Thanks everyone for the great feedback on Chapter 10. I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much. Again it's another long one. Someone had mentioned that Casey seemed to be a little out of character in the last chapter. My intention is to show that there is much more to Casey than what he portrays and it's about time we saw some of that. You will be seeing more of that in this chapter as well. I look forward to your feedback and reviews. Enjoy!
Chapter 11
"Walker, take a look at this." Casey called to her from his computer.
"What is it?" Sarah was by his side in seconds.
"See this blip right here?" Casey pointed to the blinking light on the computer screen. "That's the last known whereabouts of the CIA plane that Chuck was on. According to the satellites, it was on a downward slope, losing altitude at an incredibly fast pace." Casey points to the screen again. "Right here is where it goes off the grid."
"So it did go down?"
"My guess would be yes. According to the coordinates here, they were only about 130 miles out."
General Beckman's face popped up on the large screen. "Lieutenant Walker, Colonel Casey, some new information has come in."
Sarah and Casey turned their attention to the General and both moved closer to the monitor giving Beckman their full attention.
"According to the satellite imaging, the plane Chuck was on did in fact go down. We have located the crash site and I have a team moving in as we speak to secure it. There has been no word yet as to how severe the crash was, or whether or not there are survivors. Walker, I want you and Casey at the crash sight, see what you can find. I'm sending a chopper for you, it should be there in ten minutes or so. Any questions?"
"General, how many people were on the plane?" Casey asked.
"Besides Agent Carmichael, there was one other agent and the pilot on the plane. It was a low key operation. We didn't want to draw too much attention to the intersect." Beckman replied.
"General, do we know why the plane went down? Were they shot down? Was this an intentional attack, or an accident?" Sarah questioned.
"We are still investigating that Lieutenant. I want you to contact me from the crash site and let me know your findings."
Sarah stood motionless, a blank expression on her face as she took in all this information.
"Yes General." Casey chimed in when Sarah failed to answer.
The General disconnected the call. Casey turned his attention to Sarah.
"You okay?" he asked, shaking Sarah from the trance she seemed to be in.
"What?"
"I said, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. We should head out, meet the chopper." Sarah grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair and headed up the stairs. Casey watched her make her exit. Grabbing his own jacket and his gun, Casey did the same.
"Carmichael?….You okay man?…Chuck?" Agent McKinley shook him when he didn't answer.
Chuck moaned as he came to. "Carmichael, you alright?"
"Uuuhhh…I..think so. Where are we?" Chuck asked, trying to see through the darkness.
"Well, I know we were over California when the plane went down. If I had to guess, I would say maybe 120 miles or so from L.A."
"Great, so now what?"
"Can you walk?" McKinley helped Chuck sit up. Chuck grabbed his side. "Aahhhh!"
"We need to get you to a hospital. The gunshot wound needs to be looked at.'
"You and I both know we can't go to a hospital." Chuck replied. "The Ring knew where I was, they're looking for me.. Don't you see, anyone I come in contact with could be a part of it. For all I know you could be a part of the ring."
"You're right. I could be. But I'm not. Chuck, I know you feel betrayed right now and you don't know who to believe, but you need to trust me. I'm going to help you. I'm going to get you home and we're going to take these guys out."
"I don't really have a choice do I?"
"No, I guess you don't."
"Did the plane go down or not?" Haz raised his voice as he spoke into his phone. "How did this happen? This was not the plan!.....Find Hansen and Miller, bring them to me when you do."
Haz hung up the phone and tossed it down on the table. He turned his attention back to his computer screen. Haz went to work typing on the keyboard. His screen zoomed in on the coordinates of where the plane was last picked up on the radar.
"Dammitt. This is not how it was supposed to happen." Haz picked his phone up again and dialed a number.
"Yeah, we got a problem." he went on to explain the situation to the person on the other end of the phone. Haz gave them the coordinates. "I want someone down there to check things out. report back to me immediately."
Haz hung up his phone and collapsed back down into his chair. He rubbed his temples, in an effort to stop the migraine he could feel coming on. "Months and months of planning and it comes to this?...Someone's going to pay for this."
Sarah and Casey arrived on the scene within an hour or so of getting the news. Beckman already had a crew on site. They had extinguished the fire and were going through the rubble when the two had arrived. Sarah and Casey flashed their badges as they approached the scene. Sarah gasped when she saw the wreckage. She couldn't help but notice there were no signs of any survivors.
