I come today bearing fruit :P Here is chapter 3! Yay! lol, anyway, I have decided to push back Sarah's POV for a couple chapters and the actual story will start next chapter. I'm not sure if it will be first person or third person, but most likely third, so it's easier to switch around POVs. So instead of a four chapter cliffhanger I knocked it down to a three chapter one ;) Just for you guys! No, actually, I am a selfish person and did it for myself, but we can pretend right? ;)

Again, thanks to Wepdiggy for Beta editing this chapter!

It has been ten years since my sister-in-law left. Chuck's really tried to make his life a good one, and I am proud of him. He's always been there for Emily; he hasn't become distant or unfeeling. He's an awesome dad. I'm proud of him and everything he's done since Sarah left.

Just thinking about the day Chuck told me that Sarah had left made me tear up even now; because of how much it paralleled mine and Chuck's own story. Although, I knew Chuck wouldn't pull a Steven Bartowski and leave too. I knew the minute I had picked up the phone that something extremely bad had happened. I had assumed because it was Chuck calling that Sarah had been hurt or something; the last thing I was expecting was to find out she had left. Chuck had told me everything was fine between them not two days before. How could Sarah have done that to them?

Chuck didn't like to talk about it at all. The first week after she had left, I had stayed with them 24/7, taking care of Emily and Chuck while they grieved for the loss of Sarah. I just couldn't understand how someone could do this to Chuck. Had I misread Sarah so much? Had I been victim to such a gross misjudgment of her character? It certainly seemed I was. Chuck hasn't received one card, call, or even note since that day from her. It's like she dropped off the face of the earth.

I was impressed and surprised with the way Emily handled it. She handled it very well. Sure, she had cried the whole day when I came over and most of the night, begging me to tell her why mommy had left. "Was it because of me?" She had asked. It broke my heart. I couldn't imagine ever leaving my own children like Sarah had. I loved them too much. I had quickly reassured Emily that it was definitely not her fault. Her mommy left because she had to. What other explanation do you give? Emily had recovered faster than Chuck. She was baking cookies with me and watching Lion King in just a few days. Chuck however, had stayed in his room for days. He'd come out, check on Emily and play with her a few minutes. Then he'd make sure I was doing okay, and go back to his room. Just seeing him that week had almost made me cry every time. That wasn't supposed to happen to someone as good as Chuck, or someone as wonderful as Emily. I had honestly thought Sarah was better than that. Nothing could have given her right to leave like she did.

But, in a month, their house regained some of its old order and they had started becoming an even more closely bonded family. Emily smiled more and Chuck did too, even though his smile was tainted by a great amount of sorrow. He did his best, and his best was more than enough for the two of them to move on. I had mentioned to Chuck a few years later that maybe he should try dating, but he had quickly shot that down stating "I have the only girl I'll ever need. Emily is my life and I don't want any kind of romantic relationship. I am happy with what I have right now." I had dropped it, deciding he had given me a good enough reason to warrant that. I figured it was just his excuse for not completely moving on from Sarah. It's pretty hard to move on if you haven't got any closure. Plus, my brother was just too kind of a person; he still loved her and probably would no matter who he met. It was just his nature.

He kept photos of the two of them with Sarah around the house, making sure Emily always remembered who her mother was. He kept her informed of Sarah's good traits too and I think that was a good thing. I've never heard Emily say anything bitter about Sarah, not once. I was proud of my brother and my niece; they were exceptional people who had made an exceptional recovery from such tragedy.

It'd made us all very close. Devon and I, along with our children have a weekly custom with Chuck and Emily. Every Saturday we have dinner and watch a movie. Emily has gotten really close to her cousins, which makes me very grateful. We're such a closely knit group it's wonderful. All of us were affected by Sarah's departure from us (some more than others, of course) and we'd all recovered. Life couldn't be much better at the moment.

I have become Emily's motherly figure. She's come to me for things she is uncomfortable talking with Chuck about. Some things that happen in a girl's life are just too weird to be talking with your dad about. And that was where I came in. We have spent countless hours talking about everything that has happened and is happening in Emily's life. I am glad she has this with Chuck too, minus the girly stuff. And even though I am glad her and I have this, I still wish that Sarah could have had this with Emily; the girl is just such a wonderful person, sweet and caring like her father, that Sarah had truly missed out (and still is) on the growth of her and Chuck's daughter.

