A/N: i'm starting to sound like a broken record but i've put up a timeline on my profile if you ever feel lost between the 'then' and 'now. Oh, and reading Chuck vs the missing years and long days and night would help.
Chapter 8: Sarah vs the Photograph
Sarah dreaded the call. On her list of cringe-worthy activities, it surpassed getting a root canal, being around children and hard as it was to believe, confessing her feelings to Chuck.
As she pressed the phone to her ear and waited to be transferred, she took a few large gulps of water. It did little to settle her nerves but at least it was something to do, something to keep her occupied.
She still didn't know what to say, how to explain what she'd done. Sarah Walker had never run away from a mission before. Had never disobeyed direct orders. She was supposed to be the agency's most reliable agent, perfect records across the board.
You can kiss that goodbye.
"Agent Walker."
Sarah gulped. Even though she had a mental image of the general sitting dwarfed by her office, it wasn't enough to shake away her fears.
"Ma'am," she said, clearing her throat. There was a pause on the line. Sarah had no choice but to speak again. "Did you get my report?"
"Yes," she clipped. "I have to say I am extremely disappointed by the turn of events."
Sarah's spirits sank.
"You stated yourself the Intersect was of the utmost importance. I did what I thought was prudent."
The general wasn't the general for nothing. "You were removed from the team for reasons that are even clearer now. You had no right to abandon your mission and return to L.A.."
Sarah clutched her glass and polished it off, wiping her lips with the back of her hand.
"I did what I thought was important."
"No one asked you for your opinion, Agent Walker." The woman's words chilled her down to the marrow of her bones. It was hard to imagine such a formidable voice belonged to such a tiny woman. "Your orders are to return immediately for evaluation."
"No." Sarah held her tongue but it was too late. The words were already out of her mouth. "No, General, I'm requesting a leave of absence."
There was a long silence on the other end. Sarah leaned forwards in her seat, holding her breath in anticipation.
"Fine," the woman responded bitterly. "Perhaps a break will clear your head." Sarah smiled. She didn't see how, but she was willing to play along. "When your vacation days run out, I expect you back here for a full examination and psych consult."
Sarah felt as if she'd just dodged a bullet. "Thank you, General," she said, knowing how generous the woman was being.
Just as she thought the conversation was about to end, the general spoke up again. "Oh, and Agent Walker?"
"Yes, General?"
"Don't think we don't know what you're trying to do here."
When the phone didn't pick up after the third ring, Sarah's spy senses began to fill with dread. After the fourth, she seriously considered calling Chuck's office in case he had gone against his word and snuck off.
Then, just as the line was about to go to voice-mail, she heard something on the other end.
"Chuck?" she asked, and leaned forwards in her chair. She perked her ears and listened in anticipation, trying to sort out what she thought might have been something falling to the ground. She distinctively heard her husband curse, more static and fumbling, then finally his voice, stuffy and hoarse.
"Sarah!" he exclaimed. "Hey, honey, what are you up to?" His voice was so deceptively calm that she never would have suspected otherwise if not for the earlier dissonance.
She arched her brows in question. "I could ask you the same."
"Uh, nothing. I'm just getting some rest, keeping up my fluids. Watching the baby. Nothing interesting. Just recuperating."
Sarah pressed the phone closer to her ear, straining to make out the background noise. "Is Chuck watching TV?"
There was a pause. "Uh, no, Chuck is not watching TV." Another pause. "Since when did I become the secondary Chuck? I came first you know."
Sarah bit her lips to keep from laughing. "You know what I meant."
"Yeah, but I'm the only one," he retorted.
"Don't change subject, mister." Sarah strained her ears again, trying to figure out what she was hearing in the background. "Chuck! Are you doing what I think you're doing?"
"Uh..." She already knew the answer before he could find an excuse.
"Chuck!" she cried in exasperation. "You promised to take a day off work so you could get better."
"I know, I know!" he replied, the congestion lending an extra melancholy tone to his voice. "But I felt a little better and I really wanted to try out the new simulator."
Sarah rolled her eyes. When it came to computers, he was like a kid in a toy store.
"You shouldn't do that in front of Chuck, it's too violent for her."
