A/N: This is where I blah, blah, blah, blah blabitty, blah, about life getting in the way. Anywho, this chapter and one more. I hope you have enjoyed this fic. And if it's not clear, no matter what world, no matter what circumstances, these two idiots find each other, and stay together…no matter what a certain ending might make you worry about. (Man I'm persnickety today.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

"You avoiding me?" Sarah asked. Chuck looked up from his computer in the office. It had been two weeks since that night… the night that Charah was born, as Molly would say. Sarah argued, there had been Charah before that; someone was just worried about going too fast, and taking it slow. Chuck tried to warn her not to say that, when Carina popped in with, "That's what she said," and everything went downhill from there.

"No, got caught up in my work," Chuck admitted. He shook his head, trying to fight off the weariness he was feeling. "I thought you had the late shift?"

"Do you even know what time it is?" Sarah asked him. Chuck glanced down at the clock on his computer and saw that it was after one AM. "I'm going to assume by the look on your face that you don't."

"C'mere," he said, waving her over, and pushing his chair back. She walked over, and sat on his leg.

"What am I looking at?"

"The game we created, My Life," Chuck told her. He pointed at a shopping center in the game. "We made up names for stores since we couldn't afford to license everything. There's the Buy More, there's Large Mart-"

"All stuff from your dream," Sarah said. Chuck nodded. "So, what does this mean?"

"It means development time of my game could be significantly reduced if I used some of this," Chuck explained. Sarah ran her fingers through his hair, and he looked over at her. "What?"

"Have you talked to them?" Sarah asked gently. Chuck looked back at the screen. She shook her head, stood, and offered him her hand. "Come on, save it, or whatever. We're going home."

"Home?" Chuck asked, looking up at her, a grin on his face.

"Listen, you told me you loved me. And that opened the floodgate of me telling you I loved you," Sarah said with a shrug. "You're my home." He smiled at her. "I said that in your dream, or something?"

"Yeah, but you know what? It sounds a thousand times better in real life," he admitted, a goofy smile on his face.

"Baby, you are trying way too hard."

"Not trying, just who I am," he said with a shrug. He turned back to the computer and shut everything down. Spinning back to her, he took her hand, rose, and stepped close to her. She gasped, but grinned. "I love you."

"I love you, but you need to talk to them," Sarah told him.

"But hear me out," Chuck began. "Do I?"

"Yes," she told him, still grinning at him.

"Sarah, I don't see any reason to confront my parents," Chuck began. She gave him a look. "Other than you, Dr Freeman, Zondra, my sister, everyone at work, and I think Mike down the street thinks I should."

"Is Mike the one that yells at airplanes?" Sarah asked.

"No, that's Fred," Chuck informed her. "Mike is the one with the invisible dog."

"Got it," Sarah said nodding. "See, you need to confront your parents."

"If I don't, are you gonna, you know, withhold?" Chuck asked.

"God, no," Sarah replied, making him laugh. "Why would I do something stupid that would hurt me just because you did something stupid?"

"You think it's stupid that I haven't confronted them?"

Sarah studied him a second and sighed. "No, Chuck, I don't. I do, however, think it's important they know and understand that they have done you wrong. I think for your mental health, they need to know their culpability in all of this."

Chuck let out a low whistle. "Using those doctor words, Doctor Walker," he said in a low voice. She grinned at him. "We should go home."

"Yes, we should," Sarah told him. "Come on, I'll drive you home and we'll come back for your car in the morning."

Chuck started to argue, when a yawn nearly split his face in two. "Okay, since you insist," he told her. She shook her head, physically turned him, and pushed him towards the door.

}o{

Another two weeks passed before it was brought up again. Chuck was standing in front of the mirror, looking at his head. "I did a good job," he heard behind him. He turned to her. "If you don't know where to look, you can barely see the scar." He grinned at her, and she shrugged. "I am good at what I do."

"Don't I know it," Chuck muttered. "Hey, are you sure about today?"

"Ellie told your mom and dad if they say anything to me, that the next family function she hosts, you and I are invited, and they are not."

"Is it any wonder I saw her as my mom, with my parents deserting us in my dream?" Chuck asked. Sarah started to snicker, and Chuck rolled his eyes. "What? Thinking about your dad again?"

"I mean, let's be honest; he thought it was hilarious," Sarah said with a shrug. "What's wrong?"

"Is he okay about you and I?" Chuck asked, honestly. "I mean, I know in the end, it only matters about how you feel. But your mom and dad… are they really okay with me?"

"Chuck," she said, shaking her head, "they love you. They actually told me not to do what I normally do, and keep you at a distance, because I'm afraid I'm too much."

"Well, you are too much, but you're just right for me," he said, grinning at her.

"Why do I put up with you?"

"'Cuz you love me?" Chuck offered.

"Hmmm," she hummed, her finger tapping her lip, grinning. "I do," she admitted. "Are you ready?"

Chuck was silent for a moment, and took her hand. "Hey, next day off, what say you and I go house-hunting together?" he asked, nerves filling his voice.

She tilted her head. "Something wrong with this house?" Sarah asked.