"Damn." Casey said as they approached the agent who seemed to be in charge of the operation there. "Colonel John Casey." he said approaching the man and flashing his badge once again. "This is Lieutenant Walker. What do we got?" he asked the agent.
"Colonel, Lieutenant, It doesn't look good. When we arrived on scene the whole plane was engulfed in flames. It didn't take us long to put it out. We just started going through the wreckage. We were able to pull the body of the pilot out. His remains were pretty burned up, but we think he may have been shot. There's nothing conclusive yet to back that up though.
"So this was no accident?" Casey asked.
"Sure doesn't look that way."
"According to the General, there were three men on the plane, including the pilot."
"Well, we haven't recovered anymore bodies yet, feel free to look around, just use precautions, it is a crime scene, but you know the drill."
Casey shook his head and released a small acknowledging grunt. Sarah just stood and took in the scene before her. Daylight was approaching allowing more to be seen. the more she saw, the more horrific the scene became.
"You ready for this Walker?" Casey asked.
Sarah's eyes watered, she shook her head. "I can't....I can't do this Casey. I thought it would be okay…I just…can't."
Casey shook his head in agreement. "Yeah...why don't you hang back here. I'll check things out." Sarah nodded. She took a few steps back and watched as Casey joined the team of agents searching through the debris.
About 20 minutes into the search Sarah noticed that several of the agents had zeroed in on one particular piece of the rubble.
"We got something here!" She heard one of the men yell. Sarah watched in anticipation from a distance. She wanted nothing more than to see an alive and well Chuck Bartowski emerge from the wreckage.
Casey joined the other agents as they sifted through the debris. Something shiny caught Casey's eye. He bent down to retrieve it. Casey held the object in his hand and examined it. He recognized it right away. Casey frowned as he tucked it in his pocket.
"Over here." another agent yelled. Casey approached just as they were unveiling a body. The body was burned beyond recognition. Before the men were finished pulling the first body, the second one was discovered.
"We got another one." Casey turned his attention to the other group of men who were digging out yet another charred body.
Casey felt his stomach turn. One of these burned corpses belonged to Chuck. Casey felt sick. He backed away from the wreck just in time. Sarah watched as her partner purged his dinner from the night before. Sarah gasped and her hand flew to cover her mouth, this was not good. She felt sick herself. She paced the ground, waiting for word from Casey. She watched anxiously as he chatted with some fellow agents. They seemed to be deep in conversation.
Finally it appeared as though Casey had wrapped it up and was now slowly making his way towards Sarah. Sarah continued her pacing. She had no idea what to expect from Casey but she had a horrible feeling. Finally he was standing in front of her.
Sarah swallowed hard. "Well?" she asked.
"Sarah…" Casey slowly reached into his pocket to retrieve the item he recovered. Taking her hand in his free one, he held it as he placed the object that belonged to her in it. "I'm sorry."
Sarah looked down to her hand to discover her charm bracelet. The bracelet that Chuck had given her. The same bracelet she had slipped into his coat pocket for good luck when they said goodbye. "No." Sarah shook her head in disbelief. The tears welled in her eyes. "No!!" She screamed at him.
Sarah yanked her hand away from Casey's. She turned her attention back to the wreckage to see several agents placing two corpses into body bags. The tears fell effortlessly, there was no holding them back. "No."
Casey approached her slowly and placed his hand on her shoulder. Sarah shrugged it off. "NO!" Sarah turned to face him "WHY?" Sarah pushed him away. Casey stood there dumbfounded as Sarah wailed on his chest, Casey just stood there and took it. "Why?" Sarah raised her fists to him once again. Casey caught them in his hands before they could make contact with his body.
"Sarah." he started.
"Why?' she sobbed and collapsed into Casey's arms. Casey stood visibly uncomfortable, not knowing what to do next as Sarah cried, burying her face into his chest. Finally Casey hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. "I was supposed to protect him." she cried.
"Sarah, you did everything you could….you did your job…this isn't your fault."
Sarah shook her head as she pulled away from Casey. "No! If I did my job, Chuck would still be alive." She turned from Casey to walk away.
"Sarah!" he called to her, but she just kept walking.
The sun was now high in the sky, illuminating their surroundings. Casey grunted as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He quickly dialed the General and prepared himself to update her on the situation.
"Come on Carmichael, there's a highway up here." Agent McKinley reassured his fellow agent.