Sarah heard him snort in response, that or it was a badly suppressed cough. "Says the one who holds her in her lap while she reads restricted files."
"That's not the same. Chuck can't read yet but she's certainly not blind." If her husband had been beside her, she would have been tempted to throw something at him. "Where is she?"
"Playing with some boxes. You know the ones you pulled out of storage but haven't gotten to sorting yet?"
Sarah sighed. She just knew that Charlotte would run the house when she wasn't around. "Why are you letting her play with those? She has toys. We just bought her those wooden blocks; show them to her."
"She doesn't like toys, Sarah," Chuck reminded. "She likes making a mess."
In the background, Sarah thought she could hear a familiar high pitched squeal.
"You checked the contents right?" A chill ran through her as she tried to recall what she'd put into those boxes. They had been from her old hotel room, before they had married and settled down together. She'd put them into storage but just recently decided to sort out the contents and throw out the junk.
"Yeah, just some old magazines and DVD's," Chuck said with a yawn. "She loves tearing the pages out, you should see her. She's like the Cookie Monster but with paper."
Sarah was less than amused. "Are you watching her to make sure she doesn't put any of that in her mouth?"
There was a pause.
"Chuck?"
"I have to go now," he said, his voice picking up with urgency. "I'll see you for lunch?"
Sarah suppressed a smile. "Lunch," she agreed. "And try to keep her out of trouble, please?"
As if to confirm her suspicions, she heard another peal of high-pitched laughter followed by Chuck's frantic voice.
"No, Piglet, don't put that in your mouth. It won't taste good."
There was some whining, the sound of paper being torn, then Chuck's voice again.
"Baby, put that down."
Something fell to the ground. "Piglet, sweetie, don't—"
Sarah listened silently on the other end until the line died, wishing she could be there if only for a laugh or two.
Sarah walked down the unfamiliar hallway, sneaking a peak into each of the open cubicles hoping to find a familiar face. Thus far, her search had come up empty. She didn't recognize anyone here.
Sarah stopped and looked behind her, taking into account her surroundings.
God, everything in this place looks the same. It was only two in the afternoon and the blinds were already drawn. The drone of the telephone and photocopier are all that breaks the silence.
It was the most depressing office she'd ever walked into, a landscape of grey; dark grey carpeting, grey cubicle walls, grey ceiling tiles. Grey, grey, grey. Sarah had only been inside for a few minutes and already she was depressed.
Suddenly a hand gripped her wrist and yanked her into the nearest cubicle. Sarah's reflexes are too slow to keep from being thrown against the office chair but she manages to recover and smash the nearest office supply into the attacker's face.
"For crying out loud!" He swears something else under his breath but Sarah catches it anyway. It brings a smile to her face.
"You brought it upon yourself, Casey," she said as she chucked the stapler back onto his desk. "Wouldn't a simple hello have sufficed?"
Casey growls like an angry bear as he clutches the side of his head. "I was trying to do you a favour."
Sarah wrinkles her brows as she takes in her old partner's office. She notes the personal touches; the photo of the late president still in its silver frame beside the computer monitor, the whimsical bonsai tree in the other corner...and a poster of kittens tacked against the wall?
Sarah tried not to look too amused. "I see you've upgraded from selling computers."
Casey bared his teeth.
"Taking the cover a little far, aren't we?" She didn't think the man could look any more out of place in his ill-fitting business suit. The cubicle didn't help either. He looked like a gorilla stuck inside a hamster cage.
Casey made nice and smiled. "Bartowski's got himself a job programming for these idiots. Someone has to watch him."
Sarah's smile immediately dropped. It wasn't like Casey to just grin and bear it.
"What is it?"
Casey's smile deepened. He crossed his arms, nearly swaggering with smugness. "Bartowski's started work on the new Intersect. He's pretty determined to get even with his ex."
Sarah swallowed slowly. "Where is he?"
Casey pointed vaguely over his shoulder to a few cubicles down. "Whoa, slow down, Walker," he said, grabbing her wrist just as she was about to take off.
She glared at him, ready to snap. "What now?"
"I'll take you to him, so long as you promise to behave yourself." He chuckled under his breath in that annoying way he was apt to do when he meant the opposite of what he said. "Wouldn't want you to cause a scene now would we?"
