A/N: Just wannted to start off by saying Thanks to all those who have read, and those that have left reviews. Much obliged. Now, where were we...?

Ch. 02

"Sam, can you hear me? Sam!"

The urgency in her sister's voice finally broke through the fog in her mind, and her vision cleared a few seconds later.

"...El? whu append..."

Ellie looked down at her sister as she rolled flat on to her back and slowly began to stretch, trying to restore feeling to her limbs. She placed a hand first on Sam's forehead then her cheek, but neither showed any signs of a temperature, and Ellie sat back onto her heels as Sam pulled herself into a sitting position, leaning against the end of her bed.

"You gave us a heck of a fright is what happened. What's the last thing you remember?"

Sam rubbed a hand across her face. "Not too sure. We watched the end of the movie, and then Anna left. After that..." She shrugged. "It gets kind of foggy. Maybe I was just more tired than I realised."

Ellie frowned. "Are you sure that's all? Maybe you should come with me to the hospital. I can get Devon to take a look and make sure you're okay."

Sam held up a hand. "I'm feeling better already. Trust me, if it changes at all, you'll be the first to know." She would be the first to admit Devon was a decent guy, and it was obvious how happy he had made her sister. Unfortunately His Awesomeness (as she called him) was a bit much to handle at times, particularly first thing in the morning. It certainly wasn't her preferred way of starting the day. "Wait, why the hospital? I thought he was staying the night?"

"He was, but there was something of an accident." Ellie gestured towards the computer desk behind her, and Sam's eyes widened in distress as she realised her computer tower was no longer there. A sinking feeling came over her which her sister quickly confirmed. "When I came in there was some smoke coming out of the back of it. Not a lot, but enough to set off the alarm, so Devon took it with him to drop it into the repair shop before his shift starts."

Sam groaned and let her head fall back against the mattress. "I should have stayed unconscious."

Things were quieter than usual at the pharmacy where Sam and Anna worked together, a far cry from the dreams she had first had when she joined medical school of cutting edge research projects and battling viruses in a lab, fighting for cures to the world's ills. The usual run of colds and sniffles had run itself out for the season, and the mad rush of the last few days had faded. Sam was making the most of the opportunity to restock the shelves behind the counter when she heard Anna's voice from above her.

"Hmm, what's my name?"

Sam grinned, thinking back to the movie they'd watched the night of her birthday as she bobbed from side to side. "He's a complicated man, and no one understands him but his woman..." Looking up at her friend, she realised Anna's attention was on someone else, and she turned red as she heard a quiet "Ahem" from behind her. She rose to her feet and turned to see the young man standing on the other side of the counter with a cheeky smile on his face.

"I hope I'm not interrupting."

"No, not at all. That was... uh, that was from Shaft." She stammered. "Samuel Jackson. Great movie."

He nodded. "Well, that explains it. Always been more of a Denzel fan personally."

Anna cleared her throat. "Hi, I'm Anna, and this is Sam."

"I'm Charles Carmichael." He took her hand in his and gave it a quick shake before returning his gaze to Sam's face, and his smile grew. "Chuck, to my friends."

Sam could feel her heartbeat quicken as she looked into his eyes. "So, what can we do for you today... Chuck."

"Well it's nothing terribly exciting, I'm afraid." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper which he handed to her. "I have a prescription here for some cream I need."

She glanced down at the sheet and nodded. "That's fine, we have plenty in stock. It'll just be..." The form was snatched out of her hand and she looked up as Anna gave her a quick wink. "I'll take care of this. You're supposed to cover the register, remember?" Before a word of protest could form in Sam's mouth, Anna disappeared out the back to search through the supplies and left the two of them standing there in a brief silence.

"So, Sam huh?"

"Yeah, it's short for Samantha." She dropped her eyes and tucked a stray hair back behind her ear to hide her nervousness. "Personally I always thought it was because Dad was hoping for a son second time around."

"Well, no offence to your dad, but I'm kinda glad he didn't get his way on that one."

"BARTOWSKI!" The pair jumped as the manager approached and thrust a piece of paper into her hands. "Just got a call from North Hills, they need some urgent supplies. Get it picked and get it over there."

"Fine." She gave the list a quick scan. "Sorry, I'm really going to have to..." She looked up to see his gaze was directed at the front window, and there was a hard set to his features that made her breath catch in her throat. After a second or two of silence he swallowed and looked back at her, and the smile was back on his face like it had never left.

"That's okay, I didn't realise it was getting so late myself. I just remembered I have an appointment to see someone about a place."

"Of course." Sam turned to Anna and took the bag from her hands, placing it on the counter in front of him. "Well, here's your cream, and it's a refill so there's no charge on it."

"That's great, thanks for that." He lifted the bag and took a couple of steps back. "Until next time." Chuck turned and headed for the door, and Sarah stood there smiling, enjoying the view as she watched him walk away. As the door slid shut behind him Anna started singing.

"Some people like to say he's a bad mother-"

"Shut your mouth."

Chuck climbed into the waiting SUV and buckled in as it quickly pulled away from the parking spot. Once settled, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and hit the speed dial, and was quickly patched through.

"I've made first contact, but it looks pretty vanilla so far. Are you sure about the intel on this one?"

"As sure as we can be under the circumstances. Those files aren't exactly the kind of thing you send to your local Girl Scout leader." Graham paused. "I know this isn't easy for you Charles, but I need my best people on this one. We both know in this case that means you."

"Understood. I'll keep you posted. Carmichael out." He snapped the phone shut and turned to watch the view out the window when a voice came from behind him.

"You know, if we did this my way we could be on a plane back home tonight."

He didn't even turn. "Then let me refresh your memory. Her computer is toast, and thanks to your itchy trigger finger Miller's a corpse, so this 'Sam' is the only lead we have left. This may be a joint op, but 'your way' of doing things is what made them put me in charge in the first place. Do I really have to make it an order?"

Alex Forrest settled back into her seat, but he could almost feel the heat from her gaze boring into the back of his skull. "No. Sir."