Agent McKinley had bandaged Chuck up the best he could given their circumstances. Doing his best, he managed to at least slow the bleeding from Chuck's gunshot wound but he couldn't stop it completely. The two had been on foot for a few hours now, stumbling around the wooded area, hoping to come across any sign of life. They had been unsuccessful, until now that it is.
"Chuck."
"What?" replied McKinley.
"Call me Chuck. I think we're beyond formalities, wouldn't you say?" Chuck staggered alongside him as the two made their way up an embankment. McKinley extended his hand to him and helped him up a steep portion of the hill.
"I guess you could say that." the older man replied. "You can call me Dan." McKinley stated as the two approached the top of the hill and came to a stop.
"Okay Dan, so what now?" Chuck asked as the two stood now on the side of the highway. Chuck grabbed hold of a tree and rested his body against it.
"We lay low. We can't draw too much attention to ourselves. If Haz knows that we weren't on that plane when it went down then he's going to have his people looking for us. We need to try to catch a ride or something because I don't think you are going to get much further on foot. You need proper medical attention. The only problem with that is we both look like we were in a war zone, all banged up, bruised and bleeding, we need to be careful who we come n contact with."
"Great." Chuck stood up tall and looked down the road both ways. There were no road signs giving any indication as to where they were. "So, which way do we go?" he asked.
"Good question. You pick."
Chuck looked down the road again. He turned to look the other way. "How about this way?" Chuck pointed to his right.
McKinley nodded and the two men started down the side of the highway.
"Roger that General." Casey hung up his phone and tucked it into his pocket. He turned his attention to Sarah who was about 100 feet from him. She sat underneath a tree, her back to him. With much hesitation Casey approached.
"Walker."
Sarah sat motionless.
"I filled Beckman in on the situation here. She told us to come back in. There's nothing more we can do here. The clean up crew will take it from here. The choppers ready to take us back."
Sarah didn't respond. After a moment or so, silently she stood up and walked towards Casey. "Let's go.' She said as she passed him and headed for the chopper. Casey turned and followed.
As they approached the chopper, Casey was caught off guard by a familiar face.
"Steven's? What the hell are you doing here?" Casey questioned the agent. Sarah gave him her own questioning look.
"Beckman filled us in on the crash, I thought I would check things out, see if you guys needed any help." Steven's replied.
"You're not authorized to be here Steven's!" Sarah snapped at him.
"What's the big deal? You know I'm a part of this team too, why should I have to miss out on all the action?"
"Steven's you are a secondary field agent, I give the orders here. My team consisted of three agents and you're not one of them. I'm ordering you to return to your base immediately!" Sarah replied.
Steven's stood there for a moment a surprised expression on his face.
"This is ridiculous! I've never seen an operation run so poorly in my life, no wonder your asset is dead!"
Casey quickly stepped between Sarah and Agent Steven's before Sarah had a chance to react. "That's enough Stevens, You heard the Lieutenant. You're dismissed." Casey stared him down and after a few moments Agent Stevens backed down.
"Whatever." Stevens replied before turning to walk back to his car.
Casey watched him leave then turned to face Sarah who appeared to be in a daze.
"Let's get out of here Walker." Casey placed his hand on her arm to give her a nudge and the two of them boarded the helicopter.
Sarah stared out the window as the chopper took flight. She felt her stomach turn as she took in the full scene below. The smoke, the wreckage, the agents on the ground. It was all too much. Sarah leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes. She had seen enough today to last her a lifetime.
"I gotta….I gotta stop." Chuck gasped as he tried to catch his breath. Everything was really starting to take it's toll on him. He sat himself down on a large boulder.
"You doing okay?" Dan asked as he moved towards Chuck.
"Yeah, I just need to sit for a few minutes."
"Damn, you're bleeding through." Dan pointed to the large red stain that seeped through Chuck's shirt. Dan ripped part of his shirt sleeve off and went to work adjusting Chuck's bandages, hoping to control the bleeding.
"How far do you think we've gone?" Chuck asked.
"I don't know, maybe 6 miles or so."
"I can't believe not a single car has passed by. Not even a road sign to give us any indication as to where the hell we are!"
"Relax Chuck, Getting all worked up isn't going to help us."
"Don't get worked up? How can I not get worked up Dan? The ring knows who I am, they know I'm the intersect. When they don't find my body, they're going to know I'm out here somewhere. They'll do whatever it takes to get to me. My family and friends are in danger. I need to get to my team, I need to get to Sarah."