Sarah wrinkled her brows. "What are you talking about?" She was mildly offended he would think she would be so unprofessional. Even if she wanted to yell at Chuck, she wouldn't do it here in front of everyone.
Casey just laughed ominously.
.
Casey escorted Sarah down the maze of cubicles, stopping short at the last one on the right. She turned to the man with a questioning look in her eyes but he stood back and refused to walk any further.
With an indiscernible grunt, he jerked his head towards the cubicle.
"Go on," he said, his face broadening into an overeager grin.
Sarah stepped forwards cautiously, but by then she had already caught a hint of his curly brown hair peeking out from the corner of the thin grey wall.
"Chuck!" she cried. "What are you doing? You were just released from the hospital two days ago."
He swivelled in his seat to face her, his skin as pale as the whites of his eyes. He looked nothing short of bewildered.
"Sarah!" he exclaimed and looked nervously over her shoulder at Casey. "This is a surprise. What are you doing here?"
Sarah frowned. She leaned down to his ear and whispered, "Isn't this what girlfriends do, Chuck? Visit their boyfriends at work?" She smiled and stole a glance at Casey who had made the prudent decision to look away.
Chuck gulped. He stood to his feet and wrapped her in a hasty embrace.
"Of course, you just surprised me." He grinned nervously at her, his lips trembling to hold the smile.
Sarah frowned. She reached for his hand; all her suspicions confirmed when she clasped them in hers.
"Chuck..." she said in warning. "What's wrong?"
When he didn't respond, Sarah was filled with ill premonitions. She was too late. Chuck had already changed his mind. This was a record, even for her—they had been dating for all of three days.
Before Chuck could speak, someone broke into the conversation.
"Hey, handsome. I've been looking for you."
Chuck gulped audibly as he gave a slow nod of acknowledgement.
Sarah hadn't even seen the individual when she decided they were not going to be friends. She turned swiftly around, nearly coming head-to-head with a brunette holding two mugs full of coffee.
The woman smiled and stepped around her, offering one of the mugs to Chuck. She was like a breath of fresh air that had entered this drab looking office. Beautiful and immaculately dressed, she didn't belong with the hunched over men in dreary suits and ties.
Chuck accepted the gesture but being the smart man he was, offered it to Sarah in turn. The blond only glared at the stranger.
"Who are you?" she demanded. Behind her, she heard Casey step into the cubicle, situating himself front and center for the entertainment.
The brunette crossed her arms and informed in her own self-assured manner, "I'm your replacement."
Sarah bristled. Already anticipating what was to come, Chuck quickly grabbed her hand and held her back.
"Okay, let me explain—"
"Don't worry, Walker, she's clean." Casey smirked at her, throwing in a wink for kicks.
"How do you know?" she snarled back. This had happened once before, and that was once too many.
The brunette shrugged. "I guess you'll just to take my word for it. That...and the fact I came highly recommended." She met Sarah's eyes and offered a silent challenge.
Go ahead, the woman seemed to say. Call them. Ask for my records.
Sarah clenched her jaw. They certainly don't make things easy now do they?
The woman smiled and extended her hand. "Carmen St. Clair."
Sarah was paged by the front desk at quarter past eleven.
"You have a visitor."
The receptionist didn't tell her who, but she had to assume it was someone they approved. Upon hearing the message, she immediately glanced at the clock. It was too early for them to show, although it wouldn't surprise her if her husband was desperate enough to seek help ahead of schedule.
She shook her head. How a baby who could only babble a handful of words managed to convince one of the country's brightest minds to do her bidding was beyond her. Not that she hadn't fallen victim to those same baby blues before.
Sarah reached for the photo of the three of them together. Ellie had taken it for them at the park. Charlotte beamed from her vantage point on Chuck's shoulders and Sarah had her arms around her husband, trying to hug them both. Two seconds after the photo had been taken, William had insisted on standing front and center, much to the baby's displeasure. Sarah almost wished she had developed the other photo instead, even the memory of it brought a smile to her face.
Sarah put the frame back just as a knock sounded at the door. Without waiting for a response, the visitor stepped in.
Sarah dropped the pen she'd been holding in her hand.
