Hey guys. Thanks for putting up with my laziness and waiting for this chapter. Lately, my muse has been inspiring other fics and I needed to get them down before they escaped me. Thank you guys for all the support once again, and here's another chapter! Next chapter might be the final chapter and another chapter will come sometime tonight. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck or any of the characters.

"Bryce?" Her voice lingered in the air as her friends turned their heads to where Sarah was staring.

"Sarah." His voice was soft and full of relief, as if finally seeing her again took the weight of the world off his shoulders.

At once, Morgan and Casey stood up; their protective nature kicking in.

Bryce strode across the room towards Sarah. To him, it felt like it was only the two of them in the entire restaurant, but there was something wrong. There was something in her expression that he couldn't quite place. She was definitely surprised, but there was something else, something that was holding her back.

A thought came across his mind as he made his way over to her: If she was here in New York, then that meant that it was her that he saw earlier. Then that meant that the guy he saw -"

"Hey, guys, what's going on? Are we throwing another party or-" Chuck was abruptly cut off as he halted in front of the guest that arrived in front of them.

"Bryce."

'Chuck. Damn. Damn, that meant that the guy he saw with Sarah earlier was Chuck.'

Damn.

"Chuck," Bryce forced a smile onto his well-honed façade and asked wittily, "miss me?"

Chuck was speechless. One moment, he was thinking about surprising his wife with a new house and in the next, he was standing in front of a ghost. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He raised a finger and slowly poked Bryce's shoulder, making sure that it wasn't his imagination playing tricks on him.

Bryce followed the movement of Chuck's finger and just shook his head when Chuck poked him.

"You think I'm a ghost?"

Chuck pulled his finger back quickly to his side and took a glance at his wife and friends to gauge their reactions before responding to Bryce's question.

"Well, the last time I saw you, you were dead, so…" Chuck left his response hanging in the air as he saw Bryce's eyes flickering over to Sarah; his wife.

'No!'

He finally had Sarah to himself. Chuck knows it sounds over-protective and territorial, but he doesn't want to lose Sarah. And he has every right to fear losing Sarah. Every time he has Sarah, something or someone tries to drive a wedge in between them. Most of the time, that someone is either Shaw or Bryce.

But right now, he needed some air; he needed to be alone.

Chuck skirted around Bryce and took his coat that hung on the back of his chair. Sarah watched as he pulled his wallet from his coat's inside pocket. He took out about $1,000 in cash and plopped it onto the table.

"This should cover the cost of dinner and to get you guys to the hotel."

Sarah's heart broke as she watched Chuck leave the restaurant. Quickly, she took her own jacket and her purse and followed after Chuck. She pushed passed Bryce and out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw a ring on her hand.

"Chuck!" She called after him as the cold weather tingled on her skin. She searched frantically around the front of the restaurant for her husband as she pulled out her phone to call him. It rung once and then went to voicemail.

'He just hung up on her! Shit.' She cursed at herself and hailed a nearby cab.

From a dark alleyway next to the restaurant, Chuck watched as his wife searched for him. He knew that he was worrying her, but he needed to be alone. He needed to get his mind straight.

A/N: Reviews are much appreciated!