Chuck and Sarah vs. The Lost Memories
Been Gone Long Enough
iv.
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and for Chuck Bartowski, that's exactly the case. The last time he'd seen his wife was almost 3 months ago. He didn't expect Barstow (or that day) to turn out the way it did.
"This is it Sarah, it's nothing luxurious or glamorous, but it's special." He says as he opened the door to the room they had rented out a few years ago.
She had nothing to say for herself, because it wasn't the place she'd expected it to be - not that she had any expectations - but she felt the place was so special for it to look this way - dreary, old and nothing special at all.
And yet, when she looked at him sitting on the edge of the bed patting the space next to him, she couldn't help but think about what transpired in this very room. The idea overwhelms her, and before she even realizes it, she finds herself running out of the room.
He chases after her, worry evident in his face. He finds her sitting in her Lotus.
"I can't... I can't do this Chuck." She tells him when he decided to join her. It immediately breaks his heart, but he doesn't show her any sign. He gives her a slight nod and takes a deep breath.
"Do you want me to drive?" When she gave him a slight nod, they exchanged places. He dropped her off at her hotel room and caught a cab home.
He's brought out of his trance when he heard the voice of none other than Morgan Grimes.
"Any news?" He asks, and just like any morning for the last three months, Chuck shakes his head no.
"She'll come around soon enough. I mean, we are talking about THE Sarah Walker here afterall."
Chuck finds himself hoping Morgan Grimes is right. As if reading his mind, Morgan adds, "You know I'm right."
He offers his bestfriend a small smile. "Well, since you've yet to be, I think I'll get some work done at Castle for the time being." He says.
It has been three months since she'd left town, and left him - Chuck Bartowski.
She'd gone from mission to mission, country to country, and yet she couldn't shake the unbelievably huge feeling of emptiness within her, like she's not where she's supposed to be, doing something she's not meant to do. She remembers vividly the last time she saw him.
It was the night after they had visited Barstow, and although it was her idea in the first place, she couldn't help but regret it. Feelings scared her, however, strong feelings sent her running and packing.
She finds herself in the courtyard, one she's probably seen so many times but just couldn't remember. It's late, and he's probably asleep, but she knocks anyway.
He's already dressed in his pajamas, she probably woke him up.
"Sarah?" Her presence surprised him, almost hoping she's here to come back to him.
"Hey Chuck, can we talk?" She goes right to the point, and he invites her in.
"Do you want anything to drink? Coffee maybe?" He offers, and yet she shakes her head no.
"I came to say goodbye Chuck." She says, and his face pales.
"Goodbye? Where are you going?" He asks, and started to pace.
"Away. I just...I can't be here right now. And the longer I stay, the longer we'll hope that something big will happen, and I don't want to give all of you false hope, Chuck." She explains, each word getting harder to say.
He is, once again at a loss for words. He didn't know how to react to that, because honestly, Sarah was right. What if her memories don't come back? But then he realizes she's his Sarah, and she's still somewhere in there.
When she didn't hear any reply, she took it as her cue to leave. "Goodbye, Chuck." She hesitates at first, but then finds herself walking away.
Just as when she was already out at the courtyard, his hand finds hers. She looks up at him, and although it's a little dark out, she can see tears brimming in his eyes.
He holds her hand near his chest. She could almost feel the beating of his heart, fast and erratic, like hers.
"Do you feel that?" He says more than ask. She finds herself closing her eyes. "Sarah, this is my heart, and it will always, always belong to you."
She took in a deep breath as he entwined their fingers. He leans in and brushes his lips on hers. She finds herself deepening the kiss. She wanted so bad for the magic kiss to happen, but then, the moment ends.
"Chuck, I need to go." She says, and for a second, it was just raw pain and hurt that she saw in his eyes, then quickly changing to pure understanding and she dare say - love?
He finds himself nodding his head. A forced smile in his face - she can tell. "Can't blame your husband for trying, right?" She returns an awkward smile of her own.
When she starts to walk away, he asks "Will I ever see you again?" like a last attempt to make her stay, but it's probably too low, for she didn't answer.
"I hope so, Chuck." She says to herself, and walks away.
Her trip down memory lane was interrupted when a familiar face came into the room. It is of one Gen. Diane Beckman.
"Agent Walker, it's nice to see you again." She says as if really happy to see a familiar face, then motions for Sarah to take a seat.
"I understand that you are here for you mission orders, yes?" Sarah nods her head, and Beckman hands her a dossier.
"Alberto Guerrero, responsible for the breaches in our security firewalls. He hacks into any system and gets control over it. Recent intel say he's planning a fire sale. Your mission is to locate Guerrero, capture him, and prevent the fire sale."
Sarah is quite confused, why it was her that was picked. "I'm sorry general, but I believe hacking into systems isn't in one of my fortes."
"…Which is why we have a team to do that for you. They're one of the best, if not the best, so safe to say, you're in good hands Agent Walker."
Quite satisfied with the answer, she nods and prepares to take her leave.
"Other mission details will be discussed after you meet up with your team." Diane Beckman says with quite a devious smile, then hands her what she gathers as her travel itinerary.
"I'll see you on your next briefing Agent Walker."
Just as she was heading towards the door, she gets her biggest shock of the day.
She's going to Burbank.