"We will Chuck, but we need to get you medical attention."
'That can wait. My brother in law is a doctor, he can fix me up when I get home, assuming we ever get home."
"Alright, well let's get a move on then." McKinley extended his hand to Chuck to help him up. Chuck slowly came to his feet. "Dan!" Chuck motioned to the road ahead of them. A beat up old, red pickup truck was headed in their direction.
"Okay, just play it cool, let me do the talking." The two men turned their attention to the oncoming vehicle. They waved their arms in the air, desperate to flag the truck down. The truck slowed as it approached and eventually came to a stop alongside the road. The two men approached hesitantly.
"You fellas okay? You look like you've been in some kind of accident or something." The driver of the truck stated.
"A deer ran out in front of us a few miles down the road. We swerved to miss it and our car went off the road and struck a tree." McKinley informed him.
"You fellas need to call the cops, get a tow truck out here?"
"No, actually, we're not ever sure where here is. Can you tell us where we are?" McKinley asked.
"You don't know where you are?" the driver of the truck questioned.
"No, we're not from around here. We were just passing through, then the whole thing with the car…can you tell me where we are?" Chuck stood behind McKinley as he spoke with the man behind the wheel of the pickup.
"Well we're just outside the town of Unionville."
"Unionville?" McKinley asked.
"Yeah Unionville. It's a small town about 40 minutes from San Bernardino."
"Sir do you think that you could give us a ride?"
"Well, I'm only headed into town, but I'll take you as far as I'm going." the driver stated.
"That would be great. You mind if we just climb in the back of your truck?"
The man motioned with his head for Dan and Chuck to climb into the back. The two men climbed up, settled in, and the three were off.
Sarah and Casey were back at Castle by late that afternoon. The two began preparing their reports for General Beckman. They worked diligently for the next two hours; the silence in the room was deafening. Casey finally spoke up.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked out of nowhere catching Sarah off guard.
She shook her head 'no' and continued to work on her report.
"Want to order some food or something?"
"I'm not hungry, but you go ahead."
"Why don't you go home Walker, take the rest of the night off? I can handle it from here."
"Casey, it's fine!…really." She replied.
Sarah no sooner got the words out and the General popped up on the monitor.
"Lieutenant, Colonel, I'm waiting anxiously for your reports." She stated as the two approached the screen.
"We were just about to fax them over General." Casey replied.
"Very well then."
Beckman was about to disconnect when Casey interjected.
"General, any new information?"
" Nothing too significant. My agents have been unable to recover the black box from the aircraft. We were able to determine that the pilot on the plane took a bullet to the back of the head. The other bodies we have not been able to identify as of yet; however, being that there were only three individuals on the plane to begin with and there were three bodies recovered, it doesn't take a genius to put two and two together."
"General." Sarah spoke up. "Who would have shot the pilot? The agent that was escorting Chuck back to L.A, was he an undercover ring operative?"
"I don't know Lieutenant, we are still investigating this. The recovered bodies have been taken to a lab for further examining. Right now our best bet is to find that black box, it might give us some indication as to what went on on that plane."
"General, I have some serious concerns that you have undercover ring members on your team there. They can't be trusted."
"Lieutenant Walker, are you trying to tell me that I am working with double agents? That I am so naive that I wouldn't know a ring operative if I came across one?"
"General, anyone could be a part of the ring. If we have learned nothing from all this, I would like to think that at least that is abundantly clear." Sarah responded.
"General, with all due respect, Walker is right. Anyone could be a part of this organization at this point. We need to at least consider that." Casey stated.
"Very well, I will personally see to it that my agents are all put through an extensive screening process in hopes of drawing out anyone who might be affiliated with the ring. Is there anything else?"
"Yes General there is." Sarah responded. " I would like Agent Stevens removed from this mission."
"And why is that Lieutenant?" Beckman questioned.
"General, he constantly defies orders, he does not do well with authority figures, particularly women in authority. He is a liability."
"General, the guy is a loose cannon. He just doesn't fit on this team." Casey chimed in.
"I will take your concerns into consideration when I am doing my reviews, but until then, he will remain on the team." Beckman didn't even give Sarah or Casey the chance to protest before signing off.
Sarah shook her head. "She is ridiculous! How many times do you have to be right about something for her to actually listen?"
