Chapter 8:

Ellie dropped Chuck off back at the apartment before leaving for her midday shift. No sooner had he stepped into the room and closed the door, the phone rang.

His heart jumped and just before he heard the voice on the other end, he had a premonition that it might be his boss screaming at him and demanding to know where he'd been all this time.

"H-hello?" he asked, his voice trembling with nervousness.

"Hey, Chuck." It was Carmen.

Chuck held his breath. "Hi!" he blurted, sounding way too excited for the occasion.

There was a pause on the other end. "Hi. Are you okay there?"

"Uh-huh," he confirmed, taking the photos out of his pocket and putting them safely away. For now he didn't want her to know anymore than she suspected. "Just fine!"

Carmen sighed loudly into the receiver. "I called earlier, Chuck, and you didn't pick up. Where did you go?"

Chuck's forced smile collapsed. He was glad he didn't have to face her right now otherwise his lies would be completely transparent.

"You were keeping tabs on me?" he asked. "I stepped into the shower; you must have just missed me."

Carmen must have sensed his accusatory tone. "I was just worried," she said. "I feel bad leaving you all alone there. You're still adjusting."

For a moment the line between Carmen the evasive gun-toting bombshell blurred with Carmen the sweet and affectionate girlfriend. Chuck was almost tempted to tell her everything.

"I'm fine," he finally said. "Just…figuring some things out. Hopefully I'll go to work tomorrow." He laughed to fill the awkward silence. "And discover that I've been fired."

Chuck thought he heard her smile on the other end. "I'll be home at five. Could you do me a favor?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay at home, okay?"

Just as he heard the phone click on her end, there was a knock at the door.

"Okay," he murmured to no one in particular. He put the phone back in its cradle and approached the door. "Who is it?" he called, even though he knew there was a slim chance he knew the person on the other end.

He swung open the door, about to say 'hello' only to have the words, "Oh my God," slip out instead.

The woman smiled faintly at him. She was wearing a blue one-piece dress and clutching a black duffle bag, the airport tag still stuck on one handle.

"Sarah." Not quite the teary-eyed Sarah he remembered from the hospital but not really the Sarah who beamed happily in the pictures either. Regardless she was still beautiful, the tone of her dress a perfect match for the solemn blue of her eyes.

"Hello, Chuck." She looked like she wanted to step forwards but something held her back.

It was him. Chuck realized he was barring the entrance to the hallway.

"Um…" He cleared his throat, feeling guilty for staring. "Please, come in." He let go of the door and stepped back, giving her ample space to move.

She hesitated at first but eventually crossed the threshold, stepping into the room. Carefully she closed the door behind her.

Chuck had to lean against the wall so she wouldn't notice how weak his knees had become. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying not to look at her. After staring at all those photos, it was hard for him not to let his mind wander.

"So, what brings you here?" he asked, looking at her warily. Sarah hands squeezed the duffle bag handle so tightly her knuckles were bleach-white. At least he wasn't the only person who thought this was awkward. "Is there something wrong with me? Am I going to be okay?"

A look of confusion flickered across her features, briefly displacing the look of sadness in her eyes.

"What? Oh. No." Momentarily stepping into her role, she smiled a smile that failed to reach her eyes. "No. I'm sure you'll be just fine."

Chuck waited for her to say something more. After all, he wasn't supposed to know anything about their almost four year relationship. The thought angered him. He had a right to know the first time. She should have been honest with him.

"Chuck?" Her voice was timid and wary. Chuck met her eyes and they looked to him almost as if for permission to continue.

Chuck found it hard to imagine that this was the woman who drove a wedge between him and his sister. She looked anything but malicious.

"Yeah?"

Sarah looked at a loss for words. She stuttered on incomprehensible syllables at first, starting five different ways without going anywhere. And then, finally, she lifted her head and said in the steadiest voice—"I've made a terrible mistake."

She pulled him in with her eyes. The torture she had put herself through she now submitted onto him.

"I've made a terrible mistake, Chuck," she uttered. "Please, forgive me." In one fluid motion, she dropped her bag on the floor and fell into his arms. "I'm so sorry."

Despite all of Ellie's warnings, Chuck forgot them in an instant and his first instinct was to comfort her. His arms folded slowly over her back and he held her while she cried into his shirt.

"Chuck..." The sound of her anguish was terrible, a sound he never wanted to hear again. Chuck had to remind himself not to apologize but the urge was there. He held her, resting his chin on the top of her head, burying his face into her long blond hair. He couldn't quite describe it, but it felt like something he'd done before, something familiar.

But there was something missing too. Sarah must have felt it because she pulled away prematurely; the tears still fresh in her eyes.

She looked as if she were drowning, her face was so pale and the blue of her eyes were nearly washed out. "I need to tell you something, and I know it will be very hard for you to believe me."

"Don't worry, I already know."

She balked. "What?"

"Our relationship. I already know."

The corner of Sarah's lips twitched. It could have been a smile had she let it. "You got your memory back?" she asked, reaching out to him.

He shook his head. "No. Ellie told me."

Sarah's hand fell slack against her side. "Oh," she said, her lips pressed tightly into a definite frown. "Okay, Chuck, then we really need to talk."

Her choice of words made him frown. "We are talking." Chuck stared at her, wondering how real their relationship had been. Was she like Carmen? Was that why Ellie said he thought their relationship was 'complicated'?

"Not here," she said—perhaps too firmly. She flinched when she noticed Chuck take a step back. "Will you…" her voice softened and she trained her gaze upon him again, using her brilliant eyes as a weapon. "Will you please go somewhere with me?"

Chuck knew he'd promised someone else already, but Sarah looked like she'd already given up all hope. Her eyes pleaded with him, tugging on every heartstring he had. Ellie's words were long forgotten; all he could think about now was the woman standing in front of him.

She'd flown out here for him, sought him out at his apartment to speak to him. Really it's the least you could do.

Chuck sighed. "Okay. Where do you want to go?"