Chapter 2

Day 1,066 – July 26, 2010

Chuck smiled to himself as he trudged to the sink of the men's restroom to wash his hands.

It had been a pretty tiring day for him and Nat, but it had all been worth it in the end.

He had proposed to her.

She said yes.

He was now engaged.

They were soon to be married.

His heart was bursting with uncontrollable happiness.

After all the pain and sacrifices of the last 8 years, he finally gained what he wanted all along. Soon, he would be building a family of his own, with a woman who has stood by his side at his lowest.

He had never shared this with anyone, not even with Ellie, or with Morgan, but one of the constant fears of his life was being alone. Specifically, being left alone. His parents left him and Ellie. Jill left him for Bryce, who also left him after screwing up his life big time. Even Sarah, one who he thought would be unlike others, left him too.

Only Ellie and Devon and Morgan stayed by his side.

And it's different. Ellie was his sister, and Devon, even before they got married, became his older brother figure that he had never had. Morgan, he knew since he was 6 years old, that he practically counted as a sibling too. With their constant presence and unwavering loyalty, Chuck had been able to somehow believe that he was not a freak of a person, that no one would be able to stomach being his friend and stay loyal to him. Well, mostly.

He still had insecurities, but with them, he didn't end up drowning in the relentless series of waves of failures and disappointments in life and relationships, romantic or not.

Ellie and Devon are now married, and they now would soon build a family of their own. It didn't seem right for him to stay with them anymore, to good-naturedly intrude on what should have been their home, and their home only. And even though he was very proud and happy for them, every reminder of this fact brings sadness and ache in his heart without failure. They are now happy, as they should be, and very well set for life, unlike him. They would be there for each other, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad times, richer or poorer. They would never be truly alone, since they have each other. Since they become one.

And no matter how much Morgan repeated the phrase of 'hetero-life partner', the fact remains that both of them had a real chance of really ending up alone. Well, him more than Morgan at least. Morgan had no real baggage of experiencing a crushing heartbreak that would seriously question your ability to find love once again – his ill-fated, two-decade long chase of Ellie Woodcomb nee Bartowski doesn't count – and he had two of those.

So, while he portrayed a sense of moving forward with his life, he had already consigned himself to a life of a miserable bachelor.

Until one Natalie Evergreen had decided to take his life by the horns and drive it to her liking.

He had not understood her apparent fascination with him at first. Nat was magna cum laude alumna of Yale Law School at Yale University, and had also completed her LLM at the University of Chicago, all at the tender age of 25. She had made a successful career at the Public Defender Service in D.C. for almost 4 years, before moving to LA a few months before they had met that fateful night almost three years ago.

Nat was otherworldly beautiful, with shoulder-length wavy dark, almost burgundy hair, and piercing grey eyes. She was tall, standing squarely 6 feet, and her statuesque body was really a knockout figure, one that certainly belongs in that America's Next Top Model show that Ellie loves to watch from time to time.

Chuck had only been stunned to the next life by such top-tier beauty once, and the first one had quickly left him like she couldn't stand to breath the same air he was breathing for any second longer.

And despite hating himself for doing so, he couldn't stop himself from comparing the two women.

Where Sarah was secretive and always on the guard, Nat was as open as he was, as thrilled by life itself as he was. Where Sarah could at times be made uncomfortable by his nerdiness, Nat had outright challenged herself to become one, or at least try her best to be one to a degree. Where Sarah couldn't seem to decide whether he was worth spending time with, Nat on the other hand craved for his attention, at least any attention he could give.

And even when she realized he was just a broken man with so many issues, the biggest of which was being left twice by women he thought were his destined partners at different points in his life, Nat just told him she would wait for him to heal, because she was administering the cure itself.

Where Sarah was a spy, Nat was just a civilian.

Natalie was just Natalie.

And Chuck was more than happy with that, more than happy with her.

And unlike Jill or Sarah, she never broke her word that she would stay by his side, no matter how long it took for him to finally be truly together with her.

Two weeks after meeting her, Chuck was shocked to be contacted by his long-lost father. The revelations that had come out of his mouth had shaken him to the core. Had turned his life perspectives once more. Knowing the real truth why he left, and the series of events that led to his brief excursion as the Intersect host (and government pawn, the voice in his head snarked) only resulted in more pain. He now knew why, but some part of him wished that he remained unaware. Because ignorance would really be bliss in that case.

Two months after that, his father was able to successfully remove the Intersect from his head, and shortly after, the government, the CIA and the NSA, Graham and Beckman, and notably Casey, had left him.

Don't get him wrong. He was extremely happy, delirious even, to have his life back in his control again. To be back in the normal again. Finally, his life was again safe, relatively safe for a civilian that is. That means that Ellie and Devon and Morgan were safe too. He was happy and contented about that.

But a small part of him resented that they had left him alone without a parting shot or anything at all. Like they just disappeared to the shadows. He wouldn't even mind to have received a sarcastic 'thank you for your services, Bartowski', but apparently, even courteousness was not in the training program to be an asshole of a spy. Makes sense. He feels used, which he truly was. They had suddenly barged into his life without a warning, and then they also suddenly left his life without a warning. A part of him was still apprehensive that if they could do that, they could very well do it again in the near future.

