A/N: Hey guys! My goodness, it's been a while for this one, hasn't it? I'm sorry that I always end up going AWOL on my stories. But I guess that keeps the anticipation up for the next chapter, eh? ;) I'm hoping that this chapter is at least satisfactory, I had an itch to write so I decided to come back to it. I'm pretty proud of this one, as it's something I've been working on for quite some time now. Anyway, here's the newest chapter, and as always, enjoy.

-Charahfan44

Emma found herself at her base after the fall out with her parents. After any major situation, she always found herself there, pondering the things that led her to the underground lair in the first place. How could her mother keep such a major secret? I mean, sure she had lost her memories, but you'd think someone would remember murdering an innocent woman. And just when things had started to become good between the mother/daughter duo, too.

"You rang?" General Jones abruptly appeared on the monitor in front of Emma's face.

"Why does Ryan think that my mom killed his?"

"I don't know, and even if I did, you know I can't discuss it with you."

"This is the whole reason my mom lost her memories. Do you get that?" Emma felt herself becoming emotional. "Whatever you people had her do, got her into some serious trouble. So you get to fix it."

"Bartowski, you're too close to this. I'm ordering you to back off. You're done."

"Excuse me?"

"Done, Bartowski. I'm putting you on probation until this is sorted out."

"You can't put me on probation, I'm the best you have."

"Not right now you're not. Get your stuff and go home. You're not allowed back here until I say otherwise."

"You're joking, right?"

"NOW." The General held a firm tone. Emma disconnected the line, rushing out of the base in a mess of emotions. She drove in a frenzy, unsure of where she would end up. Her mother killed someone in cold blood. Of course spies killed, but not innocents. Without her mother's memories to explain the events, there was nothing to think except that she had killed someone for no reason. She had killed a fellow mother for no reason. Emma wound up driving back home, something she never did. She didn't want to say something to make the situation worse.

"Where'd you go?" Sarah had waited up for her daughter.

"I really don't want to talk to you right now." Emma responded.

"Too bad, you don't have a choice."

"Mom, you killed someone! For no reason at all! Someone who meant something to people. A mother."

"I wouldn't...there has to have been a reason."

"But not one that you remember." Emma glared.

"I didn't ask for any of this."

"Yeah? Well neither did I."

"Give me a break, Em. You don't know what it's like to live a brand new life."

"And you don't know what it's like to live with a stranger. Woe is you, right? Boo hoo, poor Sarah, doesn't remember the past nineteen years. Get over it. You have kids, you have a damn good life, it's not like you're living in hell." Emma spat the words with a vigorous hatred.

"Wow. You know what? You're right. Maybe I shouldn't try to remember anything at all, I'm better off not knowing you." Sarah grabbed the keys to her car off the key hanger by the front door, and stormed out of the house. Emma stood in the doorway, realizing what she had just done.

"What was that about?" Chuck slowly came down the stairs from the second story.

"Mom and I kinda got into it."

"I heard."

"I don't know where she went."

"You know she's trying."

"Yeah, I know."

"Then cut her some slack. As hard as this is on you guys, it's ten times worse for her."

"It's harder for me than anyone else, dad. Not having my own mother know anything about me? And now I find out she killed my boyfriend's mom..."

"Did Jones know anything?"

"She suspended me."

"What? Why?" Chuck was genuinely confused.

"She said I'm too close to the case. She wants me to focus on my civilian life until she gives me the OK to join the team again."

"Well then, we'll work from here."

"No offense dad, but writing with a pen and paper on a desk isn't exactly helpful. We need technology and equipment."

"Lucky for you, there's a little something your mother and I have been working on. Take a drive with me?"

"Sure."

Sarah was like Emma in the aspect of driving off to a random place when emotional. Although with Sarah, she always ended up going back to the same places over and over. This time, she ended up at the beach, the one where she had first gained Chuck's trust all those years ago. This was her place of solace, the place where she could think freely. Sitting in the sand connected her to the Earth, and listening to the crashing of the waves connected her to herself.

"Nice beach." A familiar voice sounded from behind. Sarah had no idea she was being followed, but kept the tough-spy charade with ease.

"Following me? I have to say I expected it." Sarah waited for the face of Ryan Pierce to appear in front of her.

"You're a hard woman to get alone, Sarah. I've been waiting for a while."

"You know, I used to always be by myself. But when you find someone who helps you create a family, it's hard to be alone." Her eyes flicked to the gun in his right hand. "What are you doing here exactly? Planning on killing me?"

"You killed my mom, didn't you? Why shouldn't I kill you?"

"Because you're a good guy."

"Good guys need revenge too."

"Look, Ryan, I don't know what happened. I get that it's frustrating, but how do you even really know it was me?"

"My dad saw you, don't pretend like you don't know. We both know you've already talked to your general, who probably told you that you're the one who pulled the trigger. But what your general probably didn't tell you was why."

"No, she didn't."

"So now here we are. You, unarmed, and me, ready to do to you what you did to my mom."

"You love my daughter, don't you?" This question shocked Ryan back into reality.

"Of course I do."

"Killing me would ruin that."

"You think I don't know that?" Ryan's voice escalated. "You really think that I wouldn't rather be with her right now, than here with you? It hurts. Knowing that her mother killed mine. But here we are, and I've been waiting to get here."

