provided it. Casey and I thought it might be good to make sure the files he took were…secure…before the clean-up crew arrived to take Shaw in.
"Casey stayed behind while I drove around the neighborhood looking for a Mazda, pressing the key fob whenever I saw one. Found it two blocks away. A white Miata." She makes a face. "You'd think he would've asked for something a little more masculine, wouldn't ya?
"Anyway, found the files in the trunk. Couldn't take them to your place, as it would be swarming with CIA personnel by now. So I brought them here for you to take a look at before we turn them over. Just in case there was anything of…interest.
"Just make sure you wipe them down before we return them to the car. After which an anonymous tip will tell the people in charge about a seemingly abandoned car."
"Thanks, Carina. Did you look at them?"
"Just looked to see what was there. Your file and a couple of others, agents I don't know.
"One peculiar thing, though."
"What was that?"
"There was a note attached to the front of your file. Something about possibly enacting the Sanitize Protocol. Mean anything to you?"
Sarah shakes her head. "No, never heard—"
Chuck stiffens beside her, his eyes roll. He gasps.
"Chuck! You OK?"
"Yeah."
"Was that a flash?"
He nods. "The Sanitize Protocol. It's scary, Sarah, really bad."
"What? How?"
"We better call Casey. We need to meet. All of us."
TBC
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A/N: I believe one more chapter will do it.
Thanks to all who've continued to follow this story. And a special thanks to all who reviewed.
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