A/N: I started this story because I simply loathe the fact that CHUCK ended at all. I belong to the group of fans that the loved the finale. This story picks up right after the fade to black, is strictly off the top of my head, and I'm writing my thoughts as they come out, this is my first fan-fiction story ever, and CHUCK has inspired me to write one, so I hope everyone enjoys reading it!

MISILANIOUS UPDATES: This story has been complete for a year, and the traffic still goes up, that blows my mind. Even though it is complete, I will be going back through and changing various things. Not so much with the plot but altering dialogue and narration in subtle ways to fit the show and characters more. Spots that don't feel true to characters or flow right. Its nothing major but bothers me enough upon reflection to fix for future readers. Probably will add character descriptions for chapter spots where guest stars introduced too, help people's minds eye; maybe even chapter titles!

My profile page has updated with news that sheds light on my lack of new content. Life has gotten very busy, but I appreciate that people are still reading this story and am available via PM to chat!:)

Chuck and Sarah

Chapter 1

They sat on there on the beach locked in a gentle kiss, his right hand resting on her cheek. The warmth of his hand was surprisingly comforting to her like it had a hidden ability to calm the chaos that now existed in her mind. Without even realizing it she had brought her left hand from the ground, slowly bringing it up to rest on his left shoulder. As she touched him, their kiss grew deeper, and she felt like she was completely getting lost in it. It was tender, soulful and yet she could sense a tremendous amount of respect and unconditional love coming from the man she had asked to kiss her. With all her confusion the one thing that Sarah was certain of was Chuck's love for her; she had witnessed it two weeks earlier as Chuck permitted her to kill him while he was standing against the door frame of her dream home, just as she had begun recalling carving their names into it. Her mind soon filled with dark unfocused images, none of which she could see even a little. The kiss gave her feelings she could not recognize but wanted desperately to remember.

As if sensing her frustration Chuck brought his left hand to her back and gently stroked her hair; again, something he had done began to calm her. The kiss went on for some time until finally she slowly removed her hand from his shoulder. For a third time, he seemed to know what Sarah was thinking because he brought one hand down from her hair while taking the other off her cheek as they slowly broke the kiss smiling at each other.

Sarah's spoke in a quiet whisper. "It is peaceful here."

Chuck nodded, his eyes back on the horizon. "Does wonders for a guy that suddenly has a computer in his brain. Or a girl-sorry woman, woman-that has been through hell in the last month."

She smiled at Chuck with amusement, and then looked at the horizon as her amusement tinged with guilt. "All I've done to you and you overlook it. I nearly killed you and your sister, I just bought Quinn's story and fell for his lies."

Chuck locked eyes with her, "Sarah, you shouldn't dwell on anything Quinn brainwashed you into doing, it's not good for you especially given everything he put you through. I knew that was all Quinn acting through you, and after I explained everything Ellie forgave you without hesitation so please forgive yourself."

Sarah watched Chuck silently; she was struck by how understanding he was and how calm he made her feel. This man whom she could not remember sharing a life with and yet something in her knew that she had felt this level of calm countless times before losing her memories. Chuck noticed the expression on Sarah's face and turned to look out at the ocean again; he knew what was coming and braced himself for it. Morgan's theory hadn't worked, and he knew it by the expression on her face.

Sarah sighed caught between sadness and frustration, "Chuck, I wanted to remember everything I hoped the kiss would work…" She bowed her head looking at him sadly, she could not finish the sentence and it seemed to dissolve in midair.

He stretched his legs casually. "It was a long shot. Anything you do remember though? No pressure obviously but I'm curious?" Chuck was looking at her with the same kind of profound expression she once wore when gauging his thoughts while they sat here five years ago as if asking her to trust him with them too.

Sarah's expression was like her moments of recollection recently, longing showed all over her face. "Well, I remember we did missions with Carina, but that's most likely because I knew her before I was assigned here…other than that I think I remember a code name…Piranha and…my father. He calls you…schnook? She seemed set on these bits of info and her face became relaxed.