No way.
The visitor smiled, reading her thoughts exactly. "Yes way," she confirmed.
Sarah stood to her feet and gave her friend a reluctant embrace. She couldn't help but be on her guard, especially after being out of practice for so long.
"Always nice to see you, Carina," she said, ruefully recalling their last exchange. "To what do I owe this honour?"
Carina smiled but already Sarah could catch the devious design behind her pale blue eyes. "Jeez, I'm only a minute in the door and you're already talking business. It's all work and no play for you."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "And you are all play and no work," she taunted.
The brunette shrugged, not about to deny what was already a fundamental fact. She looked around the office and gave a whistle of appreciation.
"Not doing too badly for yourself here now are you?" she pondered, running her hand along the length of her desk. She plucked one of the frames from their resting place, turning it over to peruse. It was an older photo of them together, before Charlotte.
Carina whistled again. "Still the same assignment?" she asked, shaking her head. "That sucks."
Sarah narrowed her eyes. "No."
"No, not same assignment or no, it doesn't suck?" Carina smiled cheekily. "But oh right, I forgot. You like this kind of stuff."
Sarah tilted her head. Here we go again.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Admit it, Sarah, you've gotten soft." Carina returned the photo and plopped down in the client seat. "How long has it been, five years?
"A long time," Sarah agreed.
"Yeah, I spent most of it cavorting in Columbia." Her brows danced with meaning. "What have you been up to?"
Sarah wrinkled her brows. "You don't know?"
"Know what?"
Sarah smiled. She glanced at the family photo again and thought against telling her old friend. It would come as too much of a shock.
"Never mind. What can I do for you?" she asked instead. "I assume this isn't a social call."
Carina rolled her eyes. "You're still buying me lunch," she reminded, slipping a folded sheet of paper across the table. "End of tomorrow would be nice."
Sarah glanced at the details quickly before sending it through the shedder. "Something legal for once, Carina, this is a surprise," she teased.
"I know," the brunette admitted with a sigh. "How boring." She clasped her hands over the desk, a brow arched expectantly. "So...about lunch."
Sarah's lips curled into a grin. It had been too long. "Lunch..." she agreed, wondering if Carina's idea of a good time was still what it used to be.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Before she had a chance to say anything more, the door opened to reveal Sarah's two most favourite people in the world.
Carina shifted in her seat, craning her neck to see who it could be.
"Hey, Sarah, you won't believe—" Chuck said, sounding no closer to beating the flu than this morning. He stopped short when he realized they were not alone. "Oh! Sorry, I had no idea." He barely gave the brunette a second glance as he waved apologetically to the both of them. "So sorry."
"No, it's okay—" Sarah tried to call him back but Chuck moved quickly. He shifted the weight of the baby against his hip as he grabbed the knob of the door and retreated from the room.
Sarah sighed. "Give me a second," she said, purposefully ignoring the wide-eyed look on Carina's face as she raced to catch her husband. "Don't move!" she warned as she left her office.
.
"Chuck!" Sarah cried, grabbing his arm just as he reached the elevator. "Why didn't you stay?"
She finally saw her husband's point when both the people she called Chuck looked at her in question.
"Not you, sweetie," she whispered to her daughter. Charlotte reached out to her and Sarah took her gratefully in her arms. It had only been a few hours but she already missed the feeling of holding her little body tightly against hers.
"You looked like you were in the middle of something important," Chuck said, then shrugged. "I don't want to know any more than I already do."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Oh please, you've seen documents far more sensitive than what I touch on a daily basis."
He smiled. "Thanks, Sarah, that's very comforting," he deadpanned.
"You're welcome." She smoothed his curls which seemed even wilder than usual. "Did you have a nice nap?"
He winced and patted his hair down furtively with his palms. "Is it that noticeable?"
"A little," she lied, suppressing a grin. "So, you feel up for dining out today?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, let's go to that restaurant around the corner. I can't taste anything and I know they're generous with their sodium."
Sarah looked down at Charlotte. "Doesn't look like you're going to eat any lunch, huh?" she teased, unzipping the baby's sweater. The hint of purple that had peeked through grew into a stain that covered the entire front of her t-shirt.
