Something was nagging Ellie.

She couldn't put her finger on it. The idea floated just outside of her consciousness, like a specter in the room. She was missing something. There was some detail in her life she just couldn't wrap her mind around. What was it?

Ellie reasoned the feeling away. This was a stressful time in her life, her engagement, her work at the hospital, her concerns about her brother's future, and she never seemed to get enough sleep. It was perfectly normal to feel like you were a little out of touch at a time like this, wasn't it? But as she stirred her coffee, she knew that none of these excuses explained her unsettledness.

It had something to do with Chuck, she was sure of it. Chuck had been keeping odd hours lately. At first she dismissed it as excitement over his new relationship with Sarah. But they had been together for almost a year, things should have settled down between them by now.

Then there was the phone call from the Buy More's assistant manager, Emmit, a few weeks ago asking where Chuck had been at certain dates and times. Ellie had promptly told him that she was Chuck's sister, not his mother. Morgan said that Emmit was just on a witch hunt, so she didn't think any more of it, until this morning. Last night she had come home from a 12 hour shift at the hospital and Chuck still was not home. But he wasn't sleeping over at Sarah's because this morning she heard him turn off his alarm clock.

"Good morning sis," Chuck greeted her as he sleepily padded to the kitchen in his Star Wars pajama pants and white t-shirt.

"Morning," she said. "You were out late last night." It was more of a question then a statement.

"Yeah," Chuck answered, opening the refrigerator.

"Anything exciting?" Ellie asked, probing for more information.

"Uh…no…" Chuck paused before answering; he had been doing that a lot lately too. "I was out with Sarah….Ahhgh!" Chuck gasped as he dropped a full gallon of milk on the kitchen floor.

Ellie rushed over and picked up the carton that was pouring out more and more milk with every glug. "Chuck!" she groaned, setting the milk jug in the sink and reaching in a drawer for her kitchen towels.

"Sorry, sorry," Chuck stammered, "it just slipped out of my hand."

Ellie got down on hands and knees and began to wipe the milk with towels, careful not to get it all over her green scrubs. "Aren't you going to help me here? It is your mess after all."

"Um... I would, really I would, but I've got to get going." Chuck voice rose a little in pitch with the last few words.

Ellie looked up at Chuck, really looked at him for the first time that morning. His hair was disheveled, his face pale, his lips were tight, and he was clutching his right shoulder with his left hand.

"Is something wrong with your arm?" Ellie stood and stepped around the milk puddle to take a closer look. Chuck stepped back.

"Oh, it's nothing, really nothing, El, I'm fine. My shoulder is… just a little stiff from my work out yesterday."

Ellie furrowed her eyebrows. "Here, just let me look at it." She backed Chuck up against the counter.

"No Ellie, don't!" Chuck protested, but it was too late, Ellie had already pried his fingers off his shoulder and was lifting up his sleeve.

There was a dark red bruise on his shoulder the size of a grapefruit. She pressed it lightly with her fingers ("Ow!" Chuck complained). It was still swollen. "You have weakness in your hand as well; that's why you dropped the milk. Any tingling in your fingers?" She didn't let him respond. "Here, come sit down." She pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and sat Chuck down in it.

"Take off your shirt."

"Excuse me?"

"Take off your shirt. I'm going to examine you."

"Ellie I don't think this is really nes…"

"Just take it off!" Ellie raised her voice and Chuck immediately pulled his shirt over his head with his one good arm, taking extra care when sliding it off his injured shoulder. Ellie switched into doctor mode and started palpitating the bruised area and rotating the arm (more "ows" and "yows" from Chuck and "How does that feel?" and "does it hurt when I do this?" questions from Ellie). Satisfied that she knew the right treatment, she opened the freezer and pulled out an ice tray.