Chuck grinned upon recollection, "Yes he does, on the first impression, he thought I was a bit of a loser. He lifted my ATM card to check my funds. I like to think I changed his opinion by the end of the joint con/sting operation we ran with him, at the request of the CIA of course. He did believe that we were professional con artists, we sold us as a couple though, and he trusted that I would look after you for him by the time he left. As for Carina, she helped us with a couple of infiltration missions; she likes trouble that friend of yours and she caused her share of it."

Sarah laughed as Chuck talked about his encounters with her father and Carina. "That sounds all too familiar, what about that code name, though…Piranha?"

Chuck was grinning from ear to ear now and was so hopeful about Sarah's current crisis that he felt like he was floating in midair from excitement.

"Sarah "Piranha" was my nickname in high-school. I'd already developed quite a reputation as a computer hacker by then and usually broke through security quickly while shredding all traces of my tampering, and after a while, it was so second nature that the masses nicknamed me "Piranha" and it stuck."

Sarah skillfully stifled a laugh as Chuck went through his explanation of "Piranha" and then found herself smiling at him with newfound or perhaps rediscovered affection and he noticed this because he started turning red.

Chuck expression was hopeful again like it was when watching her try to remember other things recently, but this was not about him. "You'll be okay Sarah just give it time. I am not going anywhere."

Sarah noticed that her instincts were unencumbered and at this point, all Sarah trusted more than her instincts was Chuck. Truthfully, she had been at war with her instincts ever since returning from Quinn's (bogus) briefing and was angry because she ignored them, which put the people that had been telling her the truth all along in danger. Sarah resolved to embrace where her instincts led her, and they hadn't been wrong yet. They'd taken her back to Burbank, the Buy More, and Chuck to kill Quinn eventually. His death allowed her to bury those dreadful 48 hours with him and focus on herself. Thus instinctively leading Sarah back to this beach and Chuck, whose presence here she knew wasn't just a coincidence and because of that Sarah decided that she would find her memories by instinct too—with Chuck's help of course.

Chuck continued cautiously pulling Sarah from her thoughts, "Listen, Sarah, Ellie is a neurological scientist. She believes that you didn't lose your memories but rather had them severely suppressed and that time could help them resurface. That's why I think it would be a good idea to stay in our apartment, but like I said when I got here, no matter what you decide or where you go, I will be there to help you."

Sarah was silent for a while considering him. She had lost track of how long she'd been sitting here. It was difficult to tell the time of day with the sun obscured behind layers of clouds. It was ironic, last Sarah knew she made up her mind to be alone to find herself, find where to go after dealing with Quinn…and, yet she wound up here, with Chuck, and that was enough of a sign that he was where she belonged. At the time her need for revenge outweighed picking up the pieces, but now her excuse to run was gone, and besides, she had nowhere else to go, she had nobody else besides Chuck and his lack of expectations made her want to be around him.

Sarah smiled genuinely, "Okay Chuck."

Chuck nodded pulling a metal wallet and a ring from his pocket. "Okay, here is your ID's and your ring; I…went there before coming here. You should have them."

Sarah pocketed the wallet and after staring at it a moment put the ring back on her right hand. Chuck had been looking at the ocean again and did not notice. "Chuck, thank you."

He was gazing into her blue eyes again as he responded, "Sure thing! I'll get everything else from the hotel room, so you don't have to go back there, and then Morgan, Alex and I will help you move back in again. In the meantime, I'm sure you're hungry, and I am too so how about we get food?"

"Okay, I've got a craving for cheeseburgers anyway!"

Chuck smiled "It's ironic, Morgan forgot most of the small stuff, but you seem to be able to remember a lot of that."

Sarah smiled back, "What makes you say that?"

Chuck tried to sound casual, "The German Wienerlicious…that was a mundane cover, only intact memory could help you remember how to organize the cups; and, a five-year-old porn virus…even I forgot about that one. Ellie says memories are either explicit-things we can connect to our surroundings and life-or implicit-our step by step patterns and habits-if it helps it seems like you have some level of both, probably more implicit than explicit, but the point is you're still sharp Sarah Walker."