The baby stared back with wide, innocent eyes, but her smile was much too devious to ignore.
Chuck groaned. "Crap, I should have changed her shirt," he said, smiling sheepishly at her. "I really didn't think you'd notice."
Sarah arched her brows. "How many did you let her have?" When Chuck wouldn't answer, she looked down at her daughter. "How many did Daddy let you have?" Charlotte giggled. "One? Two?" Charlotte shook her head and even when Sarah peppered her with kisses she wouldn't give him up.
"I think three," Sarah said.
Chuck shrugged but he was no good at keeping secrets. The answer was evident on his face. "At least they were fruit-flavoured popsicles?" he offered. "You're the one who said fruits were good for babies."
"You're a lost cause," Sarah said, shaking her head. "And you," she said, nuzzling nose-to-nose with her daughter. "You're terrible."
Charlotte just laughed, the scent of her breath sweet like grape-juice.
Sarah walked alongside Team Bartowski's latest member, all the while suppressing the urge to strangle her or push her through a window. She recognized the look in the woman's eyes; knew the way she carried herself better than the woman did.
Sarah had been the same once. Must be one of the upsides of youth, she supposed, to walk the earth as if you owned it, to take what you wanted without once thinking of the repercussions.
It was only then that Sarah realized how much she had changed. She couldn't afford to take risks anymore.
"You're not a computer programmer?" Sarah quipped as they walked out of the office building. As much as she wanted to linger by Chuck's side, she wasn't about to let Casey have the satisfaction of seeing her lose it.
Carmen wrinkled her brows. "No, of course not," she said, saying the words with disdain. "I work across the street at the bank."
Sarah forced a polite smile onto her face. "Because that's much better."
Carmen narrowed her eyes but she smiled just as politely back. "It's much more professional," she said, raising her brows with meaning.
Sarah stopped short and turned to look back at the office building they'd just stepped out of.
"Relax, Chuck's job is real." Carmen rolled her eyes. "Why he insists on it is beyond me."
Because he needs something normal in his life. Sarah held her tongue, but she revelled in the fact she knew him better than his cover girlfriend.
"So are we going to be neighbours then?" Sarah asked, catching up to the woman again. It was a thought that filled her with dread.
Carmen wrinkled her brows. "What makes you think that?"
"Well where else are you going to stay?"
Even as she posed the question, she realized the awful truth. Murphy's Law—what you dread will never be as bad as how things can actually be.
"You can't," she snapped.
Carmen smiled a smile so akin to Casey's that it only infuriated her all the more. "Why not?"
"The hotel's nice. They've got really great service," Sarah offered. Inwardly she rolled her eyes. She couldn't sell water to a fish if she tried. "You wouldn't have to worry about furniture or preparing any meals. You'd like it, really."
Carmen's eyes brightened with amusement. "We can maintain a better cover this way. Casey won't have to work so hard on surveillance."
Sarah clenched her fists. Even the thought of Chuck and this woman sharing a place made her see red.
"I don't like the arrangement," she informed bluntly.
Carmen shrugged. "That's too bad. This is the way I do things." She held her head high, as if she saw things from above the world. As if she had some existential power greater than the position she really had. "If you don't like it, talk to our superiors."
Carmen grinned like a contented cat, her features feral and feline. She knew. She knew this was a war Sarah had no way of winning.
One of the many annoyances of the young. They thought they knew everything.
"I know you think this life is great," Sarah said, meeting her gaze and bringing her down to reality. "You think you can be whoever you want and do whatever you want. You think you're invincible."
Carmen gave a disinterested nod; she knew.
"But someday," Sarah warned. "Someday you'll realize how lonely it is to pretend. Someday this life won't be as exciting as it once was."
Carmen shook her head, full of youthful hubris. "I doubt that."
Sarah finally allowed a genuine smile to escape her lips. She couldn't believe she had ever been like this.
"You'll tire of it," she said, speaking of it not even as a possibility but a truth; a fact.
When Sarah returned to her office, Carina was waiting to pounce on her.
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, her voice shaking with laughter. "Oh my God!"
Sarah did everything to keep from blushing. She could only imagine what her friend thought of her now. She had gone against everything they'd once believed in.
