A/N: So, Chuck and Sarah are together. At least we have a verbal agreement. Not that they need anything in writing, but perhaps a … handshake or…. How about we just get back to the story and let them figure this whole thing out.

Disclaimer: Don't own Chuck

Chapter 10

Sarah was pulled from her sleep, sensing a presence in her room. On instinct, her fingers wrapped around the handle of the knife she kept under her pillow. Cracking her eyelid, she could see it was still dark in her room except for the faint glow from the hallway. That meant her bedroom door was open.

Apparently having shifted in her sleep, her back was now to the door, leaving her at a disadvantage. The faint rustling of fabric behind her told Sarah that whoever they were, they were close. The distinctive slumping of the mattress as the intruder put their weight on it triggered her reaction. Rolling over with her knife in hand, she stopped a mere inch from the throat of her would be assailant.

"Jesus Christ!" Carina gasped as she pulled her head back. "Jumpy much?"

Sarah gave her the flattest look she could manage given she'd just been pulled from sleep and her heart was racing. Carina waved her own comment away, rolling her eyes at herself. "Right. Sorry."

Carina sat down on the bed as Sarah returned her knife to its hiding place under her pillow. "I hate to wake you up, but I didn't want to just leave without saying goodbye."

Sarah pushed herself up on her elbow, trying to get a better look at her friend. "What do you mean 'leave'? Now?"

Carina nodded, pulling her lips into a tight smile. "Afraid so. I got the call. They need me at the Brussels regional office first thing in the morning. They're getting me a flight out of Peretola in a couple of hours."

Sarah sat up all the way and turned to face Carina. She could feel an ache growing in her chest. It felt like Carina had just gotten there, that they had just really started to connect in a way they never had before. They were building a real, honest friendship, or so it felt. And now she had to leave.

"But…" Sarah said, not really knowing how to finish that statement. She knew what the job entailed. Sarah had gotten those same sorts of calls, having to drop everything and go at a moment's notice. That was why she had always lived out of a suitcase. Until she came to Serenità, that is.

Perhaps the difference now was that she was the one being left, not the one doing the leaving. She also felt a much stronger bond with her friend than she had before and the fear of what could lie ahead for Carina scared her.

"Yeah. I know," Carina said, seeming to sense what Sarah was feeling. "I hate it too. I was starting to like it here."

Sarah looked down at her hands, which were fidgeting with the blankets, before returning her gaze to meet Carina's. "Well, you can come back. Whenever. My door's always open. Even if it's not here. Wherever I am, there's a place for you to come back to."

Even in the faint light, she could see Carina's eyes welling up, much like her own. Carina pulled her lips between her teeth and nodded her head, sniffling slightly. "Thanks. I got your number." Sarah nodded in understanding and an awkward silence fell between them. Neither really knew what else to say.

Taking the initiative, Sarah leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her friend, giving her a tight hug. Carina followed suit and the two held each other for a long moment. Pulling away, they both sniffled, wiping at their cheeks. This display of emotions from either of them would have been unheard of in years past. Emotions were something you buried deep down inside, never to be seen except in private personal moments; if even then. In just the brief time they'd been together in Serenity, they had both changed as people, as had the friendship between them.

"Be safe," Sarah pleaded.

Carina nodded but waved off the comment. "Pfft. You know me."

"Exactly," Sarah said, pointing a finger at her friend. "Which is why I'm telling you to be safe." Both women chuckled at that, diffusing some of the emotion in the air.

Carina stood up and Sarah followed suit, walking around the bed to meet her. Sarah could now see the suitcase in the hallway just outside her door. "I need to call an Uber or a taxi or something," Carina said, stepping out into the hallway and dragging her suitcase down the stairs.

"We're in the middle of nowhere," Sarah exclaimed, following her down the stairs. "And at this time of night?"

Once they reached the bottom of the steps, Sarah pushed past her friend, making her way into the kitchen. "Here." Sarah pulled open a kitchen drawer and pulled out a set of keys, tossing them to Carina. "Take my car. Just leave it in long term parking and I'll have Chuck, or somebody, take me to get it. I have another set of keys, so just lock those in the car."

