A/N: Here we go, the beginning Chuck and Sarah dating, plus a rather interesting development, which may or may not prove important in the future. They are going to make the following chapters a tad more interesting, I think.

I haven't mentioned it yet, but no beta is being harmed for this, so any mistakes are mine and mine alone. Please don't hesitate to point them out if you come across them.

Once more, thank you all for your generous and kind comments.

"Morgan is going to be so jealous that I got to come here before he had a chance to examine the place for the Morgan Guide," Chuck laughed as he and Sarah clinked glasses after another toast.

"What is the Morgan Guide?"

"It's like the Michelin Guide, only it's not as widely known, obviously. Morgan has a black belt in dumplings and adds restaurants that are both easily affordable and offer good food." And the food was good indeed. Chuck and Sarah had decided to share a few dishes instead of ordering their own each.

Sarah was definitely having a great time. But then again, she'd come to believe it was impossible not to have a good time in Chuck's company. "I just thought of something," she said. "You know everything about me, so it's only fair to tell me about you. All I know about you is your job, which you're great at, your sister, Devon, Morgan and how lucky I am to have met you."

"I don't know everything about you, Sarah. Heck, even you don't know about you," he retorted.

"Let me rephrase that: You know everything about me since we, um, first met, which incidentally is as much as I know about myself."

"Okay, that's only fair. What do you want to know?" He leaned back in his seat and smiled, the very picture of openness. And so they talked. She learned about his family being originally from Encino, about how Ellie had helped their always busy parents in raising him, about the occasionally awkward high school years and about Stanford and how he'd started his business. She did raise an eyebrow when he mentioned still having some credits to complete before getting his degree. He noticed. "What?"

She nervously ran a hand through her hair. She liked Chuck, plus he'd been of great help to her, so the last thing she wanted was to insult him in any way.

"Go on, speak freely," he encouraged her. "I've heard it all from Ellie a bunch of times."

"Actually, given what I've learned about you so far, it surprises me that you somehow managed to leave something unfinished," she said diplomatically.

He leaned back in his seat and gave her a smug smile. "Not for much longer, if everything goes as planned." He was being deliberately vague for a variety of reasons. From what he'd gathered, Sarah and Ellie had run into each other a couple of times and he didn't want his new friend to accidentally (or not) blurt his secret out to his sister.

Thankfully, Sarah decided to change the subject. "So far we've covered a lot of subjects, but we left one out. I'd like to hear about any skeletons in your closet… any women…?"

"You have me at a double disadvantage here. I can't ask about the men in your life if I don't want to appear rude or nosy, plus there is no point in actually asking, is there?"

She smiled sweetly. "No there isn't. I didn't think of it that way. But in any case, I am pretty sure I wasn't seeing anyone."

"How can you be so sure?"

"The same way I'm quite certain I don't have any family, or I'm not close to them if I do have. No one has yet gone to the trouble of reporting me missing, remember?"

"Shouldn't you wait until the PI you hired gives you a progress report? For all we know, a report may have been filed and is currently floating around in the system, until it either arrives at the LAPD or this Barker guy gets wind of its existence first."

"With so little information I was able to give him, I should be feeling lucky he accepted my case. So no, I won't be disappointed if he runs up some blind alleys."

"I applaud your attitude," he said. "And to answer your question, there hasn't been anyone in my life recently, at least in the romantic sense. There was this girl about a couple of years back, but it didn't work out. We were both too busy for a relationship, even a casual one."

"You not being in a relationship, be it casual or serious, is kind of hard for me to believe," said Sarah. "You are a genuinely nice, sweet guy and you're not bad looking either. All in all, you shouldn't have any trouble asking a woman out."

"Well, believe it. Despite the success, Nebula Games has been basically a one-man band from the beginning, meaning I was very busy running it. Sure, I've got a few contractors that help from time to time, plus some employees, but the setting up of the sites and the games' design was all done by me. Of course, now that my company is well established in the online gaming scene, I do accept offers to host games other people have designed on my sites. But I'll stop here before boring you to death with the technical stuff of my company's day-to-day."