Sarah stared at the ring on her right hand, "I think I can embrace Bartowski. Something about it feels right. Kind of like you proposing in the hospital. I don't remember the moment but I remember the feeling of having the ring on my hand, I left it behind out of fear and guilt but I always run Chuck and I am done running. You helped me once help me again. I believe you, I should have the whole time but Quinn was a devil whispering in my ear. Once and for all you need to know I trust you" She sad the last three words with conviction and bumped his shoulder.

Chuck stared at his ring and confessed with a glowing smile, "I was hoping you would say that." He grabbed Sarah's hand and their rings lined up perfectly as they rested in a small space between where the two of them sat.

Sarah leaned against him, and they both started out at the ocean once more feeling a sense of deja-vu. She became more and more convinced that all of Ellie's theories were probably accurate based on the number of vague or instinctual and somewhat involuntary recollections she had already experienced. The thing that was evident to Sarah was that whatever Quinn had done to her brain and memory wasn't permanent and the more Sarah thought about things she began to realize that she wanted her suppressed memories back. They both stood up together taking one last look at the ocean and the horizon with the now unobscured and risen sun, before turning and starting to walk in the opposite direction.

"Where are we going to eat?" asked Sarah who was admittedly starving.

"'Luckily, I passed a place nearby on my way down here it's called Big Al's, Chuck said. "I saw it at the base of the coast where I parked my car and got out to start looking for you; I wasn't sure if you were here; plus the beach is huge, so it took quite a while for me to find you."

Sarah suddenly grabbed Chuck's right hand locking her fingers in his and wore a tight-lipped smile "I had a feeling this place was important. Something tells me you were here all night."

Chuck remembered asking her the same thing five years ago, "I think this beach is real deja-vu."

Sarah was thinking hard, "I told you that…"

Chuck smiled and nodded. "Yeah, you did."

Chuck stopped abruptly, and as a result, their feet got tangled. Sarah stumbled backward slightly and then helped Chuck to his feet as he lost his footing somewhat.

He straightened himself up quickly, fidgeting with his hands as his face immediately began turning scarlet from embarrassment. "That's just great…just when I thought my days of being awkward around you were behind me." Chuck shyly flashed his famous toothy grin as Sarah let out a good chuckle that he reciprocated.

Sarah locked hands with Chuck again and found herself lost in thought as they kept walking. "Wow, I thought he'd come across as clumsy from the way he told me certain parts of our story, but that was adorable. I wish I hadn't forgotten just how much it usually happens, but at least I get to discover it all over again!"

A satisfied grin formed on Sarah's face as she pondered these things and Chuck seemed to notice because he squeezed her hand tighter and moved right next to her as they kept walking. They made it back to where the coast met the road but much farther up when Chuck spotted Big Al's a short distance away. They walked up onto the sidewalk that led to Big Al's entrance, and when they got to the door, Chuck grabbed it and held it open for Sarah to step inside as he followed her in and let the door close behind them.

II

The place was larger kind of like their apartment except a little bigger, and it was entirely rectangular. They were standing on the left side of the room directly behind the entrance door that was against the back wall. Which also had restrooms in the center of it and a jukebox in the right-hand corner that to Chuck's amusement was currently playing the song Feeling Good, by Nina Simone. The floor was covered entirely with black tile, and the walls were blue. On the left-hand wall of the diner were three evenly spaced windows that looked out on the road outside. For seating, three rectangular tables resting against the same wall, spaced evenly apart with booths placed horizontally on both sides of them, so it appears they were all sitting back to back. The front of the diner looked more like a bar area because there was a long counter with six stools lined up against it and part of the ceiling here had a dip in it that had a TV attached. Which was currently showing 24, behind the bar was a somewhat cluttered mixing area with various types of alcohol, juice, fruit, and snacks on horizontal shelves. A door was to the right of the mixing area led to what Chuck assumed was the diner's kitchen, because even though it was walled off waiters had been passing in and out since they entered the restaurant. The right side of the restaurant had the same setup as the left, which gave it the appearance of an Applebee's but naturally smaller. There weren't too many other people inside and thus it felt like a rather private establishment.