"Wow," Carina gaped, looking at the keys in her hand. "You're gonna let me drive your baby?"

"Sarah rolled her eyes, letting out a tsk. "It's just a car."

"It's just a— who are you and what have you done with Sarah Walker?" They broke into laughter at the realization that it was just one more example of how much Sarah had changed in just a short time.

The two exchanged hugs again, before Carina wheeled her suitcase through mudroom door and down the path toward the garage. Sarah stayed in the doorway, still in her nightshirt, and watched her go. Suddenly Carina stopped and turned around.

"Hey," Carina hissed in a loud whisper. "Give Chuckles a kiss for me, huh?" Sarah could hear the snicker that followed, and she had to shake her head. Maybe not everything about Carina had changed.

Carina continued to the garage, giggling the rest of the way. Sarah waved goodbye to her friend as she watched her drive away. Sarah listened as the hum of the engine faded into the distance, leaving only the silence of Serenity in its place.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The muffled tone emanating from her nightstand drawer pulled Sarah from her slumber. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she checked the clock and saw it was 5:54am. She'd had a hard time getting back to sleep after Carina left, pacing the floor and then tossing and turning in bed. If she was lucky, Sarah had gotten maybe an hour of sleep. Grumbling, she pulled the drawer open and fumbled inside before pulling out the offending device.

Sarah's voice was gruff and gravely when she answered. "Hello?"

"Boy, you sound like shit." Sarah recognized the voice immediately.

"That's because it's the ass-crack of dawn." Sarah rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling with the phone pressed to her ear. "Not that I'm not glad to hear from you, Zondra, but couldn't this have waited until a reasonable hour?"

"It's a perfectly reasonable hour where I am," Zondra chirped, sounding rather pleased with herself.

Sarah growled, still too tired to argue with her friend. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?" Despite the hoarseness in her voice, she was certain her sarcasm could be heard clearly enough.

"Right. Well, here's the thing. Red asked me to get the 4-1-1 on this guy you're mooning over. Is his name really Chuck? Really? Just… Eww."

Deliberately ignoring the barbs at Chuck's expense, Sarah shot up in bed, her anger rising. "She did what? Carina had you run a background check on Chuck?"

"Oh, come on," Zondra drawled. "She was just worried. Don't get your panties all in a twist. Besides… it might be a good thing she did."

Sarah stiffened at that statement. "What do you mean?"

Zondra took a deep breath before she began. "So, I had an analyst friend of mine do some digging. On the surface, this Chuck guy seems to be on the up and up." Zondra proceeded, sounding as though she were reading from a report. "Charles Irving Bartowski, formerly of Echo Park, California. Graduated with distinction from Stanford University with degrees in computer and electrical engineering. Blah, blah, blah. Super nerdy. Anyway, while still in college he started a small freelance software development company, but it barely stayed in the black. About a year after graduating, the company took off.

"According to his Wikipedia entry —yes, he has a Wikipedia page— he developed some sort of computer security software that turned the industry on its head. My analyst got all worked up over it, said it was NextGen kind of stuff. Anyway, his company, Constellation Software, started making money hand over fist. Within two years, Constellation Software was one of the industry leaders, even servicing a ton of government contracts. Then about a year and a half ago, he sold the company to a competitor for an undisclosed amount. From what my analyst found, Bartowski is worth in the neighborhood of 340 million."

"Holy shit!" Sarah said, taken aback.

"That's what I said," Zondra replied. But there's more. Shortly after the sale of his company, he uprooted himself and moved to Italy. A little place called—"

"Serenità," Sarah interjected, already knowing some of the basics of this story.

"Yeah. Right," Zondra said, sounding a little surprised. "Well, from the records we found, the hamlet was being put on the market. I didn't know you could sell a hamlet, but apparently you can. Anyway, it seems when the previous owner passed away, he left the hamlet to one of his only surviving family members, a grandson. Maybe the grandson didn't want anything to do with the place or maybe he was just hard up for cash. I don't know, but regardless, he put it up for sale."

