A/N: In this chapter, in addition to Sarah beginning her new life, we get to meet a couple more key persons in the story. To make it easier to follow, some events were kept close to canon.
Yet again, thank you all for your reviews, suggestions and comments. This kind of support and interest in the story is an excellent motivation to keep updating on time regardless of how much time is available for writing.
Outside the judge's chambers, Sarah took the opportunity to thank Mac for his help quite effusively. The lawyer was very modest and replied that it had been a case many lawyers, rookies and veterans alike, would have paid to be able to participate in.
"So," Sarah said, turning to Sydney, "what comes next?"
"You heard the judge. The court order will be ready in about an hour, and then I'll take you to start the process of getting you a social security number and proper identification."
"Ladies, excuse me for interrupting, but I just thought of something. Can Sarah get a driver's license as well?" Chuck cut in.
Sydney thought about it for a moment. "Assuming she can prove she knows how to drive, I wouldn't put it beyond the realm of possibility. Given the circumstances, the DMV might even let her just take the standard exam, dispensing with the lessons requirement."
"Until the court order is ready, we could all go for coffee," suggested Chuck.
Sydney checked her watch and Sarah noticed. "Sydney, I don't want to be a burden to you. If you have work to do, just say so."
"As a matter of fact, I could go to the office and get a few things done by the time we need to get back here. You should come with me, I think, since you still don't have any ID."
"Or, Sarah and I could stick around the courthouse and you can meet us back here," Chuck mused. "It's not a problem. I don't have to be at work until around two. This way you won't have to worry about her. I stayed up late last night working and I could use some coffee."
Sydney eyed him critically. She had formed a favorable opinion of him, especially after hearing what he'd told the judge about finding Sarah. The decision was easy to make. "Here is my card. Don't hesitate to call if anything comes up. I'm still legally responsible for Ms. Walker as I can't let her go without some paperwork."
"We'll be fine," Sarah assured her.
Chuck took Sarah to a café not far from the courthouse. It was frequented mostly by lawyers and business people, so it was quiet and comfortable. They gave their order to the hurried but friendly waitress and settled into a comfortable silence. Sarah was the first to break it.
"Chuck, I know I've already thanked you for saving my life and helping give me the first idea of my identity. But I need to thank you once more. You must be a busy man, yet you still came to the courthouse, got me a lawyer and testified before the judge. You didn't have to do all that."
"Actually, I had. When I found you, I couldn't help but feel kind of responsible for you. Devon says it's natural, and it's also the most exciting thing I've done recently. Therefore, there is no need to thank me." He smiled warmly at her. "But you are welcome anyway."
She smiled as well. Their orders soon arrived and she took advantage of the pause in the conversation to think. She knew that she couldn't depend on Sydney for much longer, so she needed a plan. Finding a job and a place to live after getting her new identification documents were on top of her list. The problem was she was going to need a little more help, mostly in getting her bearings. Once this was taken care of, she could become self-sufficient. She decided to start right there and then. "Chuck, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, anything," he replied, putting his coffee cup down on the table.
"My memory is limited to what happened since I woke up in the hospital yesterday, as you know by now. But you know the city well, right?"
"Uh-huh," he nodded.
"I don't want to be a burden to Sydney for any longer than absolutely necessary. I'm sure there are people needing her assistance more than I do. If you can't answer my questions, it's all right, because I can always ask her."
"Why don't you ask me your questions and we'll see if I can answer them."
"OK, here goes: First, I need to find a place to stay and a job. Do you happen to know where I could find a place? A small apartment or a studio will do."
"I think I can help you on both counts."
Her eyes widened in surprise. "I don't mean you have to hire me," she said hastily. "In spite of everything Ellie said about my possible level of education, I'm not comfortable with taking a job where any mistake can cost my employer dearly."
Chuck understood. She was feeling insecure, which was only to be expected, considering what she was currently going through. She didn't know who she really was or what she was capable of and even her last name had been chosen almost completely randomly. "Hey, I wasn't about to suggest anything like that. There are no openings currently in my firm, but I'll definitely keep you in mind if there is one in the future. Sarah, don't underestimate yourself. You are smart, articulate… I bet you could more than hold your own in a demanding job environment. But you prefer to take baby steps for now, right?"
"Yes," she agreed. "I think it's for the best. Now, tell me; what do you have in mind?"
"Back when I was first starting my company, I had to hire someone to help with setting up the offices. He was great at his job and deserved every penny I paid him… but that's unimportant. Anyway, he was from San Diego and instead of making him commute daily, I found him a room in one of the better SRO's in the city. It's not expensive and offers great value for money. It's the Maison 23 residence hotel."
"The hotel sounds great, but if I'm going to get a room there, I need to be able to pay for it."
He smiled and took another sip of coffee, delaying presenting his solution for dramatic effect. "Which brings me to the second part of my suggestion," he said finally. "There is a mall in Burbank, and in fact I used to work summers in a store there. Most business owners know me, so I can ask around and see if anyone needs an extra pair of hands."
