Chapter 2

February 14, 2009. 7:00pm

Sarah

'Amanda, you're the only girl for me. Please, you have to take me back. I can't live without you.'

'Brock, how can I believe you. After the last time, your promises to never stray again, and then I catch you with my sister. We are so over.'

His voice going softer, 'But Manda-bear, you have to give me another chance. I....I was scared of commitment and it....made me weak that day your sister needed help picking out lingerie. Really, I tried to be strong. You know I'm powerless against a well-fitted camisole.'

'Afraid? Of commitment? Brock, does that mean you love me?' Amanda sounds hopeful.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Sarah yells at the screen. "No woman would actually fall for that line. He's slept with your sister, have some self respect." At that moment, she was seriously concerned with her own judgment. Exactly how did she let Chuck talk her into a tv for her hotel room? He'd been able to make it sound like a good thing at the time. They even went and picked it out together, but since Christmas, they hadn't been spending much time as a couple, fake or real. Now, here she was, one of those people, yelling at what passed for quality programming.

"I just don't get how the writers can believe people want to see this crap. One minute they're in love and making eyes, the next some impossible situation has them all broken up. Real relationships don't work like that. And until I got this damn tv, I don't remember a predilection for talking to myself." Sighing, she turns a glance to her phone. She has him on the tracker, still showing at home. 'He's probably in his room playing games. Morgan could be there too. I should have said something at lunch. No date on Valentines is a real poor way to keep up the cover. As if the cover is what's important to me right now.'

Peeking at the phone again, seeing the same result again, she sighs and looks back at the made-for-tv movie she ended up flipping to an hour ago. Five more minutes is all she can take. "That's it! If he won't come to me, then I'm going to him." She gets up and walks to her dresser. Taking a good look in the mirror at her disheveled hair and appearance, she decides on a shower first. Unhooking the bracelet, she lays it down carefully. Her fingers trail over the charms as she stares at it. The same warm feelings bubbling up inside. Another look into the mirror, she sees a smile on her face at finally getting up and doing what she should have done weeks ago. 'Hope you're ready for me Chuck. We're going to settle this thing between us once and for all. I really want things back to how they were and will do everything I can to get us there.'

'Brock!'

'Amanda!'

'Mom?!'

'Amanda!'

'Baby, it's not what it looks like. Your mother and I were....'

'What Brock? You and my mom were having a deep political discussion while naked? I suppose then she tripped and just happened to land on you.', taking in the condition of the room. 'Multiple times.'

"Eew, just eew.", shutting the door to the bathroom and turning on the shower. Sarah pushes that picture out of her head as she waits for the water to heat up. Undressing quickly, she climbs into the shower with an involuntary purr of pleasure. The hot water sluicing down her body feels so good. 'This is exactly what I needed.' With a catlike grace, she stretches under the pulsing spray, muscles loosening and the last of her evening's inertia draining away.

As her mind starts to work again, thoughts crash back and forth. All seem to be centered on Chuck and her inability to know what to do around him. 'When I do my job as a professional, I hurt him. When he gets through my walls and gains a moment's hope, I hurt him. I should have never let things get this far.'

Stepping from the shower, Sarah wraps herself in a towel before starting on her hair. 'It was the first time I saw him kiss Jill. I knew I was lost right then and there. As I watched, my heart was screaming that I was the one he was supposed to be kissing. His eyes were supposed to be staring deeply into mine. It was so unfair.' Mostly dry, she put her hair up in a pony tail. It was a simple look, but many times she had caught his glance with a casual flip of her hair. She liked when he noticed her and that was the main goal for tonight.

".....but he explained it all to me and I am sure it will never happen again. He loves me and wants to get married."

"So, I caught your man Brock with a stripper because he loves you and wants to get married. C'mon girl, you need to kick him to the curb."

Rolling her eyes as she exits the bathroom. "This is what they call a Valentine's Day Movie Marathon for Lovers. Seems more like an episode of Cheaters." Stopping in her tracks, "The tv is gone tomorrow." Crossing to the dresser, she begins pulling out clothes. Her eye is attracted to a blip of motion. Snatching up her phone, she is surprised to see Chuck on the move. "And where would you be going Mr. Bartowski?"