"I'm going to find out what happened."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really." Sarah's look softened as she stood up to level with the kid. "You don't know me, Ryan. I wouldn't kill a woman in cold blood, even if it was my mission. Maybe when I first started out I would have, but I've learned a lot since then."

"I miss my mom." His grip loosened.

"I know how you feel."

"Your mom is dead?"

"No, but I had to cut all ties with her. This business ruins lives."

"It should've been him." Ryan mumbled.

"Who?"

"My dad. He should've been the one who died. He's a terrible person, down to the core."

"I'm sure he loves you."

"You'd think that, right?"

"Parents love their children no matter what, trust me."

"Trust you? That's a joke, right?"

"Will you help me figure out why I killed your mom?"

"What?" Ryan was confused by her question.

"If it was for no reason, I'll give myself over to you. But if it was for a cause, we need to put this to bed."

"Why?"

"Because I need to know if I've changed, or if I'm the same person I was when I started this career." Sarah looked down at her feet in the sand.

"Either way, you killed her."

"But wouldn't you like to know why?"

"I'm not afraid to kill you."

"Then do it." Sarah stared into Ryan's eyes as he lifted the gun. She took a deep breath in, closed her eyes, and prayed for the first time in her life.

Chuck and Emma didn't talk much on the way to his surprise location. She kept her gaze out the passenger side window.

"Here we are." Chuck said, pulling the car into a parking space.

"The Buy More?" Emma asked with an attitude.

"The Buy More." Chuck sighed with pride.

"Why would you take me to the Buy More?"

"Because, it's going to help us."

"How?"

"Would you quit asking questions and follow me?" Chuck got out of the car, and Emma followed. When she was younger, she loved coming to the store and spending the day with her parents, running around the store.

"This place creeps me out at night, dad." Emma crossed her arms as her father opened the front doors.

"I love it." He smiled at his daughter.

"Yeah, because you're weird."

"Runs in the family." He laughed. Chuck led Emma past the electronics section and into the break room.

"Take a look at the lockers. Notice anything?"

"No?" Emma inspected them closely.

"Notice the crack in between those two?" He pointed to a small sliver in between the middle two lockers.

"Uh, sure."

"Open that one." He pointed again to one of the lockers. Emma opened it with one swift movement, exposing the normality of an employee's things.

"I don't get it."

"Behind the photo in the back." Chuck said. Emma peeled back the picture, finding a control panel. "Eighteen thirty-four." Emma pressed the numbers, and the lockers clicked apart.

"What the hell?" She looked down a long staircase.

"Go ahead." Chuck urged. Emma walked down the stairs slowly, finding a spy base at the bottom.

"Dad! You can't have a base here!"

"Of course I can, I own the Buy More don't I?"

"But this taps into the government database."

"With the help of General Jones it does."

"What?"

"The people she answers to are nervous about you."

"Nervous about me?"

"You're the top agent they have, but you could also be used as a negative asset to other organizations. They've been keeping an eye on you, and she wanted you to take a step back for your own good. However, she thinks that our closeness to this case can help get your mom's memories back, so she helped us set this up."

"Mom set this up too?"

"I know you better than you think." Sarah's voice echoed from the top of the staircase.

"How'd you know we were here?" Chuck asked.

"Emma's phone."

"You traced it?" Emma asked.

"Of course, I'm your mother." Sarah smiled.

"Look, mom..."

"We can talk later, there's someone here that wants to talk to you." She stepped aside to make room for Ryan to come down the stairs.

"Ryan?"

"In the flesh." He forced a smile, keeping his eyes on Emma.

"Chuck? I could use you up here." Sarah gave her husband a look.

"Right." He headed back up the stairs and followed his wife to the main Nerd Herd desk of the Buy More. "Is it safe to leave her alone with him?"

"More than you know." Sarah responded. In the base, Emma couldn't find the words to say to Ryan. The last time she saw him, he slammed a door in her face, what was she supposed to say now?

"I know this is weird." He said.

"Weird? No. I mean, you hate me but here you are." Emma forced a laugh.

"I don't hate you."

"You hate my family."

"Do you blame me? Your mom-"

"Killed your mom, I'm aware."

"I didn't come here to argue about our parents."

"Then why did you come? And why the hell were you with my mom?"

"That's kind of a long story."

"We have time."

"I just wanted to see you." He avoided the subject of Sarah.

"Why?"

"Because I miss you, and because I love you."

"You can't love me and want my mom dead, Ryan."

"I know."

"So what is this? Goodbye?"

"Not exactly. I'm going to help her figure out what happened."

"You're going to help my mom?"

"I have to. I need to know just as badly as she does."

"So what does this mean for us?" Emma looked Ryan straight in the eyes.

"It means that we can work together."

"But not be together."

"Emma, this is a seriously twisted situation. I don't know how to be with you. I want to, I just don't know if I can."

"I get it."

"Do you?"

"Yes. Really, I do."

"Can you forgive me?"

"Forgive you? Ry, you should have to forgive me. My mom ruined your life."

"Do you think she actually did it? Killed someone for no reason?"

"I don't know what to believe at this point." Emma knew the words were true. She didn't think her mother was capable of cold blooded murder, but at this point, anything could be the truth. She needed to find the cure to her mother's memories as soon as possible.