"God, that's terrible," Sarah said, pressing her hand to her forehead as she tried to wrap her head around all she was hearing.

"But get this," Zondra continued, "less than a week after Bartowski arrived in Serenità, somebody bought the hamlet."

Sarah gasped. "Who?"

"A company called Orion Holdings," Zondra said. "Paid cash. 8.9 million Euros for the whole 85-hectare estate. That's like… 200 acres or more."

Sarah let out a low whistle. "Wow!"

Zondra snorted in response. "No shit, 'Wow'."

Sarah was getting a sinking feeling about what all of this meant, so she prodded Zondra for more answers. "And who is this 'Orion Holdings'?"

"I'm glad you asked." Sarah could hear the rustling of papers on the other end of the phone.

"Orion Holdings was registered just days before the purchase of the hamlet by a lawyer named Gregory DuPont. Coincidentally, DuPont was the same lawyer that orchestrated the sale of Constellation Software."

Sarah shifted in her bed, pulling the covers up a little higher. "So, you're saying that Chuck bought the hamlet using this made-up company?"

Zondra grunted on the other end, a verbal shrug. "Short of hacking into DuPont's computer and finding documents that detail the stakeholders in the company, I can only guess. It does seem like a hell of a coincidence."

Blowing out a long breath, Sarah ran her free hand through her hair. "I'm having a really hard time wrapping my head around all of this. I mean … Chuck, the guy in the faded jeans and worn-out Converse sneakers, the guy with that goofy smile… I just can't picture it."

"Well," Zondra said, drawing the word out, "I sent everything I have to your email, so you can look for yourself. I'm not saying this guy is doing anything bad, but it does make me a little suspicious."

She didn't want to believe it, but Sarah needed to talk this out, try to make some sense of it. "Let's say for the sake of argument that Chuck is involved. What's he going to do with it? Turn around and sell it for a profit to a group of land developers to … to bulldoze it and put up a resort? Turn it into a corporate farm? He loves this place. I couldn't imagine he'd ever do something like that."

"Maybe you don't know him as well as you think?" Zondra paused for a moment but continued in a much more sympathetic tone. "Or hey, maybe you do. Maybe there's a perfectly logical explanation for all of this.

"Look, Sarah. I know you have feelings for this guy, and maybe it's clouded your judgment. But I've talked to Carina about it, and she has a hard time believing this Chuck guy would do anything nefarious. Could he have pulled one over on you? Perhaps, but I find it hard to believe that this guy would be able to fool both of you. Why don't you just read over what I sent you, see what you think. Once you have all the details you can confront him and see what he says. If you don't like what you hear, cut bait and run."

The seeds of doubt had been sown and now she was beginning to fear that she had made a terrible mistake with trusting him so easily. "But what if he's got an explanation for everything? What if I'm too compromised to see the truth?"

Her friend blew out a long breath on the other end of the phone. "I don't know what to tell ya, Blondie. Maybe just follow your heart instead of your head for once. The spy life has jaded us. We expect everyone to have their own agenda and we try to apply those rules to everyday people. There are legitimately good people in the world — or so I'm told," Zondra said with a snicker.

Sarah leaned back against her headboard, staring up at the ceiling. "Thanks, Z. I'll read over everything and do some digging of my own before I jump to conclusions."

Zondra hummed her acknowledgement. "Any time. Maybe if you're still there in a week or two, I could come and visit? I could use a break."

Sarah felt her spirits buoyed, smiling at the thought of getting to see her friend after so long apart. "I'd like that. You're welcome any time. Just give me a call and I'll make sure to have my guest room ready. Thanks again Z. Take care of yourself, huh?"

"You too Sar." With that Zondra disconnected the call.