"Well this is a nice-looking diner, come on let's get a table I'm starving!" Chuck said, as he began to make his way to the closest table on the left side of the diner and sat in the booth to the left of it. Sliding awkwardly to the end as Sarah sat in the one on the different aspect of the table, so she was directly opposite Chuck, just as a waitress strode over to the table and pleasantly greeted them with a smile. "Hi, Welcome to Big Al's my name is Sally and I'll be your waitress this afternoon," she said.

"What's your best cheeseburger here Sally?" asked Chuck.

"Oh, we have a killer bacon cheeseburger that's very popular here," she said enthusiastically.

"That sounds good, make it two with extra pickles on the second one for Sarah here, oh and throw in fries and water too if you could Sally. "Coming right up, by the way, you two make a very cute couple." She said as she turned toward the kitchen.

Chuck turned back toward Sarah who looked at him with her usual tight-lipped smile. "What, you said you wanted a cheeseburger, didn't you?

Sarah's nodded smiling more widely. "Yes, but I don't think I told you how to top my burgers?"

Chuck was grinning now, "Sarah come on who do you think you're dealing with here, I'm obviously going to remember the little things too, but nothing has changed about the core of who you are and you, Sarah put extra pickles on your burgers."

Sarah continued surveying Chuck with mild amusement. She was once again in awe of how well he knew her, not only what she wanted, but things that made her feel completely at ease in an instant as if he had a window into her soul that nobody, including her father or Bryce, had ever truly been able to see. This fact made Sarah wonder how well she had known Chuck before her memories became suppressed and because of that Sarah found herself wanting to rediscover Chuck all over again. Another part of her worried that she wouldn't live up to his image of who she'd been before her memory suppression and her face fell somewhat as she thought about this.

Chuck noticed the sudden change in her expression and spoke gently, "You seem worried about something all of a sudden?"

The more she thought about it Sarah realized that the lingering confusion was with herself. She did not like to talk much and yet she felt the urge to do just that now. Chuck's mere presence seemed to make her want lower her wall. That feeling was supposed to be foreign to her, but it felt familiar.

Recognizing this familiar feeling, she let herself be honest. "Well…you know so much about me…it's very frustrating that I'm a shadow of who you used to know."

Sarah crossed her arms and brought them to her chest with her head tilted slightly down, as Chuck rose from his seat and strode over to the opposite side of the table and slid in next to Sarah putting an arm around her as she looked at him with anguish written on her face. It pained Chuck to no end that she was going through this at all and he hated Nicolas Quinn so much for being the cause of her suffering. He wanted to comfort her but was worried he might make her too uncomfortable by pushing too far in any direction, so instead, he tried only easing her fears as he squeezed her gently.

Chuck sighed, "I know you're frustrated Sarah, but you don't worry about measuring up to who you were before, especially around me. Now, here comes Sally with our food though so let's eat and then we can slowly sort through everything as we go, but I think you are doing better than you realize."

Sarah was smiling again. "Do nerds always say the right things?"

Chuck bragged with a grin, "Well, I am a unique nerd.

After a shared laugh, Chuck and Sarah talked at length about their plans over the next week or two, while they ate rather quickly because of how hungry they were. Chuck was extremely enthusiastic about his already in motion plans for Carmichael Industries. He was ready to finalize a contract with the government, facilitated by Diane Beckman that would make Carmichael Industries the central hub for all NSA/CIA counter cyber-terrorism measures throughout the U.S. The deal also gave Chuck free reign on all operations including fieldwork. He felt pressed for time because it was Saturday and since he was signing the contract next Monday, he wanted to have the building completely operational and ready with top of the line tech. The same office building previously inhabited by Ronald Reagan that Sarah showed him before their unfortunate "last mission." He purchased it last Friday after Diane graciously pulled strings and unfroze the Volkoff fortune given to him and Sarah as a wedding gift by Hartley Winterbottom.