She was immediately interested. "What kinds of jobs are we talking about here?"
"Basic retail work, for one," he replied. She nodded and he continued. "There is the Buy More, which is the electronics store where I used to work, Underpants, etc, clothing stores, Large Mart… And then there is also the deli, the hot dog place and the frozen yogurt shop, not to mention Subway. I suggest you avoid Large Mart though, because they have a long running rivalry with the Buy More."
"No Large Mart then," she decided to humor him. "But the Buy More sounds nice."
"I have no doubt you'd be great as a salesperson there, but I can't say the same for the guys working there. They'd be too busy ogling you all the time instead of doing their jobs and I'm not kidding. If you get a job there, you'll be the hottest BuyMorian by a wide margin. Hell, you'll be the most beautiful woman in the entire mall."
She blushed at the compliment. "This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me… that I remember anyway."
They shared a laugh over the last comment. Chuck was privately pleased to see Sarah able to joke about her condition. All things considered, she was holding up very well. For the rest of the time, until Sydney came to take her to the social security office, she grilled Chuck relentlessly, asking questions about the various stores in the mall. He answered all of them truthfully and she found his answers very useful, especially since they came from personal experience.
The rest of her day was busy, as after getting the court order and saying goodbye to Chuck, Sydney took her immediately to the local Social Security Administration office on Wilshire Boulevard. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait as Sydney had called ahead and made an appointment for them. After explaining the situation, and presenting the court documents, Sarah was issued a provisional social security number card. The paperwork she had to sign once again included a reminder of the requirement to turn in the provisional card if and when she found out who she really was. From there, she and Sydney went to another appointment at the DMV, where she applied for a photo ID card. The young man who processed her application was smart enough to tell Sarah to cover the gauze pad on her temple with a strand of hair so that it wouldn't show in the picture. He also told her about everything she should do to obtain a driver's license and even referred her to an examiner.
As they left the DMV, Sarah turned to Sydney. "Sydney, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me so far." Seeing the other woman open her mouth, Sarah held up a hand to keep her from talking. "I know you'll say it's your job and I also know you find this case interesting. I find it interesting myself." She let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "At least now I have some form of official identification documents," she added, patting her pocket where her new SSN card and ID resided. Given the circumstances, the judge had added a request to the appropriate office to waive the waiting period for issuing the documents. Alexis' affidavit about Sarah not having a criminal record had helped immeasurably, too.
"You are welcome, Sarah. But, let me remind you, my work on your case is still not done. You may have identification documents now, but you have nowhere to go."
Admittedly, Sydney was right and Sarah knew it. "All I need is a place to crash for tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to look for a job and Chuck told me about a place where I can get a room real cheap. I won't bother Social Services for any longer than I absolutely need to."
"You are never a bother, Sarah."
"Still, if there is anything at all I can do for you today, just say it."
"Come to think of it, there is something. Part of my job as a social worker is to pay frequent visits to a halfway house for women and see if there is anything I can do for the ladies there. Most have suffered some form of abuse or another, or are ex-cons, or… well, you get the idea. The place is actually very pleasant, since some of them have kids with them. I could put you up there for the night, but I could also use an extra pair of hands and since you're volunteering…"
"Say no more," Sarah said. "You just show me what I need to do and I'll do it."
-o-
"Hang on a second," a voice sounded from inside the house before the door opened to reveal a middle aged but still beautiful woman wiping her hands on a dishrag. And then her expression changed to one of surprise. "Jack?"
"Hello Emma. May I come in?"
Emma cocked her head to the side and took a good look at the man standing before her. His dark suit was neatly pressed, but the dark circles under his eyes and the slouch in his stance told her he was beyond tired. In fact, he looked older than he actually was. She shrugged. "Come in."
"Thank you."
"Can I get you anything?"
"No, thank you. I can't stay long." He looked around the house and took a deep breath. "In fact, I don't know if you'll want to see me again after I say what I have to tell you."
"What did you do this time?" Emma asked suspiciously.
"This time? Nothing. I haven't done anything illegal in years. But apparently what I used to do still comes with a cost."
"You are not making any sense, Jack," she said, inviting him to sit down with her in the living room.
He decided to come out clean and rip off the Band-aid. "When Sarah was in her senior year of high school, one of my, er, jobs in San Diego went south. I was still able to get out of it, but… but the same government agent who arrested me, to protect me, I might add, also made Sarah a job offer."
"Langston Graham, I know," she said smugly.
Now Jack was officially baffled. "You know Graham?"
"Not personally, but Sarah has kept in touch with me. I know more about her life than you think."
"Then you know you can blame me for everything that happened since then."
"Why should I blame you for a choice she made? She can get out any time she likes."
"She… Emma, did you hear in the news about the hostage rescue operation in the Philippines?"
Emma nodded. The drama had been front page news for weeks and it was the first thing discussed on TV news.
"Sarah was on the rescue team." He waited until it sunk in. The plane crash had made the news and it was openly speculated that it had been carrying at least part of the force involved in rescuing hostages from an islamist insurgent group in Mindanao.