"Understandable, although I stand by my opinion: You should have at least tried to make time for a little more of a social life." However, a little voice in her head told her it was better for her that no other woman had had the chance to sink her claws on Chuck, leaving the coast clear for her.

Is she insinuating that I should pay more attention to my social life, including her? Chuck thought. I mean, we've been flirting, lightly, and now it seems we've advanced to probing each other's limits. "I suppose that could happen… assuming of course I meet the right woman." He also threw a charm smile her way, making it abundantly clear that he wouldn't be averse to a relationship with her if she wanted it.

Sarah smiled back. The moment was interrupted by a waitress, who came to refill their glasses. Still, they maintained eye contact, even as they thanked her.

"A toast," proposed Chuck. "To new starts, however small or big they may be."

"To new starts," she agreed. "Speaking of which, we are almost done with dinner and the night is still young. So this begs the question: Where would you normally take your date after such a nice dinner?"

"As my father always said, most times it's best to stick to the tried and true formulas. I think we could get the groove on at a club. Of course, I'm also open to other ideas and suggestions."

"I like the way you think. And I like you, Chuck. Also, I'm sort of the tourist here, so you know the places we could go to. Surprise me. You've done a great job so far."

-o-

Chuck and Sarah were leaving the club, intending to take a walk and get some fresh air before going to get the car. Sarah had her right arm wrapped around Chuck's left as they headed towards an overpass. She was curious about where they were going, so she asked him.

"I was thinking about getting some ice cream and going to the beach to enjoy it," he replied. "Is it okay with you?"

"The evening has been perfect so far. Ice cream sounds like a good idea, too."

"Glad you think so. I had a great time as well."

"Really? I was afraid this could be the worst date ever for you. Hell, I can't even remember if I have a favorite song or a band."

He laughed, but didn't miss her referring to their outing as a date. "At least you didn't step on my toes when we danced. On the contrary, you are a very good dancer."

"I only copied the other girls' movements," she replied modestly.

"And don't worry. It's the best date I've had in ages."

"By your own admission, you haven't gone out on dates in ages," she pointed out.

"True, but I haven't totally ignored social outings, although admittedly most of them involved more than two people."

"Such social outings cannot be considered dates, unless they were double dates. They weren't, were they?"

"Um, no, they weren't. But some of them involved Ellie, Morgan and certain friends of mine partaking in matchmaking machinations. My brief relationship with Hannah, the girl I mentioned over dinner was the result of one of them." Not wanting to bore Sarah with details, he changed the subject. "Ah, there it is." He pointed to an ice cream truck. "I've been buying ice cream from that truck since kindergarten."

-o-

In the meantime, Ellie was sitting on hot coals. Devon was trying in vain to get her to calm down. "He's late," she repeated for the tenth time (conservative estimate).

"They're probably having a good time," said Devon, snatching his girlfriend's cell phone before she could grab it and attempt (again) to call Chuck. "Why are you so worried?"

"He hasn't been on a serious date since college!" Ellie blurted out. "He's out of practice."

"It's like riding a bicycle. It'll come to him."

"Can I at least call Morgan and talk to him for a while?"

Devon shrugged and dialed Morgan's number on her cell. "Hello," Morgan answered sleepily.

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry, but I needed someone to talk to and Devon isn't cooperating."

From where he was seated on the couch, Devon snorted, getting a death glare in return.

"You can call me at any time, Ellie," said Morgan. "What's wrong?"

"Chuck took Sarah out to dinner."

"Come again?"

"Chuck took Sarah out to dinner," repeated Ellie.

"He finally took my advice? Seriously, I love the guy, but he can be a little dense sometimes."

"Tell me about it. I too was trying to push him in that direction for quite a while."

"How did it go? Did he say anything?"

"He's not back yet. They should have finished their dinner by now, right?"

"I'm coming over," declared Morgan.

"There is no need to…"

"No, I want to. After all, I'd love to gloat when he gets back. As to why he still hasn't returned, don't sweat about it. They probably went for drinks somewhere. See you in a few minutes."

Ellie hung up and noticed Devon looking her strange. "What?"

