A/N: I just finished News Anchor, so why not update another story? I'll be working on this one specifically for a while. I may revisit The Unexpected, but I'm not sure. Anyway, please comment! Enjoy this one.

-Charahfan44

The next few months passed faster than anyone had expected. Emma still hadn't heard from Ryan, and the team still had yet to figure out a way to get Sarah's memories back. Emma and Sarah had started their bonding process, but hadn't gotten to the point of complete trust just yet.

"You busy?" Emma heard her mother's voice, and a knock on her bedroom door.

"Just finishing up some homework." Emma dropped her pencil and swiveled her chair towards her mother. "What's up?"

"Want a break?" Sarah smiled.

"Sure." Emma smiled back. "What were you thinking?"

"Maybe just a walk? Fresh air would be nice."

"Yeah, let me grab my jacket." The two blondes left the house quietly, careful not to disturb the other members of the family. The air outside was colder than usual, hitting a low of about sixty degrees.

"So, I know things have been weird around here." Sarah broke the ice after a good ten minutes of walking in silence.

"That's a pretty good observation." Emma let out a small laugh.

"I've also noticed that you like to keep quiet." The mother/daughter duo shared a look. "Which is something that you get from me, hands down. Chuck is all about talking things to death, while I'm more of a silent-hate type of person."

"There isn't much to say. Other than what I said when I screamed at you when you first got back, I don't have a lot on my mind."

"Oh really?" Sarah's tone was more motherly than it had been in a while.

"What? You don't believe me?"

"Not for a second. First of all, you're a spy. Spies constantly think about things, even if they're minor. Second, your boyfriend hasn't called you since you found me. Need I remind you, that was almost three months ago. Third, you have school which is hard enough without having to keep a giant secret from everyone. Fourth, the whole situation with me just sucks, fifth-"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Emma cut her mother short.

"I may not remember much, but I do have a set of ears."

"I just feel like I'm talking to a stranger."

"And you kind of are. But, maybe now I can offer a completely unbiased opinion on things." Sarah smiled. They turned a corner, carefully watching the ground as they did so.

"Technically, I'm not supposed to be talking to you about my missions."

"I didn't ask you to."

"But what if that's a part of what's on my mind?"

"Then we can refrain from telling your general that I know everything."

"You're more like my version of you than you know." Emma looked at her mother, noticing a fleck of familiarity.

"When we figure out how to get all of me back, you won't have to keep worrying about the differences."

"I hope that's sooner than we think."

"Back to you?" Sarah stuffed her hands in her coat pockets.

"Back to me." Emma smiled.

"So where would you like to start?"

"Let's start with Ryan."

Chuck had been constantly trying to keep his mind off of everything. He barely made it through the first memory loss situation with his wife, but this time he had more to lose.

"Hey man, how're those numbers looking?" Morgan's voice interrupted Chuck's thoughts. They were at thee Buy More extra late, trying to finish up the inventory.

"Uh right, we need more MacBook's." The tall nerd replied.

"Thinking about Sarah again?"

"Always." Chuck forced a smile. "I just can't help but think about what happened last time."

"You mean when Sarah turned to the dark side and tried to kill you?" Morgan noticed Chuck's face change. "Nah, me either."

"I couldn't imagine not knowing my kids. She's come so far and I don't want her to lose herself."

"I hate to break it to you, but she's already lost that piece of herself. I do know that she's trying, you've seen her with them."

"That I have." They both wandered out of the back and walked to the front of the store. Never in a million years did they think they would have owned this place together.

"Look dude, you have the best team in the world at your disposal. Plus, Katelyn is working in overdrive to find something to help. Sarah will be back to herself in o time."

"That's the thing, Morgan. She's more like herself now than she ever has been. This version of her is the version I remember, the version I fell in love with, the version I've missed since the day she was taken. All I feel is guilty because this is the Sarah I've been wanting back."

"I hope I'm not interrupting." Sarah cleared her throat as she appeared behind the bromantic duo.

"Uh, not at all. I was just leaving." Morgan gave Chuck a look, leaving him with his wife.

"So how much of that did you hear exactly?" Chuck smiled nervously.

"Enough." Sarah leaned her back against thee Nerd Herd desk. "I can't imagine how hard all of this has been for you, Chuck."

"It really hasn't been that hard."

"That's a load of bull."

"Maybe it was at first, but when I won you over a second time, everything kind of just fell into place."

"You shouldn't have had to win me over in the first place. Memories or not, I'm your wife. Memories or not, Chuck, I could never not love you."

"Oh I know you still loved me, but I think you needed some time to sort it out. Sarah Walker and feelings don't exactly mix." He laughed.

"I should've stayed in that car on the train."

"What?"

"You told me to stay, and I didn't. I'm the reason that I was taken. If I would've stayed put, Quinn wouldn't have-"

"Sarah, you can't blame yourself. We all have things we could have done differently."

"We have kids now, Chuck. You and I aren't the only ones being affected this time." Sarah looked down.

"The twins don't understand what's happening."

"Emma does. Emma does, and that's what I'm worried about."

"Emma is tough, she's exactly like you."

"No, she isn't. I talked to her tonight, and I mean really talked. She let me in, Chuck. All the way. And I don't think she's ever really done that with anyone. She cares about everyone in her life and everything that's happening. She became a spy because of us."