"Chuck, tell me what happened and don't tell me that this was from working out because you don't get this sort of contusion from lifting weights or jogging. And since when do you work out anyway?" She filled a zipper bag with the ice and started to look around for her bag where she kept her emergency medical supplies. "I'm going to wrap it up. The numbness in your fingers is a sign that your shoulder could have been dislocated. We need to stabilize it for a few days."

"It's nothing really sis, don't get so worked up. Sarah and I were just out, uh, ….roller skating last night and I took a fall. You know, clumsy me, and I may just have, well, I may have dislocated my shoulder a little bit." Ellie's eyes grew big. "But Sarah, she just popped it back in and now I'm just fine." Chuck stood and reached out for his shirt,

"Oh no you don't!" Ellie grabbed the shirt away, pushed him back down into the chair, slapped the ice pack on him and started wrapping Chuck's shoulder with an Ace bandage. "Why didn't you call me Chuck? You know Devon and I are happy to help you out anytime."

"It was late, El, I didn't want to wake you. I know how much you've been working lately."

"Well, that must have been some fall."

"You have no idea," Chuck mumbled.

"Call next time!" Ellie said as she reached for another bandage. She noticed Chuck was staring at nothing, like he was thinking about something. She didn't want to invade his privacy but his whole story just seemed incredible. "So," she tried to make her voice sound more casual, "You were at the roller rink, because where else would a grown man be in the middle of the night, you totally crashed, dislocated your shoulder and Sarah just popped your shoulder back in, no problem."

"Sarah's good with things like that, she was a girl scout." Chuck said.

"A girl scout?" Ellie rolled her eyes, "Chuck, that's great for cookies but not for bodily injuries!"

"Don't worry sis," Chuck looked up at Ellie, and placed his good hand on her shoulder. "Sarah is a woman of many talents."

"Isn't that great. Didn't bother to come to your sister for help, I mean really, after six years of med school, what would she know? Go ahead, choose the girl scout." Ellie grumbled to herself while she worked.

"Don't be like that El. You know I'll always need you. And you are a great doctor. I just… I just don't want you to worry about me. And now I have Sarah. She looks out for me too. Just like you do."

Ellie glanced up from her work and saw that look again in Chuck's eyes. It was the same look that she had seen there ever since she first saw her brother with Sarah. He was definitely in love. Her heart softened toward Sarah. She should be glad, shouldn't she, that her little brother found a woman as great as Sarah. Maybe it was okay that he didn't turn to her first all the time anymore.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you Chuck. Do you think she's 'the one?' I could see it in your face just now."

Chuck shrugged. "I don't know. It's complicated."

"What's complicated? You love her don't you?" Ellie asked

"It takes a lot more to make a relationship work then just love Ellie."

"That's true. But love is where it begins. And if you love each other enough, the rest of it will work out."

Finished, Ellie, helped Chuck slip his shirt back on, over his wrapped arm. "You need to keep that arm immobilized for at least two or three days. And you should come down to the hospital today and get a few x-rays. Your shoulder could be fractured."

"Okay, El, if it will make you happy," Chuck answered. He smiled at Ellie and then looking over at the milky floor, he added, "Sorry I can't help with the mess."

"No problem. I'll get it. You just go and take your shower, er, or your sponge bath, or whatever."

Chuck kissed her on the cheek. "You really are the greatest sister in the world. Have I told you that lately?" and he headed back down the hallway towards his room.

Sighing, Ellie turned her attention once again to the messy floor. She couldn't wrap her mind around it. Chuck injured, lying on the cold floor of some roller rink in middle of the night and he doesn't even call. So he gets his shoulder popped back into place by a ex-girl scout. What could Sarah not do? She was good looking and skinny and smart, was perfect for her brother AND she also knew advanced first aid? And all this while working at a frozen yogurt shop? And how about Chuck's reaction every time she brought up their relationship? It was complicated? What did that even mean? Ellie's mind filled with questions.

Uh oh, there was that nagging feeling again. Were the two connected? Did this feeling that things weren't quite right start when Sarah came into their lives? Perhaps this was something she needed to investigate.