"No, no, no," Chuck replied quickly. "Just more of a… I wanted to find something that felt like us." Sarah began to grin at him. For some reason, that made him more nervous. "I mean, I was thinking, we love each other, you're here a lot, and…" He couldn't help but be attacked again by the thoughts of the dream. About how he asked her to live with him, and she hadn't wanted to, originally. He took a deep breath. "CCC," he muttered to himself.

"Chuck, did I say no when you asked me to live with you, in the dream?" Sarah asked him.

Again, he was stunned by her perceptiveness. How she seemed to intuitively know what he was struggling with. "At first," Chuck replied, ashamed.

"Hey," she said gently, stepping over to him and putting her hands gently on his cheeks, looking him in the eye. "I love you, Chuck Bartowski."

"I know," he began.

"If you want me to move in, I'd love to. I just didn't want to rush you," she continued. "I know some of this plagues your mind some days."

He blew out a breath and smiled at her. "I do want you to move in."

"Good," she chirped. "I love you."

"I love you," he replied, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"Now, now," she mock scolded him, pulling away. "We can't be doing that. We'll be late to Ellie's and that's not fair to her, leaving her alone to face your mom and dad." Chuck groaned. "Come on, let's go." She pulled on his hand, and he rose and followed her out of the house, to the car to head to Ellie's.

}o{

Chuck had avoided his mother as much as possible, but he realized his mistake when he went in the kitchen to get himself and Sarah refills and his mother followed him.

"Seriously, how long are you going to date her?" Mary asked softly.

"No idea," Chuck replied.

"At least you realize what she is," Mary continued.

"Yep, a smart, brilliant, sexy, funny woman, who loves me and has moved in with me," Chuck said, turning to his mother, smiling. She kept the "company smile" on her face, but he could see it in her eyes. The anger, the rage. "One day, I'm going to propose to her, and when she marries me, I guess I'll take her on dates even then."

"Charles," Mary began, as he began to walk away. He stopped, spun, put the drinks back down on the bar, and looked her in the eye. He felt Sarah and Ellie's eyes on him.

"You need to realize something," Chuck began. "Yes, I love you and dad, but you… you don't get to dictate my life."

"Well, after everything I did for you, and still do," Mary began.

"Yes, you asked Hartley to back my company, but as I was reminded, that's what people who are investment bankers do." Mary looked stunned. "Also, you don't know he wouldn't have done it on his own, or that I couldn't find other financing. My life is my life, not something to parade around. You should be proud of me and my accomplishments, not hold over my head what you did or did not do for me. That's not love, mom. That's control, and that is toxic."

"Get 'er, little brother," he heard Ellie murmur.

"That woman that you ask how long I'm going to date? I'm going to date her as long as she lets me. I'm going to date her as long as she'll go out with me. God, I hope I'm old and grey… no not grey, but with white hair, or no hair, and she'll still go out with me," Chuck continued.

"Absolutely I will," Sarah murmured. Chuck turned toward Sarah and she gestured him to turn back to his mother.

"Well, apparently I'm not welcomed here," Mary began.

"Oh for the love of God, Mom, quit being so melodramatic. This isn't a damn court room," Chuck told her. "This is simple. I love her. I'm going to be with her. And if you aren't okay with that, then you aren't okay with me."

Mary shook her head, grabbed her drink, and walked back to the table where she sat down. She turned to Sarah. "If something happens to his brain, I'm blaming you."

"Sarah isn't his doctor, mom," Ellie reminded her.

"For the record, I try not to scramble it any more than I have to," Sarah said, turning to Chuck and winking. Chuck thought his knees might give way, right there. "I love your son, Mary. It's that simple."

"Am I allowed to ask if he's had any more seizures?" Mary asked.

"None," Chuck told her. "Because I'm in therapy, dealing with things, instead of blowing up inside and screwing up my brain. It's all non-epileptic, Mom. I'm lucky."

"I think you have a different definition of luck than I do," Mary told him. "You can have a seizure at any time."

"No, not if I take care of my mental health," Chuck told Mary. Mary twisted her lips, starting to retort, and then thought better of it. "Mom, I do love you and Dad."

"And I love you," she replied. Mary glanced at Sarah.

"Let's not lie to each other," Sarah told Mary. Chuck couldn't help but bark a laugh, soon followed by everyone else in the room.

A/N: Next time:

"Is it bad?" Sarah asked, looking down at her dress and then back up at him. Chuck began to laugh. "That bad?"

"Bad? Ma'am…seeing you in that…I thought I was gonna have a stoke." Sarah's eyes narrowed at him. "Right," he said clearing his throat. "Too soon."

"Always too soon," she muttered, walking over and smoothing his shirt.

"First, a stroke and a seizure aren't the same thing," Chuck began.

"You're going to argue with a neurologist on this?" Sarah asked.

Chuck snorted. "Jokes on you, you could of said, 'You gonna argue with me on this,' and you'd of won this." Sarah grinned at him. "Secondly, did my shirt really need smoothing?" She gave him a look through her lashes. "You know, for someone so smart I keep asking the dumbest questions."

My word do these two banter at the drop of a hat. Someone should do something about that. See you next time. Take care friends.