What added to the bitterness was his dad apparently viewed his removal of the Intersect from his son was more than enough of a parental duty he was obligated to perform, and promptly went into hiding once more. Well, Chuck allowed him to, it was not as if he could do anything about it, and even if he could, he would not waste any effort on a man who made it obvious he had no intention on returning to his children to correct the mistakes he had committed all this years ago. And his apparent indirect involvement in his expulsion from Stanford is included in those mistakes too.

Nat stayed with him through all of that. He had never told her anything of value about what happened, hell he almost did not tell her anything at all. And yet she soldiered on and offered comfort and assurances. Then she revealed that she went behind his back to investigate his expulsion, and that lead to the close-quarters reopening of the case, which resulted in a deal being negotiated between him and the university administration. In exchange for his silence and not filing a public case against them, he would receive his diploma, along with a hefty $700,000 paycheck to make up for what he would have earned in the past 6 years had he not been expelled. The President even sweetened the deal and added an additional paycheck to pay for his sister and her boyfriend's outstanding student loans to UCLA, which boggled him for a moment, until she saw the gloating smirk and evil stare of Natalie, which he took to mean she apparently dug up something more to blackmail them into including that provision. He didn't care too much though, and he was only too happy to receive and then agree to the deal.

Ellie and Devon were over the moon about the news, and so was Morgan.

But no one was happier than Natalie herself, and it was at that very moment that Chuck realized that she was an otherworldly woman not just because of her looks, but also because of her character. He was still at that point somewhat confused why a woman such as him was so adamant in doing so much for someone like him, but he was determined to give her a chance, give themselves a chance. He owed this wonderful woman at least that.

So, on 5:10 in the afternoon of May 1, 2008, minutes after he clocked out from the BuyMore, he had asked her out to a date. And she said yes.

He had never looked back then, only forward, like he was now doing.

This would be their last night in Athens, and they would be celebrating their engagement via this lovely dinner, a trip to an opera house, and finally, his eyes glazing at the thought, a continuation of their celebrations in their room at the hotel. Tomorrow, they would begin their return journey to LA, where they would immerse themselves in a hectic schedule of wedding plans, as both him and Nat agreed on a very short engagement and to advance their plans to raise a family together.

Shaking his head out of the memory lane, he was twisted the faucet off as he moved to dry himself, when he suddenly heard faint sounds of what must be gunshots. Suddenly, fear gripped his heart as he hurriedly went out of the restroom, which he could now register as empty with only him as the occupant for the past few minutes, and stepped into hall of the restaurant.

His eyes and focus blocked out the chaos happening around him, of several tables and chairs being upturned, of other patrons as well as servers running around like headless chickens, of screaming women and children.

Chuck just zeroed in on that far corner of the restaurant, where he and his fiancée had occupied and had taken their meal just minutes ago.

And then he saw her.

He didn't know what force had driven his legs forward to her direction. He just knew that one moment he was staring at her prone form, the next he was cradling her body. There was so much blood. He could not fathom how could there be so much blood. He saw her choking in blood, felt her hand caressing his cheek, but he just couldn't say anything to her. He just couldn't do anything for her, other than hold her tight. He could not hear what she was saying to him. He could not hear anything from around him.

And just as quick as he had managed to get to her, her eyes closed and her hand fell to her side. Even though he knew what that means, all he could focus was the blood on her body, on her dress. The two holes in her chest. Those were the only visual stimuli registering into his mind right now.

Not even the sight of his tears falling to her body was making any sense to him as of the moment.

He just sat there, numb of all senses apart from those essential in gazing at and holding her lifeless body. He supposed he was numb of all feelings too, but he could not fool himself to believe that. Because right at this very moment, he was having trouble in breathing, his chest hurts too much, even though he logically knows he has no sickness related to the heart and lungs. And his mind hurts too. His eyes hurt too. And his body was shaking, his lips were shaking, his hands that was holding her was shaking.

He didn't know it then, because even if he could not hear or see anything, so many people were horrified by the scene and the anguished howls and sobbing coming from his mouth.

He thought that everything was just a loop, that everything was just a figment of imagination, that he could not get out of this nightmare.

But a voice, one he hadn't heard for years, a voice he had committed to forgetting in the path towards securing his feature, that voice, drew him out from this catastrophe.

"Chuck?!"

At first, he could not recognize her as something like transparent liquid were overfilling his eyes, but soon enough he registered her form, her face.

It was her again. And obviously, to her side, there was him again.

Two people that had left him, that had used him, that had hurt him.

Two people he had never wanted to see again.

Sarah Walker and Bryce Larkin.

His gaze suddenly transfixed itself on the guns that the two assholes and banes of his life were holding on.

All he saw was red, and all he saw was black.

As he subconsciously registered his body rushing in their direction, only one thought was present in his mind.

'You should have not promised Nat, because promises are meant to be broken.'