Sarah dropped the phone back in the nightstand drawer and pushed it closed. There was a lot to think about and Sarah found she did her best thinking in the bathtub. Throwing her covers off, she slipped out of bed and headed for the bathroom. She felt the warmth of the stone flooring beneath her feet and couldn't help but smile. Quickly, she scolded herself. She needed to keep a clear head about this, but thinking about Chuck, the Chuck she'd known up to this point, would make that difficult.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Chuck had texted while she was in the tub that he had some jobs to take care of around the hamlet but would try to stop by for lunch. That would give her some time to look over the information that Zondra had sent her and to do some investigating of her own.

Everything Zondra had said was true, at least according to the files she'd provided. Sarah even confirmed some of the details on Chuck's Wikipedia page and through public records. All of that was from American sources. She wondered what she could find out from records in Italy, maybe more details about Serenità.

Searching through the Italian Registro Catastale, Sarah found a record of the deed of transfer, naming Orion Holdings as the new owners of the hamlet, which lined up with the timeline she already knew. What was surprising was there was a more recent deed of transfer for the hamlet; one dated almost a month later.

The new owner, according to the document filed, was Serenità Trust. With no names beyond that listed in the deed transfer, she began to dig deeper into this trust. Sarah wasn't intimately familiar with Italian law, but what she was able to learn was that the trust would need to have a registered tax ID. She was able to find the record of the filing within public records. According to the document, a G.L. Santini was listed as being the trustee, but no further details on the trust or its beneficiaries was declared.

Sarah pondered for a moment, tapping her finger on her bottom lip. If someone in Serenità had any knowledge of what the hell was going on, she knew it would be a certain shopkeeper in town.

Closing her laptop, Sarah stuffed her phone in her back pocket and slipped on her shoes before dashing out of the villa. Since Carina had taken her car, she'd have to walk but she supposed it would do her good. It was a pleasant day after all — as had most every day since she arrived here. As she passed by other houses, making her way along the dusty road, she began to see this place differently. With all she'd learned, Sarah saw a vulnerability in this rustic hamlet. Knowing that this place had been sold out from under these people, that the future was uncertain, she felt a protective urge overwhelming her. This was their home… it was her home and she needed to protect it.

Sarah stopped in her tracks, gaping at herself for the thoughts running through her head. Her home? Was this her home? It certainly felt more like a home than any place she'd ever been. And it wasn't just the beautiful scenery or the comfortable villa she was staying in. No, it was also the people. It was all of those things together. With mixed emotions, she knew that in large part it was also Chuck.

Doubling her efforts, she walked quickly down the winding road until she made it to the front stoup of the general store. Taking a cleansing breath, she pushed the door open. She was greeted by the clanging of the bell just above the door, signaling that a customer had arrived.

Standing behind the counter looking over some books, Giulia raised her head to meet Sarah's gaze. "Sarah! Benvenuta!" Waving her in, the older woman made her way around the counter to meet her. Sarah stepped further into the store and was intercepted by Giulia and a crushing hug. "It's so good to see you. What brings you in? Something I can help you find?"

Sarah had to chuckle at the woman's enthusiasm. She had never been accustomed to such warm receptions in her past life, and it would take some getting used to. "Actually, I was looking for you."

"Me?" Giulia looked a bit surprised but seemed to shrug it off quickly. "Well, here I am. How can I help?"

Chewing her bottom lip, Sarah felt her nervousness grow. It wasn't so much the asking of the question that worried her, it was the answer she was afraid of. "I found out that the hamlet was sold not long ago. To an Orion Holdings. Are you familiar with them?" The color drained from Giulia's face and that was all the answer Sarah needed.

"I'll take that as a yes," Sarah said, giving the older woman a tight smile. "Well, now it seems that the hamlet is owned by a Serenità Trust somehow." Giulia didn't respond but Sarah had interrogated enough people to recognize when someone felt guilty, and the shop owner definitely looked guilty. Sarah could feel her anger rising and it caused her volume to rise with it. "Chuck is involved with all of this somehow, isn't he? I just can't figure out what angle he's playing. Why buy it to just turn around and sell it again? I mean, I can understand him buying it before someone else could, to save all these people's homes, their livelihoods," she said, gesturing behind her in the direction of the hamlet. "But to turn around and sell it? Just to make a quick buck?"