"You didn't," she challenged.
Sarah sighed. "I did." She bent down to pick up her bag. "And now I'm going out for lunch. You can come with us if you promise to behave."
She wondered if she was making a mistake. Did Carina even understand what that meant?
"Well what's the fun in that?" she asked as she sauntered towards the door.
Sarah rolled her eyes. "This isn't meant to be fun," she reminded. She caught her friend's hand just before they left the office. "Hey—" Carina stared innocently at her. "Don't even think about it."
The brunette smirked. She knew her too well. "Aw, come on, he's cute. Much cuter than I remembered."
"And married." Sarah held up her hand, flashing the diamond in her face. "Don't even think about it," she threatened again.
Carina wrinkled her brows. "Really?" she asked. "It's real?"
Sarah sighed contently, the thought alone brought a grin to her face. "A hundred percent."
.
Chuck and Charlotte were already waiting for them by the time Sarah and Carina arrive at the restaurant. There's a pile of crayons scattered across the table and Chuck's fighting with Charlotte at a test of wills; she wants to put them in her mouth and he's trying to convince her that coloring on paper is the way to go.
"Thank goodness you're here," he exclaimed, his grin reaching from ear to ear. When he sees Carina beside her, he waves shyly, his smile greatly subdued.
Sarah gets a thrill of satisfaction from seeing Carina bristle. It wasn't everyday the brunette met with clinical disinterest from the opposite sex. It's enough that Sarah even lets her friend slide up beside her husband in the booth. Sarah takes the opposite side, removing the crayons from Charlotte's hand as she sets down her bag.
"No, sweetie, not for you to eat," she coaxes.
Carina leaned over the table, peering at the baby with fascination. It was as if she'd never seen an infant before.
"What's your name, sweetie?" she cooed. It's so disarming to see the brunette turn soft and sweet that Sarah's unable to produce an answer at will.
Charlotte looks up at the stranger. Fraught with indecision, her little mouth purses on the edge between a smile and a frown.
"It's okay," Sarah whispered, smoothing her soft brown curls. "You can tell her."
Charlotte looks at the stranger again. After a moment's hesitation, she smiles a toothless smile.
"Piglet," she whispers quietly, looking to her father for confirmation. She doesn't say much, but when she does, her pronunciation is spot-on.
Sarah groans and Chuck pumps his fists in the air. "That's right, honey, you heard her!" He kisses his daughter on the cheeks. "What a smart girl!"
Sarah catches the curious expression on her friend's face. "Her name is Charlotte, but Chuck insists on calling her something else."
"And what do you call her?"
Sarah blushes. "Chuck," she confesses and when she says the name, Charlotte turns her head in question.
"Well that doesn't make a lot of sense," Carina said, but she winks at Sarah. She's always had that about her; always been good at playing for both sides. Turning to the little girl, Carina's voice softens. "Piglet. That's a very beautiful name."
Charlotte beams at the compliment and Sarah smiles too. She mouths a silent thank-you to her friend, and then picks up the menu to order.
It's then that Carina decides to turn her attention to Chuck. "You're being very rude, Chuckles. I haven't seen you in half a decade and all I get is a wave?"
Chuck balks and looks to Sarah for help but she only buries her smile behind the menu.
"Uh...sorry, how...how should I make it up to you?" he asked, kicking his wife subtly under the table. Sarah giggled. She takes Charlotte out of the child-seat and holds her in her lap, allowing her to play with the charm bracelet on her wrist.
"How about a kiss?" Carina licked her lips, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "We could pick up where we left off."
Chuck clutched his chest, looking as if he was about to have a fit. "What?"
"Carina!" Sarah warned. "That's enough."
Carina shook her head, enjoying every second of her tease. "We used to date, Chuck, or don't you remember?"
Chuck looked to his wife and Sarah flashed him an apology. "I told you that so you could be more understanding, Carina, not so you could play with his head." She kicked her friend under the table. "If you really want to pick up where you left off, you can give Morgan a call."
Carina clapped her hands together in sudden realization. "Oh right! That funny bearded man, are you still friends with him?"
Chuck did a double take. "Morgan?" he repeated, staring at his wife in disbelief. "You used to date my friend Morgan?"