As Sarah continued listening to Chuck ramble about his plans for Carmichael Industries, she found it undeniable that she could not help her interest in him. Chuck had as normal a life as anybody, even though he had a government-backed, freelance espionage & counter cyber-terrorism Company. Sarah's instincts were screaming that she felt similarly when she initially met Chuck after being assigned as his handler while he worked at Buy More…more familiarity with situations.

Chuck's rambling left him unaware of Sarah's inner dialogue, "…So obviously like I said you have a job no questions asked. Quite a bit has been done already Morgan and Alex has been helping me move the furniture into the building and paint it; the outside is a dark blue. We've still got plenty to do, but I'll take you there tomorrow and show you the place!" he finished enthusiastically.

Sarah noticed holes in this idea, "Are all your operations going to exist in that single building? I would think you would need a substation or two…"

Chuck nodded, "Oh yeah, I've got that issue covered already, see the Buy More was purchased by Subway recently, but they don't want to run it so, they turned creative and executive decisions over to me, and I've decided to re-outfit the Buy More. I'm turning it into a full subsidiary of Carmichael Industries; I'm converting the Buy More into a substation for field operations which is perfect for our company because let's face it, Subway wasn't going to manage some underperforming electronics store."

"Our company?" she said with a puzzled look."

"Yeah— oh jeez, I did kinda cap the story at the wedding. Carmichael Industries is your business too. After we got married, we were given the entire Volkoff Industries fortune by Hartley Winterbottom AKA Alexi Volkoff. With the money, we decided to go into business for ourselves and together we started Carmichael Industries.

Sarah recalled studying Chuck's government profile when looking to track down Quinn, "Wait I saw info on Volkoff and his company when I looked at your CIA profile…he was a vicious arms dealer you err—we arrested…I remember Hartley Winterbottom is one of the original three designers of the Intersect along with your father and Ted Roark, from Mary's briefing on The Key but she never mentioned that he was ever undercover am I missing something!?

Chuck folded his hands, "Uh, well it's complicated see when my dad finished the first stable prototype Intersect he and Hartley created a fictitious agent profile—Alexi Volkoff— and added it to the Intersect so a field agent could go undercover. Since my dad had a family to look out for, Hartley volunteered to be uploaded with the Intersect and thus go undercover as Alexi Volkoff and spy on Russia for the U.S. The program was only supposed to last a month, but it malfunctioned. Hartley became the Alexi Volkoff persona until it was removed by Clyde Decker late last year using a direct suppression device, he said.

Sarah sat stunned as Chuck finished his explanation of the connection between Winterbottom and Volkoff and her mouth hung open after he'd finished. She had no idea that something like this happened as a result of the Intersect because as far as she knew it was only ever a government database.

Chuck had kept going, "Anyway, roughly two months later you came up with the idea to shift its primary focus to countering cyber-terrorism. With the hope that it would be a lot safer for us and then…" his voice trailed off slowly, and his happy expression turned somber as he dropped his gaze to his lap.

Sarah's eyes followed the drop of his head, "What Chuck? It's okay you can tell me, besides the suppressed memories may start to resurface if I can stop wondering about what happened leading up to it."

Chuck continued flatly, "We had to track down a pair of stolen Intersect glasses…the bullet train, you were captured. Chuck raised his head again looking at her with anguish on his face.

Sarah was anxious now. "Wait, did what happen to Volkoff happen to me!? Quinn told me I'd been on a bullet train and that I hit my head, but the latter part of his statement wasn't true, and I knew it. Chuck, please tell me I want to know what happened to me…please!

Chuck hesitated, "…I'm not sure if I should Sarah, I talked to Ellie at length about your situation, and she said it's risky because it could add tremendous psychological stress, I've avoided saying much for that reason, but if you are ready." Sarah nodded silently.

Chuck nodded, "Okay then, I'll tell you everything, but not here I'm sure you'd rather hear it in private, and we should head back anyway it's almost noon already. First time I've looked at my watch in about five hours…long morning." Can you wait until we get back to the apartment? Sarah nodded again.

Chuck stood up, Alright then, I'll leave a $10, and I'm taking care of the bill," he insisted.