"Don't worry, I don't foresee Stevens remaining here much longer. The kid's gonna screw up big time sooner or later." Casey tried to reassure her.
"Let's just hope no one gets hurt when he does."
Casey grunted in agreement.
"I'm going to call it a day here, can you fax these reports to Beckman?" Sarah asked as she slipped on her black leather jacket.
"Sure."
"Thanks." Sarah replied as she made her exit.
Sarah didn't even make it to her car before the tears started to fall. She had to get out of here. Everything reminded her of him. Sarah turned on the engine, she was caught off guard by the music making its way from her speakers. It was a cd that Chuck had made for her. Sarah was never much of a music fan, and Chuck wanted to change that. He was constantly making her discs of what he considered to be great music and Sarah humored him by accepting his gifts. This last CD he made her was different though. It was all songs that "reminded him of her", that's how he had worded it. Sarah loved the cd and listened to it almost nonstop in the car ever since Chuck had left for his training. She played it when she was missing him at night and couldn't sleep. It was a comfort for her, but right now, it was pure agony. Sarah reached for the dial and turned it off. Pressing her foot to the floor, she sped out of the parking lot.
"So what's the plan once we get to town?" Chuck asked his companion in the back of the pickup truck.
Chuck no sooner said this and the truck hit a pothole. Chuck groaned and held his side.
"What's next is we get you to a hospital." Dan replied taking in the scene before him.
"No, I told you, my brother in law will take care of me when I get home."
"Chuck, you're getting weaker, you've lost a lot of blood, you have a bullet lodged inside of you, the more you move around, the greater the risk of it moving, It needs to be removed." Dan pleaded.
"I know that Dan, so lets just figure out a way to get home so I can have it taken care of."
"Fine, but you need to at least let me change that dressing. If there's a hospital in town, I can sneak in and get some supplies. Then we figure out how to get to L.A. the best way would be for us to secure a vehicle and just drive there ourselves."
"Okay. How long do you think it will take us to get back once we secure a vehicle?"
"Once we have a vehicle, maybe a couple hours, but we have to get one first."
Chuck sighed in frustration. He was in pain, much more than he was letting on and the only thing he wanted was to see Sarah. To hold her in his arms, kiss her and profess his undying love for her. He needed to feel close to her right now, to forget the distance that separated them. Chuck reached into his pant pocket hoping to find some comfort in Sarah's charm bracelet. Chuck panicked when he reached into his pocket and found it empty. He frantically checked his other pocket in search of the item.
"What is it?" Dan asked him as he continued his search for the missing object.
"It's gone!" Chuck exclaimed.
"What's gone?"
"Sarah's bracelet. It was…it was in my pocket on the plane…It's gone."
"Calm down Chuck, it's just a bracelet."
"It's not just a bracelet Dan. It's so much more for us."
"Chuck, if it came down to Sarah either losing the bracelet or losing you, I'm willing to bet that she would let the bracelet go. You are alive, that is what matters."
Chuck sighed once again. "Yeah." he replied before leaning his head back against the cab of the truck and closing his eyes.
Several minutes had passed and Chuck had not moved from the position he was in.
McKinley couldn't help but notice the truck's speed decreasing, they appeared to be coming to a town.
"Looks like we're almost there." he mentioned to Chuck. Chuck opened his eyes and looked around. Dan observed him carefully, he was not doing well.
The truck pulled into the parking lot of a small town hardware store and came to a stop. The driver of the truck got out and made his way around the back of the truck to greet his two passengers.
"Well fellas, this is my stop."
Dan and chuck emerged from the truck.
"There's a police station across the street here. And if you take a left out of the parking lot here, you'll see a seven eleven. There's a hospital about a half mile down the road if you want to get those cuts and bruises looked at. Your friend here looks like maybe he could use a doctor. He's pretty pale." The man motioned to Chuck.
"Yeah, we just may do that. Thank you very much for the ride sir." McKinley extended his hand to the man as they said their goodbyes. McKinley wrapped an arm around Chuck's waist and threw Chuck's arm over his shoulder for support as the two started back on foot towards the hospital.
"I…I..can walk..Dan." Chuck mumbled as he groaned in pain.
"Of Course you can Chuck, I'm just trying to save time here and get us to the hospital as soon as possible."
"I'm not going the hospital Dan…I'm going…home."
"I know Chuck, I'm going to sneak in and get some supplies for you, remember?"
"Huh…oh…yeah."
The two continued to stagger down the road, the small town hospital well within their sights.