Carina shrugged. "Yeah, why not?"
Chuck laughed. "I don't know," he said, still shaking his head in disbelief. "Only you seem like the kind of girl he'd remember and he's never mentioned you so..."
The brunette narrowed her eyes.
"Sorry," Chuck said. "I shouldn't have said that."
Carina brushed off the rejection with a shake of the head. "Doesn't matter, his loss," she dismissed. Before she could speak again, she was cut off by the ring of her phone. Her smile falls as she looks at the call screen.
"Excuse me," she says and slides herself out of the booth.
Sarah understands immediately and places Charlotte back into the high chair. If Chuck sensed anything amiss, he didn't let on.
"Want me to order for you?" Hardly missing a beat, he grabs the crayons lying idly on the table and moves them out of Charlotte's grasp with a grin.
"Yeah," Sarah says, grateful for such an understanding husband. "Be right back."
She catches up to her friend at the restaurant doors. Already the woman is buttoning her coat and preparing to go.
"Going to lick your wounded pride, Carina?" she asked, unable to resist getting one last tease in.
Her friend arched her brows. Knowing Carina, it wasn't like her to leave without the last word, but she just smiled; not a calculating smirk or feigned grin but just a smile. Just because.
"You did good," she murmured appreciatively.
Sarah nodded. She didn't need her friend's approval, but they were not easy words for the woman to bestow.
Feelings were never something either of them delved into in all their time together, so Sarah spared her the discomfort. "Tomorrow?"
Carina nodded. "Tomorrow." She stole one last glance at the restaurant booth they'd left behind and shook her head slowly. "You did really good."
.
"What was that all about?" Chuck asked once Sarah returned to her seat.
"Huh?" Sarah picked up Charlotte and settled her down in her lap again, distracting herself by trying to keep the baby from stuffing one or all the charms into her mouth. "Nothing. Weather."
He didn't believe her for a second. "Nothing about me, right?"
Sarah laughed. "Don't get too full of yourself, Chuck, the world does not revolve around you."
Charlotte stopped suddenly and tilted her head upwards, staring expectantly.
They both laughed at her perfectly timing. "Yes, Chuck, you," Sarah agreed, kissing her on the crown of her head. "You are the center of my universe."
Chuck reached across the table to hold her hand. "So our baby went through some of those boxes and we found something very interesting."
Sarah looked down at their little girl. "Really?"
Chuck smiled. "Really." He reached into the diaper bag and pulled out a silver frame. "I don't recall posing for this picture. You mind telling me when we took it?"
Sarah looked down at a photograph she hadn't seen in years. Charlotte squealed and began to point excitedly at the familiar faces.
"Momma?" she asked, looking to her for confirmation. "Daddy?"
Sarah nodded absent-mindedly. "A very long time ago," she finally said.
Chuck smiled. "I had a feeling."
Sarah placed the frame back down and leaned against the booth. "We went undercover once as a married couple. It was a prop one of the technicians doctored for us."
Chuck gazed down at the photo again. His grin broadened. "And you kept it." It sounded more like an accusation than a question. "Why?"
Sarah shrugged. It was so embarrassing. "Because I liked the photo."
He wrinkled his brows. "Sarah, we look like cardboard cut-outs. You'd think they could have done a better job than just lopping off my head and sticking it onto someone else's body."
"It's a nice picture," she said, snatching it out of his hand. "I know it's not real, but I still like it."
"Well now we have much better ones," he reminded. "Real ones."
Sarah looked down at the photo again even though she had gazed at it so many times over the years she had it memorized. "Yeah," she agreed. "I guess we don't need to hold onto it anymore."
Sarah looked ready to toss the thing to the side when Chuck intervened.
"No!" he protested, taking the frame from her. He held it tightly in his hand, refusing to give it up. "We should keep it as a memento." He grinned mischievously at her. "Plus, you make a pretty cute cut-out."
Unpacking proved to be a dilemma for Sarah. She was in a hurry to get it done and be settled, but she was particular about where things ought to be. And therein lay the trouble.
Try as she might, she could not pace herself to go any faster than she already was. It was difficult if not impossible to remember exactly where every item had once been. But she was insistent that everything be where it once was, so it could be like she never left.