Sarah grabbed his hand, "Thank you for going back there again…I just can't. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened. if you had found me first…"

Chuck nodded smiling capping his emotion "So do I, I will see you soon."

After using the restroom, they left together and then split off in opposite directions toward their cars.

Sarah drifted through her thoughts as she got in leaning back, against the seat. "…So, Chuck and I started Carmichael Industries together with the fortune we received from Volkoff himself, or rather from Hartley Winterbottom as a wedding gift…I hate that my memories are a mess. Maybe I do not feel as different as I thought…"

Sarah opened her eyes, sat up, sighed, started her car and drove off. In the direction of the highway that would take her out of Malibu, back into the heart of Burbank and eventually Echo Park where she would get long-needed answers about events that led to her now-dormant memories.

III

Sarah made her way to the apartment door, opened it and stepped inside silently shutting the door behind her. She immediately looked for the sofa and collapsed onto it; as she observed the apartment from the couch, Sarah knew that she should probably feel awkward here. For whatever reason, of all the possible emotions she might have felt the one that was most prominent at the moment was safe. She felt safe here, and it didn't seem to be a coincidence that the only other time in the last two weeks Sarah felt safe was the time she spent with Chuck on that beach. Perhaps it was exhaustion-she had barely slept in the last two weeks-but she fell asleep.

Events of the recent past began to haunt her like nightmares. Quinn's ploy, DARPA, kidnapping Ellie, the crash, Chuck's plea and their confrontation…she was kicking him down the stairs and cornered him against the door frame, gun pointed right at him…

"You can kill me; I will never hurt you…"

Her eyes catch their names carved into the door frame, and after a piercing moment, she remembers that was her idea. Instincts prevent her from pulling the trigger.

"I wrote that…"

"Yeah, you did."

The door bursts open. Quin doesn't need her anymore…gunshots."

Sarah woke with a shout she was breathing hard, and sweating, "That is why I don't sleep…"

Rubbing her eyes, she looked at her watch and noticed it was now 5:00 in the evening. What was keeping Chuck? Sarah got up and crossed to the kitchen on the opposite side of the apartment and opened the freezer; spotting Rocky Road ice cream in the front which she grabbed immediately along with a spoon from the counter where the sink was, sitting down at the table to eat. Roughly 20 minutes later, just as she was nearing the end of her ice cream the door opened, and Chuck was dragging a pair of rolling luggage inside aided by Morgan who was carrying a briefcase and Alex who had a handbag full of knives and another full of makeup.

Chuck sounded exasperated and exhausted as they entered the apartment. "Guy's thanks for meeting me out there Quinn sure went to a lot of trouble to trick Sarah, more than half her things were in the hotel room: guns, knives, clothes, her wedding ring, and nightly products. Let's get this all to the guest room guys and Morgan the guns stay in the briefcase understood!" Chuck glared at Morgan.

Morgan was angry, "Jeez buddy, I ACCIDENTALLY blow up the Buy More ONCE, and from then on I'm not allowed to handle anything lethal!? Need I remind everyone that, MY THUMBS WERE BROKEN." Morgan glowered as if letting off steam.

Sarah had just taken her last bite of ice cream when she let out a loud laugh that turned into a partial cough as she swallowed. Everyone spun around quickly but relaxed upon realizing that Sarah was sitting there. Morgan gave everyone a scandalized look as Sarah calmed down and strode over to help carry her belongings.

Alex shook her head. "Babe chill out, he just wants to make sure you don't discharge a firearm in the apartment, you know you're usually pretty hyper anyhow so give Sarah her guns Morgan. Anyway, Sarah, I'm sure Chuck told you already, but I'm Alex McHugh Casey's daughter, its good see you again, how have you been doing?"

Alex was John Casey's long-lost daughter. She was about Morgan's height, with long wavy brown hair. Raised by her mother (Casey's ex-fiance) Kathleen McHugh, Alex was her father's namesake after his birth name Alex Coburn; an identity he sacrificed to join NSA black ops, not knowing of Kathleen's pregnancy at the time of his decision. Saving both Alex and her mother from peril led to their reinsertion into his life. Alex was as direct as her father with his physical ability but carried the kindness and tact of her mother that Casey often lacked, though she was easily irritated like her father.