"Oh, stop it!" Ellie heard Sarah exclaim happily at Chuck. "Don't make fun of Emily."

"But, seriously! Did you see that face? It looked like we had a Wookie for a baby!" Chuck said between laughter.

"You're so mean," Sarah joked. She saw Ellie come out of the kitchen and held out four month old Emily out to her. "I haven't seen you hold her this evening." Sarah said, smiling. Ellie quickly took the chance to hold the adorable girl.

"Devon, we need to have another one. And make it a girl this time!" Ellie laughed, bouncing Emily gently.

"Right, babe. You only told me a million times how you weren't going to have another child after Hunter was born." Devon replied.

"Hey, I said those things under the influence of lack of sleep! They don't count." Ellie grinned. She knew she could win over Devon in a few weeks.

"Ohh, someone is in baby boom mode." Sarah said laughing, while sipping on a margarita that Chuck had prepared for her.

"You bet," Ellie said while playing with Emily. She loved making the little girl smile. She noticed Sarah make a face after her drink. "Enjoying the alcohol?" Ellie chuckled.

"You wouldn't believe how good this tastes after thirteen months of no drinks! This is my first one since I found out I was pregnant."

"Yeah, Sarah's a mini alcoholic." Chuck came back out on the patio laughing. Ellie wasn't sure how Chuck and Sarah had been able to afford the nice house, but they said they had had more than enough to cover it. It was a simple three bedroom two bath house with enough room for a family of four. Ellie smiled. It reminded her of her and Devon's old apartment that Chuck lived in with them, but, it was bigger.

"Ah, see? Now that makes sense." Devon stated, looking up from Chuck's grill.

"Yeah, well, if I give her many more of those, she won't be making any sense at all." Chuck patted Sarah's shoulder and gave her a loving kiss. Ellie loved seeing them interact; the love they shared was evident in everything they said to each other.

"So, how are you enjoying this house?" Ellie asked, looking down at Emily who was starting to fall asleep. Ellie's own son had fallen asleep on Chuck's couch and was still located there.

Sarah looked back at Ellie and grinned. "I love it! I love the house, the yard," she motioned her index finger in a circle, "I love this patio. And," She looked at Chuck and grinned. "I love the people that live in it with me." Looking back at Ellie she added. "And of course the awesome people that are currently sitting with us."

"Don't forget the little power ranger sleeping on the couch." Chuck added.

Ellie kissed Emily's forehead. "You guys did an awesome job with the kiddo. I can't get over how beautiful she is."

Ellie then heard "She looks like Chuck" and "She's gonna look just like Sarah" exclaimed at the same time. That produced laughter all around. Sarah took Chuck's hand and smiled.

"We're still at an impasse," Sarah laughed.

"I see," Ellie nodded. "I am so glad you guys are happy here."

Sarah nodded. "Nothing could ever make me leave!"

Those were happier times. Back when Chuck practically radiated joy. It was hard to be around him and not be happy. They weren't the perfect couple, they still had fights. I can remember one incident where Sarah and called me and proceeded to tell me how impossible my brother was. But it was normal. They hadn't had any major problems preceding her departure. I just wished I could understand why she left. I wish I could talk to her again. While I was very unhappy with what she did and angry with her, Sarah had become my best friend during those years. We would call each other and rant about spouses and children and stupid people at work. Again, all of it was normal.

I wasn't sure what happened with her, or why she decided she was done with the family, but I knew if I got one chance to get my questions answered, I'd tie Sarah to a chair if I had to! This whole family deserved explanations and Sarah needed to give them. I hated not knowing. I wanted to know how she was doing, if she had another family, where she currently resided. But I have had ten years of silence from her, my old best friend. And I hated it, but had given up on ever getting any word from her again.

The last thing I expected was to have that silence broken by none other than Sarah herself.

So here you guys go! Hope you liked this chapter and get ready to feel the angst next chapter!

If you were being chased by a lion and you thought you were about to die; the first memory to come back to your mind would be "Crap, I was too lazy to review that story that that person wrote!" So, spare yourself the regret. Review please! ;)