After a long grueling day, Casey had finally made his way home. He tossed his keys down on the table and headed for his cupboard where he retrieved a bottle of whiskey and a glass. Casey made his way to the living room. He placed the bottle and glass on the coffee table in front of him and settled into his chair. Casey filled his glass with whiskey and downed it in one gulp. He released a sigh and leaned back resting his head on the back of the chair and he allowed the events of the day to sink in. It had been a horrible day, not just for Sarah, but for Casey as well. He lost a member of his team today. Sure he had been hard on Chuck, he teased him mercilessly, but he wouldn't have given the kid the time of day had he not cared about him. Casey poured himself another glass of whiskey. Just as he brought the glass to his lips there was a knock at the door. Casey set the glass back down on the table.
"Who the hell could that be?" Casey muttered as he made his way to the door. Casey peaked through the peephole and was surprised when he saw Agent Erin Malloy standing there.
Casey opened the door to greet her.
"Erin! What are you doing here? Did we have plans tonight?" Casey asked.
"No John, I just…I heard about the plane crash…I just I thought…are you okay?" She asked, the concern evident in her voice.
Casey didn't even know what to say to her. John Casey does not share feelings, who the hell did this girl think she was coming over to his place and asking him questions like this.
"What happened today was unfortunate, but it's the job. We do what we need to do for our country and hope that along the way no one gets hurt. Sometimes it works to our advantage and other times it doesn't."
Casey stood before her, a cold expression on his face, but she was pretty sure she could see a tear forming in his eye. He struggled to hold it back.
"John, that doesn't make it hurt any less."
Erin stepped through the doorway and wrapped her arms around him. She pulled him in close and held him tightly against her small frame. "It's okay to feel something." She whispered against his chest.
"I don't know how." he replied as his arms came down around her. "I…forgot how."
"Let me help you." She pulled away from him enough to look at him. The tear he had struggled to hold back was now making it's way down his cheek. She reached up and wiped it away with her thumb. Leaning up she left a small kiss in it's place.
Sarah had driven around for hours. Eventually she had found herself sitting on the beach watching the sunset. It was their special spot and right now all she wanted was to feel close to him. If she closed her eyes she could almost feel his arms around her, reminiscent of their last morning together.
"Good morning." Chuck said with a smile.
She looked up at him. "Hi." was her response as she pulled herself to a sitting position. Chuck did the same. Sarah crossed her arms across her chest in an attempt to warm herself up. "What time is it?" She asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
Chuck glanced down at his wrist. "Almost 7." he replied. "You're shivering." He said as he grabbed the blanket laying in the sand next to them. "Come here."
Sarah moved closer to him and he pulled her into his lap and wrapped the blanket around them. Sarah immediately felt warm in his embrace. "Better?" he asked as he leaned down to her, his lips grazed the side of her head.
"Much." she said settling into him.
"How'd you sleep last night?" He leaned down once again and trailed a few kisses down her neck.
Sarah closed her eyes to fully enjoy the sensation of his lips as they made contact with her skin. "Mmmm….I slept well." She replied. "You?" she asked turning her head to look at him.
"Like a baby." He replied.
The two sat in silence for a while, just enjoying being in each other's arms as they looked out at the ocean, watching the sunrise, neither of them wanting to acknowledge what the day would bring.
"Do you remember the last time we sat in this very spot watching the sunrise?" he asked finally breaking the silence.
Sarah turned in his arms to face him, a look of confusion on her face followed by one of recognition as it finally dawned on her as her mind drifted back to that morning two years ago. It was the morning after their first "date." Chuck had just found out that a super computer known as the intersect, which contained all the government's secrets had been uploaded into his brain thanks to his one time best friend and old college roommate, Bryce Larkin.
"I remember." she replied as she settled back into his arms.
"Do you remember what you asked me to do that morning?" Chuck grazed her temple with his lips. He inhaled deeply taking in her scent.
"Of course…I asked you to trust me." she replied.
"And I do Sarah. I trust you .…You are the only person I trust completely…Sarah…it's my turn now to ask you to do something for me?"
"Hmmm?" she replied.
"Wait for me?" His request caught her off guard. How could he think she wouldn't wait for him? Sarah pulled away from his warm embrace and turned to face him once again.
"Chuck." she started but didn't get out much of anything else before he interrupted her as usual.