Sarah sighed remembering her disturbed sleep. She responded to the question sadly. "I've been okay given the circumstances, here let me take those it's the least I can do."

Alex handed Sarah the handbags and then strode over to Morgan and kissed him, his anger instantly faded as she did so, and Chuck was incredibly grateful Alex had that effect on Morgan. Sarah strode over to Chuck who had made his way to the hallway with the luggage and casually leaned over to him careful to whisper so she didn't set Morgan off again.

Sarah met Chuck in a whisper,"…uh did he blow up the Buy More?"

Chuck grinned and laughed, "err yeah, he did, but he didn't mean to…we had just stopped Daniel Shaw from taking over the government when Morgan found the explosive he'd placed in the Buy More. Like Morgan said his thumbs were broken, of course, he could've avoided that altogether by NOT picking up the C4 in the first place, but naturally, he had to be a show-off…anyway let's get this stuff to your room; it's the first door on the right down this hallway, the bathroom is the second door on the left, and my room is on the right too but at the end."

" Okay, Chuck lets go."

Chuck motioned to Morgan and Alex to follow him, and they all carried Sarah's belongings to their room. After setting everything inside Chuck made sure Morgan knew to leave, "Uh Alex lets head back to the apartment and get some dinner, I'm starving, and it's getting late for dinner anyhow it's 7:30 pm."

When Alex gave him a suspicious look, he motioned to Chuck and then Sarah respectively and nodded toward the door. Recognizing what he meant Alex obliged his excuse and hugged Chuck goodbye and waved farewell to Sarah dragging Morgan out the room but not before muttering to Chuck under her breath…" you're welcome by the way!"

"Well, I promised I'd fill you in, so I will if you're still ready to hear it that is, you are still ready to hear everything right?"

"…Yes, I am I need to know what led to the trouble I—err Quinn caused, it's the only way I will put it behind me for good."

Sarah turned to the bed and sank onto the front of it; Chuck strode over and sat on the bed too on her right. He turned to Sarah and smiled at her, and she did the same. Chuck studied her eyes carefully, and he knew by looking at Sarah that she was ready to hear the truth about the chain of events that led to her memory suppression.

"Alright then, it started about two and a half months ago see…"

…

Chuck finished the story, clenched his fist in frustration and dropped his head to his lap. Sarah's mouth had hung open at various points in Chuck's story while her eyebrows raised, but her expression normal now. When she noticed Chuck stopped speaking Sarah grabbed his clenched hand and leaned against him, he put his arm around her, and she smiled at him. Sarah thought back to how she felt on the beach and that Chuck had calmed her without asking him to, so she knew it was time to return the favor and do the same for him. Sarah backed up a little then sat crossed legged on the bed and turned to face him, he did the same and then buried his face in his hands. Sarah took Chuck's hands slowly away from his face and gripped them in hers tightly, Sarah finally understood that Chuck was extremely nervous to continue the story, he was trembling quite a bit, and as he raised his head to look at her, his eyes started to well with water. She put a hand on his face and then spoke gently, gripping his hand as tightly as she could in the process.

"Chuck, I know you're nervous, but it's okay you can tell me there's nothing to worry about, you feel responsible for what happened to me I can tell as much from the way you're acting, just try to keep going!?"

"I let Quinn get away after we found the Intersect glasses in Vail and stopped his team…I shouldn't have, it ruined everything…he escaped…" He steeled himself and resumed his story while Sarah held his hand and listened, hanging on his every word.

…

Sarah was leaning against Chuck as he let out his built-up guilt and frustration. Despite his best effort to stop them from coming, tears began rolling down Chuck's face, and he was still shaking from guilt.

Sarah sighed, "Chuck, nothing was your fault so please try and let go of your guilt. Quinn is dead, and everything that happened is over and done with, all we can do now is move forward. I just needed to know how I wound up back in my hotel room with no memory and why Quinn sent me on that bogus assignment." Chuck nodded steeling himself again.