Author's Note: Whew! That was an intense one! Hopefully it was up to the task for another chapter of Readeption! Anyway, if anyone can point out with this chapter, it seems to have some sort of similarity with Chapter 2 of Black Orchid Transcendence. Like in that story, Chuck here has another woman that he had connected with and loved, and in both fics, both women died. The key difference here is that Cate was an NSA agent, a part of the spy world, and Nat was a lawyer, a part of the civilian world. I intended this to be a reflection of Chuck's reality at the time he met each of these women. In this fic, Chuck had been granted to the chance of regaining his normal life, and consequently met a normal woman.

I originally envisioned that Nat is just a brief fling for Chuck here, a woman he had a one-night stand with. That meant that he would be surprised that Sarah had remained in Burbank after all, just like in canon. But I decided to move forward with this plot point. In the series, it was constantly said by Sarah that she thinks Chuck deserves someone unlike her, someone that is normal, someone who could really be with him and be the undamaged partner like she was. Someone untainted by the con life and the spy life like she was. This was her greatest fear all along. I feel that until Hannah came along in Season 3, there had been no such woman for Chuck, a woman who fitted Sarah's nightmare of a rival. Jill obviously didn't count, even if they didn't know it at first. Lou could have been, but then they went and made her somewhat involved in the dark world by her connection to Stavros. It may seem unfair for her, but in my opinion, that little tidbit of fact made her ineligible to be the perfect nightmare of a rival and match for Sarah in the race for Chuck's affections.

Until Hannah. And man, Kristin Kreuk delivered so much in her portrayal of Hannah. Suddenly, we now have a woman that conventionally was a perfect fit for Chuck. She was just Hannah, not some spy, enemy or not, and with no connections to any criminal or spy whatsoever. In fact, her only connection with any of those things was with Chuck. And we saw the utter devastating effect that Hannah entering the scene had caused to a formidable woman such as Sarah Walker. Hannah epitomized everything that Sarah thought she could not be for Chuck.

This is what I envisioned for Natalie. In the show, no matter how seemingly perfect Hannah would be for Chuck, we already know that she really could not supplant Sarah in his heart. Chuck and Sarah, discounting the fact that they are the destined pair all along, just have too much of a connection and bond that they shared that it would not be possible for Hannah to overcome this at any given time. But here, Chuck and Sarah had only been together for around 2 months after which their parts had diverged once again. There was so short a time for a deep bond to truly blossom. With Natalie representing so much that he found ideal, it was only a matter of time that Chuck would fall for her.

The key theme here is that with Nat, Chuck experienced happiness as just a normal civilian. With her help, his life was now moving forward and for the better. This was what he wanted even while he was with Sarah, while he was the Intersect host.

And suddenly, as the end of this chapter showed, tragedy struck.

I'll do you all better, I'm gonna confirm that NEITHER Sarah nor Bryce killed, by accident or not, Nat. But you already can guess that they are connected somehow to her being killed, now that they had appeared in the crime scene moments after this happened.

From this scene, a path is already forged for Chuck, and for all the other persons that are involved in this fic. Now we are looking to the inevitable reentry of Chuck to the spy world, and what a reentry it would be.

PS: Yes, I indeed appeared to change a few details in the show. I chose to have Chuck literally walk on Bryce and Jill doing the nasty together in Chuck's bed inside his dormitory room to create more drama and to provide a painful connection to the scene of Chuck witnessing Bryce and Sarah making out heatedly inside his room at Echo Park. Naturally, in this fic's universe at least, Chuck never went back to Stanford to confront Jill and her friend Shari. After witnessing the betrayal, he just went up and left. Additionally, I also chose to go with the path of making Bryce an utter asshole to Chuck by poaching his girlfriend. Yes, Bryce really seemed to doing what he THOUGHT was for Chuck's own good and safety, but all the same he had no compunction in trying to steal Sarah from him, manipulating him even to achieve that goal. It would not be a stretch to imagine Bryce thinking that him screwing Jill would be just another incentive to Chuck to leave Stanford, and thus he would be safe from the CIA, win-win situation, at least to Bryce's perspective. Again, he was doing it for Chuck's own good, thinking he knew better. As for Jill, let's say she was also having a real dilemma on how to break things up with Chuck, providing she really loved him in the first place for her to feel this dilemma at all, and may just thought that screwing Bryce would be another incentive for Chuck to leave her alone. Again, win-win for Jill. That is, if she really loved him at all. That is still debatable.

And I agree, Chuck staying in that dark corner of his life between getting expelled and getting the Intersect was not totally Bryce's fault. Chuck shares his own blame for the funk he got into. But again, as mentioned, Chuck was really let down, to say the least, in the aftermath of the Bryce-Jill affair and Stanford expulsion fiasco. I'd like to imagine that Chuck, and consequently Ellie, had bet everything towards him graduating and achieving his dreams. And when that ended in catastrophe, what he could only focus was the tragedy of it all, and may have thought that he had already given everything and still failed, why try for something so uphill again. Why not return to the BuyMore, to something he was comfortable with, where the chances of failing was so low it was not even funny? I guess ultimately, we will never know, so here we are just speculating.

Anyway, thank you so much for all the other reviews out there, and I hope I'll continue to meet your expectations and deliver justice to this fic!

Hasta la vista!