"Sarah I know it's a lot to ask, It's just I don't know how long I'll be gone and I'm sure guys ask you out all the time, I mean look at you, I just…now that we finally have the go ahead to pursue this, I just…I'd hate for anything to come between us before we get that chance. I wish I didn't have to leave, but if my leaving for a while means we can be together…" Chuck rambled on. Sarah smiled and did the only thing she could think of to shut him up. She leaned in pressed her lips against his, catching him off guard. It wasn't long before he was kissing her back and the two were engaged in a tender, passionate lip lock. A moment later the two parted lips, breathless as they gazed into one another's eyes.
"Chuck." his name escaped her lips.
"Yeah?" was all he could say his eyes fell to her lips, hungry to taste their sweetness once again.
"I've waited two years for you, I think I can wait a little bit longer." She smiled up at him. The two moved in closer once again closing the distance between them.
Sarah opened her eyes as the memory began to fade. She promised him she would wait for him and she did. But he never said he might not be coming back. That was never part of the plan. Sarah wiped at the tears that trailed down her cheeks.
Sarah toyed with the charm bracelet that she held tightly in her hand. She thought back to the day that Chuck had given it to her. No one had ever given her anything so personal before. No one had ever cared about her enough to do so.
"This is something you give a real girlfriend she had told him."
But he didn't care. He had wanted her to have it and he wouldn't take no for answer.
Sarah slipped the bracelet on her wrist as the memories continued to plague her.
Sarah and Chuck strolled the beach hand in hand. They had both decided to remove their shoes early on. Sarah loved the feel of the sand between her toes. "What a beautiful night. Have you ever seen so many stars in the sky?" They had come to a stop so Sarah could take in the view.
Chuck couldn't help but stare. The moonlight cast a glow upon her face like nothing he had ever seen before and he was mesmerized by her beauty.
Sarah turned her attention to Chuck when he failed to respond to her question, only to catch him staring at her.
"What? Do I have ice cream on my face or something?" Sarah wiped at her face and Chuck laughed.
"No, not at all…I just…I've never seen anything so beautiful in my whole life. Sarah….you take my breath away." Chuck moved in to brush a few strands of hair behind her ear. His hand lingered longer than necessary and slowly made it's way down her cheek. She lost herself in the depths of his eyes and her breath caught in her throat. She suddenly found it very hard to breathe at that moment.
Sarah and Chuck found themselves being pulled closer and closer together until they were mere inches apart. Chuck's gaze fell to Sarah's lips, they looked so inviting and if he closed his eyes he could almost taste their sweetness.
Sarah's eyes drifted to Chuck's lips, she wanted nothing more at that moment then to feel them pressed tightly against hers, moving in sync with the pounding of their hearts and their labored breaths, igniting a fire neither of them could put out.
Sarah placed her hand at the nape of Chuck's neck and brought him in closer to her. His hands simultaneously moved to her waist and together they closed the gap between them. Their lips met briefly before devouring one another. Chuck's hands moved frantically up Sarah's back pulling her closer to him if that was even possible. Sarah ran her fingers through Chuck's curly locks urgently as their tongues danced with one another in a desperate plea not to let go.
After several minutes of passionate kisses and desire filled embraces, the couple's need for air eventually outweighed their need for one another and their lips parted slowly as they tried to catch their breath.
Chuck held her close to him, his heart was beating so hard he thought that it might actually explode. Sarah held on to him tightly, afraid to let go, afraid if she did, she may never experience the warmth of his embrace again.
A few minutes later the two were finally able to catch their breath. Chuck pressed his lips softly against her forehead. She looked up at him and a single tear made it's way down her cheek. Chuck gently brushed it away with his thumb.
"How am I going to say goodbye to you?" he asked before resting his forehead against hers. Sarah did the only thing she could. She pulled him into a tight embrace and held on for dear life.
Sarah wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled them tightly to her chest. She wiped the tears from her eyes and buried her face into her knees. The sun had set and darkness had taken over. The moon and the stars her only source of light. Sarah's body rocked in sync with the soothing sound of the waves as they crashed against the shore.
Sarah was startled when her cell phone rang. She reached inside her coat pocket to retrieve it. Looking at the screen Sarah saw Ellie's name pop up. Sarah didn't think it was possible but at that very moment her heart sunk even further. How would she ever be able to tell Ellie that Chuck was gone? They lost him and he was never coming back.
Hope you enjoyed it. I look forward to your feedback. Thanks for reading.