"We didn't know that the agency had recruited her."

"Exactly. We let her be because she was the perfect daughter. We think she's stronger than she is, and that's the problem. She isn't an adult, she's a kid, and we need to start being her parents."

"You're right." Chuck sighed after a brief pause.

"This is the life I wanted, and now that I have it, I'm not letting it go." Sarah looked deep into Chuck's eyes.

"I hate myself for saying this, but a part of me doesn't want you to get your memories back."

"Why?" Sarah moved closer to her husband, placing a gentle hand on his face.

"It took us a long time to get here, Sarah. And of course you love me, but you're different. Not necessarily bad different, but you won't ever know our story. Me telling you about it is different than you living through it. The way you're looking at me right now is...it's the way I dream about. I miss you. I miss this you, the you that remembers our first kiss, or the irritating back and forth, the countless times you've saved me, and our wedding. I miss my Sarah."

"Maybe this was a gift. You have this version of me for now, and maybe that's what we all needed. Emma is really talking to me, I know exactly how I feel about you, I get to see the exact way our life turned out."

"We should get home." Chuck gave a half-smile, checking his watch.

"Really? Because I was thinking that we could stay here just a bit longer." Sarah looked at Chuck with a mischievous grin. The last time he had seen that look was in a certain compartment on the bullet train.

"We are alone."

"We are."

"We do have this store all to ourselves."

"We do."

"Shall I escort you to my office?"

"You shall." Sarah kissed Chuck with everything she had. In a single moment, the drowning feeling that she had was relieved by a breath of fresh air. Chuck would always be her life vest in the vast ocean of problems that came her way. The only thing in the Buy More that night was love. Nothing but pure and unconditional love.

"Where did we see him last?" Emma looked to the large image of General Jones on the screen in the main room of the base.

"Hawaii. He has a time share in Maui."

"Why aren't we there yet?"

"As good of an operative as you are, Bartowski, you still have a citizen cover to keep in contact. Pulling you out of the state at this time would only disrupt your cover. I'll send a team to scope the island, and if something comes up I'll be sure to tell you." Jones clicked a button and disconnected the feed.

"Thought I'd find you here." Chuck's voice came from behind the teen.

"Someone has to keep looking." Emma grumbled.

"Why don't you take a break?"

"I can't dad, we have to find Quinn." The words created goosebumps on Chuck's skin. Another Quinn? How many times would the name come up in his life?

"And we have plenty of time for that. Yes, your mother's memories are temporarily gone, but she's not going anywhere."

"Easy for you to say, she knows who you are."

"She knows who you are too, Em."

"It's not the same."

"I'd sure hope not." Chuck laughed.

"Dad, this isn't funny. My mom is gone, my best friend betrayed me, and my boyfriend-" She stopped herself short. "Let's just say that I have a lot going on right now."

"Have you thought about going to see Ryan?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"If you miss him that much, maybe try doing something more than leaving a message. It's easy for him to decline a phone call, but how easy would it be for him to close a door on you?"

"Did you just give me advice about a boy?"

"I think I did." The two shared a bright smile. Emma got up and grabbed her coat, leaving the base. Before she had left the main room, she turned back around to face her dad.

"I see how you two look at each other. You're happy to have her back, aren't you?"

"No matter what version of her we have, she will always be my wife and she will always be your mother. But most importantly, I will always love her."

"That wasn't my question."

"I will do anything to get her memories back."

"I know." Emma gave a weak smile, and fully left the building. It didn't take her long to get to Ryan's house, as it was only about ten minutes from the base. She sat in her car for more than an hour, unsure of what to say. Taking a deep breath, she got out of the car and walked up to the front door. She knocked three times, only to come face to face with the boy who had helped her save her mother.

"Emma." He sounded surprised and confused.

"Hi Ryan." She smiled. "I know this is probably awkward, but I needed to see you. Did you get my messages?"

"You shouldn't be here." He looked over his shoulder then stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine."

"Because you haven't answered any of my calls."

"I've been kinda busy."

"Or returned any of them."

"Look, you should go. And you should stop calling." His face was stern.

"What the hell happened between saving my mom and now?"

"You should ask her."

"What?" Emma was genuinely confused.

"There's a lot you don't know about your family."

"Care you enlighten me?"

"My dad is going to kill you, Emma. You have to stay away from me."

"Why does he want me so bad?"

"Revenge, okay?" Ryan blurted with a yell.

"Revenge for what?"

"Just go."

"Revenge for what, Ryan?"

"Your mom is the one who murdered mine." He whispered.

"What?" Emma froze, unable to say anything that mattered.

"Please just go, I don't want him to hurt you." Ryan looked at Emma sympathetically, and walked back into the house, closing the door. Emma raced home, only thinking about what to say to her mother. Unfortunately, all of her civilly planned out segways left her mind as soon as she entered the house.

"What did you do?" She walked into the living room, immediately finding her mother.

"What are you talking about?" Sarah shared a look with Chuck before looking up at her daughter.

"You killed Ryan's mom."

"I what?"

"Em, why would you say that?" Chuck asked.

"She's the reason he stopped talking to me. She's the reason Pierce was coming after me in the first place."

"I don't remember."

"Well you better start trying." Emma stormed upstairs, leaving her parents to ponder the news. Life just couldn't stop throwing them curveballs.