"Congratulations, El. All you've managed to accomplish is light a fire under Morgan's ass as well."

"Shut up. I have hopes for Chuck and Sarah. She's a very nice person…"

"I know," he interrupted. "I've met her too, remember?"

Morgan didn't take long to arrive at Ellie's. Together, the two of them went over all possible aspects of Chuck's date with Sarah. Had he heard them, he'd have been surprised to learn that Morgan had not only guessed the itinerary, but also had figured out which restaurant he'd picked out and the club was actually one of his guesses.

For the moment, Chuck was content to sit on the beach with Sarah as they savored their ice cream. He turned to look at her and noticed she appeared to have zoned out. "Are you OK, Sarah?"

She snapped out of it and smiled at the concern lacing his voice. "I'm fine. I was just thinking too hard. I was hoping the trip here would help jog my memory about the day I had the accident, but so far I've got nothing."

"It'll come back to you," he said, his hand rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"I'm scared," she blurted out. "What if the real me is some…?"

"Unlikable person?" Chuck finished it for her. "No chance. You could be driven and focused on your career, but as far as I'm concerned, I've met the real you and we went out and we're having a good time. You can't change your core personality, amnesia or no amnesia."

"Thank you." She playfully bumped him, leaned her head on his shoulder and watched the sand as it shifted between her toes. "It's beautiful out here."

"This where I come every time I need to do some thinking. This is where I decided to start my company, for example."

She let her eyes travel along the beach, stopping momentarily to gaze at the Santa Monica Pier nearby. "I can see why," she said. "It's quiet, yet so full of life." She pressed closer to Chuck, but could not suppress a slight shiver, despite wearing her jacket.

He noticed it. "It's kind of chilly now, isn't it?" He got up and offered her his hand. "It's getting late, too."

"Uh-huh. I don't want the evening to end, but we both have to go to work in the morning." She took his hand and allowed him to haul her up on her feet. She grabbed her boots from where she'd left them next to her. She paused to put them back on when they reached the pavement and then proceeded to his car.

After dropping her off at her place, Chuck was humming a cheerful tune as he parked the car outside his apartment. He was still humming as he fished in his pocket for his keys.

"Where have you been?" Ellie's voice startled him and almost dropped his keys.

"You know where I was and who I was with, sis."

"Dude, tell me you went all out tonight," interjected Morgan.

"Oh, this is a new low for you, Ellie," snarked Chuck. "You called Morgan?"

"You stayed out late, I got worried," she said defensively.

"There was nothing to worry about. Sarah and I had a great time. In fact, we'll be doing it again in the very near future."

This time Ellie couldn't hold herself back. She pulled her brother into one of her (in)famous bear hugs. Morgan joined in without hesitation, happy for his best friend. Devon, who had stayed up reading a medical journal, saw them. "Group hug? Awesome!" He wrapped his long arms around the three of them. "I take it all went well?"

"Better than well, Captain," replied Chuck. "It's going to happen again soon."

"Awesome," he repeated. He was happy, both for Chuck and for Ellie, who now had one less thing to worry about.

-o-

Despite having stayed up late, both Chuck and Sarah went to work in the morning with big smiles on their faces. They'd had a great time together and were looking forward to a repeat. But for now, it was back in their respective routines. In his office, Chuck was going through statistics for one of the sites belonging to Nebula Games and noting that he would have to increase its server capacity, considering the influx of new memberships. He was all for customer satisfaction and the site slowing down from too many hits simply wouldn't do, it never happened to his company. He was jotting down the technical requirements when he had a surprise visitor.

"Mom," he exclaimed, seeing Mary Bartowski enter his office. Instead of her usual suits, she was in jeans and a blouse, meaning she'd taken the day off from work. "What do I owe this surprising visit to?" He secretly hoped she wasn't going to pester him again about Stanford.

"Can't I visit my little boy once in a while?" Mary asked, feigning innocence.

"Your little boy isn't so little any more, Mom."

"Nah, you'll always be my little boy. Speaking of whom, a little bird told me you entertained a young lady last night."

"Ellie tattled on me again," he deduced.

"She was very happy for you. Your father and I are as well. We'd almost given up hope of ever seeing grandchildren from you."