"NO!" Giulia's outburst caused Sarah to take a step back, her heaving breath catching in her throat. "Chuck is a good man. He doesn't care about the money." Sarah could see the anger growing in Giulia, her posture becoming more defensive. Sarah wasn't looking to start a fight with the older woman, a woman that she'd grown to consider a friend, so Sarah tried to control her emotions.

"Okay," Sarah began, taking a cleansing breath. "Then why would he sell it to somebody else? How could he be sure that this… this G.L. Santini and the Serenità Trust wouldn't take away all of these people's livelihoods? What's to stop them from taking the only home some of us have ever known? How can he be sure that the very thing he was trying to prevent wouldn't happen now?"

"Because I'm G. L. Santini!" Giulia bellowed, her eyes wide and nostrils flared. It was so silent in the shop, you could hear the dust settling. Sarah was dumbstruck, certain her mouth was hanging open, but she was too much in shock to care. The older woman closed her eyes and took a calming breath before continuing.

"I'm Giulia Louisa Santini," she said in a soft, calm tone. Sarah was struggling to understand what was happening. She blinked a few times and swallowed the lump in her throat as she tried to form a question.

As if sensing her struggle, Giulia went on. "I'm sure he won't like me telling you this, but you've already figured out so much. And, as you seem to be so angered by it, I think you deserve to know the truth." She took a moment's pause and began to pace the store.

"You were right. Chuck was involved. When he came back to Serenità, he could sense that something was wrong. Giovanni Rossi was the previous owner of Serenità. His family built this hamlet hundreds of years ago and it has been in the Rossi family ever since. But times being what they are, his children and his grandchildren took no interest in the family business. They wanted to venture off and live their own lives.

"His daughter was estranged from him, running off with a Brazilian tourist. His only son passed away some years ago from cancer. When Giovanni died, the ownership of the hamlet passed to his grandson, Enzo. A stupid, selfish boy, that never worked a day in his life," Giulia spat, throwing her hands in the air in frustration.

"Giovanni was hardly in the ground before the boy was making plans to sell it. As you'd expect, word travels quickly in this small community. The uncertainty that selling the hamlet would bring for all of us, it was a stressful time."

A smile broke across her face as she turned to regard Sarah. "That's when Chuck came back to us. Oh, sure, we'd assumed he was just another tourist who thought of this place as a momentary escape. I never expected to see him again. But there he was. His duffle bag and that goofy smile of his."

She stepped past Sarah as she continued, gesturing toward the front door. Sarah followed her every movement, every word, enraptured by the story. "He…" Giulia chuckled wetly, recalling the moment. "He stepped through the door and said 'Ma! I'm home!'" She chuckled some more, shaking her head as she wiped a tear from her cheek.

"It didn't take him long to see that all of the people here were saddened. Eventually I broke down and told him all that had happened, that it was unfortunate that he'd made the trip for nothing. Then, Chuck being who he is, he told me it would be alright. All I needed was a little faith and things would work out."

Sarah finally found her voice, knowing where this story was leading. "And they did work out."

Giulia turned to look at Sarah, a smile on her face. She nodded. "Yes. Enzo had no sooner put the hamlet on the market when someone swooped in and purchased it, for even more than the asking price. A company called Orion Holdings. I, of course, had never heard of the company. I wasn't involved in the sale, but Giovanni's lawyer is an old friend. He may have hinted at a few things."

"So, he told you that Chuck owned Orion Holdings?" Sarah was on the edge of her seat now, thoroughly engrossed in the tale.

"Oh, no. No. Nothing like that," Giulia said, waving off the question. "Not that he ever told me at any rate. He just said that we could rest easy. That was all."

Sarah took a step closer, fidgeting with her fingers. "Then what happened?"