That this never happened.
That things were still as simple-complicated as they once were, instead of being complicated-complicated like they were now.
Sarah had left in a hurry and the agency had cleared the room after her. Luckily for her the items hadn't been processed just yet and she had everything accounted for. Her things were still hers.
She sighed. It was a sad thought when after nearly four years in L.A. she still thought of this hotel room as 'home'.
"It's amazing how little you've amassed after all this time," Chuck remarked as he unpacked her mugs and returned them to their place in the cupboard.
"Really?" she asked, looking at the four cardboard boxes and her single suitcase. "This is a lot."
Chuck snorted. "Wait until you see how many boxes I'll have." His smile fell when he realized his slip-up. "I'm sorry," he said hastily.
Sarah sighed. "You're really going to go through with it?"
She knew the inevitability of it all, but a little part of her still hoped that he could change the world for her.
"Well, it's about time I moved out. I won't tell Ellie about Carmen just yet..." He swallowed his words only after great difficulty. "Give it some time...you know?"
Sarah smiled despite her frustrations. "You know something is terribly wrong with the world when I've become your real girlfriend just as you finally break up our cover relationship."
Chuck winced. He walked over to where she stood and wrapped his arms around her.
"You know this is only temporary, right?" he asked, searching her eyes for some sign of confirmation. "When I finish rebuilding the new Intersect and the database..."
Sarah closed her eyes. "I know," she said. If there was one thing they had too much of, it was patience.
"We'll finally be able to put this behind us. And maybe the general will be so pleased she'll let me go."
Sarah had to fight to keep her smile intact. She didn't want to think about all the other obstacles in their way. Taking things one day at a time was already hard enough.
"Maybe," she said, unable to destroy the hope she clung to just as dearly. "Wouldn't that be nice?"
Chuck's eyes lit up at her words. He held her tight, a promise never to go, and Sarah thought perhaps this could, against all odds, work out.
He lets her go too soon, she thinks, as he reaches into the box she'd been trying to sort out.
"What's this?" he asked, knowing full well what he held in his hands.
Sarah gasped and her face flushed a deep scarlet. She grabbed the frame from him and shoved it back down to the bottom of the box.
"Nothing," she dismissed. She had completely forgotten about it.
Chuck's mouth hung wide open and he looked as if he wanted to laugh but was too afraid to. "Where did you get that?" he gaped.
Sarah takes a deep breath and wondered if she'd turned on the thermostat by accident. She fanned the air in front of her and wished he wouldn't give her the puppy-dog eyes. She's never been able to thwart the puppy-dog eyes.
"Okay," she confessed. "I swiped it when they were wiping down the house. Is that a crime?"
Chuck shook his head slowly. The smile on his face reminds her of a child opening gifts on Christmas morning. She doesn't understand how this could make him so happy.
"Why did you do it?"
Sarah shrugged, doing everything she could to dispel the tell-tale flush from her cheeks. "No reason." She closed her eyes and groaned softly under her breath. It was a terrible lie. She had already been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
Chuck doesn't say anything though. He just smiles at her and nods. "Okay," he whispered. "You don't need a reason." She nods in relief but when he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips, Sarah feels her heart jump again.
He feels it too. Sarah can tell from the look on Chuck's face. He looks like a cat with the biggest catch in its mouth.
"I'm going to order some pizza, is that okay?"
He smirks at her. It's supposed to be her thing; trying to change the topic, steer the conversation somewhere safe and neutral.
"Fine," she said distractedly. With Chuck gone, perhaps she'll finally be able to return to her natural color.
Sarah turned her attention back to the box beside her. Her fingers rummage through the collection of magazines and DVD's, only stopping when they've hit the very bottom. They linger there for a moment, and then ever so discretely, she draws the frame back out into the open.
Her fingers trace the wedding portrait. It's not real, she knows, but there's nothing wrong with wishful thinking.
.
Okay, so the title was a bit of a red herring but it does play into both timeframes! The title of the next chapter is extremely uncreative and obtuse so i won't even bother putting it down. My only hint is think cupcakes and clowns...
i can't believe we are nearing the end. thanks for the feedback. hope you enjoyed.