Sarah gripped Chuck's hand firmly; he was much steadier right now than he had been at the climax of the story. He smiled weakly at her and then Sarah leaned forward again and her lips connected with Chuck's, and she felt him calm completely. The kiss deepened, as a result, they broke apart briefly to look at each other smiling as they did so, and at that moment something else entered Sarah's mind. She and Chuck were in a motel the sun had just risen, and they'd ended up right next to each other over the course of the night, and after waking up, they gave themselves to one another with an intensely passionate kiss.

Sarah spoke aloud, "Wow…"

Sarah's eyes had shut due to the intensity of what she was seeing. As she opened them again, she was very aware that her mouth was partially open and closed it quickly, what occurred had to have been the resurfacing of a suppressed memory nothing else made sense. After all, something that vivid only happened in dreams while asleep not when awake and sitting upright; besides the only other time, Sarah had recalled something so vivid was two weeks earlier, as she looked at their carving in that house.

Chuck smiled apologetically, "This isn't the first time my emotions have made things a little awkward."

Sarah was grateful the kiss she'd just had camouflaged the fact that she'd remembered a separate occasion. She played into his comment, "Not at all Chuck. You know what, once I get ready we can go to dinner."

Chuck agreed to her suggestion.

IV

"So, Chuck, where are we going to eat!?" Sarah asked as they drove along the streets of Burbank in Chuck's Lexus.

"Oh, it's a surprise we're almost here so close your eyes okay, I'll guide you to the entrance."

A few minutes later they stepped inside, and Sarah opened her eyes to find herself in a Mexican restaurant with violin music in the background thanks to some violinists nearby. They settled into a booth on the right side of the room, and Chuck addressed Sarah who was looking at him with a small smile.

Nerves overtook him, and he started to ramble, "It's El Compadre; I wanted to take you back here without the burden of a mission…and maybe make up for being a dork the first time around and an idiot the second time around in Berlin. Honestly, I can't remember which first date this is…three or four. Oh man, it's like my mouth is falling down the stairs."

Sarah was grinning at his nerves, "it's okay Chuck we're not on a mission this time, don't freak out."

Chuck reset himself albeit apologetically, "I'm sorry, let me try that again. You look great, of course, you always look great that is your thing…"

Did she ever. Ironically, Sarah was wearing the same thing she'd worn on their "first" first date. She was appreciative yet shy and returned his compliment, "I just threw myself together; you look great though very dapper."

Chuck was dismissive, "dapper, more like sharply dressed nerd…" He was wearing awkwardly fitting blue dress shirt

Sarah boosted his confidence, "You pull off handsome nerd very well Chuck."

He smiled, "Thanks, let's eat."

Oddly enough they spent the rest of the meal acting like it was a real first date. Things went much better for Chuck this time too; he told no dumb jokes, used no puns and nobody tried to kill them. After the meal, they returned home and went to bed, but Sarah awoke in the middle of the night with an intense headache and nausea, she had just relived the memory of their "first" first date, and as Sarah stumbled to the bathroom, she caught herself smiling in the mirror.

"Wow, he was such a dork, "well I could be your very own baggage handler"…I can't believe he used such a cheesy pun…and I can't think I said I dated a Bruce; he certainly made fun of me for that…Casey came after us too, and then Chuck stopped a bomb with the Irene Demova virus. That's why I remembered it at the concert hall…and then the next morning I found him on that beach; so it really was deja-vu."

Sarah stood still for a moment and then thought aloud with an absentminded expression and new acceptance. "Look's like Ellie is right about what is going on in my head, I just wish remembering did not come with migraines, back to bed Sarah...after I take something first anyway." Her face turned anxious in the mirror. Sarah took some Advil and climbed back into bed trying to fall asleep again as worry flooded her mind and Chuck snored loudly from just down the hall.

A/N: So, Sarah likes Chuck again as I think she would because well, who wouldn't like Chuck! I thought to have them deal with Sarah being duped by Quinn immediately was important, plus I hate angst:)