"Things went back to normal. Chuck stayed here and found odd jobs around the hamlet. He's really quite handy," she added with a grin. "Maybe a month later, an American lawyer came. A Mr. DuPont. He and Chuck were well acquainted it seemed. The two of them came into the shop and Chuck led us into my office," she said, gesturing to the small room behind the counter.

Sarah moved to lean against the counter, looking at Giulia as she continued her story. "That's when I found out."

Sarah scrunched her face in confusion. "Found out what?"

"Just what you suggested. That Chuck really did own Orion Holdings. Mr. DuPont was his lawyer and had organized the deal to purchase Serenità. I was shocked of course. I mean, Chuck doesn't present himself as … someone with means."

"What? You mean the holey jeans and faded t-shirts?" Sarah teased, causing both of them to chuckle.

"Precisely. As surprising as that was, I wasn't prepared for what came next." Giulia paused and looked at Sarah. The anticipation was killing her, so she tried to usher the older woman on, gesturing for her to come out with it.

"They presented me with some papers. It seemed they had established a trust —Serenità Trust— and had named me the trustee. They—" Giulia bit her bottom lip, her emotions getting the better of her. "They transferred all of the hamlet and its assets into the trust. All the homes, the buildings, the vineyard; all of it."

Sarah pushed herself away from the counter, taking a step closer to Giulia. "Chuck gave you the hamlet? He just… gave it to you?" Sarah's voice cracked slightly as her own emotions began to bubble up.

Giulia shook her head, sniffling. "Not me. Us. All of us. Every resident of the hamlet, every worker, is a beneficiary."

"What?" Sarah breathed out, floored by the revelation.

The older woman nodded, laughing lightly. "He wanted to ensure that the hamlet could never be sold and that its people always had a home. Not just that, but all of the money that the hamlet generates from the farm and the vineyard goes into the trust. I suspect that Chuck added some additional money to the trust's bank account as well, but from that, all of the beneficiaries receive a monthly salary. It's more than any of us need, but we'll be set for life."

Sarah covered her mouth with her hands, completely overwhelmed. "Oh my God," she whispered as a tear streaked down her cheek. Sniffing loudly, she stood up straight and wiped her cheeks.

It was then that the realization of what she was accusing Chuck of sank in. "Oh my God!" she groaned, burying her face in her hands. "Oh my God. I feel like such an asshole."

"Oh, hey now," Giulia cut in, wrapping Sarah in a hug. "It's not that bad." She patted Sarah on the back, trying to set her at ease. It was working slightly, but Sarah still felt terrible.

"How could I have ever thought Chuck would do anything to hurt someone else?" Sarah pulled away looking at Giulia.

The older woman gave her a sympathetic smile and patted Sarah's cheek. "No doubt because the world has shown you that most people aren't like Chuck." That truth struck Sarah harder than Giulia could have possibly realized. Chuck was different from anyone she'd ever known. What she'd witnessed so far should have been reason enough for her not to question his motives. Unfortunately, she allowed her old life, her old way of thinking, to cloud her judgment.

Sarah nodded, sniffling as she wiped at her cheeks again. Giulia took Sarah by the shoulders, giving them a good squeeze. "How about we keep this just between us? Huh? Chuck doesn't have to know you were having your doubts about him and he doesn't have to find out that I told you about our little secret."

Both women chuckled, nodding in agreement. Then a question came to Sarah's mind. "Why keep it a secret? I mean, everyone knows, right?"

"Oh, no!" Giulia said, shaking her head emphatically. "All that anyone knows is that a company bought the hamlet, and everything stays just as it has but with a few added bonuses."

Sarah was taken aback, her chin on her chest. "Nobody knows but you? So, nobody knows that Chuck had anything to do with this? They all just love him for being who he is and not because of what he did for them?"

"That's the way he wants it," Giulia said, giving a small shrug. "Just like the rest of us, he wants to be judged by his merits, not by how much money he has."