As she watches, he stops for a few minutes at an address she doesn't recognize. He is only there a short while before the indicator shows him on the move again. A smile begins to creep across her lips as the pattern of his turns becomes familiar. 'He's coming here!' Tossing her jeans back in the dresser, she pulls another drawer open, knowing exactly what she wants. This will be perfect. Then another idea comes to mind.

Crossing to her nightstand, she dials room service. "Hello, this is Sarah Walker in room 832."

The tv blares in the background, Brock standing in the yard and calling for Amanda to come to her window.

"No, I said Walker in 832. Just a second." Casting about for the remote, she spies it on the bed. With a quick press, she mutes the sound. "Sorry. As I was saying, Walker in 832. Yes, that's right. I want champagne, the best you have, strawberries, chocolate, the works. Soon as you can please. Thank you very much." Hanging up, she looks down at her cell to check on Chuck's progress.

Ten minutes later, she is standing before the bathroom mirror. A memory of Chuck's wide eyes the last time he saw her wearing this outfit makes her giggle. With her hair rolling in golden waves that flow across her shoulders, Sarah is pretty sure his eyes will be even wider this time. Just a little makeup to accentuate the blue of her eyes for the finishing touch. Padding back into the main room, she looks for her cell, certain that Chuck should be here soon. It shows her address as his location. Butterflies in her stomach, she shuts off her phone and sticks it in the drawer. Taking up the remote, she is so very happy to be turning it off.

A knock sounds at her door. "Just a second, I'll be right there." She calls out. Fumbling in her haste, she hits mute again instead of turning it off.

"Hurry up baby, don't keep me waiting."

"Gah, no, I want you off." Sarah finds the right button and sighs with relief as the tv goes black. Tossing the remote aside, she hurries to the door and flings it open. A cart with her champagne and strawberries is there, but she frowns at the bunch of flowers and chocolates tossed on top of them. That's when she notes the sour look on the hotel worker's face.

"Uncool. Chuck seems like a pretty great guy. We only just met on the elevator but...Hey!"

Sarah reaches out and grabs a double fistful of Bowser's uniform shirt. Pulling him close, "Where. Is. Chuck." Her eyes boring into his as she emphasizes each word. A bit shaken, Bowser points back towards the elevator bank as his lips move soundlessly. Releasing him with a shove, she sends the cart careening into the wall and runs after Chuck. Rounding the corner, she sees him stumbling into the elevator before turning around. Their eyes meet and her heart drops to her feet at the expression on his face. Calling out for him to stop, wait for her, the elevator doors slide closed.

'What the hell just happened?' Sarah is about to kick the door to the stairwell open when she remembers how she's dressed. "Crap!" Sprinting back to her room, she crashes into Bowser as she turns the corner. He backs off quickly, but still has the cross look for her.

"It was the damn tv, all right. That stuff was for Chuck and I." Then she has no more time for him. She has to get back to her room and get dressed. First, she runs to her window and looks down. Her trained eyes quickly pick out Chuck and his car. They also show her clearly that a man is holding a gun on him. Her heart stops and her lungs forget how to work when the gun goes off and Chuck falls to the pavement. Frantic, she grabs the first thing she can find to put on. Gun in hand, she races from her room.

Down in the parking lot, Sarah looks anxiously for any sign of Chuck or the car. All she can find is his watch and a dark patch of something she doesn't want to think about on the ground nearby. They can't have gotten far. Pulling out her phone, she starts keying in the GPS code for the herder. She swallows a frustrated cry upon reaching her Porsche and finding all the tires slashed. When the tracker cannot detect any signal from his car, it's too much. Sarah tosses her head back in a scream of rage and anguish.

Her lapse in professionalism is short lived. Killing the tracker application, she hits the speed dial number for Casey. A few seconds later, she hears it ringing. "Come on Casey, pick up, pick up."