Chuck spat out a mouthful of coffee and coughed. "Mom! Try not to do that again, will you?" He grabbed some napkins and tried to clean up the mess.

"Look son, I know it's too early, but Ellie spoke in glowing terms about Sarah. She thinks she's perfect for you, even with her recent history, and I trust her judgment."

"So far we've only been on one date," he pointed out. "But yes, she's a very nice person, I like her a lot and I think she likes me back."

"I'd like to meet her."

"Just don't do anything to scare her away, OK? I don't know how she'll take me springing a meeting with my parents on her so soon."

"Relax, I was joking," said Mary with a smile.

He raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Okay, I do want to meet her someday."

"Someday," he agreed. "When she… when both of us are comfortable with it."

"I couldn't ask for more." Mary smiled. She'd tried to be there for her kids while they were growing up, but not always succeeded. Her job used to take up a lot of her time. Now, however, she tried to be a part of Chuck and Ellie's lives as much as possible without being annoying. She felt she owed at least as much to them both.

-o-

Starting a life practically from scratch could be an expensive undertaking, as Sarah was discovering. She now had health insurance, a retirement fund and was making payments on them, plus she had rent, utility bills and the PI to pay. All this, in addition to acquiring the basic necessities for everyday life, put quite a strain on her finances. To make ends meet, she was forced to work as much as she could, taking double shifts and overtime every chance she got. Scooter, fortunately, was only too happy to accommodate her, since she was an efficient and valued employee. The downside was having limited time to go out on dates with Chuck, but they managed.

In fact, this was their second real date, if one counted out the few times they'd met for a quick cup of coffee and a chat. He'd also chosen to surprise her with a nice gift, hoping she'd accept it. They were having burgers and shakes in the food court of a mall after watching a movie when he sprang his surprise.

"This is for you," he said.

She hesitated. "Chuck, I… uh, I appreciate the gesture, but I didn't get you anything at all."

"Call me old fashioned, but I think you deserve it. I'm getting out of the office more often and that's solely thanks to you. Besides, it's kind of for both of us."

She was definitely intrigued. What kind of gift could be for both of them? His encouraging smile prompted her to carefully open the small box. She found a smart phone inside.

"Now we can talk to each other any time we want," he said, smiling.

"Chuck, this is too much," she began to protest, but he silenced her by raising a hand.

"It's my old phone. It's still very much serviceable and I only replaced it because my Dad gave me a new one." He pulled his brand new phone from his pocket and placed it next to the old one for comparison. "Both were designed by him, and the new one has many features useful for my job that the old one lacked. It's still as good as any of the ones currently on sale though."

She took it in her hands, marveling at the lightness and compactness of the design despite the large screen. There was also a charger in the package, she noticed. "Thank you," she said honestly. "What do I have to do now?"

"You'll just have to select a service provider and choose between a prepaid or post-paid billing for its use. I'll be happy to offer my advice on the matter."

"It will be more than welcome," she said. Putting the device back in its box, she turned to face Chuck again. "Thank you," she repeated, placing a hand on top of his. They looked into each other's eyes and reflexively moved in closer, until their lips touched. Their first kiss was everything they'd been hoping for and more. They knew they'd been lucky to find each other and this was a milestone in the progress of their relationship. Said relationship was surely going to grow and evolve further. But for now, both were content to enjoy their time together.

-o-

Cole and Alex were doing the weekly review of their open cases. He finally closed the last case file after making some notes. "That's it for the week."

"We didn't do too bad," she smiled. It's about lunch time," she added after checking her watch. "It's your turn to buy lunch."

"How does a nice juicy burger sound to you, Alex?"

Her face lit up with a sudden realization. She grabbed her partner and planted a big one on him. "Damn, I love you, partner!"

"I'm not complaining, mind you, but what exactly did I do?"

"You just gave us our first lead on the Amnesia Chick case!" They'd already checked NamUs and also contacted the DMVs of neighboring States, but none had any person matching Sarah's name and photo on their databases, so the case was dead in the water. "Come on, I'll tell you everything after lunch. I'm starving."