Sarah could relate to that. She was trying to leave a past behind her, a bloody, violent past. Rather than judge her by what she'd done, Chuck saw her for who she was now. Similarly, Chuck had some of his own demons and wanted to be accepted for who he really was. He had granted her that courtesy but when presented with the opportunity to return the favor, she faltered. Thankfully, she could learn from it and do better going forward.

It then struck Sarah that she'd lost track of time. Pulling her phone out she gasped. "Shit. I'm supposed to meet Chuck at the house for lunch."

Giulia pulled away, raising a hand to forestall Sarah. "Hold that thought!" She turned and dashed toward a glass door refrigerator in the back of the store. In a flash, she returned holding a covered dish. She pushed it at Sarah, who took it but was a bit hesitant. "Tiramisu. It's Chuck's favorite. You never know, it might put him in a good mood." The older woman bounced her eyebrows, making her innuendo quite obvious.

Sarah felt the warmth rise up her neck and cheeks at the thought. Leaning in, she gave Giulia a one arm hug, thanking her for everything. Pushing Sarah toward the door, the shopkeeper ushered her out of the store in hopes she would make it to her lunch date.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sarah stepped into the front door of the villa, feeling a little winded. She'd been in a hurry to get back, but since she was carrying the dessert for Chuck, she wasn't able to run, instead opting to power walk the distance from Giulia's shop.

When she inhaled deeply, trying to get her breathing under control, she could smell a heavenly aroma in the air. Silently pushing the door closed behind her, she made her way toward the kitchen, peeking around the corner to see what was going on.

There, standing in front of the stove, was the object of her affection, bobbing in place as he worked. Sarah paused for a moment to watch him, her chest filling with warmth at the sight. He was obviously making lunch for them and that simple fact made her fall for him even more. It was such a seemingly common act, but one she had little experience with. She was growing more aware of just how many new experiences she'd had since coming to Serenità, since meeting Chuck. The smile bloomed across her face as she thought about all the new experiences yet to come.

Quietly stepping into the kitchen, she sat the dish she'd been carrying on the island. The slight clink of the plate on the marble countertop startled Chuck, causing him to jump and turn to face her. His look of surprise quickly morphed into a broad smile that reached his gleaming hazel eyes. Sarah fought to hide her own smile, twisting her lips to the side.

"Hey," he said breathlessly as he took a step closer to her. His expression changed to a wince as he briefly glanced back over his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I promise I didn't just barge in here. Sophia let me in and since you weren't back from… wherever, I thought I'd make lunch. I hope that's okay?"

Closing the distance between them, Sarah pinched his t-shirt between her thumbs and forefingers, tugging on it lightly. She lifted her gaze to look up at him through her lashes. "Yes. It's okay. But," she trailed off biting her bottom lip as she struggled with her decision. She could take Giulia's advice and not say anything about what she'd done or what she now knew, or she could come clean. She'd already lived a life of secrets and lies; two of them actually. That was something she wanted to leave behind. She understood enough to know that a relationship —a loving, committed relationship— couldn't be founded on a bed of lies.

She made up her mind. No Secrets. No lies. "Chuck, we need to talk." Sarah watched his smile drop and his face go ashen.

Chuck swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing visibly. "Oh boy."

A/N2: A minor cliffhanger. At least for Chuck (sorry buddy). For us, this omniscient view of things is kind of nice sometimes. Having a "talk" is rarely good, but in this case, I think we all know he doesn't have much to worry about here. Maybe burning lunch. ;)

A/N3: I don't always pay homage to my beta, michaelfmx, the one who helps to make these stories as polished as they are. Thanks for all you do!

In addition, I want to thank WillieGarvin for being a sounding board and a wealth of knowledge as I figured out some of the legal hurdles in the story. If you are one of the three people on the planet that aren't reading his epic tale, Chuck vs A New Day, then you need to run— not walk— to that story and dive in right now. You only have 177 chapters to catch up on.

Thank you for all your reviews and support of this, and my other stories. It's definitely a strong motivation to keep going. While reviews aren't required, they are certainly appreciated.

Until next time, be well and stay safe.

JW