"Our Sarah was on the plane," she deduced, her voice trembling.
He merely nodded.
"How is she?"
"I don't know. Langston Graham, the director of the CIA himself came to visit me. Sarah was never found after the crash. I'm sorry, Emma, I'm so sorry." He finally broke down and so did she. They grieved for their daughter in each other's arms, until…
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Jack shot upright. "What the hell was that?"
Emma sniffled and wiped at her cheeks. "That was something, or rather someone, Sarah gave to me about a couple of months ago." She disappeared into another room and emerged carrying a baby in a white iPood onesie. The pink hair band left no question as to the gender. "Jack, meet Sarah's baby sister Molly. I'm adopting her."
"I need to sit down. This is big news."
"Take your time. I'm going to give her a bottle." Right now she had to attend to the one who needed her the most. She soon rejoined him in the living room, Molly drinking contentedly from her bottle. "I guess I should give you some sort of explanation. You see, Sarah had been on a mission in Budapest which went awry. Her team leader murdered this baby's parents for their money. Sarah saved her and brought her to me. She wanted her to have a normal life. That was when I learned what she did for a living."
"Can I hold her?"
She couldn't deny him. "Here," she said, carefully handing over the baby. Molly didn't fuss one little bit, already comfortable in his arms. She even gave him a toothless smile.
"I want in on this, Emma. I wasn't the best father for Sarah and I'm regretting it every day. But for this one… and for you, if you'll let me… I'll be there for both of you. You don't have to answer me right now. Take your time and think about it, OK?"
"You said you are legit now, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"I've got temporary custody of Molly and the adoption hearing is in a few days. I can call my lawyer and instruct him to put you down as an applicant as well."
"I would be honored if you did." He then turned to Molly. "You and I are going to have a lot of fun, aren't we, Munchkin?"
The baby gurlgled and giggled in reply.
"See? We're going to do just fine."
Emma regarded him with an amused expression. "If you are going to help with her, I hope you haven't forgotten how to change diapers."
"As I recall, I was pretty good at it. It was disgusting, but necessary." Then he became serious again. "Graham told me there is going to be a memorial service for Sarah and the other agents who died in the accident and invited me to attend."
She nodded. "Under other circumstances, I would go with you, but I have Molly to care for. It's imperative to keep her under the radar, too. You go and then come back to us, OK?"
"Yeah, I still have a few things to do back East." He got up and gave Molly back to Emma. "I have to go now, but I'll be back."
She watched him leave, and she noticed he was standing straighter than when he'd come in. Maybe they still had another chance. She loved him, there was no question of that and she knew he loved her as well. Maybe, just maybe, they could make it work this time.
-o-
Sarah woke up after a good night's sleep and sat up. Her roommate, a girl named Heather who'd been in prison for theft and released on probation for good behavior, was still asleep. Not wanting to disturb her, Sarah got up quietly and went to the laundry room carrying her travel bag. Since she only had one outfit, something she needed to remedy soon, she'd gone to lengths to keep it clean. She threw her clothes in the washer and followed the instructions on the machine, adding detergent and starting the cycle. And then it was time for a quick shower. She would be done by the time the washing cycle would be over and then she was going to use the drier. Fortunately there was also an ironing board in the laundry room, so she could iron her clothes as well.
Later, she was in the dining room, having a quick breakfast with the other ladies. There was little talking, but it suited her just fine. She didn't want to pry and she thought the others felt the same. Just after nine, Sydney showed up.
"Sarah, can I have a word with you please?"
"Certainly," she replied and followed the social worker to an office. "Has anything come up?" By anything she meant clues as to her identity.
"Unfortunately no," replied Sydney. "But we can process you out. All you have to do is sign some paperwork and you'll be free to do whatever you want."
"More paperwork?"
"I'm afraid so. Also, Detective White faxed me this for you," she said and pulled a printed sheet of paper from her briefcase. "Read it."
Sarah obliged, carefully reading it.
"She said you can drop by the precinct and talk to her if you have any questions."
"Thank you Sydney. I'll make sure to visit her, if only to thank her. But does she really think a private investigator would be more help than the LAPD?"
"You never know. She struck out, but you might get lucky."
"The problem is I can't afford to hire a PI right now. Maybe after I get a job and save up some money…"
"Handle it any way you see fit. By the way, you were a great help here yesterday. I have a feeling we are going to miss having you help around here."
"I could drop by from time to time."
"Feel free to do so. Now, what are your plans?"
"Like I said, I need to get a job, so I'll go to Chuck's office and see if he was able to line something up for me. Speaking of which, do you happen to have a map of the city I could take? I need to start finding my way around."
Sydney opened a drawer and pulled out a city map. "Here you go. Take care."
"I will. Again, thank you for everything." They shook hands and afterwards Sarah left after picking up the travel bag containing her nightgown and slippers. Once outside, she paused to consult the map and set off in the direction of Chuck's office.